Low diversity of thought is an important issue that hampers the progress of social sciences and their potential to contribute to society and resolve its biggest issues.
This low diversity of thought is reflected in numerous aspects of social sciences—for example, certain research topics (e.g., those that may be easily publishable) are prioritized over other important but less desirable topics (e.g., those that are not heavily cited or easy to publish); some methodologies such as experimentation are widely used whereas less common methods (e.g., self-observation) are neglected; short-term projects with quick gains are prioritized over the long-term ones; some participant populations are understudied (e.g., non-WEIRD samples - i.e., non-western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic); and theorizing is driven by arbitrary conventions and overly reliant on available research findings while avoiding speculation that could lead to new insights. In this event, social scientists of varied backgrounds will express their perspectives on diversity of thought in social sciences followed by a panel discussion.
Meet our speakers and chair
Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir (@nihanalb) is a postdoctoral researcher in the Open Psychology Centre at the Open University and visiting fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, LSE. Her PhD research was about intergroup relations and migration, but the observations made and experiences gained during her PhD changed how she perceived and approached ‘science’ as a profession. She now examines scientists and scientific practices to find better ways to ‘be a scientist’ and 'do science'
Roger’s Bacon (@RogersBacon1) is a pseudonymous blogger writing on a variety of topics in science and philosophy and a co-founder of Seeds of Science, a new scientific journal publishing speculative and non-traditional articles. Prior to blogging, he was an evolutionary biology researcher and high school biology teacher. He has published numerous scholarly articles on psychology, biology, and science education.
Dario Krpan (@DarioKrps11) is Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science who was trained at the University of Cambridge and Webster University Vienna. He is a co-founder of the independent journal Seeds of Science. Dario is a proponent of multidisciplinary research and is interested in combining methodologies and theoretical approaches from sciences such as economics and physics with psychology to develop fundamental theories of human mind and behaviour.
Celestin Okoroji (@CellyRanks) is postdoctoral fellow, LSE, Visiting Fellow, King’s College London and Head of Research, Black Thrive.
Feiyang Wang is a PhD student, Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE.
Fred Basso is Associate Professor in Economic Psychology in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is Programme Director of the MSc Psychology of Economic Life and works on topics that revolve around embodied cognition, conceptual metaphors, political consumerism and transformative social change (utopia, degrowth).
More about this event
The Department of Psychological & Behavioural Science (PBS) is a growing community of researchers, intellectuals, and students who investigate the human mind and behaviour in a societal context. Our department conducts cutting-edge psychological and behavioural research that is both based in and applied to the real world.
Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEDiversityOfThought
Podcast & Video
A podcast of this event is available to download from Different Perspectives on Diversity of Thought in Social Science.
A video of this event is available to watch at Different Perspectives on Diversity of Thought in Social Science.
Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.