Papers by Philippa Kerr
Psychology in Society , 2020
This paper identifies a number of common conceptual and methodological weaknesses that crop up in... more This paper identifies a number of common conceptual and methodological weaknesses that crop up in qualitative social science research articles and theses. These weaknesses are: (1) conceptual frameworks with no implications; (2) conceptual frameworks which dominate findings; (3) generic technical jargon in methods sections instead of a transparent account of how the research and analytical decisions actually proceeded; (4) superficial and/or anecdotal results sections; and (5) an overuse of social science jargon that sometimes does not mean very much. Suggestions for improving on these weaknesses are made. It is argued that the validity of a piece of qualitative research is established through coherence among all sections of a paper or thesis-concepts, methods, and findings. The metaphor in the paper's title conveys the point that simply including the right-sounding terminology or sections in a qualitative research article or thesis in the hope that this will, in and of itself, produce good social science is a strategy about as likely to succeed as sticking feathers together in the hope of eventually producing a duck!
European Review of Social Psychology, 2020
Most of what we know about the social psychology of intergroup relations has emerged from studies... more Most of what we know about the social psychology of intergroup relations has emerged from studies of how one group of people (e.g., whites) think and feel about another (e.g., blacks). By reducing the social world to binary categories, this approach has provided a simple, effective and efficient methodological framework. However, it has also obscured some important features of social relations in historically divided and unequal societies. This paper highlights the importance of investigating intergroup relationships involving more than two groups and of exploring not only their psychological but also their political significance. We argue that this shift in focus may illuminate patterns of domination and subordination, collusion and betrayal, solidarity and resistance that have been generally neglected in our field. Developing this argument, we discuss the conditions under which members of historically disadvantaged groups either dissolve into internecine competition or unite to challenge the status quo, highlighting the role of complex forms of social comparison, social identification, intergroup contact, and third-party support for collective action. To conclude, we suggest that binary conceptualizations of intergroup relations should be treated as the product of specific sets of historical and socio-political practices rather than a natural starting point for psychological research and outline some future directions for research.
Racial segregation encourages members of historically advantaged groups to form negative intergro... more Racial segregation encourages members of historically advantaged groups to form negative intergroup attitudes, which then motivate practices of discrimination that sustain inequality and disadvantage. By implication, interventions designed to increase intergroup contact have been proposed as a means of reducing dominant group prejudices and promoting social change. In this article, we highlight another mechanism through which segregation shapes intergroup relations, namely, by inhibiting political solidarity between historically disadvantaged groups. Building on a field survey conducted in postapartheid South Africa, we demonstrate how challenging this form of segregation may reveal alternative mechanisms through which intergroup contact facilitates social change. Notably, we report evidence that positive contact with Black residents of an informal settlement in Pietermar-itzburg was associated with Indian residents' support for political policies and
Social psychologists typically conceptualize intergroup processes in terms of unequal pairs of so... more Social psychologists typically conceptualize intergroup processes in terms of unequal pairs of social categories, such as an advantaged majority (e.g., 'Whites') and a disadvantaged minority (e.g., 'Blacks'). We argue that this two-group paradigm may obscure the workings of intergroup power by overlooking: (1) the unique dynamics of intergroup relations involving three or more groups, and (2) the way some two-group relationships function as strategic alliances that derive meaning from their location within a wider relational context. We develop this argument through a field study conducted in a grape-farming town in South Africa in 2009, focusing on an episode of xenophobic violence in which a Zimbabwean farm worker community was forcibly evicted from their homes by their South African neighbours. Discursive analysis of interview accounts of the nature and origins of this violence shows how an ostensibly binary 'xenophobic' conflict between foreign and South African farm labourers was partially constituted through both groups' relationship with a third party who were neither victims nor perpetrators of the actual violence, namely White farmers. We highlight some potential political consequences of defaulting to a two-group paradigm in intergroup conflict studies. Conceptualizing intergroup relations in terms of unequal pairs such as dominant and subordinate, minority and majority, advantaged and disadvantaged, or high-and low-status groups is ubiquitous in social psychology (Suba si c, Reynolds, & Turner, 2008). Indeed, these and similar binaries quietly structure how most psychologists conceptualize and study intergroup relations. While some of social psychology's best and most influential work has been conducted within this 'two-group paradigm', in this study we explore some limitations of a two-group approach to understanding relations of intergroup power and conflict. First, a two-group approach overlooks the unique dynamics that emerge when group members are dealing with social relations on more than one front. These dynamics may entail expressions of loyalty, solidarity, favouritism, collusion, and betrayal that are ultimately irreducible to a binary logic. In post-colonial societies where strategies of 'divide and rule' were imposed during an earlier era of colonial rule, for example, a two-group approach masks the ongoing dilemmas of solidarity and divided loyalties faced by
Thesis Chapters by Philippa Kerr
Chapters in Books by Philippa Kerr
Higher Education Pathways: South African Undergraduate Education and the Public Good (AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION DYNAMICS SERIES), 2018
What do we know about undergraduate students’ experiences of university and campus life beyond th... more What do we know about undergraduate students’ experiences of university and campus life beyond the curriculum, and the role of such experiences in students’ personal development and transformation? Can any aspects of that student experience be seen as contributing to the ‘public good’? This chapter offers a review of eleven years (2007–2017) of scholarly literature on students’ experiences of South African higher education ‘beyond the curriculum’. This includes all those aspects of university life which are not related to learning, teaching and academic development; they include the social, economic, political and health-related aspects of the student experience and student life on campus. In this chapter, we aim to give a sense of what has been written about these elements of students’ experiences, what this work says, and
also what it does not say.
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Papers by Philippa Kerr
Thesis Chapters by Philippa Kerr
Chapters in Books by Philippa Kerr
also what it does not say.
also what it does not say.