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The psychology of everyday resistance (2025-2028)

Abstract

Public protests and social movements garner attention, but they represent only one form of dissent. This project aims to investigate the crucial yet overlooked phenomenon of everyday resistance: individuals routinely and quietly opposing injustice in daily life. Using innovative mixed methods, comprising qualitative, experimental, longitudinal, and cross-national surveys, it will examine resistance across diverse contexts and populations. This project expects to generate new knowledge on why people resort to everyday resistance, its impact on wellbeing, and its link to overt protests. This should benefit society by informing pathways to social change and guiding effective responses to community needs, fostering more equitable societies.

Experts

Dr Hema Preya Selvanathan

Affiliate of Centre for Research in Social Psychology (CRiSP)
Centre for Research in Social Psychology
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Social Identity and Groups Network (SIGN) Research Centre
Social Identity and Groups Network
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Lecturer (Social Psychology)
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Hema Preya Selvanathan
Hema Preya Selvanathan