As a crisis unfolds, tensions in society can quickly increase, escalating into stronger positioning, heated public debate, and physical frictions. As such, societies are likely to be confronted with social conflict encounters, varying from ‘playful’ activities (e.g., ‘souping’ pieces of art) to grim protest demonstrations or riots.
Trust and the perceived legitimacy of institutions play a key role in the dynamics of crisis conflict: waning trust in the parties handling the crisis is usually a driving force, and trust-building strategies in such crisis situations are key to resolving the incidents peacefully and restoring civic trust, social cohesion, and perceptions of institutional integrity. However, the latter is difficult to accomplish. Professional interventions from authority figures at the scene (e.g., the police) tend to escalate rather than de-escalate conflicts, particularly when such dynamics unfold in the public domain: media coverage and online amplification of perceived trust violations often serve as pressure tactics, intensifying conflict. As these dynamics are witnessed by an audience of traditional and social media, as well as side-taking and neutral publics, they may fuel further escalation and profoundly shape public perceptions. Understanding and influencing these dynamics requires attention to both relational trust and narrative authority. A key question of this PhD project is how such escalatory processes can be turned.
Activities are:
- Integrating the literature from different research lines, notably the role of trust violations in radicalisation processes, research on influence and repair strategies of frontline professionals (e.g., religious leaders, healthcare workers, and police (hostage) negotiators), and the emerging field of group polarisation and protest movements.
- Developing an overarching conceptual framework for trust-building strategies in escalated and mediatized crisis dynamics.
- Calibrating the framework developed with recordings of such interactions and interviews with key stakeholders.
- Testing the effectiveness in field studies, with attention to situational and cultural adaptivity, and the interaction between online and offline dynamics and public perception
The PhD will be based in the research group Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety and offers a 4-year fulltime PhD position focusing on trust-building interventions in societal crisis dynamics.