Ph.D. Program in Social Psychology

This program integrates social and cultural perspectives to link basic psychological processes with central issues in social and political life - locally, nationally, and internationally. At Clark, the social psychological perspective includes the study of inter-group relations, societal peace and conflict, and the role of individual differences and social structures in political attitudes and behavior. The cultural psychological perspective examines how human experience—thought, behavior, feelings, etc.—is culturally organized—through semiotic mediation, symbolic action, and/or accumulation of inter-subjectively shared representations of the life-space. Students and faculty in the program use a wide variety of quantitative methods and qualitative methods—experimental, survey, field, phenomenological, and semiotic—to investigate and address: (1) general social, cultural, and environmental/ecological processes and interactions as well as (2) specific pressing social issues, such as ethnopolitical conflict, peace, and commitment to social change. The program encourages contextualized and interdisciplinary research, novel theoretical projects, and methodological integration. This program prepares students for academic careers in social and/or cultural psychology. Such preparation requires a student to: (1) develop a strong theoretical and methodological foundation and (2) begin asystematic program of research that will sustain them through the early stages of a career. Along the way, we provide opportunities to practice and perfect the skills of an academic. These include: designing and conducting research projects with multiple methods assisting in and teaching courses working with undergraduate researchers applying for grants presenting posters and papers at conferences and colloquia publishing collaborative and individual work in the scholarly journals of the field Social graduate students are encouraged to work closely with one another, with advanced undergraduate students, and with faculty colleagues in developing their research programs. However, they have a good deal of freedom in choosing their research topics and methodologies. The number of required courses is minimal. The program does not emphasize courses as such, except as they are related to the specific career development needs of its members. Students can select from an array of occasional graduate courses, advanced undergraduate courses, courses at neighboring institutions, and courses developed for their needs with the social faculty. We would particularly like to call attention to courses offered in individual and family development offered by members of our Clinical and Developmental Programs. The principle training settings of the program are the Department's research groups, forums, and lab meetings. These are groupings of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students drawn together regularly by common theoretical concerns, research interests, or training needs. The number, focus, and constitution of these groups changes from year to year, but there will always be several that are active at any time. Groups are initiated both by faculty and by graduate students. For the purposes of meeting the University's formal course and residency requirements, the Department arranges for participation in these meetings to fulfill course requirements.