Stavroula Tsirogianni | Canterbury Christ Church University (original) (raw)
Papers by Stavroula Tsirogianni
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, 2015
In the past, little attention has been paid to the socio-psychological dimension of the phenomeno... more In the past, little attention has been paid to the socio-psychological dimension of the phenomenon of severe poverty in Africa. Despite the institutional nature of the global economic order, including policies of the European Union, the World Trade Organisation, and the International Monetary Fund, it is people who design, support, and maintain this system, and individual constructions of the world and structural inequalities reinforce one another. This also finds its expression in different ways in, e.g., peoples social representations of severe poverty in Europes former colonies (Park, 2008, 2011). This article investigates, how we members of the European middle class construct ourselves as ethical beings in the context of African poverty: What is the link between our social representations, identity construction and (in)action with regard to severe poverty in Africa? What are the discursive mechanisms we apply in the construction of an ethical self and what is the notion of the A...
British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of s... more British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of social cohesion among ethnic and cultural groups in the United Kingdom. Such policies highlight the increasing uneasiness of the British state regarding cultural diversity, which is seen as being at odds with solidarity. In this paper we move away from this dichotomy between solidarity and cultural diversity and the pursuit of social cohesion and order to propose that solidarity is not a universal social and cultural condition to be achieved, but a transient part of the process of intergroup understanding. Drawing on Gadamer, we argue that intergroup solidarities are temporary bonds that already exist between groups but need to be brought to consciousness through a ‘fusion of horizons’. We look at British people’s representations of immigration and the tensions that arise out of their encounters with the perspective of the ‘other’. We provide an analysis of the conditions that permeate th...
Journal of Management Inquiry, 2015
Previous research has examined how mobility and career competencies influence success in boundary... more Previous research has examined how mobility and career competencies influence success in boundaryless careers. In this study, we flip the direction of those relationships and we explore how the interplay between success and failure relates to subsequent mobility, career competencies, and career evolution through the life span. Using a biographical design, we conceptualize success and failure as critical moments that influence the unfolding of the boundaryless careers of Oscar-nominated film directors. While the dominant metaphors of boundaryless careers are those of “paths,” “ladders,” “trajectories,” and “plateaus,” our findings suggest a new metaphor: the roller coaster.
Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, 2014
World Futures, 2011
... Within the context of global technological, societal, and economic changes notions of creativ... more ... Within the context of global technological, societal, and economic changes notions of creativity, quality of work and life are being ... world to address the essence of good life through social values, as these were informed by the social, political, and economic transformations of ...
Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 2011
We talk about altogether too many things under one rubric when we stretch the same termi-nology t... more We talk about altogether too many things under one rubric when we stretch the same termi-nology to include the utilities of mathematical decision theory (Edwards, 1954), fundamental assumptions about the nature of the world and man's place in it (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961), and ...
Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 2012
British Journal of Social Psychology, 2013
This thesis investigates how social values align with changing patterns of economic development, ... more This thesis investigates how social values align with changing patterns of economic development, work and quality of life in the European knowledge society. Conceptually, the thesis draws upon Richard Florida's Theory of the Creative Class (2002) and Human Values Theory as developed by Shalom Schwartz (1992). The research combines different methodological approaches and is structured in three parts. The first study involves a secondary data analysis of the European Social Survey that includes Schwartz's value inventory and other value related items. It aims at mapping the values of Florida's three key occupational groups: knowledge, service and manufacturing workers. While manufacturing workers were found to be distinct from knowledge and service workers, the latter two categories were rather similar. In addition, a mixture of liberal and traditional values characterised knowledge workers' value systems. Little empirical support was found for Schwartz's circumple...
Taylor (2004) argues that the Western moral order is characterised by three key forms— the market... more Taylor (2004) argues that the Western moral order is characterised by three key forms— the market economy, public sphere, and self-governance. These forms entail contradictory tendencies for the concept of selfhood and our relations with each other. We do endorse an autonomous and free self, who should pursue her goals, but is also expected to act ethically towards others through mutuality, equality, and collectivity. However, we are concerned with being authentic, i.e. being true to ‘ourselves’, as well as with recognising the needs and differences of the ‘other’. This moral order is based on notions of political equality, democracy, freedom, human rights, and privatised economic prosperity. Moving ‘with Holzkamp beyond Holzkamp’ (Teo, 2016), in this paper, we present a method to foster the skill to step out from one’s moral matrix, the invisible normalised moral order, and view oneself through the eyes of the ‘other’. Focusing on food practices, we developed a method for social se...
Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology, 2014
Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology, 2014
British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of s... more British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of social cohesion among ethnic and cultural groups in the United Kingdom. Such policies highlight the increasing uneasiness of the British state regarding cultural diversity, which is seen as being at odds with solidarity. In this paper we move away from this dichotomy between solidarity and cultural diversity and the pursuit of social cohesion and order to propose that solidarity is not a universal social and cultural condition to be achieved, but a transient part of the process of intergroup understanding. Drawing on Gadamer, we argue that intergroup solidarities are temporary bonds that already exist between groups butneed to be brought to consciousness through a ‘fusion of horizons’. We look atBritish people’s representations of immigration and the tensions that arise out of their encounters with the perspective of the ‘other’. We provide an analysis of theconditions that permeate the process of fusion through a study on social values conducted in London with members of the British public.
Since its inception, psychology has struggled with issues of conceptualisation and operationalisa... more Since its inception, psychology has struggled with issues of conceptualisation and operationalisation of social-psychological phenomena. The study of social values and points of view has been prone to such difficulties, despite a predominant concern of qualitative distinctions in the variability of both of these phenomena across different individuals and social groups. And whilst interest in both traces a common origin in Rokeach’s studies of narrow-mindedness, the study of both phenomena has since proceeded apace. In this paper, we posit a renewed reconciliation between the two that is best served through a social-psychological model of points of view in terms of the values that inspire them. We draw on critical linguistics to propose a theoretical and methodological framework that can aid a systematic study of value structures as they take different forms and meanings through particular types of points of view. In five stages of qualitative analysis, the model deconstructs utterances into distinct terms that reveal a predominant perspective-taking style that can be utilised towards the categorisation of different points of view, in terms of values that imbue them and that serve to provide them with a coherent angle of constructing a particular narrative.
Psychological life is subject to the influence of a constructed and potentially reconstituted pas... more Psychological life is subject to the influence of a constructed and potentially reconstituted past, as well as to future anticipated outcomes and expectations.Human behaviour occurs along a temporal trajectory that marks the projects individuals adopt in their quests of human action. Explanations of social behaviour are limited insofar as they exclude a historical concern with human purpose. In this paper,we draw on Bartlett’s notion of collective remembering to argue that manifest socialrelations are rooted in past events that give present behaviours meaning and justification. We further propose an epidemiological time-series framework for social representations, that are conceptualised as evolving over time and that are subject to a ‘ratchet effect’ that perpetuates meaning in a collective. We argue that understanding forms of social behaviour that draw on lay explanations of social relations requires a deconstructive effort that maps the evolutionary trajectory of a representational project in terms of its adaptation over time. We go on to illustrate our proposal visiting data that emerged in an inquiry investigating Maltese immigrants’ perspectives towards their countries of settlement and origin. This data reveals an assimilationist acculturation preference amongst the Maltese in Britain that seems incongruous with the current climate of European integration and Maltese communities in other countries around the world. We demonstrate that a historical concern with regard to this apparent behaviour helps explain how Maltese immigrants to Britain opt for certain forms of intercultural relations than others that are normally. We demonstrate that these preferences rely on an evolved justification of the Maltese getting by with foreign rulers that other scholars have traced back to the
medieval practice of chivalry.
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, 2015
In the past, little attention has been paid to the socio-psychological dimension of the phenomeno... more In the past, little attention has been paid to the socio-psychological dimension of the phenomenon of severe poverty in Africa. Despite the institutional nature of the global economic order, including policies of the European Union, the World Trade Organisation, and the International Monetary Fund, it is people who design, support, and maintain this system, and individual constructions of the world and structural inequalities reinforce one another. This also finds its expression in different ways in, e.g., peoples social representations of severe poverty in Europes former colonies (Park, 2008, 2011). This article investigates, how we members of the European middle class construct ourselves as ethical beings in the context of African poverty: What is the link between our social representations, identity construction and (in)action with regard to severe poverty in Africa? What are the discursive mechanisms we apply in the construction of an ethical self and what is the notion of the A...
British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of s... more British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of social cohesion among ethnic and cultural groups in the United Kingdom. Such policies highlight the increasing uneasiness of the British state regarding cultural diversity, which is seen as being at odds with solidarity. In this paper we move away from this dichotomy between solidarity and cultural diversity and the pursuit of social cohesion and order to propose that solidarity is not a universal social and cultural condition to be achieved, but a transient part of the process of intergroup understanding. Drawing on Gadamer, we argue that intergroup solidarities are temporary bonds that already exist between groups but need to be brought to consciousness through a ‘fusion of horizons’. We look at British people’s representations of immigration and the tensions that arise out of their encounters with the perspective of the ‘other’. We provide an analysis of the conditions that permeate th...
Journal of Management Inquiry, 2015
Previous research has examined how mobility and career competencies influence success in boundary... more Previous research has examined how mobility and career competencies influence success in boundaryless careers. In this study, we flip the direction of those relationships and we explore how the interplay between success and failure relates to subsequent mobility, career competencies, and career evolution through the life span. Using a biographical design, we conceptualize success and failure as critical moments that influence the unfolding of the boundaryless careers of Oscar-nominated film directors. While the dominant metaphors of boundaryless careers are those of “paths,” “ladders,” “trajectories,” and “plateaus,” our findings suggest a new metaphor: the roller coaster.
Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, 2014
World Futures, 2011
... Within the context of global technological, societal, and economic changes notions of creativ... more ... Within the context of global technological, societal, and economic changes notions of creativity, quality of work and life are being ... world to address the essence of good life through social values, as these were informed by the social, political, and economic transformations of ...
Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 2011
We talk about altogether too many things under one rubric when we stretch the same termi-nology t... more We talk about altogether too many things under one rubric when we stretch the same termi-nology to include the utilities of mathematical decision theory (Edwards, 1954), fundamental assumptions about the nature of the world and man's place in it (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961), and ...
Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 2012
British Journal of Social Psychology, 2013
This thesis investigates how social values align with changing patterns of economic development, ... more This thesis investigates how social values align with changing patterns of economic development, work and quality of life in the European knowledge society. Conceptually, the thesis draws upon Richard Florida's Theory of the Creative Class (2002) and Human Values Theory as developed by Shalom Schwartz (1992). The research combines different methodological approaches and is structured in three parts. The first study involves a secondary data analysis of the European Social Survey that includes Schwartz's value inventory and other value related items. It aims at mapping the values of Florida's three key occupational groups: knowledge, service and manufacturing workers. While manufacturing workers were found to be distinct from knowledge and service workers, the latter two categories were rather similar. In addition, a mixture of liberal and traditional values characterised knowledge workers' value systems. Little empirical support was found for Schwartz's circumple...
Taylor (2004) argues that the Western moral order is characterised by three key forms— the market... more Taylor (2004) argues that the Western moral order is characterised by three key forms— the market economy, public sphere, and self-governance. These forms entail contradictory tendencies for the concept of selfhood and our relations with each other. We do endorse an autonomous and free self, who should pursue her goals, but is also expected to act ethically towards others through mutuality, equality, and collectivity. However, we are concerned with being authentic, i.e. being true to ‘ourselves’, as well as with recognising the needs and differences of the ‘other’. This moral order is based on notions of political equality, democracy, freedom, human rights, and privatised economic prosperity. Moving ‘with Holzkamp beyond Holzkamp’ (Teo, 2016), in this paper, we present a method to foster the skill to step out from one’s moral matrix, the invisible normalised moral order, and view oneself through the eyes of the ‘other’. Focusing on food practices, we developed a method for social se...
Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology, 2014
Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology, 2014
British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of s... more British policies towards immigration have recently been preoccupied with cultivating a sense of social cohesion among ethnic and cultural groups in the United Kingdom. Such policies highlight the increasing uneasiness of the British state regarding cultural diversity, which is seen as being at odds with solidarity. In this paper we move away from this dichotomy between solidarity and cultural diversity and the pursuit of social cohesion and order to propose that solidarity is not a universal social and cultural condition to be achieved, but a transient part of the process of intergroup understanding. Drawing on Gadamer, we argue that intergroup solidarities are temporary bonds that already exist between groups butneed to be brought to consciousness through a ‘fusion of horizons’. We look atBritish people’s representations of immigration and the tensions that arise out of their encounters with the perspective of the ‘other’. We provide an analysis of theconditions that permeate the process of fusion through a study on social values conducted in London with members of the British public.
Since its inception, psychology has struggled with issues of conceptualisation and operationalisa... more Since its inception, psychology has struggled with issues of conceptualisation and operationalisation of social-psychological phenomena. The study of social values and points of view has been prone to such difficulties, despite a predominant concern of qualitative distinctions in the variability of both of these phenomena across different individuals and social groups. And whilst interest in both traces a common origin in Rokeach’s studies of narrow-mindedness, the study of both phenomena has since proceeded apace. In this paper, we posit a renewed reconciliation between the two that is best served through a social-psychological model of points of view in terms of the values that inspire them. We draw on critical linguistics to propose a theoretical and methodological framework that can aid a systematic study of value structures as they take different forms and meanings through particular types of points of view. In five stages of qualitative analysis, the model deconstructs utterances into distinct terms that reveal a predominant perspective-taking style that can be utilised towards the categorisation of different points of view, in terms of values that imbue them and that serve to provide them with a coherent angle of constructing a particular narrative.
Psychological life is subject to the influence of a constructed and potentially reconstituted pas... more Psychological life is subject to the influence of a constructed and potentially reconstituted past, as well as to future anticipated outcomes and expectations.Human behaviour occurs along a temporal trajectory that marks the projects individuals adopt in their quests of human action. Explanations of social behaviour are limited insofar as they exclude a historical concern with human purpose. In this paper,we draw on Bartlett’s notion of collective remembering to argue that manifest socialrelations are rooted in past events that give present behaviours meaning and justification. We further propose an epidemiological time-series framework for social representations, that are conceptualised as evolving over time and that are subject to a ‘ratchet effect’ that perpetuates meaning in a collective. We argue that understanding forms of social behaviour that draw on lay explanations of social relations requires a deconstructive effort that maps the evolutionary trajectory of a representational project in terms of its adaptation over time. We go on to illustrate our proposal visiting data that emerged in an inquiry investigating Maltese immigrants’ perspectives towards their countries of settlement and origin. This data reveals an assimilationist acculturation preference amongst the Maltese in Britain that seems incongruous with the current climate of European integration and Maltese communities in other countries around the world. We demonstrate that a historical concern with regard to this apparent behaviour helps explain how Maltese immigrants to Britain opt for certain forms of intercultural relations than others that are normally. We demonstrate that these preferences rely on an evolved justification of the Maltese getting by with foreign rulers that other scholars have traced back to the
medieval practice of chivalry.