© University of Kent - Contact | Feedback | Legal | Cookies
The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T +44 (0)1227 764000
Experience Excellence Studying People
Dr Robbie SuttonReader in Psychology |
![]() |
I am interested in the human need for justice. In particular, I research beliefs in the justice or otherwise of situations, social systems, and the world as a whole. These beliefs serve important psychological functions, especially hedonic (promoting health and happiness), motivational (encouraging people to pursue their goals, and to follow and in some circumstances break moral rules), and epistemic (making life seem simple and orderly). I am also very interested in the social functions of these beliefs (e.g., in promoting social cohesion).
On the flipside, I am interested in what happens when the human need for justice is threatened or thwarted - as when individuals live in fear of crime and disorder, experience unjust outcomes, and witness violations of social rules.
I am also interested in how people communicate about justice and injustice. For example, one strand of my research shows how the stereotype that men are less fearful of crime than women appears to perpetuate itself by causing men to deny and downplay their fears. I am also interested in justice and the appearance of justice as a "fundamental collusion". In order for collectives to run smoothly, individuals within those collectives need to convince each other, and not just themselves, that the social system is basically just.
More generally, I am interested in the social psychology of human communication, including how people manipulate subtle features of their language in order to achieve social goals, how they examine other people's language to learn about them, and how they formulate and respond to criticism.
Finally, I am interested in applications of these principles to the psychology of climate change.
Sutton, R. M., Douglas, K. M. Wilkin, K., Elder, T. J., Cole, J. M., & Stathi, S. (2008). Justice for whom, exactly? Beliefs in justice for the self and various others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 528-541.
Sutton, R. M., Elder, T. J., & Douglas, K. M. (2006). Reactions to internal and external criticism of outgroups: Social convention in the intergroup sensitivity effect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 563-575.
Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2003). Effects of communication goals and expectancies on language abstraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 682-696.
Sutton, R. M., & McClure, J. L. (2001). Covariational influences on goal-based explanation: An integrative model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 222-236.
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
Bonny Hartley: Will boys become boys? Investigating the self-fulfilling potential of gender stereotypes among children
Amy-Jo Lynch: Fear of crime, gender, and social control: Experimental tests of radical feminist notions. (1+3 ESRC studentship, commenced 2007)
Amy Murphy: TBA
Katherine Wilson: TBA
Dr Tadios Chisango: Understanding 'infrahumanisation' of the outgroup in terms of the linguistic Intergroup Bias.
Dr Jennifer Cole: From speech acts to dispositions: How impressions of persons are shaped by their descriptions of others. Graduated 2007.
| Date | Award Details | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2008 | M. Hornsey, R. Sutton, and K. Douglas Australian Research Council (ARC) "Negotiating the minefield: Social conventions surrounding group criticism and their role in explaining defensiveness". Grant awarded under bilateral "Linkage International Social Sciences Collaboration" between the ARC and ESRC |
AUS$72,129 |
| Mar 2008 | R. Sutton and K. Douglas Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) "Making a difference? Understanding the impacts of group criticism". Grant awarded under bilateral "Linkage International Social Sciences Collaboration" between the ARC and ESRC |
£101,145 |
| Feb 2007 | K. Douglas and R. Sutton Economic and Social Research Council "Understanding and altering perceptions of personal 'invulnerability' to persuasive advertising". |
£87,591 |
| May 2006 | R. Sutton Social Sciences Faculty Award (University of Kent) "Reactions to group criticism" (seedcorn grant to fund pilot studies for the ESRC and ARC grants that were awarded in March 2008) |
£504 |
| Feb 2006 | R. Sutton and K. Douglas Promising Researchers Award (University of Kent) "Kent Workshop on Linguistic Bias". |
£6,005 |
| Feb 2005 | R. Sutton and K. Douglas Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) "Us" versus "them": Reactions to speakers' use of language concerning groups. |
£46,566 |
| Jan 2004 | K. Douglas and R. Sutton Economic and Social Research Council "Inhibiting the linguistic expression of biases and stereotypes". |
£48,505 |
| Oct 2003 | K. Douglas and R. Sutton British Academy "Linguistic biases" |
£2,000 |
School of Psychology
Keynes College
University of Kent
Canterbury, Kent
CT2 7NP
United Kingdom
Tel. +44 (0)1227 823939
Fax. +44 (0)1227 827030
Email: Robbie Sutton
Office: Keynes E2.11
Office Hours: Wednesday 11am-12 noon, 3.30-4.30pm