Research statement

My theorizing and research has focused mainly on the psychology of collective action against collective disadvantage, exemplified by peaceful demonstations and petitions (e.g., against cuts on higher education), but also violent uprisings and revolts (e.g., Egypt, Tunesia, Libya). In my and my collaborators' theorizing and research in this domain, I seek to integrate different theoretical perspectives. As a consequence, I seek to model the relationships between four core motivations for engagement in collcetive action: group identity, emotion, efficacy, and morality. The core theme in this line of theorizing and research thus revolves around the question how individuals can become more active and involved in groups, and in society at large.

My current theorizing and research moves beyond the realm of collective action, however. It focuses instead on the psychology of human motivation in general and connects aspects of my earlier thinking with the accumulating insight that humans are fundamentally relational beings. I have written a monograph that reconsiders and replaces the implicit axiom of individuality in theories and research on motivation with one that is grounded in social relationships. In the book I show that it becomes possible to reinterpret the psychology of motivation in an integrative and even consilient way, which emphasizes the relational essence of motivational processes.