School of Psychology

Senior Lecturer

RESEARCH:
Human values and virtues; lay theories and beliefs (e.g., about human nature and how societies develop); the cognitive structure of concepts (especially of social concepts like values and moral rules); psychological essentialism; infrahumanisation (treating people in other groups as less human); cross-cultural psychology.

ACTIVITIES:
My main activities involve research aimed at understanding the beliefs and justifications people have for their life-guiding principles and goals (e.g., equality and creativity). This research has led to examination of broader issues, such as “psychological essentialism” - the belief that things (including people) have internal properties that are causally responsible for their observable features and behaviour. Ongoing research is examining essentialist beliefs in the social world, such as whether people rationalise discrimination and prejudice by denying a “human” essence to members of outgroups (infrahumanisation). I am keen to work with students who are interested in these and related ideas.

TEACHING:
Introduction to Social Psychology, Methods II

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

• Haslam, N., Bain, P. (2007). Humanizing the self. Moderators of the attribution of lesser humanness to others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 57-68.
  
  
• Bain, P.G., Kashima, Y., & Haslam, N. (2006). Conceptual Beliefs About Values: Human Nature Beliefs Predict Value Importance, Value Trade-Offs, and Responses to Value-Laden Rhetoric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, (2), 351-367.
  
  
• Haslam, N., Bastian, B., Bain, P. & Kashima, Y. (2006). Psychological essentialism, implicit theories, and intergroup relations. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, (1), 63-76.
  
  
• Haslam, N., Bain, P. G., Lee, M., & Douge, L. & Bastian, B. (2005).  More human than you: Attributing human nature to self and others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, (6), 937-950.
  
  
• Haslam, N., Bain, P., & Neal, D. (2004).  The implicit structure of positive characteristics.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, (4), 529-541.