Social Identity Networks are theoretically anchored between social identity and social representations theory. The mathematical representations are carefully mapped to theory, and the approach has empirical support across multiple scales from micro-processes to macro-outcomes. @spspnews.bsky.social‬

We're offering two funded PhD studentships in the ERC-Funded ID-Compression project at the University of Limerick, Ireland -- please pass on to any kind, curious & talented candidates who might be interested. Thank you! @csi-research.bsky.social
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/svvz1...

8/ If successful, ID-Compression will provide a unifying theory, linking basic psychology to macro social structure allowing us to understand, detect, quantify and (maybe) manage polarization.

7/ People try to act comprehensibly in a given information system, thereby sustaining it. For example, an American wearing a red cap could look like a MAGA Republican, so Democrats avoid wearing red caps, amplifying the signal.

6/ Identity compression produces information spaces where people can recognize friend or foe with minimal data, since the identity-information relations are highly redundant.

5/ We hypothesize that polarization exists when socially structured attributes align with group identities to create a compressible identity information space where knowing someone’s group identity allows you to guess related attributes. Conversely, knowing some attributes tells you their identity.

4/ Take a social example: in these Serbian protests, multiple attitudes like “sex before marriage is OK,” “men can love men,” or “God should be obeyed” are compressible as a single dichotomy – RELIGIOUS or LIBERAL: if you knew someone’s answer to one, you could guess them all.

3/ ID-Compression builds on simple idea: that the link between social identity & polarization is compressibility.
Compressibility exists when there's redundant information. e.g. we can capture key features of this painting with a fraction of the data, because a lot of information is redundant.

2/ This is a consolidated thread now all four posts are advertised:
We’re building interdisciplinary team to develop information-theory approach to understanding social identity embedded in social information.
Slides from ERC interview, so forgive overambitious vibes :D

1/ Four 5-yr posts starting Jan ‘25:
(Links @ thread end)
1. Postdoc (PD): Soc. Psyc or related DL:1-Oct-24
2. PD comp./mathematical modelling DL:1-Oct-24
3. PD: Research Management (0.5FTE) DL:07-Oct-24
4. Asst. Prof: Soc Psych. & Innovative Methods DL 27-Sep-24
@polpsyispp.bsky.social
#jobfairy

1/ Another vacancy: Seeking Assistant Professor in Social Psychology & Innovative Research Methods (5-year entry-level academic post)
Closing Fri 13 Sep 2024 (12 noon Irish Time).
@polpsyispp.bsky.social
#jobfairy
see: my.corehr.com/pls/esbsheulrecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.jobspec?p_id=070968