PhD Topic: Social Identity in Politics: What Predicts Partisan Strength and In-Party Favoritism and How Digital Interventions Help Reduce the Toxicity Surrounding Political Social Identity

PhD Supervisors: Dr Dario Krpan and Professor Liam Delaney

Haoran's research gravitates towards the intersection of social identity, political behaviour, and computational modelling. Specifically, he takes the perspective of social identity theory to view the current rising level of affective polarization (AP) in global democracy. By comprehensively synthesizing what predicts partisan strength and in-party favouritism, the mechanism through which individuals adopt and harbour extreme partisan identities and in-party actions, Haoran’s PhD aims to contribute to a better understanding of the pressing issues in the current political landscape and to enlighten the development of personalized digital interventions for reducing AP.

Prior to starting his PhD, Haoran completed his MSc in Behavioural Science at LSE and BSc in Psychology at Durham University. His Master’s dissertation explored how the lack of psychological and physical freedom of choice influence consumer’s website cookie choice and post-choice satisfaction. The findings clarified that the inconsistency between individuals’ attitudes and behaviour toward seeking freedom of choice does not depend on the nature of the nudge, the type of freedom restricted or the effectiveness of the nudge.