Abstract

Largescale panel studies, with stratified, random samples of a nation’s population, are relatively rare in the psychological literature. By measuring change at multiple levels over long periods of time, these studies can tell us about the relationship between individuals and the societies in which they live. This includes (1) how features of the social structure, such as inequality or deprivation, affect people and (2) how people affect the social structure (via their policy preferences and political behaviour). I will review recent research on these two key elements of societal functioning – structural effects and structural change – from two panels in very different contexts. The first is a 13-wave longitudinal study of around 20,000 New Zealanders. The second is a 3-wave study of around 160,000 people in India. I will also introduce a new panel from the UK, where we invite 500,000 people randomly sampled from the electoral register to participate in survey of social and political attitudes annually over five years. This research programme demonstrates how largescale panel data can inform theory and policy, by telling us more about how people change, and how they change their societies.

The talk is open to the public.