This thesis is concerned with how shame contributes to the development of hegemonic masculinities in eighteenth-century British culture. It examines a range of contemporary literature in order to understand how feelings of shame, as well as practices of shaming others, became a key, if often unspoken, aspect of attempts to define and maintain which forms of masculinity were acceptable, and which were not, in a rapidly changing cultural context. The thesis explores the effect on men of the newly commercial 'public sphere' that came to prominence at the beginning of the century, and tries to track its affective trajectory through to the end of the period. Following work on affect by Silvan Tomkins, the American psychologist, and its interpretation by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick in particular, I view shame as a social emotion which simultaneously isolates men from, and connects them to the society they inhabit. A crucial part of polite socialisation, I contend that shame is therefore a catalyst for creativity and productivity in several forms as well as failure and inertia. The thesis is divided into two sections. The first, containing the chapters on The Spectator, writing about fops, and Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments, is concerned with how shame helps to form the consensus around polite masculine qualities and actions. The second section, containing the chapters on Henry Mackenzie's The Man of Feeling, James Boswell's London Journal, and Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative, examines how this consensus is engaged with and critiqued in lived experience and its literary representations. The contribution this thesis makes is to highlight the importance of shame and other ambivalent affects in the construction of a set of hegemonic gender identities that are less usually associated with these same affects.

Although intergroup contact is a well-established area of inquiry within social psychology, the majority of research adheres to testing its traditional formulation, i.e. the extent that contact can reduce prejudice. Under this approach researchers do not investigate what happens during interactions, only if (and often, what sort of) contact has occurred. Consequently, it lacks the power to explain why interactions should be as they are between groups. Conversely, this thesis proposes that investigating contact as an outcome may provide a new and important insight into intergroup life. Specifically, this thesis investigated social psychological antecedents of contact quality among non-disabled and physically disabled people. This unique and challenging context is one that has largely been neglected by prior research. A review of the existing literature identified two key potential antecedents of contact quality, specifically the psychological concerns and embarrassment that both groups experience when interacting with out-group members. A qualitative study (Study 1) was then conducted to gain insight into the phenomenology of these constructs. Importantly, this allowed for the identification of the unique group-specific concerns that non-disabled and physically disabled people may hold. This thesis went on to test the impact of concerns and embarrassment on contact quality through a series of experiments involving both vignette-based and actual interactions (Studies 2-5). Among both groups, these studies revealed evidence of an indirect link between concerns and reduced contact quality. Furthermore, embarrassment was identified as the linking mechanism driving this important relationship. Subsequently the thesis tested a series of interventions directed at attenuating embarrassment and improving the contact quality of these encounters. Two of these studies (Study 6-7) tested the efficacy of an interpersonal feedback strategy, delivered by the physically disabled interactant across an actual (Study 6) and vignette-based (Study 7) interaction. Findings indicated that such feedback could improve contact quality perceptions among both groups, but it was unclear if it did so by reducing embarrassment. Additionally, among the physically disabled sample, the effects became non-significant when controlling for demographic factors. Finally, Studies 8a and 8b examined the potency of a societal-level intervention, the 2012 Paralympic Games. Over the period of the event, concerns and embarrassment were found to decrease in both groups but there was no reported change in contact quality. Additionally, differences once again disappeared when controlling for demographic factors. Implications of these findings, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Through a series of three papers, this thesis explores identity processes in 52 teams, ranging from amateur volleyball teams in Italy through to elite-level Olympic, professional and military teams. Paper 1 takes a multilevel approach to social identification and team performance, demonstrating that when identification occurs across the whole team (i.e., team level identification) this predicts an increase in both perceived and actual team performance. Paper 2 uses motivated identity construction theory (MICT, Vignoles, 2011) as an integrative framework to explore why people identify with teams. In doing so, this paper helps resolve confusions about the relationship between “personal” and “group level” identity motives that have troubled social identity researchers for almost four decades. Paper 3 extends this theorising by investigating these identity processes in a unique sample of elite-level teams. A longitudinal multilevel approach is used throughout these three papers, enabling us to explore team level effects as well as making causal inferences regarding the direction of relationships between identity motives, team identification and team performance. An example of how this series of papers led to a team development tool implemented within Great Britain Olympic men's and women's hockey teams is discussed.

The 21st century has seen a dramatic rise in Internet access and connectivity across the world. To date, only a small amount of research has been published on the subject of culture and Internet usage. This thesis investigates whether, and how, individuals from two different cultures (Saudi Arabia and the UK) engage with online social networks (OSNs) differently, and what might be the underlying psychological factors explaining such differences. A first qualitative study used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA; Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009) to investigate motivations for using OSNs among Saudi and British participants. Both groups reported that they used OSNs to present a positive self-image, while desiring to maintain a sense of their ‘genuine' self in online interactions. For Saudi participants, OSNs also provided opportunities for selfexpression that were otherwise unavailable. British participants reported using OSNs for relationship maintenance. A second qualitative study also looked at motivations, but narrowed the focus to identity motives, applying motivated identity construction theory (Vignoles, 2011) to a thematic analysis of tweets written by citizens of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Motives for meaning, belonging, distinctiveness, continuity, efficacy, and self-esteem were all detectable in the tweets of both Saudi and British users. The manner in which these motives were pursued varied according to the cultural context of users within the affordances of the online context in which they were communicating. The research project then aimed to establish a way of measuring differences in online self-presentation strategies, by developing the online self-presentation strategies scale (OSPSS). Items were selected using exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM). The scale was incorporated in a large-scale (N = 694) quantitative study of Saudi and British OSN users that measured self-presentation strategies, motivations of OSNs use and target audience. Mediation analyses were conducted to find out whether cultural differences in these dimensions were explained by two forms of cultural variation: relational mobility and Schwartz' theory of basic values. Self-enhancement vs. self-transcendence values and relational mobility, more than openness to change vs. conservation values, accounted for mean differences between the groups in motives, targeted audiences and self-presentation strategies. Together the studies reveal observable differences in the ways in which people from Saudi Arabia and the UK engage with OSNs. These are partially explained by the affordances that social media provide, which compensate for the unavailability of certain modes of expression and communication within offline cultural contexts, and by cultural differences in value priorities.

This study explores the moral ethos of contemporary psychotherapy as represented in the psychoanalytic and systemic therapeutic traditions. It examines current moral/ethical debate in the field and presents a detailed critique of the individualistic normative orientation of this debate; its peripheral status within the discourse of psychotherapy; its restrictive focus on professional micro ethics; and the eschewing of engagement with wider macro level moral themes and concerns. The disjuncture between this individualistic moral ethos and the vigorously relational thrust of wider developments in psychotherapeutic theory and technique is highlighted. An argument is made for the reformulation of moral/ethical debate in terms that take account of these relational developments, which might in turn serve as a catalyst for the realization of what is arguably their progressive and democratizing potential. The failure of hermeneutical, post-structuralist and postmodernist influences in recent decades to move this debate forward and the entrenched modernist/postmodernist divide within psychotherapeutic discourse are also explored. Underlying the limitations of current moral/ethical debate is the restricted paradigm of individual consciousness within which this debate unfolds and which it appears unable to transcend. In this study the critical social theory of J!rgen Habermas serves as a touchstone for exploring potential for movement from the paradigm of consciousness to that of communication as a framework for moral/ethical deliberation. It is argued that key trends within psychotherapy are already straining towards a communicative ethical orientation which is implicit in current practice and that the theoretical vacuum around this subject is impeding recognition of its full potential. Alongside Habermasian theory, Axel Honneth's theory of recognition and Anthony Giddens's social theoretical perspective on psychotherapy offer key points of reference for the dialogue between critical social theory and psychotherapy which this study seeks to promote. Drawing on the work of Habermas and Honneth, it is argued that the underlying moral “grammar” of the psychotherapeutic encounter may be framed in terms of the struggle for understanding and agreement and the struggle for recognition. The theme of reflexivity emerges as an important organizing framework for this discussion and as a bridge for dialogue between psychotherapy and social theory. It is proposed that we can helpfully think of significant discursive moments in the therapeutic encounter as islands of heightened reflexivity in which the full communicative power of language is potentially unleashed. The study concludes with a view of psychotherapy as a reflexive resource and potential carrier of communicative reason helping people to develop and enhance cognitive and emotional capacities that may in turn help them participate in spheres of discursive communication and move towards genuinely communicative use of language.

The main argument developed in this thesis is that individuals are not only affected by their own experiences of intergroup contact, but also by the contact they perceive is occurring around them. A pivotal reason for this is a change in the perception of ingroup norms regarding intergroup interactions, which can shape intergroup attitudes and make future positive intergroup contact experiences more likely. Chapter 1 provides a review of the literature of intergroup contact and makes the case for the necessity of a normative perspective on intergroup contact research. I Chapter 2, I provide a brief overview of the literature regarding the effect of social norms in intergroup relations, and describe in more detail the theoretical model proposed. Chapters 3 and 4 provide some initial evidence for the model using cross-sectional studies, showing that ingroup norms are associated with attitudes and with the intention of having intergroup contact, and that direct and indirect contact rely on different mechanisms to improve attitudes towards the outgroup. The effect of indirect contact is of a normative nature while the effect of direct contact is more emotional. Chapter 5 focuses on the distinction between ingroup norms about contact and ingroup norms about expressing prejudice, and the evaluation of moderators of the effect in ingroup norms. Chapter 6 reports two longitudinal studies, providing some evidence in support for a causal effect of ingroup norms about contact on several outcomes; and Chapter 7 reports a series of experiments, including results showing that ingroup norms predict the success of an actual interaction with outgroup members. In Chapter 8, I summarise the evidence for the theoretical model proposed and discuss some promising directions for future research, as well as the implications of these results for the reduction of segregation and the improvement of intergroup relations in general.

Social identity theory maintains that individuals define themselves according to their social groups, which in turn impacts self-esteem. Valued social roles are assumed to influence identity and self-concept. Being a trainer represents a valued social role for people with learning disabilities (PLD) and research suggests it impacts identity. However, there is a paucity of empirical literature explicitly exploring this relationship in learning disabled trainers. Using narrative analysis, this study explored how being a trainer impacted the lives and identities of nine PLD. Being a trainer contributed to progression and stability in participants’ lives and they positioned themselves as trainers in different positive roles (e.g. go-getter, helper). This study highlights the value of the trainer role for PLD, suggests a role for clinical psychologists in contributing to the sustainability of training organisations, and highlights a need for further research employing standardised measures, longitudinal and comparative designs.

The aim of this grounded theory study was to explore the social identity of members of service user groups that train mental health professionals (SUG-TR). Additionally, the study aimed to construct an explanatory model of how participating in such groups contributes towards the achievement and maintenance of positive social identity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight members of SUG-TR. Grounded theory was used to build a preliminary model, which contained 5 main categories: ‘Impact of mental illness/ impact of receiving a psychiatric diagnosis’; ‘The experience of stigma’; ‘Participating in SUG-TR’; ‘Contributing to positive identity’; and ‘Challenges to participating’. The constructed theory suggests that participation in such groups can contribute towards the achievement and maintenance of a positive social identity and that participants adopted specific strategies to achieve positive distinctiveness (i.e. an individual striving for positive self-concept) in the SUG-TR meetings and training environments. The constructed theory extends current research and suggests that SUG-TRs provide unique opportunities for the development of socially valued roles. The limitations and clinical implications of the research are explored and suggestions for further research are presented.

The aim of this thesis is to add to the growing body of knowledge about the effects of local and national events on the survival and fortunes of individual families and to explore the contribution of these families to the political scene. The dates, circa 1460 to 1560, were chosen partly because this was a.period of change and partly because it is a relatively neglected period; bridging as it does the Medieval and Early Modern divide. The first part explores the financial and political fortunes of ten families. All of them came to be residents of Northamptonshire during this period but this is not a closed county study, a consideration of their activities on a broader front is crucial to the arguments presented. Similarly they were all members of either the upper gentry or lower nobility, but this is not a study of one class or the other. Movement up and down the social scale is an important feature under consideration. The second part of the thesis uses the family evidence to explore behaviour patterns and relationships and attempts to draw conclusions on routes to success and the impact of outside factors. The multi-faceted approach adopted by most of the families makes these questions very complex. Law and sheep farming emerge as very significant features overall, but political allegiance is a more elusive issue. An examination of power structures reveals the extent to which the Crown was willing to overlook past behaviour if a family retained the confidence of its peers. The final question concerns the operation of these families as part of a broader 'county community'. The conclusion must be that while they did form local networks, these were not necessarily confined by county boundaries.