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Dr Rose Capdevila

Rose Capdevila

Profile summary

  • Senior Lecturer
  • Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
  • School of Psychology & Counselling
  • rose.capdevila

Professional biography

I joined the OU in September 2009 after having been a student and/or academic in universities in Canada, Spain and the UK. I completed my first degree in Political Science & Psychology at the University of Toronto in Canada followed by a diploma in Hispanic Studies from the University of Barcelona in Spain. I came to the UK in 1994 to pursue a PhD in Psychology at the University of Reading. My thesis investigated women’s accounts of single-issue social movements. Since then, I have lectured at the University of Reading and the University of Northampton before coming to the OU. 

My academic work and my engagement with psychology as a discipline are informed by an enduring commitment to social justice which resonates well with the OU mission. My research focuses on gender in digital spaces. My teaching is currently focused on the first two of the core psychology modules offered by the university (DE100 & DE200). I served as Director of Research for the School of Psychology and Counselling from 2016 to 2019.

I have been an active member of a number of professional societies in my discipline, including the British Psychological Society (BPS) which I joined as a postgraduate. I am currently Chair of the Psychology of Women & Equalities Section (POWES) and also sit on the Research Board. I am a member of the Association of Women in Psychology, the International Society for Theoretical Psychology (ISTP), the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP), and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). I served as co-chair (with Rhoda Unger, Brandeis University, USA) for an American Psychological Association (APA) Division 35 Task force on Feminist and Political Psychology.

I have been on the editorial board of the international journal Feminism & Psychology since 2001. In 2013, I became co-editor along with Catriona Macleod (Rhodes University, South Africa) and Jeanne Marecek (Swarthmore College, USA). F&P was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award by The Committee on the Women in Psychology of the APA on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. It recognised the leadership of the editorial team for “encouraging, supporting and showcasing cutting edge transformative feminist theory and research”.

Research interests

My research focus is social media and gendered spaces.  This includes research from how young women make sense of themselves and curate their identity online through the use of selfies to mothering on and offline and practices such as ‘sharenting’.  I take a critical feminist and poststructuralist approach to my research with a theoretical focus on the construction and transgression of discursive boundaries around identity - in particular political and gender identities. Moreover, I am interested in the role and politics of methodology in psychology and how these impact on minoritary groups.

I am currently involved in four conceptually related projects.

  • Networking Families Research Group takes a critical psychological perspective to examining the phenomenon of social media practices through the lens of gender and relationships.  http://fass.open.ac.uk/research/groups/networking-families
  • Intergenerational familial relationships: Playing digitally across distance with partner The Good Play Guide.
  • Visibilizing and measuring the scale and scope of sexual and gender-related violence in universities (SeGReVUni). An international collaboration funded by the European Union and Spanish Government. The project website can be found here: http://www.segrevuni.eu/
  • Picture perfect?' An examination of the use of photo enhancement apps in the construction of women’s identities on social networking sites.

Selected Publications

Capdevila, R. & Lazard, L. (2020). The big picture: Using visual methods to explore online photo sharing and gender in digital space. In: Reavey P (ed) A Handbook of Visual Methods in Psychology. London: Routledge.

Lazard, L. & Capdevila, R. (2020) She’s so vain? A Q Study of Selfies and the curation of an online self. New Media & Society

Roper, S. & Capdevila, R. (2020) Hapless, helpless, hopeless: An analysis of stepmothers’ talk about their (male) partners. Feminism & Psychology. 30(2)

Lazard, L., Capdevila, R., Dann, C., Locke, A. & Roper, A. (2019) Sharenting: Pride, affect and the day-to-day politics of digital mothering. Social & Personal Psychology Compass; e12443. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12443

Capdevila, R., Hubbard, K. & Donnelly, L. (2019) Standing still whilst ‘looking back and moving forwards’: the personal accounts of POWS members in the here and now.  Psychology of Women & Equalities Section Review

Stenner, P., & Capdevila, R. (2019) Q methodology. SAGE Research Methods Foundations

Capdevila, R. & McAvoy, J.M. (2016) Psychological theory, research, methodology and feminist critiques. In Naples, N.A. (ed) Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies. Wiley-Blackwell.

Capdevila, R., Dixon, J. & Briggs, G. (eds.) (2015) Investigating psychology 2: (Volumes 1 -3) Milton Keynes: The Open University.

Capdevila, R. (2015) Negotiating health, mothering and ‘choice’.  Psicologia della Salute, 1: 9-29.

Roper, S., Capdevila, R., Lazard, L. & Roberts, A. (2015) How is this feminist again? Q as a feminist methodology. Psychology of Women Section Review, 17: 3-12

Capdevila, R. & Lazard, L. (2015) Psychology of Women. In Parker, I. (ed) Handbook of Critical Psychology. London: Routledge.

Johnson, S. & Capdevila, R. (2014) That’s just what’s expected of you … so you do it’: Mothers discussions around choice and the MMR vaccination. Psychology & Health. Online first, 1-16.

Rutherford, A., Capdevila, R., Undurti, V. & Palmary, I. (2011) (eds.) Handbook of International Perspectives on Feminism. Book Series: International and Cultural Psychology. New York: Springer.

Lazard, L., Capdevila, R. & Roberts, A. (2011) Methodological pluralism in theory and in practice: the case for Q in the community. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 8(2), 140-150.

Articles in The Conversation 

Lazard, L., Capdevila, R., Dann, C., Locke, A. & Roper, S. (9 March, 2018) Sharenting: why mothers post about their children on social media. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/uk

Capdevila, R. & Lazard, L. (12 April, 2017) Selfie culture isn’t the root of all evil. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/uk

Capdevila, R. & Lazard, L. (7 March, 2017) International Women’s Day: yes, we still need to protest this shit. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/uk

For full listing a repository of research publications and other research outputs can be viewed at The Open University's Open Research Online.

Teaching interests

I currently chair DE100 Investigating Psychology 1, the introductory core module for the Psychology qualification and one of the largest modules at the OU.  I was also from 2013 to 2020 on the module team, and was production chair for, the level two core module DE200 Investigating Psychology 2 for which I also produced an open access online resource that maps the history of psychology through people, contexts, perspectives and methods. You can access the resource at open.edu/openlearn/chip

Impact and engagement

 

Media

  • Are you sharing too much online? (BBC Ideas, 2020) – academic consultant & contributor. This short film explores the impact of parental online sharing of their children’s images and activities and had 30,000 views in the first month
  • Social Influencers (Inside out, 2019) – interviewee. This episode investigated the impact of being a social media influencer
  • Selfies are not the root of all evil (OpenLearn, June 2018) – academic consultant & contributor.  his OU production examined the ‘selfie’ phenomenon and was based on my research on young women’s use of social media to curate their online identity.
  • Digital mothering (Student Hub live, 2018) – interviewee. A panel discussion of digital mothering in which I participated with two colleagues as part of the successful Student Hub live series.

Public engagment

        Research based Interactive displays as part of the award-winning OU 50th Anniversary celebrations: 

  • OpenFest (October 2019)
  • TedX (November 2019)

OpenLearn modules

External collaborations

Publications

Hapless, helpless, hopeless: An analysis of stepmothers’ talk about their (male) partners (2020)
Roper, Sandra and Capdevila, Rose
Feminism & Psychology, 30(2)

She’s so vain? A Q Study of Selfies and the curation of an online self. (2020)
Lazard, Lisa and Capdevila, Rose
New Media & Society ((Early access))

Standing still whilst ‘looking back and moving forwards’: the personal accounts of POWS members in the here and now (2019-05)
Capdevila, Rose; Hubbard, Katherine and Donnelly, Lois
Psychology of Women & Equalities Section Review, 2(1)

Sharenting: Pride, affect and the day to day politics of digital mothering (2019-04-17)
Lazard, Lisa; Capdevila, Rose; Dann, Charlotte; Locke, Abigail and Roper, Sandra
Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13(4) (pp. 1-10)

Negotiating health, mothering and ‘choice’ (2015-01)
Capdevila, Rose
Psicologia della Salute(1/2015) (pp. 9-29)

How is this feminist again? Q as a feminist methodology (2015)
Roper, Sandra; Capdevila, Rose; Lazard, Lisa and Roberts, Anca
Psychology of Women Section Review, 17 (pp. 3-12)

That’s just what’s expected of you … so you do it’: Mothers discussions around choice and the MMR vaccination (2014-03-07)
Johnson, Sally and Capdevila, Rose
Psychology & Health, 29(8) (pp. 861-876)

Feminism & Psychology going forward (Editorial) (2014-02)
Macleod, Catriona; Marecek, Jeanne and Capdevila, Rose
Feminism & Psychology, 24(1) (pp. 3-17)

Towards a transnational feminism: Dialogues on feminisms and psychologies in a Latin American context (2012-05)
Montenegro, Marisela; Capdevila, Rose and Figueroa Sarriera, Heidi
Feminism & Psychology, 22(2) (pp. 220-227)

What is narrative therapy and what is it not? The usefulness of Q methodology to explore accounts of White & Epston’s (1990) approach to narrative therapy (2011-11)
Wallis, Jennifer; Burns, Jan and Capdevila, Rose
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 18(6) (pp. 486-497)

Methodological pluralism in theory and in practice: the case for Q in the community (2011-06-01)
Lazard, Lisa; Capdevila, Rose and Roberts, Anca
Qualitative Research in Psychology, 8(2) (pp. 140-150)

The personal and the political are feminist: exploring the relationships among feminism, psychology, and political life (2010-12)
Zurbriggen, Eileen L. and Capdevila, Rose
Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34(4) (pp. 458-459)

Lysistratus, Lysistrata, Lysistratum:coconstructing the identities of mother and activist (2010)
Capdevila, Rose
Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34(4) (pp. 530-537)

We are a real family: A Q methodological study on the experience of stepmothers (2010)
Roper, Sandra and Capdevila, Rose
Radical Psychology: A Journal of Psychology, Politics, and Radicalism, 9(2)

Justice and care: theorising the 'New Man' and the 'Caring Father' (2009-10)
Marzano, Lisa; Capdevila, Rose; Ciclitira, Karen and Lazard, Lisa
Psychology of Women Section Review, 11(2) (pp. 11-20)

Q methodology and a Delphi poll: a useful approach to researching a narrative approach to therapy (2009)
Wallis, Jennifer; Burns, Jan and Capdevila, Rose
Qualitative Research in Psychology, 6(3) (pp. 173-190)

‘It’s not racist. It’s common sense.’ A critical analysis of political discourse around asylum and immigration in the UK (2008)
Capdevila, Rose and Callaghan, Jane E. M.
Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 18(1) (pp. 1-16)

Globalisation, migration & asylum: the peril of the alien and the safety of the familiar (Editors’ Introduction) (2008)
Callaghan, Jane and Capdevila, Rose
Annual Review of Critical Psychology, 6 (pp. 1-3)

'Is it just me...?': Q methodology and representing the marginal (2008)
Capdevila, Rose and Lazard, Lisa
Operant Subjectivity, 32 (pp. 70-84)

Redefinition reviewed: what 'Toward aRedefinition of Sex and Gender' can offer today (2007)
Capdevila, Rose
Feminism & Psychology, 17(4) (pp. 465-469)

Feminisms without borders: exploring the relationships between feminist and political psychology (2006-02)
Capdevila, Rose and Unger, Rhoda
Feminism & Psychology, 16(1) (pp. 5-11)

If I am woman, who are 'they'? The construction of 'other' feminisms (2006)
Capdevila, R.; Ciclitira, K.; Lazard, L. and Marzano, L.
Psychology of Women Section Review, 8(2) (pp. 1-13)

Baby or beauty: a Q study into post pregnancy body image (2005-02)
Jordon, Kelly; Capdevila, Rose and Johnson, Sally
Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 23(1) (pp. 19-31)

Q methodology (2019)
Stenner, Paul and Capdevila, Rose
In: Atkinson, P.; Cernat, A.; Delamont, S. and Williams, R. eds. Sage Research Methods Foundations
Publisher : (In Press) Sage

Psychological Theory, Research, Methodology, and Feminist Critiques (2016-04-21)
Capdevila, Rose and McAvoy, Jean M.
In: Naples, Nancy ed. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies
ISBN : 9781405196949 | Publisher : John Wiley & Sons | Published : Oxford

Postmodern feminist psychology (2016-04-21)
Lazard, Lisa; McAvoy, Jean and Capdevila, Rose
In: Naples, Nancy; Hoogland, Renee C.; Wickramasinghe, Maithree and Wong, Wai Ching Angela eds. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies
ISBN : 978-1-4051-9694-9 | Publisher : Wiley Blackwell

Psychology of women: questions of politics and practice (2015-04-26)
Capdevila, Rose and Lazard, Lisa
In: Parker, Ian ed. Handbook of Critical Psychology. Routledge International Handbooks (pp. 191-199)
ISBN : 978-1-84872-218-7 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Hove, New York

Gender, Overview (2014)
Capdevila, Rose and Lazard, Lisa
In: Teo, Thomas ed. Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology (pp. 763-767)
ISBN : 978-1-4614-5583-7 | Publisher : Springer-Verlag | Published : New York

Feminisms and psychologies: multiple meanings, diverse practices, and forging possibilities in an age of globalization (2011)
Rutherford, Alexandra; Capdevila, Rose; Undurti, Vindhya and Palmary, Ingrid
In: Rutherford, Alexandra; Capdevila, Rose; Undurti, Vindhya and Palmary, Ingrid eds. Handbook of International Perspectives on Feminism: Perspectives on Psychology, Women, Culture, and Rights. International and Cultural Psychology (pp. 3-15)
ISBN : 9781441998682 | Publisher : Springer | Published : New York, USA

I did it my way: the implications of methodological choices in critical work (2007)
Capdevila, Rose
In: Van Deventer, Vasi; Terre Blanche, Martin; Fourie, Eduard and Segalo, Puleng eds. Citizen City: Between constructing agent and constructed agency (pp. 197-205)
ISBN : 978-1-55322-164-7 | Publisher : Captus University Publications | Published : Ontario

Handbook of International Feminisms: Perspectives on Psychology, Women, Culture, and Rights (2011)
Rutherford, Alexandra; Capdevila, Rose; Undurti, Vindhya and Palmary, Ingrid eds.
International and Cultural Psychology
ISBN : 978-1-4419-9868-2 | Publisher : Springer | Published : New York