Research

spiral diagram of three circles

The Open Psychology Research Centre promotes psychological research suited to an ever-changing world. Our research concentrates on three broad areas: social and cultural psychology, psychology concerned with social justice in legal settings, and the psychology of health and wellbeing. In each of these domains the Centre promotes an open psychology that crosses disciplinary boundaries, is relevant to real social and personal issues, and acknowledges the degree to which human psychology is shaped by history. It seeks to understand, transform and enrich the lives of individuals and communities by means of engaged research collaborations which embrace many perspectives. In dialogue with its different publics, the Centre aims to exemplify an open and transdisciplinary approach capable of opening fresh angles on the complex issues faced by today’s fast changing society.

Located within The Open University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Centre will support psychological research with a distinctively open character. Open to the bigger picture of a fast-changing society, researchers in the Centre investigate how human psychology is embedded in history, politics and culture and in institutional practices of justice, welfare and health. Open to the perspectives of others, we approach psychological research collaboratively and aim to make a positive difference to everyday lives. Open to social justice, we use knowledge to question established practices and to champion justice and equality. Open to new ways of knowing we work creatively with methods and develop collaborations that cut across scientific and humanities disciplines.

The Open Psychology Research Centre is organised into three research strands:

Visit this area

For research in Psychology that extends these three strands, go to School’s Research page.

Doctoral Research

The Centre has a growing community of postgraduate research students. Doctoral research is core to our thriving research culture and the Centre aims to attract high-quality PhD students. For information about the research of current PhD students and for information about opportunities and the application process, go to School of Psychology & Counselling Postgraduate page.

The Collaboration Laboratory (ColLab)

Three different hands turning three attached gears to move in coordination The Collaboration Laboratory (ColLab) is one of the recent initiatives of the OPRC that aims to redefine the relationships between researchers and participants by making new forms of collaboration possible.