Imagining Collective Futures ― Perspectives from Social, Cultural and Political Psychology

It is a commonly held assumption among cultural, social, and political psychologists that imagining the future of societies we live in has the potential to change how we think and act in the world. However little research has been devoted to whether this effect exists in collective imaginations, of social groups, communities and nations, for instance. This book explores the part that imagination and creativity play in the construction of collective futures, and the diversity of outlets in which these are presented, from fiction and cultural symbols to science and technology. The authors discuss this effect in social phenomena such as in intergroup conflict and social change, and focus on several cases studies to illustrate how the imagination of collective futures can guide social and political action. This book brings together theoretical and empirical contributions from cultural, social, and political psychology to offer insight into our constant (re)imagination of the societies in which we live.

Constance de Saint-Laurent is a Research and Teaching Fellow at the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, where she previously completed a PhD on the sociocultural psychology of collective memory. Her research focuses on social thinking, imagination and the life-course, and more generally on how people construct and understand the world in which they live. 

Sandra Obradovic is based at the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK. Her research focuses on the role that identity, power and representations of history play in shaping attitudes and behaviours towards socio-political change. 

Kevin R. Carriere studies at Georgetown University, USA, where he is examining the political psychology of perceived threat and its effects on support for human rights violations. His research focuses on how individuals understand, apply, and negotiate human rights and their violations through negotiation, education, and activism.