In another of our meet the team profiles, we had a chat to Post-Doctoral Research Associate Ricky Green about his background and his time with CONSPIRACY_FX, read on to find out what he had to say...
Q1. Where did you complete your studies prior to joining the CONSPIRACY_FX project?
A. I completed my undergraduate degree at Chichester University, at 24, as a mature student. I knew straight away that I wanted to continue studying, had developed an interest in conspiracy theory research and knew that Karen Douglas was well known in that field. So on completion of my undergraduate degree, I applied to join the Political Psychology Masters programme at the University of Kent, the first course of its kind at this university. As soon as I’d finished my Masters I applied to complete my PhD, which I did, again, at the University of Kent under Karen Douglas’ supervision.
Q2. What is your job role within the project?
A. I am a Post-Doctoral Research Associate, and currently I am leading a work package looking at how individuals communicate conspiracy theories and what the consequences are for certain groups of people that share them, for example politicians. This is a new area of conspiracy theory research which hasn’t really been examined before so it is very exciting to be working on it.
Q3. What research are you currently working on?
A. One piece of research we have recently completed and which has been accepted for publication into the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology looked at the impressions people form of politicians who spread conspiracy theories. We found that people evaluated (fictitious) politicians as less competent and predictable when they shared conspiracy theories, compared to when they refuted them. We have also completed the initial stages of some research which looks at the effects of communicating conspiracy theories on dating and relationships but we are at a very early stage in this research.
Q4. What does a typical week as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate consist of?
A. At the early stages of a project like the CONSPIRACY_FX project most of the time is spent on designing studies. This means I meet regularly with both the research team and whole project team where we can discuss current research, and talk about how we could extend this, or discuss our ideas for new directions and research. I spend a lot of time designing studies and research materials, but we also have to think about pre-registration of our research and ethics approvals and so I also spend time writing up these documents. Of course, we also have to write the academic papers for submission, and this also takes up a lot of time, but because we are at the beginning of this project, most of my time at the moment is being spent on designing studies rather than writing up results, which will come later on.
Q5. What do you enjoy most about your role?
A. Luckily for me, I enjoy designing studies and being creative by thinking up new ways of conducting research and discussing new directions for the project. I enjoy the collaborative aspect of working in a team and particularly feel grateful that I get to work with Karen as she is at the top of the conspiracy theory research area. Although writing up research papers can be stressful, finishing and submitting a paper is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying aspects of the job, even more so when you get a favourable outcome!
Q6. What are the most challenging aspects of the role?
A. Writing up papers is generally very challenging and I can foresee with this project that we will eventually be doing a lot of this as we start to analyse and collate the results of our research. However, the CONSPIRACY_FX team is very supportive and everyone works together, so I know, as we work through these stages of the project we will work together to make sure that papers are completed and submitted to the required deadlines and to a high standard.
Q7. What do you enjoy doing outside of your work?
A. I really enjoy going to festivals and listening to live music, I just recently returned from a festival, which was the first I had been able to attend since the COVID-19 pandemic and I realised how much I had missed that aspect of my life. I am also into online gaming, such as Call of Duty Warzone, as well as hanging out with friends and family.