Publications

Kleppestø, T. H., Czajkowski, N. O., Vassend, O., Røysamb, E., Eftedal, N. H., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., ... & Thomsen, L. (2024). Attachment and politics are two functionally distinct systems, and both share genetics with interpersonal trust and altruism. Behavior Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-024-10185-y Open access link.

Kleppesto, T. H., Czajkowski, N. O., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Vassend, O., Røysamb, E., Eftedal, N. H., … Thomsen, L. (2024). The genetic underpinnings of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation explain political attitudes beyond Big Five personality. Journal of Personality. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12921

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2023). Towards an evolutionarily informed psychology of solidarity: a reply to ‘The challenges of encouraging refugee assistance: lessons learned from reframing the problem as one of within-group collective action and norm change’ by Faiza El-Higzi and Cristina Moya. Global Discourse, 13(3-4), 389-398. Link.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J.*, & Thomsen, L.* (2023). Ideology as a Moral-Relational Language. Psychological Inquiry, 34(1), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2023.2192649. Open access link.

Baron, D., Lauderdale, B., & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2023). A leader who sees the world as I do: Voters prefer candidates whose statements reveal matching social psychological attitudes. Political Psychology, 44(4), 2023 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pops.12891

Rickett, B., Easterbrook, M., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Reavey, P., & Woolhouse, M. (2022). Psychology of social class-based inequalities: Policy implications for a revised (2010) UK Equality Act. The British Psychological Society. Available at https://www.bps.org.uk/tackling-social-class-inequalities.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J.*, Kteily, N. S.*, Ho, A. K.*, & Thomsen, L.* (2022). James H.(Jim) Sidanius (1945–2021). American Psychologist, .American Psychologist, 77(7), 868–869.
https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001033 PDF

Eftedal, N. H., Kleppestø, T. H., Czajkowskia, N. O., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Røysamb, E., Vassend, O., Ystrom, E., & Thomsen, L. (2022). Justice sensitivity is undergirded by separate heritable motivations to be morally principled and opportunistic. Scientific Reports, 12, 5402. Link (open access)

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2022). Why we shouldn’t push a positive mindset on those in poverty. Psyche, February 2022. Link (open access)

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2021). Taking context seriously. The Psychologist, 34, 50-53. Link (open access)

Waldfogel, H., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Hauser, O., Ho, A. K., & Kteily, N. S. (2021). Ideology selectively shapes attention to inequality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(14) e2023985118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023985118; PDF

Obradovic, S., Power, S., & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2020). The psychological appeal of populism. Current Opinion in Psychology, 35, 125-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.06.009. PDF

Obradovic, S., & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2020). Power, identity, and belonging: A mixed methods study of the processes shaping perceptions of EU integration in a prospective member state. European Journal of Social Psychology. 50 (7), 1425-1442. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2691 (open access).

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2020). The effects of low socioeconomic status on decision-making processes. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33: 183-188. Link; PDF

Sheehy-Skeffington, J.* & Thomsen, L.* (2020). Egalitarianism: Psychological and socio-ecological foundations. Current Opinion in Psychology, 32: 146-152. Link; PDF

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2019). Inequality from the bottom up: Toward a ‘psychological shift’ model of decision-making under socioeconomic threat. In J. Jetten and K. Peters (Eds) Social Psychology of Inequality, (pp. 213-231). New York, NY: Springer. Link; PDF chapter; PDF full book

Kleppestø, T. H., Czajkowski, N. O., Vassend, O., Røysamb, E., Eftedal, N. H., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Kunst, J. R., & Thomsen, L. (2019). Correlations between social dominance orientation and political attitudes reflect common genetic underpinnings: A twin study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (36) 17741-17746. Link; Preprint

Sheehy-Skeffington, J.*, & Thomsen, L.* (2018). A theory of how evolved psychology underpins attitudes towards societal economics must go beyond exchanges and averages. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 41, e187. [commentary on Boyer & Petersen, 2018]. PDF

Baron, D., Sheehy-Skeffington, J. & Kteily, N. S. (2018) Ideology and perceptions of inequality. In B. Rutjens and M. J. Brandt (Ed.s) Belief Systems and the Perception of Reality (pp. 45-62). London: Routledge. PDF

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2018). Decision-making up against the wall: A framework for understanding the behavioural dimension of low socioeconomic status. In A. K. Uskul & S. Oishi (Eds), Socioeconomic Environment and Human Psychology: Social, Ecological, and Cultural Perspectives, (pp. 105-138). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Link; PDF

Price, M. E., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Sidanius, J., & Pound, N. (2017). Is sociopolitical egalitarianism related to bodily and facial formidability in men? Evolution & Human Behavior, 38(5), 626-634. Link; Article in The Times; Article in The Independent; Article in The Atlantic; BBC Daily Politics 

Kteily, N. S., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Ho. A. K. (2017) Hierarchy in the eye of the beholder:  (Anti-)Egalitarianism shapes perceived levels of social inequality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112(1), 136-159. Link; PDF; Supplementals; Kellogg Insight Article

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. & Rea, J. (2017). How poverty affects people's decision-making processes. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Link

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2016, December 14). When should government intervene? [Review of the book The Ethics of Influence, by C. Sunstein]. Prospect Magazine, January 2017. Link

Sidanius, J., Cotterill, S., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Kteily, N., & Carvacho, H. (2016). Social dominance theory: Explorations in the psychology of oppression. In C. G. Sibley & F. K. Barlow, (Eds.) Cambridge Handbook of the Psychology of Prejudice  (149 - 187). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. PDF

Bratt, C., Sidanius, J., & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2016). Shaping the development of prejudice: A latent growth curve analysis of the influence of social dominance orientation on outgroup affect in youth. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(12), 1617-1634. PDF

Frankenhuis, W. E., & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2016). Psychological responses to fluctuating environments. Current Anthropology, 57(5),  [commentary on Quinlan et al., 2016] PDF; Link to Target Article, Commentaries, Reply.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2016). Human nature in society. British Academy Review, 28 (Summer 2016). PDF

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2015). Behavioural insights in the age of austerity: How the new ‘psychology of poverty’ can help us to stay focused on society. Angle Journal, 13. Link

Ho, A. K.*, Sidanius, J.*, Kteily, N.†, Sheehy-Skeffington, J.†, Pratto, F., Henkel, K., Foels, R., & Stewart, A.  (2015). The nature of social dominance orientation: Theorizing and measuring preferences for intergroup inequality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(6), 1003-1028.  PDF

Soylu, S.* & Sheehy-Skeffington, J.* (2015). Asymmetric intergroup bullying: The enactment and maintenance of societal inequality at work. Human Relations, 68(7), 1099-1129. 

Kteily, N.S.*, Cotterill, S.*, Sidanius, J., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Bergh, R. (2014) “Not one of us”: Predictors and consequences of denying ingroup characteristics to ambiguous targets. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(10), 1-17.  Link to paper; Wash Post article; NYT op-ed

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Haushofer, J. (2014). Decision-making barriers and opportunities. In Barriers and Opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid: The Role of the Private Sector in Inclusive Development. (pp. 111-125) Istanbul: UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development. PDF Original Paper ('The Behavioural Economics of Poverty'); Link Full Report

Thomsen, L., Obaidi, M., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Kteily, N., & Sidanius, J. (2014). Individual differences in relational motives interact with the political context to produce terrorism and terrorism-support. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 37(4), 377-378. [commentary on Lankford, 2014] PDF [Target Article, Commentaries, Response]

Sidanius, J., Kteily, N. S., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Ho, A. K., Sibley, C. & Duriez, B. (2013). “You’re inferior and not worth our concern.” The reciprocal relationship between empathic concern and social dominance orientation. Journal of Personality, 81(3), 313-323. PDF

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2013). Harnessing sociological concepts with psychological rigor: A commentary on Türken and Rudmin. Psychology and Society, 5(2), 90-93. PDF

Ho, A. K., Sidanius, J., Pratto, F., Levin, S., Thomsen, L., Kteily, N., & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2012). Social dominance orientation: Revisiting the structure and function of a variable predicting social and political attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38(5), 583-606. PDF

Manuscripts in preparation and under review

Kachanoff, F., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Ho, A. K., Richeson, J., & Kteily, N. S. (revise & resubmit) Beliefs About What Disadvantaged Groups Would Do With Power Shape Advantaged Groups’ (Un)Willingness to Relinquish It.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Dhingra, M. (under review). Decision-making in Context: Toward a globally-relevant psychology of inequality. https://psyarxiv.com/5fyrn/

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Sidanius, J., & Price, M. (under review). Cognition in Context: How the Salience of Societal Status and the Framing of Tasks can Enhance Socioeconomic Disparities in Academic Attainment.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Price, M., Scott, I., & Pound, N. (2023). Does scarcity impair or modulate cognition? Evidence that hunger’s damaging impact on cognitive performance is limited to non-food-related stimuli. Manuscript in preparation.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. & Sidanius, J. (2023). Out of my hands: Low socioeconomic status diminishes personal sense of control. Manuscript in preparation.

Eftedal, N. H., Kleppestø, T. H., Czajkowski, N. O., Eilertsen, E., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Røysamb, E., Vassend, O., & Thomsen, L. (2023). Education is associated with lower Right Wing Authoritarianism also after controlling for confounding from genes and the rearing environment. Manuscript in preparation.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2023). Distracted looking up: Priming low socioeconomic status impairs executive functions. Manuscript in preparation.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Kunst, J. & Thomsen, L. (2023). The Between-Groups Relational Orientations (BRO) scale as a measure of the universal underpinnings of variation in sociopolitical attitudes. Manuscript in preparation.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. & Sidanius, J. (2023). Power on my side: Approach orientation tracks the power positions of share group members. Manuscript in preparation.

Kteily, N. S., Kachanoff, F. J., Ho, A. K., & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2023). Supporting your group’s dominance or dominance in general? Exploring the roots and consequences of the (partial) overlap between two distinct intergroup motives. Manuscript in preparation.

Conference presentations

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2022). Future directions in the psychology of intergroup inequality: A symposium in honour of Jim Sidanius. Symposium held at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Athens, Greece.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2022). Behavioural asymmetry across the socioeconomic spectrum. Paper presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Athens, Greece.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Paiwand, S. (2022). Markets on my Mind: Introducing a measure of neoliberal subjectivity and examining its relationship with political appraisals, agency and action. Paper presented at the Society of Personality and Social Psychology Political Psychology PreConference, San Francisco, CA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Kteily, N., Waldfogel, H., Ho, A. K., & Hauser, O. (2018). Inequality all around me: Egalitarians are more attentive to inequality-related information in everyday life. Paper presented at the 55th Annual Conference of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, Seattle, WA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Price, M., Havmose, P., Scott, I., & Pound, N. (2017). Exploring the cognitive impact of poor socioeconomic conditions: A case of deficit or of psychological shift? Paper presented at the 18th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology, Granada, Spain.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Kteily, N., & Hauser, O. (2016). Antecedents and consequences of perceptions of economic inequality. Paper presented at the Tobin Project Conference on Inequality & Decision-Making, Cambridge, MA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2016, Chair). Economic inequality: Desirable to some, damaging to others. Symposium held at the Biennial Conference of the  International Society for Justice Research, Canterbury, UK.

Kteily, N., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Ho,  A. K. (2016). Hierarchy in the Eye of the Beholder: Social Dominance Orientation Shapes the Perception of Inequality Between Groups. Paper presented at the Biennial Conference of the  International Society for Justice Research, Canterbury, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2016). At the Bottom of the Hierarchy: Low subjective socioeconomic status impairs sense of control and executive functioning, with implications for health-related and financial decision-making. Paper presented at the European Human Behaviour & Evolution Association Conference, London, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Sidanius, J., & Price, M. E. (2016). Decision-making at the bottom of the hierarchy: The cognitive impact of perceiving oneself as low in socioeconomic status. Paper presented at the Society of Personality and Social Psychology Pre-Conference on the Emerging Psychology of Social Class, San Diego, CA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2015, Chair). Psychology of inequality: Identity, stigma, and sense of control at the bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum. Symposium held at the British Psychological Society Developmental Section & Social Section Annual Conference, Manchester, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. & Sidanius, J. (2015). Out of my hands: Low socioeconomic status diminishes personal sense of control. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Developmental Section & Social Section Annual Conference, Manchester, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Thomsen, L. (2015). From Domination to Exclusion: Introducing the Between-group Relational Orientations (BRO) scale as a measure of core relational measures for both women and men. Invited paper presentation to the 9th Biennial Congress of the International Academy for Intercultural Research, Bergen, Norway.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2014). Distracted looking up: Priming low socioeconomic status impairs executive functions. Paper presented at the 17th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Soylu, S. (2014).Politics at work: Workplace bullying as a means of achieving intergroup dominance. Paper presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Rome, Italy.

Sidanius, J., Kteily, N. S., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Ho, A. K., Sibley, C. & Duriez, B. (2013). “You’re inferior and not worth our concern.” The reciprocal relationship between empathic concern and social dominance orientation. Paper presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Rome, Italy.

Gibson, J. L., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2014). "No You Can't Have a Gun": Pro/Anti-dominance framing moderates the relationship between SDO and support for gun control. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the Association of Psychological Science, San Francisco, CA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2014). Scarcity, status, self-regulation: Evolutionary underpinnings of decision-making among the poor. Poster presented at the 15th Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Austin, TX.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2013). Distracted looking up: Priming low socioeconomic status impairs executive functions. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Social Psychology Section Conference, Exeter, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2013). Power on my side: Approach orientation tracks changes in the power positions of shared group members. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Social Psychology Section Conference, Exeter, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2013). Power on my side: A coalitional psychology approach to the vicarious experience of power. Paper presented at the 25th Annual Human Behavior & Evolution Society Conference, Miami, FL.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Goodale, B., & Feiman, R. (2013). Don’t dare tell: Peer responses to whistleblowers in academic, legal, medical, and police settings. Paper presented at the Law & Society Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2013). Scarcity, status, self-regulation: Evolutionary underpinnings of decision-making among the poor. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, D.C.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2013). Power on my side: Approach orientation tracks the power positions of share group members. Paper presented at the Datablitz of the 14th Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans, LA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. & Sidanius, J. (2012). Vicarious experience of control: Increases in approach orientation track the power positions of shared group members. Paper presented at the European Association of Social Psychology Small Group Conference on Control Experience, Power and Intergroup Relations, Kazimierz Dolny, Poland.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2012). Vicarious power: Risk and approach orientation track the power positions of shared group members. Poster presented at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Sidanius, J. (2011). Power contagion: Effects of power inequality on the cognition of socially-connected observers. Paper presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Istanbul, Turkey.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. & Sidanius, J. (2011). Daring and Deserving: Effects of power and legitimacy on risk-preference and bias among real-world social groups. Poster presented at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, San Antonio, TX.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2009). Social psychological motivations of suicide terrorism: A community level perspective. Online proceedings of the 2009 Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Dublin, Ireland.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2008). Evolution and culture: Implications from a study of adherence to radical political beliefs. Proceedings of the XIXth International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Bremen, Germany.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2008). Extending the counter-intuitiveness effect: Implicit theories of social behaviour and the cognitive impact of the counter-cultural. Online proceedings of the 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Paris, France.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2008). Why join and remain in a fringe political movement?  A thematic analysis of the perceived benefits of membership of the Socialist Party. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, Dublin.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2008). Training for influence: How can one represent the cognitive and the behavioural in collective training exercises? Presentation delivered at the Information Operations/Influence Activity Symposium, Defence Academy, Shrivenham, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2007). Radical political beliefs: Contradictions, resolutions, and the case of revolutionary socialism. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research, Pisa, Italy.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2007).  Tricky ideologies: The cognitive world of Socialist Party members. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Social Psychology Section Conference, Canterbury, UK.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2007).  Radical political beliefs: The effects of perceived inconsistency in the defence of revolutionary socialism. Online proceedings of the 2007 Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology, Portland, OR.

McKenzie, K. & Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2005). The internal life of Socialist Party members. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Political Studies Association of Ireland, Belfast, UK.

Policy reports

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2009). Stability and spread of ideas: An ‘epidemiological’ approach to communication across cultures. Salisbury: Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2009). Understanding and tracking the maintenance of radical beliefs. Salisbury: Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J. (2008). Maintenance of radical beliefs: A review of the academic literature. Salisbury: Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Charles, I., & Hart, C. (2007). International students and local communities: Measuring the impacts and working to improve them. London: HOST UK.