Understanding ‘Brexit’: A Psychological Evaluation of the UK’s Decision to Leave the EU

Dr Kimberley Hill, Senior Lecturer in Psychology ([email protected])
Dr Rebecca Semmens-Wheeler, Birmingham City University
Our research is putting together the puzzle pieces behind the UK’s decision to leave the EU. While some research is beginning to emerge around so-called ‘Brexit’, limited work focuses on a number of psychological factors related to these recent events. Our large-scale, UK-wide survey focuses on attitudes towards voting preference, how participants might vote now and a range of other factors such as: locus of control, social dominance orientation, prejudice, decision-making styles, social self-esteem and interpersonal reactivity, among others. Over 350 participants have participated in our study so far and preliminary results will soon be available, including findings related to voting preference and correlations between various personality and attitudinal measures. Our research will contribute to the growing picture forming around UK’s decision to leave the EU, while providing an insight into the important psychological processes behind collective decision making.
Project updates can be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Attitudes-towards-Brexit