What is this collection about?

Understanding social group dynamics is essential for grasping the complexities of human behaviour and societal interaction. This Collection explores how individuals align with ingroups and outgroups, shaping attitudes, stereotypes, and experiences of inclusion or exclusion.

This cross-journal Collection brings together research from diverse theoretical perspectives related to group behaviour and identity. Topics include how social identities affect experiences and self-perceptions, as well as intergroup relations such as stereotyping and prejudice. Participating journals include Communications Psychology, Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Communications, and Scientific Reports, which consider original research, reviews, and commentary pieces.

Why is this collection important?

Research into social group dynamics is increasingly important in understanding societal cohesion, diversity, and conflict. By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, this Collection provides a platform for advancing knowledge of how group identities influence behaviour and decision-making. The insights gained can inform real-world challenges related to inclusion, bias, and social interaction, making this a timely and impactful area of research.

Why submit to a collection?

Collections like this one help promote high-quality science. They are led by Guest Editors and In-House Editors who are experts in their fields and supported by a dedicated team of Commissioning Editors and Managing Editors at Springer Nature. Collection manuscripts typically see higher citations, downloads, and Altmetric scores, and provide a one-stop-shop on a cutting-edge topic of interest.

Who is involved?

Communications Psychology is edited by both in-house professional editors and Editorial Board Members.

Guest Editors for Communications Psychology

Maureen Craig, PhD, Duke University, USA

Maureen Craig is an Associate Professor in the Psychology & Neuroscience department at Duke University. She was previously an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Psychology at New York University, prior to joining Duke. Dr. Craig is a social psychologist and leads the Diversity and Social Processes Lab, a research group that seeks to understand how people navigate an increasingly diverse and often inequitable social world. Using predominantly experimental and survey methods, Dr. Craig investigates how diversity, inequality, and discrimination shape people’s attitudes and relations with other people as well as their basic social cognitive processes and how these processes impact political attitudes and behaviour.

Ariel Mosley, PhD, University of California Davis, USA

Ariel Mosley is an Assistant Professor of Racial Inequality in the Psychology Department at University of California Davis. Professor Mosley's work investigates the ways that social categorization and social identity structure judgments of, and responses to, different forms of intergroup inequalities. Combining theoretical perspectives of social cognition, intergroup relations, and racial inequality, Professor Mosley's work uses a variety of research methods such as experimental design, mediation analyses, and meta-analyses to evaluate concerns associated with different forms of inequality - both from the target and the perceiver's perspective.

Nature Human Behaviour is edited by in-house professional editors.

Nature Communications is edited by in-house professional editors.

Scientific Reports is managed by in-house professional editors and edited by Editorial Board Members.

Our editors work closely together to ensure the quality of our published papers and consistency in author experience.

How can I submit my paper?
Visit the Collection page to find out more about this collection and submit your article.