Dr. Léïla Eisner
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Léïla's research addresses three broad research questions:
How do people perceive societal norms about disadvantaged groups?
When people decide to express their opinion, reveal a (minority) group status, or react to persistent inequalities in a society, they do so by taking into consideration what they believe other people think. However, what happens if these perceptions are inaccurate? While a large area of research has explored misperceptions of others’ opinions through the concept of pluralistic ignorance, little research has focused on understanding the conditions under which this might happen. Léïla suggested that people might misperceive others’ opinions about changing and debated issues (Eisner et al., 2020 ). To investigate this, she collected representative data of the population in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland using the random route method (over 1,000 participants with a response rate of 37%).
In future research, she plans to continue working on understanding when people misperceive others’ opinions in various contexts (e.g., gender context, male communal orientation) using multinational data.
How do (mis-)perceptions of societal norms affect individuals?
To shed light on why these issues matter, part of Léïla’s research investigates the impact of perceptions of others’ opinions on transgender youths’ mental health (Durwood*, Eisner*, et al., 2021, Journal of Youth and Adolescence ), bisexual and pansexual individuals’ well-being (Thöni, Eisner, Hässler, under revision), and LGBTIQ+ individuals’ coming out (Pasek*, Hässler*, Eisner*, et al., in preparation). In additional research, she is exploring the direct consequences of misunderstanding the beliefs of others on the social change process. She proposed a model of collective action, which integrates perceived societal norms into the widely used Social Identity Model of Collective Action (Eisner, Settersten et al., 2021). She is currently relying on the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel data to further investigate these processes.
How do institutional and political changes impact individuals’ perceptions of the societal norm and, ultimately, their health?
When successful, collective action to achieve greater social justice can help reduce legal inequalities. Within the social change process, the question then emerges whether legal changes can, in turn, help adjust (mis-)perceptions of the societal norms. In her research, Léïla has investigated how legal changes impact (mis-)perceptions of societal norm (Eisner, Turner-Zwinkels, & Spini, 2021 ). Currently, she is going one step further by investigating the impact of institutional changes on LGBTIQ+ individuals' (as well as their supporters' and opponents') perceptions of societal norms, health, and well-being. In this funded project, she uses data collected by the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel and data collected around the national survey on marriage equality in Australia (Eisner, Hässler, Louis, et al., in preparation). In another project, she has collected – together with Tabea Hässler and Sue Fischer– data around the same-sex marriage referendum in Switzerland. For this study, she combines both survey data and biological data (i.e., cortisol in hair samples) to understand how the campaign around the referendum as well as its outcome literally ‘gets under the skin’ of LGBTIQ+ individuals.
About Léïla
Léïla received her PhD from the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva in 2020. Her research examines how perceptions of the social reality and particularly perceived societal norms (i.e., perception of most people’s opinions in society) serve as a vector of communication between members of disadvantaged groups (e.g., women, LGBTIQ+ individuals) and societies in the social change process. In her most recent work, she further investigates how societal changes impact the health (i.e., cortisol levels) and well-being of vulnerable populations. Léïla’s work draws on her interdisciplinary training (i.e., political science and sociology; communication and methodology) to tackle new questions using diverse methods from a psychological perspective. This interdisciplinary framework has also led her to increase reproducibility and open science by preregistering her studies, replicating results across various samples (e.g., representative data, longitudinal data, community samples), and engaging in knowledge transfer practices. She has also initiated, together with Tabea Hässler, the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel – a longitudinal study following over 3,000 people over time.
Léïla is currently working on a mobility grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation examining the impact of democratic processes on individuals’ lives in Switzerland and Australia. She also recently received a dissertation prize from the International Society of Political Psychology, and she has been awarded a senior prize for her dissertation from the Maurice Chalumeau Research Center at the University of Geneva.
Get in touch
Léïla is always happy to speak about her research. Potential speaking topics include:
Articles written by Léïla for the Social Change Blog:
If you’re interested in having Léïla speak at an event or collaborating on research, please get in touch.
How do people perceive societal norms about disadvantaged groups?
When people decide to express their opinion, reveal a (minority) group status, or react to persistent inequalities in a society, they do so by taking into consideration what they believe other people think. However, what happens if these perceptions are inaccurate? While a large area of research has explored misperceptions of others’ opinions through the concept of pluralistic ignorance, little research has focused on understanding the conditions under which this might happen. Léïla suggested that people might misperceive others’ opinions about changing and debated issues (Eisner et al., 2020 ). To investigate this, she collected representative data of the population in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland using the random route method (over 1,000 participants with a response rate of 37%).
In future research, she plans to continue working on understanding when people misperceive others’ opinions in various contexts (e.g., gender context, male communal orientation) using multinational data.
How do (mis-)perceptions of societal norms affect individuals?
To shed light on why these issues matter, part of Léïla’s research investigates the impact of perceptions of others’ opinions on transgender youths’ mental health (Durwood*, Eisner*, et al., 2021, Journal of Youth and Adolescence ), bisexual and pansexual individuals’ well-being (Thöni, Eisner, Hässler, under revision), and LGBTIQ+ individuals’ coming out (Pasek*, Hässler*, Eisner*, et al., in preparation). In additional research, she is exploring the direct consequences of misunderstanding the beliefs of others on the social change process. She proposed a model of collective action, which integrates perceived societal norms into the widely used Social Identity Model of Collective Action (Eisner, Settersten et al., 2021). She is currently relying on the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel data to further investigate these processes.
How do institutional and political changes impact individuals’ perceptions of the societal norm and, ultimately, their health?
When successful, collective action to achieve greater social justice can help reduce legal inequalities. Within the social change process, the question then emerges whether legal changes can, in turn, help adjust (mis-)perceptions of the societal norms. In her research, Léïla has investigated how legal changes impact (mis-)perceptions of societal norm (Eisner, Turner-Zwinkels, & Spini, 2021 ). Currently, she is going one step further by investigating the impact of institutional changes on LGBTIQ+ individuals' (as well as their supporters' and opponents') perceptions of societal norms, health, and well-being. In this funded project, she uses data collected by the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel and data collected around the national survey on marriage equality in Australia (Eisner, Hässler, Louis, et al., in preparation). In another project, she has collected – together with Tabea Hässler and Sue Fischer– data around the same-sex marriage referendum in Switzerland. For this study, she combines both survey data and biological data (i.e., cortisol in hair samples) to understand how the campaign around the referendum as well as its outcome literally ‘gets under the skin’ of LGBTIQ+ individuals.
About Léïla
Léïla received her PhD from the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva in 2020. Her research examines how perceptions of the social reality and particularly perceived societal norms (i.e., perception of most people’s opinions in society) serve as a vector of communication between members of disadvantaged groups (e.g., women, LGBTIQ+ individuals) and societies in the social change process. In her most recent work, she further investigates how societal changes impact the health (i.e., cortisol levels) and well-being of vulnerable populations. Léïla’s work draws on her interdisciplinary training (i.e., political science and sociology; communication and methodology) to tackle new questions using diverse methods from a psychological perspective. This interdisciplinary framework has also led her to increase reproducibility and open science by preregistering her studies, replicating results across various samples (e.g., representative data, longitudinal data, community samples), and engaging in knowledge transfer practices. She has also initiated, together with Tabea Hässler, the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel – a longitudinal study following over 3,000 people over time.
Léïla is currently working on a mobility grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation examining the impact of democratic processes on individuals’ lives in Switzerland and Australia. She also recently received a dissertation prize from the International Society of Political Psychology, and she has been awarded a senior prize for her dissertation from the Maurice Chalumeau Research Center at the University of Geneva.
Get in touch
Léïla is always happy to speak about her research. Potential speaking topics include:
- Social change processes
- Political psychology
- Social norms
- Allyship and collective action
- Health and well-being of vulnerable populations
- Survey methodology and research methods
Articles written by Léïla for the Social Change Blog:
If you’re interested in having Léïla speak at an event or collaborating on research, please get in touch.
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