Dr. Morgana Lizzio-Wilson
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About Morgana
Morgana received her PhD from the University of Queensland in 2017. Her research examines how identities and emotions influence people’s reactions to social change, willingness to engage in collective action (i.e. any action taken by a group to challenge inequality), endorsement of prejudicial attitudes, and perceptions of intergroup harm, particularly in the context of sexism and gender equality. She is pursuing a career in academia to generate evidence-based strategies to reduce prejudice, enhance collective action participation, and improve receptivity to social change messages. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on Professor Winnifred Louis’ ARC (Australian Research Council) project examining how outcomes of collective action (i.e. success or failure) influence future action intentions and contribute to radicalisation.
Broadly, Morgana’s research seeks to answer 3 questions:
How and when do allies (ironically) reinforce inequality?
Members of advantaged groups are being increasingly encouraged to engage in action to improve the treatment and status of historically disadvantaged groups (e.g. Male Champions of Change). However, activists and scholars alike have begun to consider whether allies can inadvertently reinforce inequality within social movements. To this end, Morgana is currently exploring whether allies are given the benefit of the doubt when accused of problematic behaviour (e.g. sexual harassment allegations against feminist men), whether research about the prevalence and impact of discrimination is given more weight when conducted by members of advantaged groups (e.g. a White person conducting research on racism), and if social movements are considered more legitimate when they include and/or are lead by members of advantaged groups.
Morgana has also written about the complexities of allyship and social justice research, and how strategically communicating with advantaged groups can come at a hidden cost for members of disadvantaged groups who confront prejudice.
What are the antecedents and impact of system-challenging and system-stabilising collective action?
Collective action is usually conceptualised as any action taken to challenge inequality. However, members of advantaged groups are increasingly engaging in forms of action that reinforce the status quo (e.g. Men’s Rights Activism). Morgana’s research seeks to identify the structural factors (e.g. income and gender inequality within and between nations) and identity processes (e.g. social identity threat) that predict engagement in system-challenging and -stabilising forms of action. She is also examining whether specific forms of collective action (e.g. reappropriating slurs) are effective in challenging prejudice and inequality, or if they lead to reactance and radical (i.e. violent) forms of system-stabilising collective action among members of advantaged groups.
What factors influence the recognition and perceived acceptability of violence against women?
Despite the impact of #MeToo, violence against women is still commonplace, and there are a myriad of factors that impact the extent to which victims are believed and receive justice. As such, Morgana’s research seeks to identify the factors that influence evaluations of sexual harassment and reproductive coercion (e.g. social identity threat and ingroup bias, perpetrator and violence typicality) and perceptions of women’s reproductive autonomy more generally.
Morgana recently received a Local and State Policy award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues for her project investigating the factors influencing the recognition, perceived acceptability, and proclivity to engage in reproductive coercion. She has also written about how social scientists can use their research to contribute to abortion law reform and destigmatisation.
Get in touch
Morgana is always happy to speak about her research. Potential speaking topics include:
Morgana is also happy to collaborate on projects related to sexism, collective action, allyship, radicalisation, and prejudice reduction. Don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss shared research interests and potential projects!
Articles written by Morgana
Morgana received her PhD from the University of Queensland in 2017. Her research examines how identities and emotions influence people’s reactions to social change, willingness to engage in collective action (i.e. any action taken by a group to challenge inequality), endorsement of prejudicial attitudes, and perceptions of intergroup harm, particularly in the context of sexism and gender equality. She is pursuing a career in academia to generate evidence-based strategies to reduce prejudice, enhance collective action participation, and improve receptivity to social change messages. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on Professor Winnifred Louis’ ARC (Australian Research Council) project examining how outcomes of collective action (i.e. success or failure) influence future action intentions and contribute to radicalisation.
Broadly, Morgana’s research seeks to answer 3 questions:
How and when do allies (ironically) reinforce inequality?
Members of advantaged groups are being increasingly encouraged to engage in action to improve the treatment and status of historically disadvantaged groups (e.g. Male Champions of Change). However, activists and scholars alike have begun to consider whether allies can inadvertently reinforce inequality within social movements. To this end, Morgana is currently exploring whether allies are given the benefit of the doubt when accused of problematic behaviour (e.g. sexual harassment allegations against feminist men), whether research about the prevalence and impact of discrimination is given more weight when conducted by members of advantaged groups (e.g. a White person conducting research on racism), and if social movements are considered more legitimate when they include and/or are lead by members of advantaged groups.
Morgana has also written about the complexities of allyship and social justice research, and how strategically communicating with advantaged groups can come at a hidden cost for members of disadvantaged groups who confront prejudice.
What are the antecedents and impact of system-challenging and system-stabilising collective action?
Collective action is usually conceptualised as any action taken to challenge inequality. However, members of advantaged groups are increasingly engaging in forms of action that reinforce the status quo (e.g. Men’s Rights Activism). Morgana’s research seeks to identify the structural factors (e.g. income and gender inequality within and between nations) and identity processes (e.g. social identity threat) that predict engagement in system-challenging and -stabilising forms of action. She is also examining whether specific forms of collective action (e.g. reappropriating slurs) are effective in challenging prejudice and inequality, or if they lead to reactance and radical (i.e. violent) forms of system-stabilising collective action among members of advantaged groups.
What factors influence the recognition and perceived acceptability of violence against women?
Despite the impact of #MeToo, violence against women is still commonplace, and there are a myriad of factors that impact the extent to which victims are believed and receive justice. As such, Morgana’s research seeks to identify the factors that influence evaluations of sexual harassment and reproductive coercion (e.g. social identity threat and ingroup bias, perpetrator and violence typicality) and perceptions of women’s reproductive autonomy more generally.
Morgana recently received a Local and State Policy award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues for her project investigating the factors influencing the recognition, perceived acceptability, and proclivity to engage in reproductive coercion. She has also written about how social scientists can use their research to contribute to abortion law reform and destigmatisation.
Get in touch
Morgana is always happy to speak about her research. Potential speaking topics include:
- Effective prejudice reduction strategies
- The psychology of gender and sexism
- Allyship and collective action
- Reproductive autonomy and coercive control
Morgana is also happy to collaborate on projects related to sexism, collective action, allyship, radicalisation, and prejudice reduction. Don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss shared research interests and potential projects!
Articles written by Morgana
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