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Sofia Jesus

PhD Candidate, Political Science

Email:	jesusa@tcd.ie
Google Scholar:	https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wHUvFAkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4490-6432
CV:	Click here to download

 

 

 

Doctoral Thesis Summary

My thesis investigates why some low-income individuals oppose welfare policies that could benefit them. Rather than mobilising around shared disadvantage, many low-income individuals express resentment and prejudice toward welfare recipients. Drawing on Social Identity Theory, I investigate how identity concerns influence welfare attitudes among disadvantaged groups. I argue that rejecting welfare can function as a way to protect one’s social identity and create distance from stigmatised lower-status groups. To examine these processes, I draw on cross-national survey data and experimental evidence to analyse how perceived social standing relate to welfare opposition and experiences of economic insecurity. This research emphasises the role of identity in shaping welfare attitudes and contributes to broader debates on inequality, social cohesion, and political behaviour. This project is done under the supervision of Dr. Gizem Arikan.

Academic Background

I am currently completing a Ph.D. in Political Science at Trinity College Dublin. My work focuses on social identity, intergroup conflict, and welfare attitudes among low-income groups. I previously earned a Master’s degree in Psychoanalytic Theory, also at Trinity College Dublin, and maintain an interest in group processes and its connection to political behaviour.

Publications

Jesus, S. (2023) Freedom and Anxiety: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of the Super-ego in the Postmodern Era. Trends in Psychol.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-023-00303-w

Jesus, S. (2022) Quem não quer ter direitos fundamentais?(Who does not want fundamental rights?), Público, P3. https://www.publico.pt/2022/04/06/p3/cronica/nao-quer-direitos-fundamentais-2000713