Dietrich School Graduate Student Integrates Psychology and Theater
Beverly Conrique is a doctoral student in social psychology who finds interesting parallels between sociopolitical research and theatrical performance.
“I examine the underpinnings of and scalable methods to bridging sociopolitical conflicts in the U.S. in socially constructive, creative and equitable ways,” Conrique says of her graduate research.
Conrique is particularly interested in how social contexts influence how people perceive themselves and other people, how people perceive that others perceive them, and how these perceptions influence how people feel about members of opposing political parties. These data can then “further predict hostile or even non-existent interactions between members of different political parties, which then feeds back into the hostile social context of U.S. partisan conflict,” Conrique explains.
As someone who has always been aware of the impact of sociopolitical tensions on peoples’ livelihoods, policy enactment, and the ability for people to work together to solve problems, Conrique says she was naturally drawn to this research focus.
“In the end, I believe understanding others and ourselves, and giving non-social psychologists the tools to also understand themselves and others, can help bring us together, improve how we relate to one another, and have positive consequences on people’s lives.”
Conrique says performing research in social psychology is interesting not only because of the research questions but also because of the thoughtful methodology that the work involves. She notes that while there has been progress in the conduct of social psychology research, there remains a “critical need for understanding psychological processes within the broader contexts and structures in which they exist.”
“I’ve found it's really important to theorize and write about the ways that broader structural contexts inform people’s psychologies, and it’s one of my favorite parts of being a research trainee in social psychology to be able to bring this perspective and similar ones to the field,” says Conrique.
Conrique’s work in social psychology has also informed life outside of her research.
“Understanding human behavior on a social psychological level opens you up to understanding why people do certain things or act in certain ways, even if you can’t condone those actions,” Conrique observes. Interestingly, research findings have even informed Conrique’s work as an improv comedian at Arcade Comedy Theater.
“Something I really enjoy about performing is the ability to put myself in other people's shoes and understand the wants and needs of different characters that I may play on stage. Through research, I get to do a lot of thoughtful reflection about people, especially in the ways I design studies to collect data to better understand people’s psychological processes that lead to their behaviors,” Conrique says.
“I also love writing comedy. My favorite genres are observational comedy, dark comedy, and satire, and the topics I write about are largely informed by my fascination with sociopolitical influences in society.”
This love for improvisational theater led Conrique to obtain funding for a project that integrates insights from improv with insights from social psychology to illuminate causes of and potential solutions to the political partisan divide in the United States.
“Improv promotes trust, creative problem-solving, and peacebuilding through the principles of agreement (“yes, and…”), active listening, and reframing conflict,” Conrique says. “In terms of important findings, this research will be among the first to evaluate psychological mechanisms inspired by improv to bridge political conflict in the U.S., which is a timely and difficult endeavor.”
While the pandemic delayed some of this research, Conrique is working hard to complete the project now with local participants.
“This project will bring together Democrats and Republicans from the Pittsburgh area to participate in a workshop-style event,” says Conrique. “Following the event, participants will be asked to complete questionnaires and questions related to other behaviors to determine whether using improv helped participants adopt more trust and empathy towards members of the other political party.”
Pittsburgh has been a welcoming place for performing research and comedy, says Conrique, who initially chose Pitt for her graduate education because of the friendly environment she encountered during her interview.
Offers Conrique, “I found that the program itself was incredibly collaborative and nurturing and wasn’t characterized by competition—but rather by a sense of community. Further, I loved that Pitt seemed to prioritize grad students’ well-being and provided the resources so that graduate students can succeed and be happy whilst completing their graduate education. Finally, I got the sense that Pittsburgh had something for everyone, and I was excited to meet and engage with communities in Pittsburgh outside my graduate cohort.”
As evidenced by her work bringing together psychology and theater, Conrique has found a unique way to gain insight into human behavior while doing things she loves.
“For a long time, the parts of me I saw as 'the researcher' and the parts of me I saw as a comedian were largely compartmentalized,” Conrique reflects. “But recently, I’ve started to integrate those parts of myself that I always saw as separate, and it’s pointed me to the questions of how I can use my research to tell stories to help bring people together and help them understand each other and maybe even laugh together in the process.”