Research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

Daryl B O'Connor¹, John P Aggleton², Bhismadev Chakrabarti³, Cary L Cooper⁴, Cathy Creswell⁵, Sandra Dunsmuir⁶, Susan T Fiske⁷, Susan Gathercole⁸, Brendan Gough⁹, Jane L Ireland^{10

11}, Marc V Jones¹², Adam Jowett¹³, Carolyn Kagan¹⁴, Maria Karanika-Murray¹⁵, Linda K Kaye¹⁶, Veena Kumari¹⁷, Stephan Lewandowsky¹⁸, Stafford Lightman¹⁹, Debra Malpass²⁰, Elizabeth Meins²¹, B Paul Morgan²², Lisa J Morrison Coulthard²⁰, Stephen D Reicher²³, Daniel L Schacter²⁴, Susan M Sherman²⁵, Victoria Simms²⁶, Antony Williams²⁷, Til Wykes^{28

29}, Christopher J Armitage^{30

31}

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, University of Leeds, UK.
² School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
³ School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK.
⁴ Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK.
⁵ Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK.
⁶ Educational Psychology Group, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, UK.
⁷ Department of Psychology and School of International and Public Affairs, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK.
⁹ Leeds School of Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, UK.
¹⁰ School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK.
¹¹ Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
¹² Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
¹³ School of Psychological, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Coventry University, UK.
¹⁴ School of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
¹⁵ Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, UK.
¹⁶ Edge Hill University, Lancashire, UK.
¹⁷ Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK.
¹⁸ School of Psychological Science and Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, UK.
¹⁹ Translational Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK.
²⁰ British Psychological Society, Leicester, UK.
²¹ Department of Psychology, University of York, UK.
²² Systems Immunity URI Cardiff, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, UK.
²³ School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
²⁵ School of Psychology, Keele University, UK.
²⁶ School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.
²⁷ School of Education, University of Sheffield, UK.
²⁸ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
²⁹ South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
³⁰ Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, UK.
³¹ Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, UK.

PMID: 32683689
PMCID: PMC7404603
DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12468

Editorial

Research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

Daryl B O'Connor et al. Br J Psychol. 2020 Nov.

. 2020 Nov;111(4):603-629.

doi: 10.1111/bjop.12468. Epub 2020 Jul 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, University of Leeds, UK.
² School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK.
³ School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK.
⁴ Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK.
⁵ Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK.
⁶ Educational Psychology Group, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, UK.
⁷ Department of Psychology and School of International and Public Affairs, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK.
⁹ Leeds School of Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, UK.
¹⁰ School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK.
¹¹ Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
¹² Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
¹³ School of Psychological, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Coventry University, UK.
¹⁴ School of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
¹⁵ Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, UK.
¹⁶ Edge Hill University, Lancashire, UK.
¹⁷ Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK.
¹⁸ School of Psychological Science and Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, UK.
¹⁹ Translational Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK.
²⁰ British Psychological Society, Leicester, UK.
²¹ Department of Psychology, University of York, UK.
²² Systems Immunity URI Cardiff, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, UK.
²³ School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
²⁵ School of Psychology, Keele University, UK.
²⁶ School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.
²⁷ School of Education, University of Sheffield, UK.
²⁸ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
²⁹ South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
³⁰ Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, UK.
³¹ Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, UK.

PMID: 32683689
PMCID: PMC7404603
DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12468

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents the greatest international biopsychosocial emergency the world has faced for a century, and psychological science has an integral role to offer in helping societies recover. The aim of this paper is to set out the shorter- and longer-term priorities for research in psychological science that will (a) frame the breadth and scope of potential contributions from across the discipline; (b) enable researchers to focus their resources on gaps in knowledge; and (c) help funders and policymakers make informed decisions about future research priorities in order to best meet the needs of societies as they emerge from the acute phase of the pandemic. The research priorities were informed by an expert panel convened by the British Psychological Society that reflects the breadth of the discipline; a wider advisory panel with international input; and a survey of 539 psychological scientists conducted early in May 2020. The most pressing need is to research the negative biopsychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate immediate and longer-term recovery, not only in relation to mental health, but also in relation to behaviour change and adherence, work, education, children and families, physical health and the brain, and social cohesion and connectedness. We call on psychological scientists to work collaboratively with other scientists and stakeholders, establish consortia, and develop innovative research methods while maintaining high-quality, open, and rigorous research standards.

Keywords: COVID-19; behaviour change; children; education; families; health; human development; mental health; neuroscience; pandemic; psychological science; psychology; school; stress; trauma; work.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

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Research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

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Research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

Authors

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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