Dr Sandra Obradović

Professional biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Psychology. I joined the OU in August 2020, prior to which I worked as a postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, at the London School of Economics (LSE). I completed my PhD at the LSE in 2018. 

Research interests

My research examines the sociocultural foundations of politics, taking a relational approach to examine how we relate to each other, our history and our governing systems, and the implications this has for political attitudes, actions and behaviours. 

1. Identity

My research on how we relate to each other focuses on identification processes, in particular how power and identity intersect through the concept of recognition.

• Obradović, S., Albayrak-Aydemir, N., Amer, A., Boza, M., & Kışlıoğlu, R. (2024). Power, meta-perceptions, and belonging: How positive recognition matters for group identification, identity compatibility, and intergroup attitudes. Political Psychology.
• Amer, A., & Obradovic, S. (2022). Recognising recognition: Self‐other dynamics in everyday encounters and experiences. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 52(4), 550-562.

2. History  

In much of my work I tend to situate group processes within a historical context. As I focus a lot on national identities, it becomes important to examine how history becomes the 'stuff' that gives meaning to nations and their relationships with other nations. I consider history an importance source of legitimacy for nations, particularly within the domain of politics, when new change (or resistance to change) is being promoted. 

• Obradović, S. & Baron, D. (2025). Nostalgia for what and to what end? Multi-Dimensional National Nostalgia and its relationship with national Identification and political Preferences. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 13 (1), 62-79.

• Obradović, S., Martinez, N., Dhanda^, , Bode, S., Ntontis, E., Bowe, M., Reicher, S., Jurstakova, K., Kane., J. & Vestergren, S. (2024). Mourning and orienting to the future in a liminal occasion: (re)defining British national identity after Queen Elizabeth II’s death. British Journal of Social Psychology. 

3. Democracy

More recently, in my work with the Electoral Psychology Observatory, I lead on qualitative research aimed at examining the electoral experiences of first time voters. I am also interested in how we build relational models towards governing systems through both formal and informal participation, including voting, political talk online and offline and how these perpetuate polarization.