The FINANCIAL — Worldwide youth satisfaction with democracy is declining. This is worrying because they are the democratic citizens of the future. How can we explain this decline? In a new and unique research project social scientists, psychologists and neuroscientists will jointly study how brain development and socialisation of Generation Alpha shape their processing of political information. The project, called IP-PAD, is funded as a Marie Curie Doctoral Network by Horizon Europe, according to the University of Amsterdam.
Bringing together insights and perspectives from various disciplines
IP-PAD will address the timely and pressing societal issue of youth dissatisfaction with democracy by bringing together insights and perspectives from various disciplines. ‘This will be the first time that communication science and political science are used in conjunction with psychology, and developmental and affective neuroscience,’ tells project coordinator and communication researcher Bert Bakker.
‘This is an important time for social scientists to study a group that we have often overlooked: people who are too young to vote’, adds Gijs Schumacher, co-researcher and associate professor in the department of Political Science. ‘At the same time neuroscientists and psychologists will learn more about the development of political attitudes and behaviours among young people.’
