Simon Goodman De Montfort University Leicester, UK

Simon Goodman is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at De Montfort University, Leicester. He use discursive and rhetorical psychology in his research to address a number of issues. Much of this research explores the discursive construction of asylum seekers and refugees in which he have focussed on the ways in which potentially prejudicial arguments against asylum seekers are presented as ‘reasonable’ and non-prejudicial. Some of his other work focuses on what is, and what is not, considered to be racist, particularly with regard to asylum seeking. This has led to an interest in how people use, support and challenge hate talk in a range of different areas of prejudice. His research also explores the (largely negative) experiences of asylum seekers in the UK and the ways in which they make complaints and resist their negative presentations. His other interests include the British public’s understanding of income inequality and high earners, the ways in which the far-right attempt to present their policies as acceptable and non-racist, as well as negative representations of Gypsies in online discussion forums and responses to the England riots. He is currently chair of the British Psychological Society’s Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section. He is the Critical Social Psychology section editor of the Social and Personality Psychology compass and is a co-author of The Language of Asylum published by Palgrave.