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Professor Mark Levine

Professor of Social Psychology

Mark Levine

Fylde College

LA1 4YF

Lancaster

Profile

I am a social psychologist interested in the role of social identity and group processes in prosocial and anti-social behavior. Over the last 25 years I have established a reputation as a leading researcher in the social psychology of helping behaviour in general and bystander behaviour in particular. More recently I have moved towards interdisciplinary work at the intersection of psychology and technology – leading large multi-site projects which include computer scientists, software engineers, roboticists and HCI researchers. My theoretical focus has been on the utility of the concept of social identity for understanding the dynamics of behaviour in the digital age. I have explored the interactions of social identity and technology in violence prevention, privacy, security, health/well-being and environmental/sustainability behaviours. I have pioneered innovative research practices and analysis of digital data which help to advance the discipline of psychology and the wider academic community. My research projects have included experiments in labs and in virtual reality,  using smartphones to collect data ‘in the wild’, the micro-behavioural analysis of CCTV footage of public space interactions; analysis of naturally occurring on-line text, large scale surveys, focus groups and interviews.

 

My research work has been supported by over £15 million worth of grant income, from research councils, charities, public sector organisations and industry partners. I have advised government departments, city councils and police forces about how to encourage prosocial behaviour and tackle anti-social behaviour in public places. I have worked with Crime and Disorder Partnerships, police and universities to deliver in-situ interventions to tackle anti-social behavior in the night-time economy. I currently work with third sector organisations like AGE-UK Exeter to deliver technology-enhanced ‘circles of support’ for older people with co-morbid health conditions. I have also been part of co-creation work with the creative industries (including games makers, puppeteers, magicians and choreographers) to explore digital transformations of public spaces. 

 

 

Research Grants

2022 -2023      Testing assumptions regarding potential behavioural responses during an emergency

Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (dstl) –- £99,678)

(Evaluating and developing the matrix of emergency response behaviours)

 

 

2022 – 2025    RBOC Network+ - Build a network to enable resilient solutions for future UK systems. 

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EPSRC(£2.25M)

(Network Plus focussing on  urban resilience in 2050)

 

2021- 2023      Detecting Hybrid Social Identities

Economic and Social Research Council ESRC (£115,792)

 (Computational Analysis of Influence/Resilience in Online Right-Wing Extremism)

 

2022- 2024      The Psychology of Interoperability: Better Multi-Agency Counter-Terrorism Training   

Economic and Social Research Council ESRC (£124,904)

(Decision making and resilience in emergency response)

 

2020-2024       REASON: REsilient Autonomous SOcio-cyber-physical ageNts

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EPSRC (£3.3M) 

(Humans and drone technology in emergency situations)

 

2018- 2024      Secure, Adaptive, Usable Software Engineering (SAUSE

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council  EPSRC (£1.3M)

(Platform Grant (with Open University)) – supporting EPSRC portfolio)

 

2020 – 2023    Socio-Technical Resilience in Software Development (STRIDE)

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EPSRC (£1 million)

(Social psychological aspects of resilience/automation on software development)

 

2018- -2022    Citizen Forensics

Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) (£1million)                     

(Rethinking policing and public safety in a socio-technical world)

 

2019 – 2024    Challenging the Bystander Effect via Documentary Film

Australian Research Council (ARC)  (Discovery Projects) (A$356,355)

 (With leading documentary filmaker Prof Kathryn Millard (Macquarie))

 

2020-2022       SERVICE: Social/Emotional Resilience for Vulnerable Impacted by COVID

Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) (£400K)

Exploring the lived experience of older adults + support networks in the pandemic

   

2017 -2019       Household Energy Supplier Market (HoSEM)  -  EPSRC - (450K)

(Psychology of participation in peer-to-peer energy markets)

 

2017 – 2020     Why Johnny doesn’t write secure software? Secure software development by the masses  EPSRC - (992K)

(Understanding the role of identity in encouraging secure software development)

 

2017-2019       Motivating Jenny to Write Secure Software: community and culture of coding, NCSC -  £500K

(Exploring identities and culture in professional coding practice)

 

2017 – 2020     STRETCH: Socio-Technical Resilience for Enhancing Targeted Community Healthcare  EPSRC - (£1.3 million)

 (Exploring helping behaviour in ‘technology enhanced circles of support’ for older people)

 

2013 – 2016     “Being There”: Humans and Robots in Public Space     -  EPSRC - (£2.4 million(PI))

(The psychology of socially and technologically mediated interactions in public space)

 

2012- 2015      Collective Action in the Digital Age: Social identities in online and offline behaviour

DSTL–- £80,000 (PI)

 (Exploring prosocial and anti-social behaviour online and offline)

 

2012-2013       Identi-scope: Multiple identities as a resource for understanding the digital world.

EPSRC (£372,000 (PI))

(Identity detection and influence in digital environments)

                        

2008 -2012      Collective Participation and Social Identification: a study of the individual, interpersonal and collective dimensions of attendance at the Magh Mela

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) - £450, 800(

 (Studying the positive impacts on health and social relations of participation in mass rituals)

 

2008 – 2011     Visual and Behavioural Fidelity of Virtual Humans with Applications to Bystander Intervention in Violent Emergencies  -  EPSRC - £846,700

 (Experiments in virtual reality environments on bystanders to violence)

 

2007 – 2008     Groups, Identities and Helping Behaviour: Theory and Practice in the Social Psychology of Helping

ESRC Seminar Series £13,755(PI)

 Seminar series bringing together academics and practitioners interested in helping behaviour)

 

2007 - 
2008   Community and collective participation: A study of collective life at the Magh Mela

 Nuffield Foundation - £7,482(Co-I)

 (Study of a Hindu Pilgrimage site in Allahabad, India)

 

2005 – 2008     Bystander behaviour and control of violence in the night-time economy

 ESRC -  £132,430 (PI) 

 (Lab experiments and CCTV analysis of bystanders and violence)

                        

2002-   2004    Tackling Violence in Barrow Town Centre – towards community self-regulation   

 Cumbria Police and Barrow City Council £39,600 (PI)

 (Research on night-time economy zone)

 

2002 -  2004    Exploring public safety: CCTV surveillance, public drinking and intergroup relations  

 Home Office -  £35,000 (PI)  (Representative survey and interviews in Lancaster, UK)

 

1998 - 2001    Promoting intervention against violent crime: a social identity approach  ESRC -  £107, 000   (PI)

(Lab and field experiments on bystander behaviour) 

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