Professor Mark Levine

Professor of Social Psychology

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)

Selected Publications

Third-parties, violence and conflict resolution: the role of group size and collective action in the micro-regulation of violence
Levine, M., Taylor, P., Best, R. 03/2011 In: Psychological Science. 22, 3, p. 406-412.
Journal article

Would I be helped?: Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts
Philpot, R., Liebst, L.S., Levine, M., Bernasco, W., Lindegaard, M.R. 1/02/2020 In: American Psychologist. 75, 1, p. 66-75. 10 p.
Journal article

ASIA: Automated Social Identity Assessment using linguistic style
Koschate, M., Naserian, E., Dickens, L., Stuart, A., Russo, A., Levine, M. 31/08/2021 In: Behavior Research Methods. 53, 4, p. 1762-1781. 20 p.
Journal article

Evacuation Behavior in a Subway Train Emergency: A Video-based Analysis
Philpot, R., Levine, M. 1/02/2022 In: Environment and Behavior. 54, 2, p. 383-411. 29 p.
Journal article

Cross-National CCTV Footage Shows Low Victimization Risk for Bystander Interveners in Public Conflicts
Liebst, L.S., Philpot, R., Levine, M., Lindegaard, M.R. 1/01/2021 In: Psychology of Violence. 11, 1, p. 11-18. 8 p.
Journal article

DSI: Theory-driven machine learning in complex social situations
01/09/2024 → 31/08/2026
Research

Reimagining research practices: towards a sustainable, ethical and inclusive future
01/05/2024 → 30/04/2026
Research

SL: TAS Hub Early Career Researcher Award 2023 (Anastasia Kordoni)
01/10/2023 → 31/07/2024
Research

SL: The Psychology of Interoperability: Building Better Multi-Agency Counter-Terrorism Training (INTEROP)
01/10/2022 → 30/09/2025
Research

SL: Testing assumptions regarding potential behavioural responses during an emergency
09/05/2022 → 09/05/2023
Research

RBOC N+ - Resilience Beyond Observed Capability
21/03/2022 → 20/03/2025
Research

Detecting Hybrid Social Identities: A Computational Analysis of Influence and Resilience in Online RWE Communities
01/12/2021 → 30/09/2025
Research

REASON: REsilient Autonomous SOcio-cyber-physical AgeNts (Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Node in Resilience)
01/11/2020 → 31/10/2024
Research

Analysis of CCTV footage to understand behavioural responses during emergency incidents in public places
22/09/2020 → 17/05/2021
Research

Socio-technical resilience in software development (STRIDE)
01/09/2020 → 29/02/2024
Research