Welcome to the Identities & Collective Behaviour research group website!
We are a team of social psychologists whose research focuses on exploring the role of group processes in collective behaviour. Our aim is to improve safety at organised crowd events and in emergencies. We do this by using surveys, experiments, interviews, and observational analyses to understand how any why group processes impact behaviour, and develop interventions to facilitate safety. Our collaborations with emergency services, UK and Scottish government, computer modellers and legislative bodies for event safety mean that we apply our research to multiple contexts including organised mass events, emergency evacuations, and healthcare settings.
News
📢 EASP 2026 Strasbourg
Dr Anne Templeton presented a poster with our latest research findings
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A new paper! - Led by Anne Templeton - Commanding, requesting or collaborating: First responders’ approaches to coordinating and communicating with the public in emergencies - ScienceDirect
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We have shared our research at the 2026 EASP General Meeting in Strasbourg. Dr Kayleigh Smith, Dr Rhea Haddad and Dr Anne Templeton gave talks and a poster presentation on the 1st and 2nd of July 2026. CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS — Identities and Collective Behaviour
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We are delighted to have been awarded a 3 year renewal funding for our FLF project! This next phase started at the beginning of June 2026.
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Dr Anne Templeton presented our latest findings in her presentation ‘Communicate with the Crowd: Incorporating Social Identities into Emergency Response’ at the Engineering Resilience Forum, at the University of Liverpool.
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A new paper led by Anne Templeton - 'With us, For us, or Against us: How Group Relations Between Safety Personnel and the Public Impact Enjoyment, Felt Safety and Behaviour at Crowd Events. Social and Personality Psychology Compass Journal https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.70132
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A new paper by Kayleigh Smith - Smith, K., Widdicombe, S., Templeton, A., (2026, March 18) 'Football Clubs as Identity Leaders: Communication and Club Action on Fan-Club Relationships'. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.70247
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In August Dr Anne Templeton Gave a Professional training lecture to local resilience leaders, Norwegian Civil Defence - ’Information sharing in emergencies: examining the evidence’