Staff profile

Welcome

Research interests summary

I am a social and developmental psychologist interested in uncovering and testing effective strategies for promoting prosocial behaviours and reducing prejudice and discrimination. My research employs experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal methods and lab-based and field-based studies to further develop our understanding of prosociality and prejudice. My approach is to understand not just the processes at work but also the practical steps for intervention. In particular I am interested in employing research to help advance the effectiveness of public and civil sector endeavours.

Short biography

• 2018-present: Assistant Professor in quantitative social psychology, Durham University
• 2016-2018: Lecturer in psychology, University of Lincoln
• 2012-2016: ESRC-funded PhD in moral emotions and prosocial behaviour, University Kent, supervised by Professor Dominic Abrams
• 2011-2012: MSc in Social and Applied Psychology, University of Kent
• 2007-2010: BSc Psychology, University of Kent

• Prosocial behaviour
• Pro-environmental behaviour
• Prejudice
• Good relations
• Social identity and intergroup and intragroup dynamics
• Arts engagement
• Moral emotion
• Behaviour change
• Intergroup contact
• Social identity of health (particularly chronic illness)

• Behavioural Science
• Quantitative Social Psychology

• 2020: Early Career Award, Social Psychology Section, British Psychological Society:

Chapter in book

• Van de Vyver, J & Abrams, D (2017). Promoting third-party prosocial behaviour: The potential of moral emotions. In Intergroup helping. Van Leeuwen, E & Zagefka, H Springer.
• Abrams, D., Powell, C., Palmer, S.B. & Van de Vyver, J. (2017). Toward a contextualized social developmental account of children?s group dynamics: The developmental model of subjective group dynamics. In The Wiley Handbook of Group Processes in Children and Adolescents. Rutland, A., Nesdale, D. & Spears Brown, C. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 124-143.
• Van de Vyver, J., Travaglino, G., Vasiljevic, M. & Abrams, D. (2015). The group and cultural context of restorative justice: A social psychological perspective. In The psychology of restorative justice. Gavrielides, T. Ashgate Publishing.

Journal Article

• Imada, Hirotaka, Rullo, Marika, Hopthrow, Tim, Van de Vyver, Julie & Zagefka, Hanna (2022). Gossip about in-group and out-group norm deviations. Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology 6(1-3): 113-133.
• Van de Vyver, Julie, Leite, Ana C. & Alwan, Nisreen A. (2021). Navigating the social identity of long covid. British Medical Journal 375: n2933.
• Watson, Robin, Morgan, Thomas J. H., Kendal, Rachel L., Van de Vyver, Julie & Kendal, Jeremy (2021). Social learning strategies and cooperative behaviour: Evidence of payoff bias, but not prestige or conformity, in a social dilemma game. Games 12(4): 89.
• Park, R., Van de Vyver, J. & Bretherton, R. (2020). The Humble Leader: Understanding Perceptions and Implications of Humility in Leadership. European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology 4: 14, 1-12.
• Van de Vyver, J, Abrams, D, Spinner, L, Pelletier, J, Ali, S.Y & Kapantai, I (2019). Participatory arts interventions promote interpersonal and intergroup prosocial intentions in middle childhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 65: 101069.
• Mahmood, L, Abrams, D, Meleady, R, Hopthrow, T, Lalot, F, Swift, H & Van de Vyver, J (2019). Intentions, efficacy, and norms: The impact of different self-regulatory cues on reducing engine idling at long wait stops. Journal of Environmental Psychology
• Player, A., Abrams, D., Van de Vyver, J., Meleady, R., Leite, A.C., Randsley de Moura, G. & Hopthrow, T. (2018). “We aren’t idlers” Using subjective group dynamics to promote prosocial driver behavior at long‐wait stops. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 48(11): 643-648.
• Van de Vyver, J., Abrams, D., Hopthrow, T., Purewal, K., Randsley de Moura, G. & Meleady, R. (2018). Motivating the selfish to stop idling: Self-interest cues can improve environmentally relevant driver behaviour. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour 54: 79-85.
• Van de Vyver, J., Leite, A.C., Abrams, D. & Palmer, S.B. (2018). Brexit or bremain? A person and social analysis of voting decisions in the EU referendum. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 28(2): 65-79.
• Van de Vyver, J. & Abrams, D. (2018). The arts as a catalyst for human prosociality and cooperation. Social Psychological and Personality Science 9(6): 664-674.
• Van de Vyver, J. & John, P. (2017). A field experiment: Testing the potential of norms for achieving behavior change in English parishes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 47(6): 347-352.
• Abrams, D., Palmer, S.B., Van de Vyver, J., Hayes, D., Delaney, K., Guarella, S. & Purewal, K. (2017). Adolescents' judgments of doubly deviant peers: Implications of intergroup and intragroup dynamics for disloyal and overweight group members. Social Development 26(2): 310-328.
• Abrams, D., Van de Vyver, J., Houston, D. M. & Vasiljevic, M. (2017). Does terror defeat contact? Intergroup contact and prejudice toward Muslims before and after the London bombings. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 23(3): 260-268.
• Meleady, R., Abrams, D., Van de Vyver, J., Hopthrow, T., Mahmood, L., Player, A., Lamont, R. & Leite, A.C. (2017). Surveillance or self-surveillance? Behavioral cues can increase the rate of drivers' pro-environmental behavior at a long wait stop. Environment and Behavior 49(10): 1156-1172.
• Van de Vyver, J. & Abrams, D. (2017). Is moral elevation an approach-oriented emotion? The Journal of Positive Psychology 12(2): 178-185.
• Van de Vyver, J., Houston, D. M., Abrams, D. & Vasiljevic, M. (2016). Boosting belligerence: How the July 7, 2005, London bombings affected Liberals' moral foundations and prejudice. Psychological Science 27(2): 169-177.
• Abrams, D., Houston, D. M., Van de Vyver, J. & Vasiljevic, M. (2015). Equality hypocrisy, inconsistency, and prejudice: The unequal application of the universal human right to equality. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 21(1): 28-46.
• Abrams, D., Van de Vyver, J., Pelletier, J. & Cameron, L. (2015). Children's prosocial behavioural intentions towards outgroup members. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 33(3): 277-294.
• Van de Vyver, J. & Abrams, D. (2015). Testing the prosocial effectiveness of the prototypical moral emotions: Elevation increases benevolent behaviors and outrage increases justice behaviors. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 58: 23-33.
• Abrams, D., Palmer, S.B., Rutland, A., Cameron, L. & Van de Vyver, J. (2014). Evaluations of and reasoning about normative and deviant ingroup and outgroup members: development of the black sheep effect. Developmental Psychology 50(1): 258-270.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

• Van de Vyver, J & Crisp, R (2019). Crossing Divides: The friends who are good for your brain. BBC

Report

• Van de Vyver, J. & Leite, A.C. (2019). Story-telling and Prejudice: A practical indirect intervention for reducing prejudice against Asylum Seekers and Refugees among adults in the UK.
• Van de Vyver, J. & Abrams, D. (2017). Community connectedness through the arts. British Academy.
• Broadwood, J, Bunting, C, Andrews, T, Abrams, D & Van de Vyver, J (2012). Arts and kindness. People United Publishing.