Rate My Professor Laura Smith

Her research investigates how human psychology and behaviour interact with digital technologies, with a focus on polarization, radicalization, social movements, and collective action in both online and offline contexts. Funded by major UK research councils, her work addresses opportunities, vulnerabilities, and risks posed by digital communication. In 2016, she received a mid-career Fellowship from the British Academy to study the psychology of online radicalization. Smith was Chief Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology from 2020 to 2022. Key publications include 'Online Signals of Extremist Mobilization' (2026, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin), 'A Primer on Politicization, Polarization, Radicalization, and Activation and their Implications for Democracy in Times of Rapid Technological Change' (2025, British Journal of Social Psychology), 'A randomised feasibility trial comparing group and individual format Groups for Health interventions for loneliness in people who experience psychosis' (2025, Psychology and Psychotherapy), and 'Development and testing of a dimensional typology of cyberdeviance' (2025, Information Society). Her contributions extend to policy influence, including providing evidence to MPs on online extremism, and leadership in initiatives tackling online harms and security.