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Dr Martha Newson joined the University of Greenwich in 2023 as Associate Professor of Psychology in the Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences. She holds a BSc in Human Sciences from the University of Sussex, an MSc and DPhil in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology from the University of Oxford, and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Prior to her current role, she served as a Future Leaders Fellowship research fellow at the University of Kent from 2020 to 2022, a postdoctoral researcher on an ERC grant at the Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion at the University of Oxford from 2017 to 2020, and a tutor for Human Sciences at the University of Oxford in 2018. She remains a Research Affiliate at the University of Oxford.
Dr Newson’s research is strongly informed by evolutionary theory and draws from anthropology, psychology, evolutionary theory and criminology. Her work focuses on the themes of social cohesion, ritual and belonging, with particular emphasis on the rituals underlying social cohesion and the cooperation and conflict that emerge from tightly bonded groups. She has conducted research with diverse populations, including fundamentalist Indonesian Muslims, London’s ravers and hardcore football fans (ultras) from Brazil, Indonesia and Australia, including the collection of hormonal samples at live World Cup events. Her research interests include social cohesion, group identities, community action, ritual, religion, community, extreme behaviours, deviancy, psychedelics, subcultures, rave culture and football cultures. She leads a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship research grant on Righting Recidivism and an Innovation through Groups project. Dr Newson is a Chartered Psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, founder and co-chair of the Groups Network, and academic partner to the Twinning Project. She has provided consultancy to clients including Guinness, the Premier League, Manchester City and Hyundai, and has contributed to media outlets such as BBC, Sky News, Discovery and various international publications. Her professional email address is m.newson@greenwich.ac.uk.
University of Greenwich's latest research uncovers how shared sauna rituals improve physical and emotional wellbeing through social bonds and rituals, amid UK's sauna boom.
Explore the groundbreaking University of Greenwich research revealing how collective sauna rituals enhance mental wellbeing and forge stronger social bonds through identity and synchrony.
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