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Dr Evangelos Ntontis

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Lecturer in Psychology
  • Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
  • School of Psychology & Counselling
  • Psychology
  • evangelos.ntontis

Web links

Professional biography

Qualifications

2015 - 2018   PhD in Social Psychology, University of Sussex, UK

2014 - 2015   MSc in Psychological Research Methods, University of Dundee, UK

2009 - 2013   Ptychion in Philosophy, Education, and Psychology, University of Ioannina, Greece

 

Brief bio

I am a social psychologist with a focus on group processes and collective behaviour. More specific research interests include human behaviour in disasters and extreme events, social movements, collective mobilization and leadership, and the psychosocial aspects of health and wellbeing. For my research I use both qualitative and quantitative methods.

I joined the Open University in September 2021 as a lecturer in psychology. Before that I was a lecturer in psychology at Canterbury Christ Church University (2018 - 2021). 

I have been an associate editor for the British Journal of Social Psychology since January 2023.

Research interests

My main research interests revolve around two broad thematic areas:

1) First, I am interested in the social psychology of how people behave (often collectively) in or experience the impact of disasters and extreme events. Why and how do groups emerge during times of crisis? What are the trajectories of such groups in the post-disaster period? For instance, why and how do they endure or decline? What are the psychosocial changes that can explain or are results of the emergence of such groups? What is the role of shared social identity? What are the implications of emergent groups for community resilience, and what are the implications for practitioners and policy makers? How do people experience the impact of disasters (e.g., in terms of stress) and how can different stressors affect such outcomes? How does the organization of our society and pre-existing systemic problems impact upon the effects of disasters on the affected population? Under this thematic area I have conducted research on flooding as well as on the COVID-19 pandemic. 

2) Second, I am interested in the social psychology of social movements and collective action, with a more specific focus on collective mobilization, leadership, and framing processes. How do members of social movements frame their political positions to make them more socially acceptable and attract new members? How do (toxic) leaders attempt to mobilize violent collective action? How are collective identities rhetorically and practically constructed to allow for such outcomes? How are various cultural and psychological narratives used to (de)legitimize various political positions and actions? How are psychological narratives associated with the exercise of power in modern societies? 

External collaborations

I was a member of the Social Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society between 2017-2020. I have peer-reviewed papers for various academic journals in the areas of social psychology (e.g., British Journal of Social Psychology, European Journal of Social Psychology), general psychology (e.g., BJPsych Open, PLoS One), and disasters (e.g., Disaster Prevention and Management, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction) among others. The research conducted by myself and my collaborators has been the basis of discussions with non-academic organizations such as the UK's Civil Contingencies Secretariat, NHS Health Education England, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Publications

Tracking the nature and trajectory of social support in Facebook mutual aid groups during the COVID-19 pandemic (2022-05-10)
Ntontis, Evangelos; Fernandes-Jesus, Maria; Mao, Guanlan; Dines, Tom; Kane, Jazmin; Karakaya, Joshua; Perach, Rotem; Cocking, Chris; McTague, Michael; Schwarz, Anna; Semlyen, Joanna and Drury, John
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 76, Article 103043

Is it really “panic buying”? Public perceptions and experiences of extra buying at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (2022-02-25)
Ntontis, Evangelos; Vestergren, Sara; Saavedra, Patricio; Neville, Fergus; Jurstakova, Klara; Cocking, Chris; Lay, Siugmin; Drury, John; Stott, Clifford; Reicher, Stephen and Vignoles, Vivian L.
PLOS ONE, 17, Article e0264618(2)

Glass children: The lived experiences of siblings of people with a disability or chronic illness (2022)
Hanvey, Imogen; Malovic, Aida and Ntontis, Evangelos
Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 32(5) (pp. 936-948)

Examining the role of Donald Trump and his supporters in the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol: A dual-agency model of identity leadership and engaged followership (2022)
Haslam, S. Alexander; Reicher, Stephen D.; Selvanathan, Hema Preya; Gaffney, Amber M.; Steffens, Niklas K.; Packer, Dominic; Van Bavel, Jay J.; Ntontis, Evangelos; Neville, Fergus; Vestergren, Sara; Jurstakova, Klara and Platow, Michael J.
The Leadership Quarterly, Article 101622

COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic (2022)
Blackburn, Angélique M.; Vestergren, Sara; the COVIDiSTRESS II Consortium, and Ntontis, Evangelos
Scientific Data, 9(1)

How participation in Covid‐19 mutual aid groups affects subjective well‐being and how political identity moderates these effects (2021-12)
Mao, Guanlan; Drury, John; Fernandes‐Jesus, Maria and Ntontis, Evangelos
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 21(1) (pp. 1082-1112)

More Than a COVID-19 Response: Sustaining Mutual Aid Groups During and Beyond the Pandemic (2021-10-20)
Fernandes-Jesus, Maria; Mao, Guanlan; Ntontis, Evangelos; Cocking, Chris; McTague, Michael; Schwarz, Anna; Semlyen, Joanna and Drury, John
Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 716202

Harnessing Shared Identities to Mobilize Resilient Responses to the COVID‐19 Pandemic (2021-10)
Vignoles, Vivian L.; Jaser, Zahira; Taylor, Frankiebo and Ntontis, Evangelos
Political Psychology, 42(5) (pp. 817-826)

A social model of secondary stressors in relation to disasters, major incidents and conflict: Implications for practice (2021-09)
Williams, Richard; Ntontis, Evangelos; Alfadhli, Khalifah; Drury, John and Amlôt, Richard
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 63, Article 102436

Collective resilience in the disaster recovery period: Emergent social identity and observed social support are associated with collective efficacy, well‐being, and the provision of social support (2021-07)
Ntontis, Evangelos; Drury, John; Amlôt, Richard; Rubin, G. James; Williams, Richard and Saavedra, Patricio
British Journal of Social Psychology, 60(3) (pp. 1075-1095)

What have we learned about COVID-19 volunteering in the UK? A rapid review of the literature (2021)
Mao, Guanlan; Fernandes-Jesus, Maria; Ntontis, Evangelos and Drury, John
BMC Public Health, 21, Article 1470

Antiabortion Rhetoric and the Undermining of Choice: Women's Agency as Causing “Psychological Trauma” Following the Termination of a Pregnancy (2020-06)
Ntontis, Evangelos
Political Psychology, 41(3) (pp. 517-532)

Endurance or decline of emergent groups following a flood disaster: Implications for community resilience (2020-05)
Ntontis, Evangelos; Drury, John; Amlôt, Richard; Rubin, G. James and Williams, Richard
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 45, Article 101493

Public behaviour in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: understanding the role of group processes (2020)
Drury, John; Carter, Holly; Ntontis, Evangelos and Guven, Selin Tekin
BJPsych Open, 7(1)

“An Important Part of Who I am”: The Predictors of Dietary Adherence among Weight-Loss, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, and Gluten-Free Dietary Groups (2020)
Cruwys, Tegan; Norwood, Rebecca; Chachay, Veronique S.; Ntontis, Evangelos and Sheffield, Jeanie
Nutrients, 12, Article 970(4)

Facilitating Collective Psychosocial Resilience in the Public in Emergencies: Twelve Recommendations Based on the Social Identity Approach (2019-06)
Drury, John; Carter, Holly; Cocking, Chris; Ntontis, Evangelos; Tekin Guven, Selin and Amlôt, Richard
Frontiers in Public Health, 7

What lies beyond social capital? The role of social psychology in building community resilience to climate change. (2019)
Ntontis, Evangelos; Drury, John; Amlôt, Richard; Rubin, Gideon James and Williams, Richard
Traumatology, 26(3) (pp. 253-265)

A Glossary for Research on Human Crowd Dynamics (2019)
Adrian, Juliane; Bode, Nikolai; Amos, Martyn; Baratchi, Mitra; Beermann, Mira; Boltes, Maik; Corbetta, Alessandro; Dezecache, Guillaume; Drury, John; Fu, Zhijian; Geraerts, Roland; Gwynne, Steve; Hofinger, Gesine; Hunt, Aoife; Kanters, Tinus; Kneidl, Angelika; Konya, Krisztina; Köster, Gerta; Küpper, Mira; Michalareas, Georgios; Neville, Fergus; Ntontis, Evangelos; Reicher, Stephen; Ronchi, Enrico; Schadschneider, Andreas; Seyfried, Armin; Shipman, Alastair; Sieben, Anna; Spearpoint, Michael; Sullivan, Gavin Brent; Templeton, Anne; Toschi, Federico; Yücel, Zeynep; Zanlungo, Francesco; Zuriguel, Iker; Van der Wal, Natalie; van Schadewijk, Frank; von Krüchten, Cornelia and Wijermans, Nanda
Collective Dynamics, 4 (pp. 1-13)

Community resilience and flooding in UK guidance: A critical review of concepts, definitions, and their implications (2018)
Ntontis, Evangelos; Drury, John; Amlôt, Richard; Rubin, Gideon James and Williams, Richard
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 27(1) (pp. 2-13)

Framing a ‘social problem': Emotion in anti-abortion activists' depiction of the abortion debate (2018)
Ntontis, Evangelos and Hopkins, Nick
British Journal of Social Psychology, 57(3) (pp. 666-683)

Emergent social identities in a flood: Implications for community psychosocial resilience
Ntontis, Evangelos; Drury, John; Amlôt, Richard; Rubin, G. James and Williams, Richard
Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 28(1) (pp. 3-14)

How can Covid Mutual Aid Groups be Sustained Over Time? The UK Experience (2023-12)
Drury, John; Fernandes-Jesus, Maria; Mao, Guanlan; Ntontis, Evangelos; Perach, Rotem and Miranda, Daniel
In: O'Dwyer, Emma and Silva Souza, Luiz Gustavo eds. Psychosocial Perspectives on Community Responses to Covid-19: Networks of Trust and Social Change (pp. 79-90)
ISBN : 9781032295060 | Publisher : Routledge

Solidarity (2020)
Ntontis, Evangelos and Rocha, Carolina
In: Jetten, Jolanda; Reicher, Stephen; Haslam, S. Alexander and Cruwys, Tegan eds. Together apart: The psychology of COVID-19 (pp. 102-106)
ISBN : 9781529752090 | Publisher : Sage Publications Ltd. | Published : London

The impact of COVID-19 on the psychosocial and mental health needs of NHS and social care staff. The final report on literature published to mid-2021. (2021-12)
Ntontis, Evangelos; Luzynska, Katarzyna and Williams, Richard
The Open University

PhD supervisors and faculty members might help to avoid burnout as well as enhance engagement and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among PhD students. (2018)
Saavedra, Patricio; Ntontis, Evangelos and Kyprianides, Arabella
University of Sussex, University of Sussex.