Ken Mavor moved to St Andrews in 2013 after 10 years at the Australian National University and 6 years at the University of Southern Queensland. For most of that time Ken has been teaching research methods and statistics and social psychology, but also spent 5 years as the Assessment specialist in the ANU Medical School. Ken’s PhD (Religious Orientation, Social Identity and Attitudes to Homosexuality) reflects his interest in identity, contested social attitudes, and traditional concerns about prejudice. Ken’s background in computer science and cognitive science led to an interest in social categorisation processes and a focus on the common “data structures” that underpins a wide range of social perception and action, and these themes have played out in both abstract ways and translational settings (such as political action, education and wellbeing).
Ken enjoys the stimulating process of collaboration with a large group of PhD students, and colleagues across the world.
Books
Biblical and socio-scientific approaches to religious enmity
Porter, C. A. (Editor), Shively, E. E. (Editor) & Mavor, K. (Editor), 30 Dec 2025, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 234 p. (Routledge interdisciplinary perspectives on Biblical criticism)
Research output: Book/Report › Book
Self and social identity in educational contexts
Mavor, K. I. (Editor), Platow, M. J. (Editor) & Bizumic, B. (Editor), 1 Feb 2017, London; New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 366 p.
Research output: Book/Report › Book
Chapters
Conspiracy theories and right-wing extremism: the case of Q-Anon
Smith, D. J., Bottomley, E. & Mavor, K., 25 Feb 2025, Global counter-terrorism: a decolonial approach. Dutta, S., Abbas, T. & Bergh, S. I. (eds.). Manchester: Manchester University Press, p. 256-278
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Reflections from social identity theory on authoritarianism, fundamentalism, and narratives of nationalism and multiculturalism: from Ezra/Nehemia/Ruth to the post-colonial era
Mavor, K., 30 Dec 2025, Biblical and socio-scientific approaches to religious enmity. Porter, C. A., Shively, E. E. & Mavor, K. I. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 9-31 (Routledge interdisciplinary perspectives on Biblical criticism).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Social identities, norms, and context in student feedback literacy in higher education
Mavor, K. & Bottomley, E., 29 Oct 2024, Research handbook on innovations in assessment and feedback in Higher Education: Implications for teaching and learning. Evans, C. & Waring, M. (eds.). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, p. 278-293 16 p. (Elgar handbooks in education).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Articles
An intervention addressing impostor phenomenon in undergraduate physics and astronomy
Bottomley, E., Miles, P., Kohnle, A., Wild, V. & Mavor, K. I., 16 Apr 2025, In: Education Sciences. 15, 4, p. 1-15 15 p., 498.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Applying a psychological lens to educators’ professional identity: the case of English for Academic Purposes educators
Taylorson, J., Mavor, K. & Miles, P., 28 Aug 2025, In: Review of Education. 13, 3, e70102.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Discipline-based social identity and organizational identity as predictors of approaches to learning and evaluation of teaching
Mavor, K., Bottomley, E., Marin, B. S. & Smyth, L., 26 Jun 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: European Journal of Psychology of Education. 40, 78.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review