About
Chris Cocking is a Principal Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Brighton, specializing in Social Psychology with a focus on crowd behavior and collective resilience. His research explores how communities respond to emergencies and disasters, emphasizing the resilience of groups often misunderstood in traditional narratives. He has conducted extensive studies on mutual aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, public behavior in mass emergencies, and collective resilience in diverse populations such as healthcare workers and youth. His work influences emergency policy and planning, with practical applications for Psychology, Criminology, and Health Sciences education.
Dr. Cocking holds a BSc in Developmental Psychology from the University of Sussex (1990–1993) and a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Surrey (1999). Before academia, he worked as a mental health nurse in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (2003–2004). He has held roles at London Metropolitan University (2007–2011) and returned to Brighton in 2011, becoming a Principal Lecturer in 2018.
His research interests include:
- Crowd behavior and mass emergencies
- Collective resilience in adversity
- Public intervention in crises (‘zero-responders’)
- CAMHS and adolescent mental health
- Social identity theory and its applications
He has advised organizations like Ambulance Trusts on emergency response strategies and participated in knowledge exchange initiatives. His recent projects examine protests and community responses to the 2024 riots. He actively supervises postgraduate research in social psychology and emergency response.
