Harriet Over

Professor Harriet Over is a prominent academic in the Department of Psychology at the University of York, serving as Deputy Head of Department (Research). Her research focuses on prejudice, online misogyny, and social learning processes. She leads the Social Origins Lab and has received significant grants, including an ERC Consolidator Grant (€1.97M) for HATESHIELD (2025–2030) and an ERC Starting Grant (€1.23M) for MINDTOMIND (2017–2024). Over holds advanced degrees from the University of Cardiff (PhD, MSc, PGDip) and a BA from the University of Sheffield.

• Education:
  • BA History and Politics, University of Sheffield (2000–2003)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, University of Cardiff (2004–2005)
  • MSc Social Science Research Methods, University of Cardiff (2005–2006)
  • PhD Developmental Psychology, University of Cardiff (2006–2009)
• Affiliations:
  • Professor, University of York (2022–present)
  • Associate Professor, University of York (2017–2022)
  • Anniversary Research Lecturer, University of York (2013–2017)
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (2009–2013)

Her research explores how children and adults form first impressions, the role of dehumanization in intergroup harm, and the impact of online misogyny on youth. Recent projects include analyzing teacher perspectives on online misogyny and investigating infrahumanization mechanisms. Over has authored over 95 peer-reviewed articles, with contributions to journals like Developmental Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Psychological Review.

Scientific Awards and Grants: Over has been recognized with the Philip Leverhulme Prize (£100K, 2018), the Margaret Donaldson Early Career Prize (2018), and the Margaret Mead Award (2017). Her grants include projects on visuo-motor fluency (Leverhulme Trust, £266K) and cultural learning mechanisms.

Labs and Collaborations: She directs the Social Origins Lab, focusing on the cultural and developmental bases of social behavior. Her work integrates experimental psychology, social cognition, and evolutionary theory to address real-world issues like prejudice reduction and online mental health.