Janelle M. Jones

Janelle M. Jones is a Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology and Director of Graduate Studies at Queen Mary University of London, where she is affiliated with the Department of Psychology within the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences. Her academic work is centered in the Centre for Research in Social Psychology, where she investigates how group memberships shape self-perception, social interactions, and health outcomes.

Dr. Jones earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from York University in 2009. Her academic trajectory includes significant research contributions at the University of Exeter before her current appointment at Queen Mary, where she has established herself as a leading scholar in social identity processes and health.

Her research program examines how multiple group memberships (friends, family, social categories) influence psychological resilience, self-worth, and well-being across diverse contexts. She specifically investigates how group salience provides strength during challenges, strategies for managing conflicting identities, and the impact of group loss on psychological health following injury or life transitions. Her work demonstrates how social identity processes serve as critical resources during adversity, bridging theoretical social psychology with practical health applications. This research has important implications for understanding resilience mechanisms in clinical populations, aging individuals, and those experiencing social transitions.

Analysis of Dr. Jones's publication record reveals a consistent thematic focus on social identity as a psychological resource across varied populations and contexts. Her research spans clinical settings (including psychosis and brain injury), aging populations, and general community samples, with a recurring emphasis on how multiple group memberships contribute to self-esteem, quality of life, and recovery from trauma. Her methodological approach combines experimental, survey, and qualitative techniques to examine the complex pathways through which social connections translate into psychological benefits.

• Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at Queen Mary University of London
• Director of Graduate Studies overseeing psychology graduate programs
• Active researcher with publications in top journals including Clinical Psychological Science, PLOS ONE, and British Journal of Social Psychology
• Recipient of research funding for projects on social identity and health outcomes

Dr. Jones teaches Essential Skills for Psychologists, Introduction to Positive Psychology, and Introduction to Social Psychology. She supervises graduate students through her leadership role and mentors early-career researchers in the Centre for Research in Social Psychology. Her laboratory currently focuses on social identity mapping techniques to understand quality of life in people with psychosis, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore how individuals conceptualize their social worlds and how this relates to psychological outcomes.