CV
CV for Thomas V. Pollet, Professor of Psychology at Northumbria University.
Contact
Thomas V. Pollet Professor of Psychology, Northumbria University Northumberland Building (NB165), College Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK Email: thomas.pollet@northumbria.ac.uk Web: tvpollet.github.io
Employment
| Period | Position | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2020–present | Professor in Psychology | Dept. of Psychology, Northumbria University |
| 2017–2020 | Associate Professor in Psychology | Dept. of Psychology, Northumbria University |
| 2016–2017 | Asst. Professor in Social and Organizational Psychology | Dept. of Social Psychology, Leiden University |
| 2015–2016 | Research Fellow | Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (N.I.A.S.) |
| 2011–2016 | Asst. Professor in Social and Organizational Psychology | Dept. of Experimental and Applied Psychology, VU University Amsterdam |
| 2008–2011 | Asst. Professor in Social Psychology | Dept. of Social Psychology, University of Groningen |
Education
| Period | Qualification | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | HEA Fellowship | Northumbria University |
| 2012 | University Teaching Qualification (BKO) | VU University Amsterdam |
| 2005–2008 | Ph.D. in Psychology | Newcastle University |
| 2004–2005 | MSc. in Evolutionary Psychology (Distinction) | University of Liverpool |
| 2002–2004 | Licentiate in Sociology (Great Distinction) | Ghent University |
| 2000–2002 | Candidature in Sociology (Distinction) | University of Antwerp |
Research Statement
My research focuses on understanding the wealth of social relationships people have (e.g., romantic relationships, friendships, family relationships) and understanding the role of individual differences (e.g., personality, height, hormones) for these social relationships from an interdisciplinary framework. To this end, I conduct survey, observational, and experimental studies, next to analysing secondary datasets. Furthermore, I am interested in (improving) methodology and statistics and frequently collaborate with others on diverse topics.
Selected Publications
Here are what I personally consider to be my five best publications. The full publication list (140+ papers, preprints, and book chapters) is available on the publications page. My ResearcherID is H-3397-2012 and my Google Scholar profile is here.
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Peperkoorn, L.S., Hill, R.A., Barton, R.A. & Pollet, T.V. (2024). Meta-analysis of the red advantage in combat sports. Scientific Reports, 14, 30822. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-81373-3
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Stulp, G., Buunk, A.P., Verhulst, S. & Pollet, T.V. (2015). Height Is Positively Related to Interpersonal Dominance in Dyadic Interactions. PLoS ONE, 10, e0117860. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117860
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Pollet, T.V., Tybur, J.M., Frankenhuis, W.E.F. & Rickard, I.J. (2014). What can cross-cultural correlations teach us about human nature? Human Nature, 25, 419–429. doi:10.1007/s12110-014-9206-8
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Pollet, T.V. & Nettle, D. (2009). Market forces affect patterns of polygyny in Uganda. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – USA, 106, 2114–2117. doi:10.1073/pnas.0810016106
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Pollet, T.V. (2007). Genetic relatedness and sibling relationship characteristics in a modern society. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 176–185. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.10.001
Research Funding
Collaborations with the private sector
| Period | Funder | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–2020 | Instagram Research Award | Research project on loneliness ($50,000) |
| 2009–2012 | Dinox | Female health research (amount undisclosed) |
| 2009–2012 | Pantarhei Bioscience | (>€1,000,000; exact amount undisclosed) |
Research grants
| Period | Funder | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 | BA Leverhulme Small Grant | Tokenism in evolutionary psychology textbooks? (with Jeanne Bovet, £8,956) |
| 2022–2023 | Peace Grant: Samuel B. Hanser Visionary Grant | Social networks for decision making (consultant, led by Sam Roberts and Peter Malinowski, $25,000) |
| 2021–2022 | Sir Halley Stewart Trust | Social networks for decision making (with Nick Neave and Catherine Bailey, £31,757) |
| 2013–2016 | Templeton Grant | Prosocial behavior (with Paul van Lange and Zoi Manesi, $195,000) |
| 2011–2014 | NWO – VENI | The Napoleon Complex: Fact or Fiction (€250,000) |
| 2010–2011 | French-Dutch Academy | Van Gogh grant (with Bram Buunk and ISEM, up to €10,000) |
| 2009–2014 | FWO | International research network grant (€62,500, 6 partners) |
| 2009–2013 | University of Groningen | Ubbo Emmius (with Bram Buunk, €120,000) |
| 2005–2008 | Newcastle University | PhD Scholarship (>£80,000) |
| 2004–2005 | Lazard Foundation | Career development loan for MSc. (up to €25,000) |
Various smaller faculty grants for equipment (totalling >€10,000) and grants, sponsors and donations for hosting EHBEA conference (totalling >€10,000).
Teaching
I have been teaching for over 15 years in various roles, my courses are generally positively evaluated. I have three certificates demonstrating my teaching qualities: Postgraduate Certificate for Teaching (Newcastle University), BKO: Qualification for Teaching by Dutch Universities (VU University Amsterdam), and HEA Fellowship (Northumbria University). Most of my teaching revolves around evolutionary and social psychology, next to methodology, and is taught in English.
I acted as a Director of Learning and Teaching (Experience) at my psychology department (Northumbria University, 2017–2019), involving coordination of induction, open days, leading staff-student programme committees, liaising with programme leaders on student experience, and coordinating our departmental NSS strategy.
The most gratifying aspect of my teaching is that several of the students which I supervise produce work which has been subsequently published in peer-reviewed journals.
Courses taught
| Period | Course | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–present | Advanced Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods | Research Masters (lecturer/coordinator) |
| 2017–2019 | Advanced Quantitative Research Methods | Research Masters (lecturer) |
| 2018–2020 | Research on Human Nature | BSc. Psychology, year 2 (lecturer) |
| 2016–2017 | Intergroup Relations | MSc. Psychology (contributor) |
| 2016–2017 | Economic and Consumer Psychology | BSc. Psychology, year 2 (contributor) |
| 2016–2017 | Introduction into Social Psychology | BSc. Psychology, year 1 (contributor) |
| 2012–2015 | Evolution and Social Behavior | Research Masters (lecturer/coordinator) |
| 2014–2015 | Group Dynamics | BSc. Psychology, year 3 (lecturer) |
| 2014–2015 | Methods III in Psychology | BSc. Psychology, year 3 (co-coordinator) |
| 2009–present | Research internship in Psychology | Multiple levels (contributor) |
| 2012–2013 | Evolution and Human Behavior | BA. honours course (lecturer/coordinator) |
| 2011–2012 | Interpersonal Processes | Research Masters (lecturer) |
| 2009–2011 | Evolutionary Psychology of Interpersonal Processes | BSc. Psychology, year 3 (lecturer) |
| 2009–2011 | Capita Selecta in Evolutionary Psychology | Ma. in Psychology (lecturer) |
| 2010–2011 | Social Psychology of Communication | Ma. in Psychology (contributor) |
| 2008–2011 | Methods II in Psychology | BSc. Psychology, year 2 (contributor) |
| 2009–2011 | Research Practical in Psychology | BSc. Psychology, year 2 (contributor) |
| 2008–present | Theses | BSc. (>80 completed) and Ma. (>35 completed) |
Professional Service
| Period | Role |
|---|---|
| 2021–present | Reproducible Research Lead, Dept. of Psychology, Northumbria University |
| 2021–2024 | UKRN Institution Lead |
| 2019–2021 | UKRN Local Network Lead |
| 2021–2023 | Research and Knowledge Exchange Cluster Lead, Evolution and Social Interaction |
| 2019–present | Editorial Board Member, International Review of Social Psychology |
| 2014–2016 | Editorial Board Member, Frontiers in Psychology (Evolutionary Psychology and Neuroscience) |
| 2012–2015 | FWO Council Member |
Regular reviewer for journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications, Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B, PLOS ONE, Evolution and Human Behavior, Human Nature, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Animal Behaviour, and many others.
Reviewing for funding agencies: KU Leuven (Belgium), Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), FWO (Belgium), ESRC (UK), National Science Foundation (US).
Conference organisation
- Organiser, EHBEA 2025 at Northumbria University
- Organiser, EHBEA 2013 at VU University Amsterdam (>200 attendees)
- Administration, ASAB Conference at Newcastle University (summer 2007)
(Co-)Supervision of Ph.D. Students
I am/was involved in the external supervision of other students; here I list the students at the universities I worked at. I have been an internal examiner as well as part of external Ph.D. committees for the University of Antwerp, University of Essex, University of Groningen, University of Helsinki, University of Stirling, University of Vienna (×2), and the University of Wolverhampton.
Current:
- Lorna Govan, Northumbria University
- Amy Sorrell, Northumbria University
- Aashira Sial, Northumbria University
- Connor Malcolm, Northumbria University
Graduated:
- Alexandra Thompson, Northumbria University (2023)
- Zoi Manesi, VU University Amsterdam (2017)
- Jill Knapen, VU University Amsterdam (2017)
- Nancy Blaker, VU University Amsterdam (2017)
- Kelly Cobey, University of Groningen (2013)
- Gert Stulp, University of Groningen (2013)
- Liga Klavina, University of Groningen (2012)
Awards and Nominations
- Awarded EHBEA Community Service Award (2026)
- Paper on intralocus sexual conflict with G. Stulp as lead author included in Faculty1000 (2012)
- IPUMS paper finalist (2009) - Top 10 paper based on IPUMS data.
- Nominated as Honorary Belgian American Exchange Foundation (BAEF) Fellow (2008)
Media Coverage
Research which I have authored or co-authored has been covered extensively in the British press (e.g., The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Daily Mail, BBC News Online, The Scotsman, The Sunday Times, New Scientist, Times Higher Education, The Guardian) and in the international press (e.g., The Economist, Corriere della Sera, Der Spiegel, The Times of India, The Australian, Eos, De Standaard, De Telegraaf, Het Laatste Nieuws, Knack, Psychologie Magazine, Marie-Claire). I estimate that well over 100 popular press articles have been written about my/our work.
Multiple appearances on local, national, and international radio (e.g., BBC Radio Tyneside, FunXfm).