Dr Sally B. Palmer (she/her)

I am a developmental social psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Education. I examine how issues of social and environmental justice are understood across childhood and adolescence, and how young people can be socially and emotionally supported within educational settings. 

My research has primarily focussed on understanding how positive bystander responses can reduce bias-based bullying and social exclusion in schools. I draw on developmental intergroup theory to examine how predictors of children and adolescents' positive bystander responses vary across development. I am also interested in the outcomes of positive bystander responses, the role of school support, and the mental health implications for positive bystanders.

More recently I have begun to examine how children and young people think about and engage in environmental issues, and what they consider to be pro-environmental behaviour. I am particularly interested in understanding pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours amongst young people from minority backgrounds (e.g., minority-ethnic, lower SES and/or young people from rural communities), and the relationship to wellbeing.