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Dr Sofia Persson

Senior Lecturer

Sofia is a senior lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University and a fellow of Advance Higher Education. Her main research interest is rape mythology. More broadly, she is also interested in how myths and stereotypes about women and men's sexual behaviour and psychology are scaffolded in wider society, e.g., through scientific communication.

Sofia has previously worked as a Research Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she also completed her PhD. She has an MSc in Forensic Psychology.

Sofia is the Methods & Open Practices section editor for Social and Personality Psychology Compass, and she reviews for a number of journals.

Sofia is an Open Science advocate, and she is the programme lead for the Open Research and Scholarship (ORES) initiative within the Centre for Psychological Research (PsyCen). She is the UKRN local network lead.

Current Teaching

Clinical & Forensic Psychology
The Psychology of Complex Behaviour

Research Interests

Sofia's main research interest is rape mythology and various forms of sexism. Her work has investigated the nature of rape mythology, and how these beliefs are maintained and justified in wider society, e.g., through scientific communication. Her research aligns with transparent and reproducible study practices.

Sofia is particularly interested in how research practices can be improved across her areas of interest, and has published research making concrete recommendations for future research into rape mythology. Her research has also illustrated how Open Science practices can improve the practical implications of research findings in the context of victim blame in rape cases. She has presented her work in academic as well as in public engagement settings.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Ask Me About

Feminism
Gender

Selected Outputs

Persson S; Grogan S; Dhingra K; Benn Y (In press) “I Don’t Mind Being Ugly but I Don’t Wanna Have Skin Cancer”: A Qualitative Study of Attitudes to UV Exposure and a Facial Morphing Intervention in Men 35 Years and Older. Psychology and Health

https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1622014
Pownall M; Pennington CR; Norris E; Juanchich M; Smailes D; Russell S; Gooch D; Evans TR; Persson S; Mak MHC (2023) Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 6 (4), pp. 1-21.

https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459231202724
Eve Z; Turner M; Di Basilio D; Harkin B; Yates A; Persson S; Henry J; Williams A; Walton G; Jones MV (2023) Therapeutic games to reduce anxiety and depression in young people: A systematic review and exploratory meta‐analysis of their use and effectiveness. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, pp. 1-14.

https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2938
Harkin B; Persson S; Yates A; Jauregi A; Kessler K (2023) Top-down and bottom-up contributions to memory performance in OCD: A multilevel meta-analysis with clinical implications. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 132 (4), pp. 428-444.

https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000793
Persson S; Pownall M (2021) Can Open Science be a Tool to Dismantle Claims of Hardwired Brain Sex Differences? Opportunities and Challenges for Feminist Researchers. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 45 (4), pp. 493-504.

https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843211037613
Persson S; Hostler TJ (2021) When Men Who Dislike Feminists Feel Proud: Can Self-Affirmation and Perspective-Taking Increase Men’s Empathy Toward Feminists?. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 45 (3), pp. 372-386.

https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843211017472
Persson S; Yates A; Kessler K; Harkin B (2021) Modeling a multidimensional model of memory performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A multilevel meta-analytic review. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 130 (4), pp. 346-364.

https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000660
Persson S; Dhingra K (2021) Moderating Factors in Culpability Ratings and Rape Proclivity in Stranger and Acquaintance Rape: Validation of Rape Vignettes in a Community Sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence

https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260521991294
Persson S; Dhingra K (2020) Attributions of Blame in Stranger and Acquaintance Rape: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence and Abuse: a review journal

https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020977146
Grogan S; Storey E; Brownbridge K; Gill S; Templeton C; Gill J; Persson S; Armitage CJ (2020) Whole body scanning as a tool for clothing sizing: effects on women’s body satisfaction. The Journal of The Textile Institute, 111 (6), pp. 862-868.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00405000.2019.1668127
Grogan S; Mechan J; Persson S; Finlay S; Hall M (2019) ‘I’ve got a very dichotomous difference in the way that I perceive myself’: Positive and negative constructions of body image following cancer treatment. Journal of Health Psychology, 24 (10), pp. 1368-1377.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105317730896
Persson S; Grogan S; Dhingra K (2018) Attributions of Victim Blame in Stranger and Acquaintance Rape: A Quantitative Study. Journal of Clinical Nursing

https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14351
Persson S; Benn Y; Dhingra K; Owen A; Clark-Carter D; Grogan S (2018) Appearance-based interventions to reduce UV exposure: A systematic review. British Journal of Health Psychology, 23 (3), pp. 334-351.

https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12291
Persson S; Grogan S; Dhingra K; Benn Y (2017) 'It's bit of an eye opener' - A qualitative study of women's attitudes towards tanning, sun protection and a facial morphing intervention. PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH, 33 (3), pp. 381-397.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2017.1357815

Pownall M; Pennington CR; Norris E; Juanchich M; Smailes D; Russell PS; Gooch D; Evans TR; Persson S; Mak MHC (2023) Evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of study preregistration in the undergraduate dissertation: A Registered Report. Crossref.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/xg2ah