Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Postgraduate Research)
Dawn Watling joined the Department of Psychology in September 2005, following the completion of her DPhil and Post-Doctoral work at the University of Sussex. Dawn is a Professor of Psychology, with a primary research focus on understanding the use of impression management tactics (online and offline) and understanding the importance of being in nature for wellbeing. Her current work is funded by Kew RGB. She was Director of the Social Development Lab, which has recently been relaunched as the Environment, Connectedness, Health: Online-Offline (ECHO-O) lab group and where she is co-Director. Dawn has a number of interdisciplinary collaborations, and is a founding member of the Hub for Interdisciplinary research into Vulnerability to Exploitation (HIVE).
Dawn has served in a number of core Departmental Roles, including Director of Teaching and Learning and Director of Postgraduate Research Studies. In 2014-2017, Dawn was the Associate Dean (Education) for the Faculty of Science and in 2020-2024 she was the School of Life Sciences and the Environment Director PGR Education. In these roles she sought to improve processes, encourage clear and consistent (transparent) decision making, and work collaboratively to enhance experiences. Dawn is a qualified coach, and has always sought to support postgraduate researchers and staff to achieve their goals.
Dawn has been an Action Editor for the international journal Infant and Child Development, and is currently the Co-Editor-in-Chief for the British Journal of Developmental Psychology. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a chartered psychologist, and a member of both the British Psychology Society (BPS) Developmental section and Cyberpsychology section. She has served a number of years as a committee member of the Developmental Section (2013-2020; January 2024 to present).
