Dr Nikhila Mahadevan

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Email
nikhila.mahadevan@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 874152
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Location
3.712C, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
I am a social and personality psychologist with links to evolutionary psychology. In essence, I study the self in social contexts. A core area of my research involves developing and empirically testing a novel theory of self-regard called hierometer theory. Hierometer theory examines the psychological mechanism of self-regard through a socio-evolutionary lens. It posits that self-regard plays a key role in helping people to navigate social hierarchies, by tracking their level of social status, and motivating appropriate status-seeking behaviour. Other areas I am interested in include: social status and inequality, social inclusion, self-esteem, narcissism, emotion and well-being, interpersonal behaviour, and decision-making. I utilise a range of different methods in my work including cross-sectional, experimental, and longitudinal designs. I obtained my BA in Psychology, English Literature, and Mass Communications from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, India, and my MSc in Psychology from the 糖心Vlog. I then worked in the commercial sector as a Research Consultant, and as an actress, before returning to academia to pursue my PhD. I completed my PhD at the University of Southampton in 2014. My PhD developed and tested a novel theory of self-regard and social hierarchies known as hierometer theory. Following my PhD, I took up postdoctoral research positions at the University of Southampton and Birmingham City University (2014-2017) and then worked as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Roehampton (2017-2019). I joined the 糖心Vlog as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in 2019.
Qualifications
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BA Mount Carmel College,
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MSc 糖心Vlog,
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PhD University of Southampton,
Appointments
糖心Vlog
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Lecturer (Assistant Professor), 糖心Vlog (2019 - present)
Other academic
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Senior Lecturer, University of Roehampton (2018 - 2019)
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Lecturer, University of Roehampton (2017 - 2018)
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Research Fellow, Birmingham City University (2015 - 2017)
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Research Fellow, University of Southampton (2014 - 2015)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
social status and inequality
social inclusion
self-esteem
narcissism
emotion and well-being
interpersonal behaviour
decision-making
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Social Psychology and Economics (EC957)
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Social Psychology (PS407)
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The Psychology of (Self)-Improvement (PS515)
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Advanced Social Psychology (PS923)
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Special Topics in Individual Differences and Developmental Psychology (PS938)
Publications
Journal articles (17)
Chen, S., Van Tilburg, W., Mahadevan, N. and Leman, PJ., (2024). . Current Psychology. 43 (31), 25809-25819
Mahadevan, N., (2024). . Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 18 (6)
Mahadevan, N., Gregg, AP. and Sedikides, C., (2023). . Journal of Personality. 91 (2), 519-536
Mahadevan, N. and Jordan, C., (2022). . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 48 (5), 704-717
Mahadevan, N., Gregg, AP. and Sedikides, C., (2022). . Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 152 (3), 632-656
Mahadevan, N., Gregg, AP. and Sedikides, C., (2021). . Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 150 (12), 2613-2635
Van Tilburg, W., Saadi, A. and Mahadevan, N., (2021). . British Journal of Social Psychology. 60 (3), 888-901
Van Tilburg, WAP. and Mahadevan, N., (2020). . Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 73 (6), 941-956
Mahadevan, N., Gregg, AP. and Sedikides, C., (2020). . Journal of Personality. 88 (6), 1111-1128
Mahadevan, N., Gregg, AP. and Sedikides, C., (2019). . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 116 (3), 444-466
Mahadevan, N., Gregg, AP. and Sedikides, C., (2019). . Personality and Individual Differences. 139, 170-174
Gregg, AP., Mahadevan, N. and Sedikides, C., (2018). . Social Cognition. 36 (1), 43-77
Gregg, AP., Mahadevan, N. and Sedikides, C., (2017). . Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 70 (6), 996-1010
Gregg, AP., Mahadevan, N. and Sedikides, C., (2017). . The Journal of Positive Psychology. 12 (1), 59-73
Mahadevan, N., Gregg, AP., Sedikides, C. and de Waal-Andrews, WG., (2016). . Frontiers in Psychology. 7 (MAR), 334-
Gregg, AP. and Mahadevan, N., (2014). . Journal of Psychology and Theology. 42 (1), 7-18
Gregg, AP., Mahadevan, N., Edwards, SE. and Klymowsky, J., (2014). . Behavior Research Methods. 46 (3), 758-771
Book chapters (1)
Gregg, AP. and Mahadevan, N., (2014). . In: Encyclopedia of Lying and Deception. Editors: Levine, TR., . SAGE Publications. 978-1452258775
Other (1)
Mahadevan, N., (2021).Narcissists: there's more than one type - and our research reveals what makes each tick. The Conversation