PUBLICATIONS
Selected writing for general audiences
Regular writing at The Belonging on Substack, including series on football fandom, festivals, and the rituals of Autumn
Unlocking the power of psychedelics through social connection (Springer Nature Research Communities: Oct 25, 2024)
How to demonstrate the real-world impact of your research (Nature - Career Column: Oct 30, 2024)
Social bonds and community support are vital to prison reform (Nature Human Behaviour - Research Briefing: Oct 16, 2024)
Football can improve wellbeing of people in prison and could help stop reoffending (Conversation: Oct 2, 2024)
When football clubs are less successful, fans are more loyal to each other (Conversation: Jan 21, 2021)
Why do hardcore football fans behave like rutting stags? (Psyche: Jul 24, 2021)
Why we’re more likely to follow COVID-19 rules when our families and friends do (Conversation: Jan 28, 2021)
Peer-review
*pre-registered
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Newson, M., McGrath, R., Mosina, I., Reason, G., & Peitz, L. (2026). Sauna culture improves physical and mental wellbeing in the UK through social connection and ritual. Social Science and Medicine.
Trivedi, A., Çetinkaya, Y. M., Cowan, M. A., Newson, M., Vlahović, N., & Davulcu, H. (2026). Beyond the black box: Programmable AI and explainable text analysis for trustworthy social intelligence. IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems. Advance online publication.
Newson, M., Roseman, L., & Haslam, S. A. (2026). Towards social curative psychedelic treatment. Discover Mental Health.
Newson, M., Peitz, L., & Ruler, M. (2026). Recreational drug use at sports events in the US and UK. Journal of Sport and Social Issues.
Newson, M., Aytaç, M. B., & Peitz, L. (2026). Club representation in the national team: Effects on identity fusion and intra-vs intergroup attitudes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise.
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Newson, M., Cunliffe, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2025). Fusing concept to theory: Identity fusion’s potential role in crime research.Theory and Society.
Peitz, L., Whitehouse, H., & Newson, M. (2025). Can transformative experiences bridge the gap between receiving communities and formerly incarcerated persons? British Journal of Social Psychology.
Newson, M., Peitz, L., Cunliffe, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2025). Sports-based interventions fostering positive identity formation in prison: insights from the Twinning Project. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology.
Bortolini, T., Newson, M., Moll, J., Whitehouse, H., Fischer, R. (2025). Effects of synchronous chanting and identity fusion on perceived ingroup formidability, outgroup threat, and parochial altruism among football fans. Evolution and Human Behavior.
Peitz, L., Lobban, R., Ruler, M., Newson, M. (2025). Scoring second chances: Addressing women's unique challenges and opportunities in a football-based prison programme. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology.
Peitz, L., & Newson, M. (2025). Sport-based interventions and health in prisons: The impact of Twinning Project on prisoner wellbeing and attitudes. Journal of Health Psychology.
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Newson, M. & Watson, S. (2024). How to demonstrate the real-world impact of your research. Nature.
Newson, M., Peitz, L., Cunliffe, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2024). A soccer-based intervention improves incarcerated individuals' behaviour and public acceptance through social bonding. Nature Human Behavior.
Newson, M. & Whitehouse, H. (2024). Social bonds and community support are vital to prison reform. Nature Human Behavior.
Newson, M., Haslam, A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Roseman, L. (2024). Social identity processes as a vehicle for therapeutic success in psychedelic treatment: Harnessing the social cure. Nature Mental Health.
Newson, M., Peitz, L., White, F., Wibisono, S., Knijnik, J., Whitehouse, H. (accepted). Antisocial behaviour and football identities among ultras: Different continents, same mindset? Self and Identity.
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Newson, M., Peitz, L., Gitsham, H., Imada, H., & Abrams, D. (2023). ‘We need community’: Bridging the path to desistance from crime with community football. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology.
Tunçgenç, B., van Mulukom, V., & Newson, M. (2023). Social bonds are related to health behaviours and positive wellbeing globally. Scientific Advances.
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Newson, M., White, F., Whitehouse, H. (2022). Does loving a group mean hating its rivals? Exploring the relationship between ingroup cohesion and outgroup hostility among football fans.
International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.*Tunçgenç, B., Newson, M., Sulik, J., Zhao, Y., Dezecache, G., Deroy, O., El Zein, M. (2022). Social alignment matters: Following pandemic guidelines is associated with better wellbeing. BMC Public Health.
Baranowski-Pinto, G., Profeta, V.L.S., Newson, M., Whitehouse, H., & Xygalatas, D. (2022). Being in a crowd bonds people via physiological synchrony. Scientific Reports.
*Newson, M., van Mulukom V., Johns, S. E. (2021). Future orientation is associated with less lockdown rule breaking, even during large illegal gatherings. Futures.
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*Newson, M., El Zein, M., Sulik, J., Deroy, O., Dezecache, G., Zhao, Y., Tunçgenç, B. (2021). Digital contact does not promote wellbeing, but face-to-face does: A cross-national survey during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Media and Society.
*Sulik, J., Deroy, O., Dezecache, G., Newson, M., Zhao, Y., El Zein, M., Tunçgenç, B. (2021). Facing the pandemic with trust in science. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.
*Newson, M., Khurana, R., Cazorla, F., van Mulukom, V. (2021). ‘I get high with a little help from my friends’ - How raves can invoke identity fusion and lasting co-operation via transformative experiences. Frontiers in Psychology.
Newson, M. (2021). High and highly bonded: Fused football fans who use cocaine are most likely to be aggressive toward rivals. International Journal of Drug Policy.
White, F., Newson, M., Verrelli, S., Whitehouse, H. (2021). Pathways to prejudice and outgroup hostility: Group alignment and intergroup conflict among football fans. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
Newson, M., Buhrmester, M., & Whitehouse, H. (2021). United in defeat: Shared suffering and group bonding among football fans. Managing Sport and Leisure.
*Tunçgenç, B., El Zein, M., Sulik, J., Newson, M., Zhao, Y., Dezecache, G., & Deroy, O. (2021). Social influence matters: We follow pandemic guidelines most when our close circle does. British Journal of Psychology.
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Newson, M., Buhrmester, M., Xygalatas, D., & Whitehouse, H. (2020). Go WILD, not WEIRD. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion.
Knijnik, J., & Newson, M. (2020). ‘Tribalism’, identity fusion and football fandom in Australia: the case of Western Sydney. Soccer and Society.
Newson, M., Shiramizu, V., Buhrmester, M., Hattori, W. T., Jong, J., Yamamoto, E., & Whitehouse, H. (2020). Devoted fans release more cortisol when watching live soccer matches. Stress and Health.
Newson, M., & Whitehouse, H. (2020). The Twinning Project: How football, the beautiful game, can be used to reduce reoffending. Prison Service Journal.
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*Kapitány, R., Kavanagh, C., Buhrmester, M., Newson, M., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Ritual, identity fusion, and the inauguration of President Trump: A pseudo-experiment of ritual modes theory. Self and Identity.
Buhrmester, M. D., Newson, M. (joint first authors), Vázquez, A., Hattori, W. T., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Winning at any cost: Identity fusion, group essence, and maximizing ingroup advantage. Self and Identity.
Newson, M., Bortolini, T., Buhrmester, M., da Silva, S., Acquino, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Brazil’s football warriors: Social bonding and inter-group violence. Evolution and Human Behavior.
Bortolini, T., Newson, M., Natividade, J., Vázquez, A., Gómez, Á. (2018). Identity fusion predicts endorsement of pro-group behaviours targeting nationality, religion or football in Brazilian samples. British Journal of Social Psychology.
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Newson, M. (2017). Football, fan violence, and identity fusion. International Review for the Sociology of Sport.
Whitehouse, H., Jong, J., Buhrmester, M., Gomez, A., Bastian, B., Kavanagh, C., Newson, M., Matthews, M., Lanman, J. A., McKay, R. & Gavrilets, S. (2017). The evolution of extreme cooperation via shared dysphoric experiences. Scientific Reports.
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Newson, M., Buhrmester, M., Whitehouse, H. (2016). Explaining lifelong loyalty: The role of identity fusion and self-shaping group events. PLOS ONE.
Lyngs, U., Cohen, E., Hattori, W., Newson, M., Levin, D. T. (2016). Hearing in color: How expectations distort perception of skin tone. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.
