Dr Jennifer Pink

I have been a Lecturer in Psychology at the Open University since 2024.  Prior to that I was an Associate Lecturer here for 4 years.  

I hold a PhD in Psychology, two MScs (Abnormal and Clinical Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology) and two BScs (Psychology, Mathematics with Linguistics).  I am a BPS Chartered Psychologist and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Research interests

My main research interests focus on psychopathy and related concepts such as narcissism and sadism.  I am especially interested in the implicit psychopathic self-concept and its relation to offending-related behaviours and attitudes.  I have active research projects in this field in collaboration with other OU academics.

Other research interests include courtroom bias, public perceptions of the police and occupational mental health.

I am currently one of the Strand Leads for the Forensic Cognition Research Group alongside Graham Pike

Teaching interests

Presentation

I am co-chair of our Investigating Psychology 2 (DE200) module, on its February presentation.  This is one of our core psychology 60-credit modules and features in several of our BPS accredited programmes. 

Module Production

I am part of the production team for a new optional 60-credit psychology module (D250) which is due to launch in 2026.  My contribution includes writing teaching material on crime and on language.

PhD Supervision

I welcome applications from prospective students interested in undertaking a PhD in the School of Psychology and Counselling.  In my research I typically apply quantitative methods, and am interested in supervising PhD research in the following topic areas:

• Psychopathy and/or dark traits (sadism, narcissism, Machiavellianism)
• Impulsivity
• Aggression
• Implicit cognition

Associate Lecturing

I have extensive experience in distance tuition with the Open University.  Since 2020 I have taught on various Psychology and Counselling modules as an Associate Lecturer including core undergraduate (D120, DE200, DE300) and postgraduate (D811) psychology modules as well as a final year undergraduate forensic and counselling module (DD310). 

External collaborations

I have active research collaborations with academics at Cardiff and Swansea universities.  Additionally, I am involved with two non-profit organisations: the Welsh Branch of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and Aftermath: Surviving Psychopathy Foundation, which is an organisation providing information and support for victims of psychopathy across Europe, the US and Canada.

I am a Chartered Psychologist and a full society member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy.