Dr Anna Maughan

Biography

Anna joined the University of Cumbria in June 2025 as a Lecturer in Research Methods, following the completion of her PhD in Psychology in January 2025. Her doctoral research explored emotion-based processes, medical conspiracy beliefs, and health-related intentions, contributing to the growing field of misinformation research. 

Prior to her current role, Anna held Research Assistant positions on projects investigating conspiracy beliefs and health misinformation. She has taught across a broad range of Psychology modules since 2018, bringing a student-centred and research-informed approach to her teaching. 

As an early career researcher, she is committed to developing interdisciplinary collaborations and supporting students in developing their own research identities.

Qualifications and memberships

PhD, Northumbria University (2025)

MRes in Psychology, Northumbria University (2018)

BSc (Hons) Psychology, Northumbria University (2016) 

Academic and research interests

• Conspiracy Beliefs
• Misinformation
• Online Behaviours
• Health Behaviour

Publications

Jolley, D., Shepherd, L., & Maughan, A. (2024). The fear factor: examining the impact of fear on vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs. Psychology & Health, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2024.2381235

Vijaykumar, S., Jin, Y., Rogerson, D. et al. How shades of truth and age affect responses to COVID-19 (Mis)information: randomized survey experiment among WhatsApp users in UK and Brazil. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8, 88 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00752

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