Professor Alex Gillespie to lead LSE’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science

Professor Alex Gillespie has been appointed Head of the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science (PBS) at LSE, succeeding Professor Liam Delaney after six years in the post. Alex brings extensive experience of LSE and PBS, having joined the then Department of Social Psychology in 2011 and served as Deputy Head of Department (Research) in PBS for the past three years.

Alex’s research focuses on how people and groups understand the world from different perspectives, and how effective communication can help bridge these differences. He developed the Healthcare Complaint Analysis Tool, along with tools for studying perspective-taking and assessing defensiveness. Alex is also Programme Co-Director for the MSc Social and Cultural Psychology, an Editor of Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, Visiting Professor II at Oslo New University, and a founder of the Culture and Risk Research Unit.

Alex’s appointment follows a period of growth and development for PBS during Liam’s time as Head of Department.

Liam’s tenure began shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, and he guided PBS through the uncertainty and change that followed. Under his leadership, the department has seen substantial growth, with faculty and student numbers increasing significantly. PBS has also strengthened its position as a leading centre for psychological and behavioural science, with researchers contributing to work that informs policy, practice and public understanding in the UK and internationally. This strength is reflected in teaching too; the department’s BSc in Psychological and Behavioural Science, introduced in 2019, has been ranked number one in the UK for three consecutive years.

Alongside his leadership of PBS, Liam co-directed the popular MSc Behavioural Science, established the Behavioural Science and the Wider World Initiative and associated seminar series, and helped bring the AKO Master’s Scholarships for students from the Global South to PBS, broadening the range of perspectives within the department.

Liam said of his time as Head of Department: "Leading PBS over the past six years has been a privilege. The department has grown a great deal in that time, but what I am proudest of is the character colleagues have given it: rigorous psychological and behavioural science that takes seriously the problems people and institutions face. Alex has been central to building that, and I am delighted he is taking it on. The department is in very good hands."

Alex responded: “I am grateful to Liam for six years of steady and ambitious leadership, and for leaving PBS in such a strong position. My priorities are to support colleagues in doing research that matters, to keep our teaching among the most innovative in our field, and to strengthen the department's links with the practitioners and policymakers who use our work."

Alex takes up the role on 1 September 2026 and will be working with colleagues across PBS to build on the department’s strengths in teaching, research and engagement.