Professor Emma Thomas

Professor Emma Thomas is a social psychologist in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, where she serves as Matthew Flinders Professor and Australian Research Council Future Fellow. She also leads the Flinders Social Influence and Social Change Lab and holds leadership positions in the Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies and Flinders Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Her research resides at the intersection of social and political psychology, concentrating on the psychological mechanisms that drive political engagement, collective action, and extremism. She explores how social identities, group norms, emotions (such as anger, outrage, and hope), and online interactions influence individuals' decisions to participate in both peaceful protests and radical movements.​ Professor Thomas has received substantial funding from the Australian Research Council, including a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) and Future Fellowship (2025-2030) and has collaborated with government and non-government organisations on studies related to political engagement, online radicalization and misinformation. Professor Thomas has served as Associate Editor (2017-2019) at the British Journal of Social Psychology and Political Psychology (current-2028). She has published extensively in top international journals and her work has garnered attention from media outlets like The Washington Post and ABC Radio.

In recognition of her contributions, she was honoured with the South Australian Tall Poppy Science Award in 2018.

Her recent projects delve into the role of "angry hope" in motivating social change, examining how emotions like hope and anger interact to inspire collective action on issues such as climate change and inequality; and how movements based on conspiracy and misinformation are challenging democratic norms in Australia and beyond.