Dr Sam Roberts is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. His educational and research background is multi-disciplinary, including a Bachelor’s degree in Human Sciences from the University of Oxford, a Master’s degree in Evolutionary Psychology and a PhD which focused on primate social cognition. Building on this diverse background, his research focuses on communication and social relationships in both primates and humans. Because humans are social animals, the nature of our social ties is an important determinant of both our physical health and mental well-being. Dr Roberts’ research thus focuses on people’s social networks – the set of relationships they have with family and friends. He examines how communication patterns relate to these social relationships, how they change over time and how they are related to well-being. As online interaction has become increasingly important in forming and maintaining relationships, he is also studying how using social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram affect both social networks and well-being. He has conducted longitudinal studies tracking how social networks change over time and used ‘big data’ from mobile phone communication to examine how fine-grained patterns of communication are associated with changes in people’s social networks.
