Jenny’s research draws on various social psychological theories, including intergroup contact theory, social identity theory, and intergroup emotions theory, to examine two distinct but often complementary themes: love and hate.

Researching love

Building upon her PhD, which examined the interpersonal and intergroup consequences of cross-group romantic relationships (2009-2013), Jenny examines perceptions and consequences of cross-group romantic relationships. Although these relationships are often overlooked in the intergroup relations literature, research into their formation and consequences are crucial because these unique relationships can both transgress and potentially transform group boundaries.

Through this avenue of research Jenny has shown that interracial romantic relationships are perceived more negatively than same-race relationships, but having extended contact with interracial couples can reduce prejudice in others (Paterson, Turner, & Conner, 2015, JASP). In addition, she has shown that intergroup contact between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland not only improves general intergroup attitudes, it also increases participants own receptivity towards intergroup dating (Paterson, Turner, & Hodson, 2019, JASP).

Continuing with this research theme, Jenny plans to investigate who, when, and why people form cross-group and same-race romantic relationships. Importantly, she seeks to further explore both the interpersonal and the intergroup consequences of these relationships, for example, do cross-group couples experience more disapproval of their relationship than same-group couples? If so, does that impact on their relationship satisfaction? Does it influence on their own intergroup attitudes? Jenny also aims to examine how children of these relationships are perceived and how they may transform group categorisations which may, in turn, influence intergroup attitudes even further.

Researching hate

Following her Research Fellowship on the Sussex Hate Crime Project, Jenny is particularly interested in understanding and alleviating the impacts of hate crime. Through this research she has shown that hate crimes not only disproportionately impact victims directly involved in the crimes, such incidents send messages of intolerance throughout entire communities (Walters, Paterson, Brown, & McDonnell, 2017, JIV). These effects are felt more acutely than comparable non-hate crimes (Paterson, Brown, & Walters, 2019, BJSP), affect all sections of diverse communities (Paterson, Brown, & Walters, 2018, TPM; Walters, Paterson, McDonnell, & Brown, 2019, IRV), and are relatively long lasting (Paterson, Brown, & Walters, 2019, PSPB).

Leading a British Academcy funded project, Jenny is currently working with Prof Mark Walters (Sussex) and Lisa Hall (Northumbria) to investigate victim blaming in hate crime cases. The project aims to better understand why and when individuals blame victims of hate crime, and how to reduce such victim blaming tendencies. 

Within this research, Jenny is passionate about using her research to inform policies and practices, as well as raising awareness of the impacts of hate crimes. To this end, she has worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service which drew upon her research to inform its policy of using community impact statements for the prosecution of hate crime cases. She has also submitted her research to numerous Parliamentary enquiries and her research was widely cited in the All Party Parliamentary Group’s Report on Hate Crime, as well as the Law Commission's Review in to Hate Crime legislation. This research also attracted wide media attention, including an article in the Metro, a national newspaper, and an article on the front page of the BBC website which has attracted more than 200,000 visits.

Jenny aims to further explore the impacts of hate crime, including investigating the roles of identity, empathy and victim blaming. She also plans on continuing to work with legal professionals and practitioners to better understand the role that restorative justice could play in addressing the harms of hate.

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Enhancing punishment or repairing harms? Perceptions of sentencing hate crimes amongst members of a commonly targeted victim group, Walters, M., Paterson, J., Brown, R. 1 Jan 2021, In: British Journal of Criminology
• Hate Crimes Against Trans People: Assessing Emotions, Behaviors, and Attitudes Toward Criminal Justice Agencies, Walters, M., Paterson, J., Brown, R., McDonnell, L. 1 Nov 2020, In: Journal of Interpersonal Violence
• Pylons ablaze: Examining the role of 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and support for violence, Jolley, D., Paterson, J. 1 Jul 2020, In: British Journal of Social Psychology
• Feeling for and as a group member: Understanding LGBT victimization via group-based empathy and intergroup emotions, Paterson, J., Brown, R., Walters, M. 1 Jan 2019, In: British Journal of Social Psychology
• Group identity, empathy and shared suffering: Understanding the ‘community’ impacts of anti-LGBT and Islamophobic hate crimes, Walters, M., Paterson, J., McDonnell, L., Brown, R. 3 Mar 2019, In: International Review of Victimology
• Receptivity to dating and marriage across the religious divide in Northern Ireland: The role of intergroup contact, Paterson, J., Turner, R., Hodson, G. 1 Sep 2019, In: Journal of Applied Social Psychology
• The Short and Longer Term Impacts of Hate Crimes Experienced Directly, Indirectly, and Through the Media, Paterson, J., Walters, M., Brown, R. 1 Jul 2019, In: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
• ‘Your pain is my pain’: examining the community impacts of Islamophobic hate crimes, Paterson, J., Walters, M., Brown, R. 12 Feb 2019, The Routledge International Handbook of Islamophobia, Abingdon, Oxon, Taylor & Francis
• Understanding victim group responses to hate crime: Shared identities, perceived similarity and intergroup emotions, Paterson, J., Brown, R., Walters, M. 21 Jun 2018, In: TPM - Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology
• Extended Contact, Paterson, J., Cameron, L., Turner, R. 22 Jun 2017, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Political Behavior, Thousand Oaks, US, SAGE

• Psychology PhD March 01 2013
• Psychology MA May 01 2008
• Psychology May 01 2006