Laura Ferris

Dr Laura Ferris is a Senior Lecturer in Management and Clinical Psychologist at the UQ Business School. Her research investigates pain, suffering and other intense human experiences, drawing on organisational, clinical, and social psychological approaches. Dr Ferris and her team use integrative mixed methods to examine group formation and cohesion, ostracism, conformity, risk-taking, intergroup threat perception, and broader social identity processes in organisational settings. Her interdisciplinary work is informed by a background in public service, law and justice policy, and multiagency crisis response. Dr Ferris also maintains a private practice in clinical psychology. pain, suffering and other intense human experiences, drawing on organisational, clinical, and social psychological approaches; group formation and cohesion, ostracism, conformity, risk-taking, intergroup threat perception, and broader social identity processes in organisational settings

[2026] Benign masochism in the wild: pleasure predicts social identification at aversive mass gatherings. Ferris, Laura J., Cruwys, Tegan, Young, Tarli, Bastian, Brock and Jetten, Jolanda (2026). Benign masochism in the wild: pleasure predicts social identification at aversive mass gatherings. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 21 (4), 709-719. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2025.2512810 [2025] Vaccine uptake and adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions at a youth mass gathering event: a longitudinal field cohort study. Ferris, Laura J., Kang, Jemima, Rathbone, Joanne A., Cruwys, Tegan, Stevens, Mark, Donaldson, Jessica L., Ranse, Jamie and Barlow, Fiona Kate (2025). Vaccine uptake and adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions at a youth mass gathering event: a longitudinal field cohort s