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Dr Rod Bond

Rod Bond, Emeritus Reader in Social Psychology, died on 10th May 2023, aged 75.

As one of Sussex’s longest serving colleagues, Rod Bond fulfilled several roles in the University with distinction and much compassion.

Following his First Class degree in psychology from Swansea University, Rod came to Sussex in 1969 to do a PhD. He then moved to the LSE to work with Hilde Himmelweit, returning to Sussex in 1974 to work with Nigel Lemon on the effects of training on magistrates’ decision-making. In 1977 he was appointed Lecturer in Social Psychology.

As was the norm in Social Sciences at that time, Rod taught many different modules within the social psychology degree programme, bringing his sharp intelligence to bear on a diverse range of topics and issues, to the benefit of his students. Eventually he found his true métier in the teaching of methodology and statistics. An auto-didact, Rod developed a deep understanding of several complex statistical techniques and quickly mastered the computer software used for the analysis of data.

Successive generations of Sussex psychology students benefitted enormously from his brilliantly lucid statistics lectures and workshops, and from his endless patience in helping them with problems in their analyses of individual empirical projects. Rod was deeply appreciated by students and colleagues alike for the generosity with which he took time to share his psychological expertise and career advice.

Research Career

Rod’s expertise in statistical analysis led to the flowering of his research career.

The 1990s witnessed a proliferation of the use of increasingly sophisticated statistical techniques within psychology. Amongst these, two of the most powerful tools were meta-analysis (the statistical aggregation of many independent studies) and structural equation modelling (a multivariate technique useful for analysing the role of mediating mechanisms and longitudinal data sets). Rod was adept in the use of both (and more), and this led to dozens of important publications with collaborators within and outside Sussex. Of these, his 1996 Psychological Bulletin paper with Peter Smith soon became a citation classic. In a meta-analysis of over 100 studies using the Asch conformity paradigm (in which participants are influenced to make errors in a simple visual judgement task on hearing the incorrect responses of others), they showed that the magnitude of the conformity effect depended on the cultural context in which the study was conducted.

This meta-analysis was followed by several others, most notably on correlates of student academic performance (with Michelle Richardson and Charles Abraham) and demonstrating the negative relationship between materialism and well-being (with Helga Dittmar, Megan Hurst and Tim Kasser).

The disciplinary range of Rod’s collaborations was extraordinary. In addition to psychologists, he published with medical scientists, sociologists and animal behaviourists.

Leadership and Student Welfare

Rod will also be remembered for his superb leadership and managerial skills. Early on in his career he became chair of the social psychology subject group. This was followed by periods as sub-Dean (student welfare) and then Dean of Social Sciences. Of this work, his colleague John Dearlove writes:

This welfare role did not define Rod’s ‘administrative’ contribution, however, because he had a keen eye for making improvements across the board, be it with respect to the School system; the undergraduate admissions process; the provision of computers for all staff; the teaching of research methods; or the arcane teaching allocation system that was supposed to secure fairness. The career-oriented academic ploughs a research furrow, but Rod did more and was selfless in his focus on student welfare, teaching, and running things better.

Then, in perhaps his most important contribution, in 2003 he became head of the newly created Department of Psychology, successfully bringing together the three different psychology groups across campus under a single umbrella. Colleagues familiar with the sometimes difficult history of relations between those three groups at Sussex will appreciate what an impressive feat that was.

Outside of Work

Away from his desk, Rod was a proficient bridge player, playing monthly with the same group of friends over a period of 40 years. He was also a keen cyclist. He rarely missed the annual London-Brighton bike ride and undertook several long-distance rides in France. And he was passionate about football, not only as a long-term season-ticket holder with Brighton and Hove Albion, but also as an enthusiastic player. He founded the weekly staff football group in the 1970s, a game which continues to this day.

In 2021 he was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. He bore his illness with considerable fortitude, continuing to teach, play bridge and football, and always taking great pleasure in seeing his family and friends. He is survived by his daughters Katy and Molly, his sons Alex and Eric, and his grandchildren Sofia and Penny.

In memory of Rod, his son Eric invites donations to the Martlets Hospice in appreciation of the wonderful care Rod received during the final stage of his illness.

Rupert Brown, Pete Clifton, John Dearlove, Helga Dittmar and Pete Harris

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