Sarah Jelbert

I am a Lecturer in Psychological Science at the University of Bristol, where I teach a popular course on the Science of Happiness and run interventions to improve student well-being. I am also a lecturer and researcher in animal cognition, running comparative studies to explore the evolution of intelligence.

I am broadly interested in the evolution of cognitive abilities in humans and non-human animals. Over the past decade I have studied the cognitive abilities of a range of animals, including Eurasian jays, rufous hummingbirds, Goffin cockatoos, and both human children and adults. The majority of my work has focussed on the New Caledonian crow, a remarkable species of bird which manufactures complex tools in the wild and performs exceptionally well on cognitive tasks in captivity.

In addition, since joining the University of Bristol in 2019, I have transitioned towards applied psychological research. This is a move I made largely in response to the student mental health crisis and a desire to tackle well-being concerns among young adults. Here, I am investigating the effects of positive psychology interventions on student well-being, delivered as part of the teaching curriculum.