Prof. Clark-Carter’s text is used as core reading for many Psychology degrees at all levels of study (from undergraduate to postgraduate students) and features chapters detailing the whole research process from generating a study idea, designing research, to analysing the findings of quantitative studies using a variety of statistical methods.
The 4th Edition of Prof. Clark-Carter’s book is due to be published on the 13th December 2018. Further details about the book, including a preview of its contents, can be viewed via the publisher’s website (click below):
I was thrilled to be invited to write a second edition of my Health Psychology text book. I saw this as an opportunity to put in things I wish I had put in first time round and to update the information. The book is not a comprehensive description of the whole of health psychology but is an overview of the discipline. I want to give readers an insight into Health Psychology, what it is, and why it is important. In order to do this, I have tried to take on the role of tour guide: I want to give the reader enough information to spark their desire to find out more about the profession and discipline of Health Psychology. I hope that by sharing my enthusiasm, readers will be tempted to delve deeper and read more about each of the topics highlighted.
After the introduction (Chapter 1), which explains what Health Psychology is and how it developed, the book is divided into two sections. In the first section, ‘Health Behaviour’, I start by considering what it means to be healthy, what health behaviours are and how they can be measured (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3, I explore the variety of factors which are thought to influence our health behaviours. In Chapter 4, I describe the different models that have been designed to predict behaviour change, and, in Chapter 5 I explore the growing relationship between health psychology, public health and health promotion.
The second section of the book, ‘Health Psychology in Action’, consists of four chapters which showcase how Health Psychology has been applied to major health issues. Chapter 6 explores stress and stress management. Chapter 7 considers eating behaviour. Chapter 8 focuses on smoking and drinking, and Chapter 9, on managing long-term conditions. The book concludes with a final chapter in which I draw together the key messages and speculate on the possible future for Health Psychology.
If you are one of those people who read the first edition of this book, you might be curious about what has changed in the seven years since it was published. Well, you will see from the description above that in this second edition, I have not just updated the references: I have rewritten sections, restructured the book and added chapters (on public health, smoking and drinking, and long-term conditions). I am also thrilled to be able to direct your attention to the last entry in the index. This reads ’zombie’. This was inadvertently excluded from the first edition but is now firmly in place. “‘What,” I hear you ask, “‘do zombies have to do with health psychology?” Well, read Chapter 2 and you will find out.
Professor Karen Rodham’s new book is now published and available purchase in all good book retailers. Please see the publisher’s website below for further information about the new edition:
Keep updated with the latest Health Psychology news from Staffordshire University via following us on @StaffsPsych and via the #HealthPsychStaffs hashtag.
For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:
Dr Daniel Jolley (Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology & member of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) was featured in an interview with the online VICE news website discussing the reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories, especially in relation to celebrity news, and what effects conspiracy beliefs have on individuals.
Dr Jolley discusses some of the reasons why individuals may believe in conspiracies relating to famous names (e.g. Beyonce, Nick Cage, Avril Lavigne) and how such beliefs may have negative consequences, especially in relation to political and environmental issues, read more via:
Dr Daniel Jolley (Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology & member of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) was featured on BBC Radio Stoke’s Stuart George’s drivetime show (7th November 2018) discussing the psychology of conspiracy theories and why people believe in conspiracy theories.You can listen to Dr Jolley’s interview via the below link:
Could you live for a year or more in space? What challenges might you face living and working there? What would you miss about earth? These are the question we proposed to over 1500 attendees during the European Researchers Night at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in September 2018.
Psychologists from The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research at Staffordshire University attended the event where our aim was to introduce the guests to the physical environment in space and together discuss the challenges with space travel on people’s wellbeing. Drs Nichola Street, Gemma Hurst and Daniel Jolley, and Dina Grinstead and Darel Cookson were on hand during the night to discuss the Psychology of Space with guests.
The event was split into different parts. First, guests ‘travelled’ to the International Space Station (ISS) using Virtual Reality equipment to explore the living conditions of space travellers. We asked guests to consider what they would find most challenging living on the ISS for a year and what they might miss about earth during that time. The ISS that they explored can be termed an ICE environment; those environments which are Isolated, Confined and Extreme. Spending time in these types of environments is a psychological challenge. For those guests who were a little too young to use the Virtual Reality, they were able to view the space centre on a projected screen.Alongside the VR exploration, we asked what guests would miss the most if they had to live in space for a year. The responses from guests were heart-warming and clear patterns appeared: People would miss their Family, Friends, Pets, Food (they had tasted space food in another Staffordshire University run activity on the night) and nature. People talked about missing the space to walk the dog or the chance to change where you are.Next, guests entered a ‘psychology relief room’ in which they were exposed to natural imagery and sound. These nature interventions have been trailed in ICE environments as a way to dampen the potentially harmful effects of physical space with success. Evidence shows that even when direct access to nature is not possible (as it would not be in space) nature substitutes can go some way to reduce psychological harm.
While the ‘extreme’ aspect may be missing from many of our experiences on earth we can certainly think of many places that fit into the isolated and confined categories such as hospitals, prisons or even your home or work places. And like our space travellers pointed out, Nature exposure can go some way towards combatting the negative effects. The research of Drs Nikki Street & Gemma Hurst aims to shed light on the impact of physical environments on an individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour. To learn more about the exciting research from the department please visit The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research‘s website.
The new paper, titled ‘Mock jurors’ perceptions of a child witness: The impact of the presence and/or intervention of a Registered Intermediary during cross-examination’, featured students from Psychology and Law departments who took the parts of barristers, court clerk, child witness, and Registered Intermediary as part of a mock trial. The students, who volunteered their time for the time, are named in the acknowledgements for the publication and were given a useful insight into the research process and experience of research in Forensic Psychology. The University’s mock court room was used for the study and the cross-examination of the child victim was video recorded and shown to mock juror participants.
The findings of the study showed no effect of the presence or intervention of the Registered Intermediary on mock juror perceptions, which supports their neutral role in court proceedings. However, rather concerning was the way in which one factor, the likelihood of a guilty verdict, was affected by which professional gave an intervention – if the Registered Intermediary was present and included an intervention (to support communication with the child witness) then the likelihood of a guilty verdict was lower than if the Registered Intermediary was absent and the judge gave the same intervention – the converse was found when no interventions were included. This raises the question as to mock juror perceptions of what is an appropriate role for professionals to take – but that this has an impact on their guilty verdicts is highly concerning.
This new study has recently been accepted for publication in the journal Psychology, Crime and Law, and the full text of the article can now be accessed via the journal’s website:
The project aims to develop and validate a conspiracy belief questionnaire suitable for adolescents and involves a collaboration between Staffordshire University (Dr Daniel Jolley), University of Kent (Prof Karen Douglas) and Keele University (Dr Yvonne Skipper).
The primary role of the Research Assistant will be to manage data collection; this will involve recruitment of 1,270 school pupils (aged 11 – 18) from across four schools in the local area of Staffordshire. You will liaise with schools to arrange testing; travel and administer questionnaires and run focus groups with school pupils on site; and assist when required with additional tasks relating to the everyday running of the project, e.g. transcription, data analysis etc.
To be suitable for this role, you will have a good honours degree in Psychology or related subject, or equivalent experience. You will have experience of collecting data with pupils in schools, with a thorough understanding of how psychological research is conducted. You should be flexible and well-organised; able to set and keep to work priorities, work to deadlines and problem solve and have excellent communication skills. This role will require you to obtain a DBS check.
The closing date for applications is the 11th November 2018 and interviews will be held week commencing 19th November 2018.
The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research is home to research activity in the Psychology Department at Staffordshire University. The Centre is home to a number of research-active psychologists who are engaged in research across a wide range of psychological subdisciplines
For more details about the Centre, its research activities, events and consultancy, please visit our website (click here).
Dr Alison Owen, a lecturer in Health Psychology and a member of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research has carried out a series of pieces of research looking at the impact of appearance-focussed interventions on a person’s health choices. Previous research has found that health-focussed campaigns can often fail to motivate many young people to change their behaviour, with many people feeling that health-related threats are too long- term to concern them and not relevant to them. However, it is known that for many young men and women, their appearance is a key priority for them (Grogan, 2012).
For her PhD, carried out at Staffordshire University, Dr Owen therefore decided to focus on interventions that showed people the impact of health choices on a person’s appearance, as opposed to the more traditional health-focussed interventions. Dr Owen used a piece of computer software called AprilAge, which shows participants projected images of themselves up to the age of 72 years, and allowed them to compare images of themselves after exposing their skin to the sun without using protection with those where they have been protecting their skin from the sun. Dr Owen and her PhD supervision team (Professor Sarah Grogan, Professor David Clark-Carter and Dr Emily Buckley) found some really positive findings, with participants reporting significantly higher intentions to use sun protection after viewing the intervention. The software has also been used at Staffordshire University by Dr Keira Flett and Prof. Clark-Carter, showing people the impact that smoking can have on a persons’ appearance, again with very promising findings.Dr Owen and Dr Flett, alongside Professor Grogan (Manchester Metropolitan University) have now expanded their research to look at another health behaviour – drinking alcohol. Along with software designer Auriole Prince, the researchers came up with a piece of software called Change My Face, that like AprilAge, is able to show people from their current age up to the age of 72, but this time, showing them the impact that moderate and high alcohol consumption can have on their skin, compared to if they have been drinking within the recommended limits.
The researchers are currently recruiting participants for a study investigating the effectiveness of the software, in comparison with an intervention that informs people of the possible health impacts of alcohol consumption. If you have any questions about the research or are interested in taking part in the study then please email Dr Alison Owen at Alison.owen@staffs.ac.uk or research assistant Alex Morley-Hewitt at m014871b@student.staffs.ac.uk.
Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology
Keep updated with the latest Health Psychology news from Staffordshire University via following us on @StaffsPsych and via the #HealthPsychStaffs hashtag.
For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:
The talks feature a variety of speakers from both within and external to the University who will be presenting their latest research findings to staff and students from the Department of Psychology. The talks are open to all staff and students from across the University, as well as to members of the public with an interest in psychology.
The 2018-2019 series starts with a Showcase Seminar on Thursday 27th September (4pm, R002 Science Centre Lecture Theatre) featuring short talks delivered by members of staff from the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, including:
Dr Rob Dempsey (using photovoice to understand wellbeing)
Dr Sarah Rose (using psychology to prevent dog bites amongst young children)
The #StaffsVSS series of visiting speaker talks are open to everyone (no need to book; just turn up) and take place throughout the academic year. For details of the other talks in the 2018-19 Visiting Speaker Series please visit our Centre webpages:
The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research is home to research activity in the Psychology Department at Staffordshire University. The Centre is home to a number of research-active psychologists who are engaged in research across a wide range of psychological subdisciplines
For more details about the Centre, its research activities, events and consultancy, please visit our website (click here).
After a rigorous application process, I was pleased to have been granted a 4-week placement at Staffordshire University in Psychology, provided by the Nuffield Research Foundation. My placement consisted of carrying out research within the field of child development, where I had to plan and set up a pilot study on the effects of television on 3- to 5-year-old children’s creativity.
My first week was very welcoming, I got a tour around the campus and got to meet many people such as members of staff, IT technicians, whom all aided me through my placement by providing me with the appropriate equipment, guidance etc. I received my workspace and received all the information I needed from my supervisor on the history and aims of my project.
The first couple days were just a matter of settling into the University and summoning the psychologist inside me! My first tasks were to plan out the step-by-step procedures we would use to collect the data. This involved me finding and editing suitable TV episode and audiobook which would appeal to the children at the nursery, writing a script, gathering relevant materials and creating data scoring sheets. Since the research involved working with young children, parental consent was required. The staff at the University Nursery, who were very kind and welcoming, distributed the forms to the children.
The two weeks of preparation flew by and before I knew it, it was time to begin the first day of the experiment! Me, Sarah and 3rd year Psychology Student Charlotte headed to the nursery where we set up and began the experiment in a separate quiet room. One by one children were introduced and taken through various fun activities such as naming everything they can think of that makes a noise, finding as many uses as they can for paper cups, acting like different animals, the list goes on. This was all done to measure their creativity prior and after either listening to or watching a magical story from CBeebies. The children all reacted differently, some thought hard, some laughed, some were confused, but nevertheless they all came up with some great ideas and just watching the children actively engage in the tasks was so thrilling to watch as a researcher. All the procedures went to plan, phew!
After three days of conducting the experiment, it was then my job to score and tally the results and present them on a chart. Finally, on my last week of the placement my task was to write up and create a poster on everything I done in my placement, this included the aims, methodology, results, references, etc. I found it so difficult to sum up such an action packed few weeks in one poster that I struggled to fit everything in!
Overall, I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with Staffordshire University, I am proud to of been a part of the research and grateful for Nuffield Research on providing me with the placement and if possible, I would do it all again!
Professor David Clark-Carter (Professor of Psychological Research Methods, Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) is about to publish the fourth edition of his widely used Quantitative Psychological Research textbook in December 2018.
