100% Student Satisfaction on Staffordshire University’s MSc in Health Psychology!

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

MSc Health Psychology students at Staffordshire University are 100% satisfied with the quality of their course according to Post Graduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2015 results. The Higher Education Authority’s annual Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is the only sector-wide survey to gain insight from taught postgraduate students about their learning and teaching experience.

Dr Amy Burton and Dr Sarah Dean with some of our 2015 MSc Health Psychology Graduates

Staffordshire University is the home of Health Psychology with our MSc being the first programme of its kind in the UK to be accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Our students have access to top of the range facilities including a dedicated base-room within the £30 million pound Science Centre, a thriving psychology visiting speaker programme and journal club, as well as high-level teaching from academics who are active researchers in the area of Health Psychology.

Our MSc continues to hold an excellent reputation nationally and is going from strength to strength. In the recent PTES poll overall satisfaction was 100% with all students surveyed indicating that they would recommend studying at Staffordshire to a friend or relative. In particular students were 100% satisfied with the quality of learning and teaching on the MSc including support, staff enthusiasm, and intellectual stimulation and 100% satisfied with their skill development feeling that the course helped to prepare them for future careers.

Dr Amy Burton, Course Director for the MSc Health Psychology, comments “I have been Course Director for two years now and really enjoy meeting our new students and hearing about their research interests and ideas. The MSc is the first step towards becoming a Health Psychologist and many of our graduates go on to become experts in their field, working in academia, research and clinical practice. I am delighted with our PTES results. Our academic team work hard to ensure that our students get the best out of the course and these results show that we are succeeding in our goal to provide a stimulating and rewarding experience”.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology related postgraduate degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England. We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

Psychology Students Highly Satisfied at Staffordshire University!

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Our graduating Psychology Class of 2015.

Undergraduate Psychology students at Staffordshire University have given some of the highest ever satisfaction ratings for their degree courses as part of the 2015 National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS is an annual survey completed by all final year students studying degrees at UK Universities and gives an insight into students’ experiences at University.

Some of Staffordshire University’s flagship Psychology degrees gained extremely high satisfaction ratings on the NSS. The BSc Psychology and Child Development degree received a fantastic 100% satisfaction score, and our BSc Psychology degree scored a brilliant satisfaction rating of 98%.

These exceptionally high student satisfaction scores across courses demonstrates a very strong focus on students’ experiences when studying for Psychology degrees at Staffordshire University and the commitment of our academic Psychology staff in providing the best experience for students.

Judy David

Judy David, Academic Group Lead for Undergraduate Psychology, comments: “I am delighted our students are highly satisfied with their experience here. We have some exceptional Psychology courses at Staffordshire, designed to give students fascinating insights into Psychology as well as prepare them well for their future. Our academic staff team is well known for being friendly, approachable and supportive and many of our staff are involved in world leading research. So we really can offer our students one of the best experiences possible, and it is lovely to have that recognised in a national survey.”

Dr Peter Jones

Head of School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, Dr Peter Jones comments “These results are even better than last year and clearly show at Staffordshire University we have some of the best psychology degrees not only the heart of England but in the whole of the UK. I think this is not just because we have great facilities but because our academic, technical and support teams are brilliant at creating a great student experience. We pride ourselves on developing people and transforming their lives.”

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology related undergraduate and postgraduate degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading University School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England. We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

Nichola Street Joins the Psychology Department at Staffordshire University.

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

The Psychology Academic team are pleased to welcome Nichola Street who joined the University as a Lecturer in Psychology in August 2015. Nichola introduces herself below:

I am delighted to be joining the team at Staffordshire University as a Lecturer in Psychology. My first week here was full of happy, friendly faces and learning my way around the building and campus!

To give you a bit of background to my journey here, I began studying psychology at high school, and was hooked on the subject from the beginning. I went on to complete my undergraduate degree in Applied Psychology and PG Cert in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Liverpool John Moores University.

I had discovered a love of research during my degree and I started my PhD at Aberystwyth University in 2010 under the supervision of Dr Alex Forsythe. My PhD examined perceptions of visual beauty, focusing on the role that individual difference plays in aesthetic responses to natural shapes (fractals). I’d always been fascinated by the draw and hypnotic qualities of nature, and wanted to explore some of the factors that made these scenes so appealing to so many people. I transferred my PhD studies to University of Liverpool to complete my thesis. During the final year of my PhD I also worked as a Research Fellow at University of Salford with Dr Sarah Norgate (lead) on an EPSRC Digital Economy/ Energy 6th Sense Transport research in collaboration with Lancaster University and 3 other UK universities investigating travel behaviour. Our particular focus was the concept of ‘Walking School Buses’ and exploring how to reduce barriers to uptake with the support of a smartphone application ‘goWSB’. Most recently, over the last year, I have been working at University of Liverpool as a Lecturer in the School of Psychology. My role at Liverpool involved coordination for the international psychology module and working on the Online MSc Programmes in a Quality Assurance position. My time at Liverpool taught me many things but one stands outs, that there is an international need for psychological studies and education which should be encouraged as much as possible as psychologists often hold the key to helping tackle global issues in this increasingly global world.

My research focuses on some key underlying questions, namely how the environment in which we spend time can impact our behaviour and wellbeing. I enjoy interdisciplinary working and am currently collaborating with artists and scientists from a number of disciplines to explore this question further. The team and expertise here at Staffordshire is something that attracted me to the university. I was also drawn to the teaching and student-focus here at Staffordshire as I see supporting the next generation of psychologists is such an important task. Alongside my teaching, I’m excited to be taking on some public engagement responsibilities including organising the ‘Weird and Wonderful Psychology’ event to be held later in the year. I enjoy creative and collaborative events and find them very inspiring, so I am hoping to bring some of this passion to the students and wider Stoke population about the wonderful subject that is psychology!

Finally if you like social media, please follow me on twitter @NikkiCMJones, I try to tweet regularly mainly work and research related content alongside some personal stuff (mostly expect pictures of art/animals/food & drink!) and always appreciate making new connections. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into teaching and meeting more of the students and staff here at Staffordshire, so far so good and I’m very glad to be new to the team!

Annual Staffordshire Clinical Psychology Trainee Conference a Success!

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Trainees at the 2015 Conference

Ruth Graham, a current trainee Clinical Psychologist at Staffordshire University, reports on a success conference for trainees hosted at the University in the Summer of 2015.

The Clinical Psychology Trainee Conference took place in June and was deemed a great success. This year marked a new turn for the conference, as two trainees designed and ran the day. Following last year’s successful conference about service user involvement, trainees were keen to lead the way in being open and honest about the personal and professional challenges faced by psychologists.

The theme for the conference was ‘Creating Breathing Space’ and it was designed with the intention of being an experiential breathing space on the day, as well as figuring out new ways to find breathing space within trainees’ personal and professional lives.

Trainees writing their personal reflections about the challenges of accessing self care in their personal lives.

The morning included some action participatory research that allowed for group discussions and individual reflections on the challenges to accessing self care across different areas, such as university, year groups, the NHS, the therapy room, personal life and the world. This was then followed by a brilliant and well received talk on video by Professor Delia Cushway, a consultant clinical psychologist who has spent much of her career exploring trainee and professional stress amongst psychologists.

The trainees listening to Professor Delia Cushway’s video talk.

The afternoon was filled with a variety of workshops that had different takes on breathing space. They included art therapy – where therapeutic slime was met with varying reactions!

A space for mindfulness was a welcome relief amidst a busy day, whilst Konnektiv Arts, a community drama company, offered thoughtful discussion on the presentation of mental health. Neuro-circus added a fun and different approach to self-care as many tried out their balance and juggling skills.

Trainees gathered together at the end in order to offer final reflections and comments on breathing space and how it can be found and fought for in the workplace. Creative reflections led to a tie dye ripple effect wall hanging that reflected the collective impact of individual steps to find breathing space.

The ripple effect and two trainees who have enjoyed the day.

Overall the day was a great success, with trainees enjoying being together and having the space to look after themselves, both in the moment and going forward. Look out for a more in-depth presentation and experience of the conference in the exhibition room in The Science Centre, 28^th September to 2^nd October!

For more information about courses in Psychology and Clinical Psychology at Staffordshire University please visit our course pages here.

Psychology Technicians from across the UK and Ireland descend on Staffordshire University for the 40th Annual ATSiP Conference

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

The 3-day Association of Technical Staff in Psychology conference, hosted by Staffordshire University’s Technical Skills Specialists Sarah Higgins and Paul Gallimore, obtained record numbers of attendance and was well received by the delegates. There were a range of talks throughout the conference, ranging from gesture recognition using the Microsoft Kinect to using eye-tracking equipment and the evolving role of the Psychology Technician at universities.

Paul and Sarah present ‘The Links between Essential Technical Skills and Core Teaching’, at the 2015 ATSiP Conference, Staffordshire University.

The delegates also had the opportunity to tour around the Psychology facilities within the Science Centre at Staffordshire University, which left many in admiration:

‘we’re very envious of your lovely building and your equipment… certainly something to aspire to’ – Julia Mackenzie, University of Hertfordshire.

‘the Staffs department is something to aspire to and a similar level of accessibility of the equipment to the students is something I hope to achieve in the near future’ – Oliver Clark, Manchester Metropolitan University.

‘You’ve a fine setup, there was a lot of us very jealous’ – Michelle Glasheen, Mary Immaculate College.

Delegates dined locally for their evening meals at the Rare Lounge Bar and Steakhouse and David’s Brassiere which included a visit to the Italian Gardens in the gorgeous sunshine!

Delegates at the 2015 ATSiP Conference held in Staffordshire University’s Science Centre

The hosts commented ‘the feedback we received from delegates was amazing, everyone was impressed with the laboratories and equipment we had to offer and how they were integrated within student learning’ – Paul Gallimore.

‘It has been a privilege to host the 40^th annual conference. We are so grateful for the sharing of best practices and the valuable feedback in relation to the technical provision we currently provide’ – Sarah Higgins.

New research explores how officers conduct investigative interviews with children

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Sarah Krähenbühl, Lecturer in Psychology and Forensic Psychology researcher at Staffordshire University, discusses her new research exploring the use of “ground rules” by police officers and social workers when interviewing children:

This study examined over 50 transcripts of investigative interviews conducted with children who were either witnesses to, or victims of, different forms of abuse. The particular focus was when, how and if ground rules were used by the interviewing officers (generally a Police Officer but a Social Worker may take this role) and then to establish the likely impact of this on the child’s understanding and the remainder of the interview.

Ground rules refer to explanations such as ‘say if you don’t know’, ‘tell me if I get something wrong’ and an agreement to tell the truth. The interviewing protocol (known as ‘Achieving Best Evidence’ 2011) states that ground rules should be included in all interviews with children. The study took a mixed methodological approach with numerical assessment of what ground rules were included, when this happened, were there any subsequent repetitions of the rules, and a qualitative approach as to the wording used and implications of this.

The results showed that there was a lack of consistency in ground rule implementation despite clear interviewing protocol guidance. Of greater concern was that when the ground rules were implemented the child’s understanding was not established and the relevance of the ground rules to the remainder of the interview was rarely established. So, this study has relevance not only to interviewing officers and legal professionals but also has implications in relation to assessments of child credibility when giving evidence.

Dr Krähenbühl’s study has recently been accepted for publication by Psychiatry, Psychology and Law and can be accessed via the journal’s website:

Krahenbuhl, S. J., Blades, M., & Cherryman, J. (in press). A Qualitative Examination of ‘Ground Rules’ Implementation Practice in Investigative Interviews with Children. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.

Dr Krähenbühl teaches on Staffordshire University’s Forensic Psychology degree – for more information about our degrees please visit the Forensic Psychology course page and the Psychology courses webpages.

Staffordshire University to host the Association of Technical Staff in Psychology (ATSiP) Conference in June 2015.

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

June is nearly here! This month sees Psychology Technical Skills Specialists Sarah Higgins and Paul Gallimore gearing up in preparation as Staffordshire University plays host to the Association of Technical Staff in Psychology (ATSiP) three day annual conference (24th – 26th June).

ATSiP Logo

The conference will see over 60 delegates arriving from from Universities across the UK and Ireland as well as exhibitors and suppliers of specialist equipment in attendance.

Talks at the conference will include:

Links Between Delivery of Essential Technical Skills and Core Teaching – Paul Gallimore and Sarah Higgins (Staffordshire University)

Effectiveness of Audience Participation Software (Turning Point) – Prof David Clark-Carter (Staffordshire University)

The Unseen Technician – Andrew Barnes (University of Surrey)

Developing a Preschool Diagnostic Methodology for Dyslexia – Maria Shaw (Edinburgh Napier University)

There will also be several specialist talks focusing on the use of Eyetracking, EEG and Biopac equipment.

You can follow the events at the conference via the Staffordshire University Psychology twitter account (@StaffsPsych) and via the newly created Psychology Technician’s account (@StaffsPsyTech).

Join in the conversation using the conference’s twitter hashtag: #ATSiP2015

Does television affect young children’s creativity?

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

New research at Staffordshire University aims to find out! Dr Sarah Rose, Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, is welcoming 60 children and their parents to the Psychology ‘Children’s lab’ on the third floor of the Science Centre during June and July. These children and their parents are contributing to new research on the immediate impact of watching television on children’s creativity.

When they arrive at the lab children are given an ‘unusual box’ to play with. The box has ledges of wood attached to it, loops and holes, and inside is a stairway. In order to test their creativity, the children are given unusual objects to use within the box. The different movements that the children make with the objects in the box, such as moving them up and down the stairs or balancing them on the shelves, are recorded and scored for creativity. Following this, the children either watch an old ‘slow-paced’ episode of Postman Pat from the 1990s, a recent more ‘fast-paced’ episode or are given books and jigsaws to read and play with.

The “Unusual Box”

To determine the effect of watching the TV episode, all the children are then set a number of action and movement tasks to complete, including exploring how many different ways they can get from one side of a room to another and get a paper cup into a bucket. Similar to the activity with the ‘unusual box’, the different movements are recorded and scored for creativity. The assessment of creativity is of course complex. In this study tasks requiring divergent thinking will be used, these will require children to move and behave in different ways. This is a particularly appropriate way to measure creativity in 3-year-old children who may or may not feel like talking to us when they visit the lab!

The Psychology Children’s lab now has a web presence (https://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/childrenslab/) and it is hoped that this project will be the first of many to take place in the lab. Sian Foulkes, a current level 6 student, is working as a research assistant to help Sarah to collect the data from the children and their parents. Student research assistants will also be involved in scoring the various tasks for creativity once they have received training. Sarah says ‘that it is exciting to be welcoming local children and their parents to the children’s lab to take part in ground breaking research and being able to provide hands on research experience for students is very important too’.

For more details about the Children Lab click here. Interested in Child Development? The Psychology department at Staffordshire University also runs a successful BPS-accredited BSc (Hons) Psychology & Child Development degree.

Blog: Mental Health Awareness Week – New Research into Suicidality & Bipolar Disorder

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Rob Dempsey blogs on Mental Health Awareness Week and some ongoing research into the role of psychosocial factors in the experience of suicidality in people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

This week marks the Mental Health Foundation’s “Mental Health Awareness Week” – an annual event which aims to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing. It is estimated that around 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some form of mental health issues and there is increasing recognition of the need for increased funding and resources for NHS mental health services.

One of the current research projects I’m involved in is investigating the role of psychosocial factors in the experience of suicidal thoughts, feelings and acts amongst people who have a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder is characterised by the experience of severe and dynamic mood swings, including the experience of prolonged periods of depression and mania, and can be one of the most disabling mental health diagnoses. Yet, many people manage their Bipolar Disorder very successfully and some report positive experiences associated with their Bipolar Disorder. Of particular concern, however, is the high rate of completed suicide amongst people who have a Bipolar Disorder diagnosis – around 19% are thought to die by suicide (estimates do variety as Bipolar Disorder is often misdiagnosed) – meaning that people who experience Bipolar Disorder are at a substantially greater risk of completing suicide compared to people from the general population (estimates vary but are around 1.5% for the general population).

Our research, led by our PhD Student Rebecca Owen, was motivated by a general lack of good quality psychological research into the experience of suicidal thoughts, feelings and behaviours in people with lived experience of Bipolar Disorder. We were particularly interested in understanding people’s personal experiences of suicidality and understanding the role of psychological and social factors associated with heightened suicidality. Rebecca’s first paper, recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, was based on a series of qualitative interviews conducted with 20 people who have a Bipolar Disorder diagnosis and who reported the past experience of suicidal thoughts, feelings and/or behaviours. The interviews focused on our participants’ experiences of factors which worsened their experiences of suicidality and, importantly, were protective against suicidality.

We found a number of key themes in the data – including the “impact of others on suicide” (relating to the potential impact on others after suicide – e.g. family members) and “reflecting on positive social experiences” as being protective factors against suicidality. Factors which triggered or worsened suicidal thoughts included the role of negative social events (e.g. negative social interactions and more major life events like bereavements) as well as not feeling understood by others (including participants’ perceptions of being stigmatised due to their diagnosis), feeling like a burden to others and interactions with other people which reinforced the participants’ own negative self-appraisals and thoughts. These results are novel as they focus on people’s lived experience of suicidality including factors which may protect against or worsen suicidal thoughts and feelings. This study formed the first part of Rebecca’s PhD thesis and helped to inform her current studies which are looking at which of these factors (based on a literature review and this qualitative study) predict suicidal thoughts, feelings and behaviours in people with a Bipolar Disorder over time.

In addition to this study, we are working on papers discussing the impact of social factors on the experience of Bipolar Disorder more generally (and vice versa – how does Bipolar Disorder affect individuals’ social lives), a literature review of studies investigating psychosocial predictors of suicidality in people with Bipolar Disorder, as well as a paper reporting our participants’ subjective experience of participating in research discussing suicide. This latter paper is particularly novel as the majority of our participants reported that discussing their own experiences of suicidality was not distressing and we have identified some good practice guidelines for conducting suicide-focused research interviews.

We hope that this research contributes to the understanding of the experience of suicidality in people with a Bipolar Disorder diagnosis and contributes to the development of evidence-based psychological therapies. We are currently running further studies and we are seeking volunteers who have a Bipolar Disorder diagnosis to participate in an online questionnaire study – for more details about the study please contact Rebecca via rebecca.owen-6@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

Dr Rob Dempsey is a Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University and a member of the University’s Centre for Psychological Research and the Centre for Health Psychology. Rob is co-supervising Rebecca Owen’s PhD with Dr Trish Gooding (University of Manchester) and Professor Steven Jones (Spectrum Centre, University of Lancaster). Rebecca’s PhD is funded by a Studentship from the School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Manchester.

Greater health benefits when dieting with a partner

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Robert Dempsey

The Sentinel Newspaper recently printed a story highlighting the benefits of dieting with a partner. Evidence suggests that when we diet or increase our exercise behaviour in partnership with someone else we are more likely to successfully lose weight.

Dr Amy Burton

Dieting is an important area of interest for Health Psychology and Dr Amy Burton (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology) was contacted by the paper for comment. Dr Burton explained: “One theory that can help to explain the success of couples dieting together is Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour which was developed in the 1980’s. This theory proposes that our intentions to engage in healthy behaviours (such as diet or exercise) are dependent on three factors: our attitudes towards the behaviour, our perceptions of the resources available to us for completing the behaviour, and how we think others around us are behaving or expecting us to behave. When we work with another person the importance of those around us becomes more salient meaning our attitudes towards diet and exercise will be more positive, we will perceive that we have support from those around us to continue with the behaviour, and we are more likely to follow through with our plans to diet or exercise to ensure we don’t disappoint our partner.

The full article was published in the Saturday Sentinel on 21^st March 2015 and an online version of the piece is available here. Dr Amy Burton is a member of the Centre for Health Psychology at Staffordshire University (click here for more details).

InPsych – Psychology at Staffordshire University

News, Events & Research updates from the Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University, UK.