Tag Archives: David Clark-Carter

Dr Alison Owen is recruiting to a new study exploring factors that might be related to tanning behaviours and sunbed use

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Dr Alison Owen

HLecturer in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University, Dr Alison Owen, is working in collaboration with Dr Manpal Bhogal at the University of Wolverhampton, looking at some of the factors that might be related to tanning behaviours and sunbed use.

In 2013, researchers Dr Alison Owen, Professor David Clark-Carter and Dr Emily Buckley at Staffordshire University, with Professor Sarah Grogan of Manchester Metropolitan University, carried out research and found that almost a fifth (18.6%) of women had used a sunbed at least once in the past month, with the majority of participants agreeing that a tan looked good (80%), and that tanned people look healthy (71.4%) (Williams, Grogan, Clark-Carter & Buckley, 2013). The current researchers therefore felt that it would be interesting to explore some of the factors behind people feeling positively about tanning behaviours or choosing to use a sunbed.

Dr Owen and Dr Bhogal are combining two areas of psychology in their present research: Health Psychology and Evolutionary Psychology. Their study involves an online questionnaire that will ask participants about indoor sunbed use, attitudes towards tanning and topics such as self-esteem.

If you are over 18 and are interested in participating please complete the online questionnaire – it is open to all people, both those who use sunbeds as well as those who don’t, and just involves you answering a short survey.

If you have any questions about the research then please contact Dr Alison Owen: alison.owen@staffs.ac.uk.

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University has a history of excellence in teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research has active team of Health Psychologists who conduct research and provide consultancy in a range of health-related issues.

Keep updated with the latest Health Psychology news from Staffordshire University via following us on @StaffsPsych @HealthPsyStaffs and via the #HealthPsychStaffs hashtag.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Is there any positive consequence of Covid-19?

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Written by Professor David Clark-Carter, Professor of Health Psychology.

Imagine you have energy-sapping fatigue or a long-lasting pain which affects your life.  You have sought medical advice but, even if tests have been conducted, you are left with no diagnosis. 

Psychologists have long recognised that this situation can be linked to psychological problems such as anxiety and depression.  However, while psychologists can see that such psychological problems are a perfectly understandable consequence of chronic (i.e. long term) debilitating health conditions, there is a danger of seeing the causal link as going in the other direction.  Accordingly, the chronic condition can be seen as being the consequence of an underlying psychological state rather than the other way around. 

The situation isn’t helped when people around the sufferer, be they family, friends or members of the medical profession, deny that there is a real physical condition.  This, in turn, can lead to an understandable suspicion when psychological interventions are offered as a way to deal with the physical symptoms and lessen the psychological ones.  This may be seen as supporting the notion that the condition is a consequence of a psychological state.  However, that is far from the truth.  Even when a diagnosis of a condition is made, if no medical cure is available psychological interventions could help the sufferer to deal with the physical symptoms. 

By acquiring techniques to deal with physical symptoms, sufferers can feel more in control of their own lives and get away from a feeling of helplessness.  Even when a medical intervention can be prescribed to alleviate the physical symptoms, such as pain killers, these are unlikely to be a long term solution and can have their own problematic side effects.  The pandemic has led to conditions such as long-covid for some people.  Greater awareness of this condition could lead to greater understanding of those with other chronic conditions.

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University has a history of excellence in teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research has active team of Health Psychologists who conduct research and provide consultancy in a range of health-related issues.

Keep updated with the latest Health Psychology news from Staffordshire University via following us on @StaffsPsych @HealthPsyStaffs and via the #HealthPsychStaffs hashtag.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details and to book your place at an open day please click here.

Fourth Edition of Professor David Clark-Carter’s Quantitative Psychological Research book published!

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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.

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):

The Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Psychology at the University’s £30 million Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent. The department is home to the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, a large and active group of psychologists, PhD students and researchers conducting work into a variety of psychological disciplines and topic areas.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details and to book your place at an open day please click here.

For more information about the Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit the below pages:

Do appearance-focused interventions help promote sun protection behaviours?

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By Dr. Alison Owen, Lecturer in Psychology.

Over the last decade, melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by almost a half (45%) in the UK, and there are around 15,400 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year, that’s 42 every day (Cancer Research UK). A massive 86% of melanoma skin cancer in the UK is preventable (Cancer Research UK), for example by protecting your skin from the sun by using sun tan lotion or using clothes to cover up, so it is really important to find ways to encourage people to protect their skin from the sun.

Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University (Sofia Perrson, Yael Benn and Sarah Grogan) and Leeds Beckett University (Katie Dhingra), along with researchers here at The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research (Alison Owen and David Clark-Carter), have carried out a review of literature investigating how effective appearance-focussed interventions are at encouraging people to have safer and healthier UV exposure and sun protection behaviours. The study was modeled on a previous review carried out here at Staffordshire University in 2013 by Dr Owen, Prof Grogan, Prof Clark-Carter and Dr Buckley, which focused on how well appearance-based interventions work to reduce UV exposure, for example by discouraging people from using sunbeds in the future, or encouraging them to wear more sun protection (read this paper here).

In the present study, in press in the British Journal of Health Psychology, 33 studies were reviewed, each of which having used an appearance-focused intervention aiming to encourage healthier UV exposure and sun protection behaviours. For example, some of the reviewed interventions worked by showing individuals the impact that exposing their skin to the sun without using protection could have, in terms of wrinkling or age spots. We found very encouraging results, in that appearance-based interventions appear to have positive effects on UV exposure and sun protection immediately after the intervention, as well as up to 12 months afterwards. This supported the findings of the original review, which also found that appearance-based interventions have a positive effect on UV exposure and sun protection intentions and behaviour.

Dr Owen is continuing to carry out research looking at the effectiveness of appearance-focussed interventions on changing peoples’ health behaviours, and is currently carrying out research investigating whether showing people the negative impact that binge drinking can have on their skin, can impact on their alcohol consumption in the future.

The new systematic review can be read via the British Journal of Health Psychology‘s website:

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research.

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:

BPS Teaching Awards for Professor Clark-Carter & Sarah Higgins

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The Department of Psychology are pleased to congratulate two members of staff who have received national awards for their contributions to teaching. On the 4th – 5th May 2017 Professor David Clark-Carter and Sarah Higgins attended the Annual British Psychological Society Conference held in Brighton to accept their individual awards.

The awards ceremony was held on Friday 5th May where Professor David Clark-Carter received the BPS Education and Public Engagement Board Lifetime Achievement Award and Sarah Higgins received the BPS/ATSiP Technical Support in Psychological Teaching Award.

Professor David Clark-Carter receiving his BPS Education and Public Engagement Board Lifetime Achievement Award

In addition to the awards ceremony they attended a Gala dinner on the 4th May. During the dinner guests were entertained by the Vintage Swing Trio and received an after-dinner speech from Polly Toynbee where she shared insights into her life and career as an award winning journalist and writer.

Sarah Higgins receiving her BPS/ATSiP Technical Support in Psychological Teaching Award

Professor David Clark-Carter: “Each recipient of an award was introduced by the President of the British Psychological Society, Professor Peter Kinderman. I don’t know whether others felt the same but it seemed as though he was talking about someone else when he introduced me in such flattering words. I owe the award to the supportive environment created by my colleagues and to the many students from whom I have learnt.”

Sarah Higgins commented: “It was an honour to attend the BPS awards ceremony where the achievements of those receiving awards were celebrated. I am delighted to have received the award and would like to thank everyone involved in the nomination and decision making processes. It is humbling to be acknowledged for my work at Staffordshire University and a pleasure to work alongside my colleagues to provide the best student experience that we can.”

The Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Psychology at the University’s £30 million Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details, and to book your place at an open day, please visit: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

For more information about the Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit the below pages:

Prof David Clark-Carter featured on BBC Radio Stoke discussing parental competitiveness

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Prof. David Clark-Carter

Professor David Clark-Carter, Professor of Psychological Research Methods at Staffordshire University, was featured on BBC Radio Stoke commenting on recent media discussions about parental competitiveness and the pressures that children may encounter to perform well (in school, in sports or various domains of life). David discusses some of the psychological explanations behind parental competitive behaviours, including birth order effects as well as the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate.

To listen to David’s interview click on the below link to the BBC iPlayer website (the link to the programmes will expire in mid-October 2016):

Professor Clark-Carter is a Health Psychologist and supervises a range of Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology students as part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research and the Centre for Health Psychology at Staffordshire University. The Centre for Health Psychology provides Stage 1 (MSc in Health Psychology) and Stage 2 (Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology) training for students in Health Psychology.

David was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Psychological Society for his role in teaching psychological research methods to thousands of students over his career (read more here).

Interested in Psychology? Come to an Open Day & find out more about Psychology courses at Staffordshire University.

Come to one of Staffordshire University’s Open Days and find out more! Book your place via: www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

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. Find out more about our Undergraduate Psychology Courses and Postgraduate Research Awards.

Professor David Clark-Carter wins a BPS Lifetime Achievement Award!

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Staffordshire University’s Professor David Clark-Carter will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Psychological Society for his contributions to teaching and research methods nationally and internationally.

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David has worked at Staffordshire University since 1989 and is currently the Professor of Psychological Research Methods. Throughout this time David has inspired generations of students and his seminal text Quantitative Psychological Research: the Complete Student’s Companion is popular across many institutions.

From the development of a half degree in psychology on a Modern Studies course, through to the first ever BPS accredited Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology and MSc in Health Psychology, David has been central to course and programme development at Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology.

Dr Amy Burton, Course Director for the MSc in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University, was part of the team who nominated David. She commented:

“Having studied both my BSc and MSc at Staffordshire University I have experienced first-hand David’s approach to supporting and educating students. It is a pleasure to work alongside David on our MSc and Professional Doctorate Health Psychology courses and see our students benefit from the inspiration and support I valued in my own student journey.”

Judy David, Academic Group Leader for Undergraduate Psychology Programmes added:

“David’s influence with psychological research methods education runs to literally thousands of researchers, academics, students and professionals, in the field of Psychology. His influence on Psychology as a Science cannot be overstated; he has shaped the discipline as a whole. We are so proud to have him on our team here at Staffordshire.”

Outside of the University David has also provided quality assurance for the BPS Accredited Qualifications, contributing to syllabus design and acting as Chief Examiner for BPS Qualifying Examination Research Methods module.

On accepting the award, David said:

“My approach to education has always been to try to empower the next generation of psychologists so that they feel they can use their subject to solve problems involving humans, regardless of the domain.  This notion has guided my approach to public engagement in that I try to show how psychology can address everyday issues from its unique perspective.

“In addition to the joy of seeing those I’ve taught go on to do great things, I have benefitted, as the only way to know whether you truly understand something is to try to explain it to someone else.  I am extremely honoured to be given this award.”

Find out more about Staffordshire University’s range of Psychology courses here.

This is a reposting of a Press Release from Staffordshire University and the British Psychological Society.

Interested in Psychology? Come to an Open Day & find out more about Psychology courses at Staffordshire University.

Curious about how psychologists test and observe behaviour? Thinking about taking a Psychology degree or a related course?

Come to one of Staffordshire University’s Open Days and find out more! Book your place via: www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

Professor David Clark-Carter discusses beliefs in religion and ghosts on BBC Radio Stoke

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Prof Clark-Carter

Professor David Clark-Carter (Professor of Psychological Research Methods, School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise) was featured on BBC Radio Stoke’s Sunday Morning Breakfast Show discussing people’s beliefs in religion and ghosts following a recent survey suggesting that more people believe in ghosts than they do religion.

Listen to Prof. Clark-Carter’s interview via the BBC iPlayer (click here) – David can be heard from approx 1 hour 40 minutes into the show.

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.

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