Dr Rob Dempsey blogs on the perceived use of ‘smart drugs’ by university students

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Robert Dempsey

Following recent reports of increases in the use of ‘smart study drugs’ by university students in the UK, Dr Robert Dempsey (Lecturer in Psychology & Co-director of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) blogs about his collaborative research which has received recent media attention:

Socially Normative: Perceived norms and acceptability of ‘smart drug’ use by students

Socially Normative is a blog written by Dr Robert Dempsey with colleagues Dr John McAlaney and Dr Bridgette Bewick – all of whom have research interests in understanding the influence of perceived social norms on behaviour, including the use of substances and online behaviours. Read more about their work via the Socially Normative website.

The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research is home to research activity in the Psychology Department at Staffordshire Centre. The Centre is home to a number of research-active psychologists who are engaged in research across a wide range of psychological subdisciplines. The Centre has two overarching research streams: Health and Behaviour Change and Applied Perception and Cognition.

The Centre provides training for PhD students, Research Masters degrees, as well as Professional Doctorates in Clinical and Health Psychology (click here for more details). The Centre also provides bespoke training to private and public organisations, as well as expertise for consultancy research opportunities. For more details about the Centre, its research activities, events and consultancy, please visit our website (click here).

Sun Awareness Week: Dr Alison Owen discusses new research into sun protection behaviours

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Alison Owen

As part of Sun Awareness Week (8th-14th May 2017), Dr Alison Owen (Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University) blogs about her recent research into the use of facial ageing software to improve sun protection behaviours:

More than one in three people have been sunburnt in the last year while in the UK and, of those, 28 per cent were sunburnt three or more times, according to a survey carried out by the British Association of Dermatologists to mark their Sun Awareness Week. In addition, a study we conducted here at the Centre for Health Psychology at Staffordshire University found that 80% of female participants felt that a tan looked good and 71.4% felt that tanned people look healthy (Williams et al., 2013).

Based on these findings, we have researched ways in which to help people to improve their sun protection behaviours in order to encourage them to be more safe in the sun, focusing on addressing the appearance-effects of sun exposure to improve sun protection behaviours. Along with colleagues Prof. David Clark-Carter, Dr. Emily Buckley and Prof. Sarah Grogan, we showed participants images of how their faces may age if they exposed their skin to the sun, compared to how their faces might age if they protect their skin. The picture (below) shows an example of the software used, where participants are able to view a projected image of themselves up to the age of 72 years, comparing images of them after exposing their skin to the sun without using protection (right hand side) with those where they have been protecting their skin from the sun (left hand side). We found that viewing the projected damage to their skin condition significantly improved factors such as participants’ intentions to wear sun protection, and gave them more negative attitudes towards UV exposure (Williams et al., 2013).

APRIL software showing a projection of how a participant may look at 72 years of age.

The World Health Organization (2012) suggests that recreational exposure to UV radiation, including exposure to the sun and sunbeds and a history of sunburn, are the primary causes of all melanomas, which can lead to skin cancer, emphasising the importance of staying safe in the sun. The NHS website contains advice on how best to protect your skin (click here).

You can watch Dr Alison Owen talking about her research as part of a feature on tanning use and skin cancer by BBC Inside Out West Midlands from February 2015 (from 1 minute into the below video).

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:

Is competitive (or ‘pushy’) parenting good for children? Dr Sarah Rose discusses on BBC Radio Stoke

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Sarah Rose (Lecturer in Psychology, Award Leader for the BSc (Hons) Psychology & Child Development) was featured on BBC Radio Stoke’s Sunday Morning Breakfast show discussing recent debates about competitive (or ‘pushy’) parenting and the effects on children’s development. Dr Rose discusses some of the psychological theory behind parenting styles which encourage competitive behaviour and whether this is beneficial for child development.

Listen to Sarah’s interview on the BBC iPlayer via the below link (from 1 hour, 8 mins in):

BBC Radio Stoke: Maxine Mallen (Sunday Breakfast Show, 7th May 2017)

Dr Rose directs the Children’s Lab which is part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research. The Children’s Lab is home to research in Developmental Psychology at Staffordshire University. Research conducted at the Lab informs teaching on our Undergraduate Psychology courses, including our BSc (Hons) Psychology & Child Development degree.

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

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/

Find out about our Psychology degrees, including our highly rated BSc Psychology & Child Development degree and our Undergraduate courses and Postgraduate awards.

World Bipolar Day 2017: Raising awareness & new research at Staffordshire University

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Robert Dempsey

This Thursday (30^th March 2017) is the annual World Bipolar Day, a day to raise awareness and understanding of Bipolar-related conditions and reduce stigma. World Bipolar Day is held on the same date as the birthday of Vincent van Gogh, the renowned Dutch artist who likely experienced some form of bipolar-related condition. Dr Robert Dempsey, Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University, conducts research to understand the role of psychosocial factors in the experience of and vulnerability to bipolar.

Dr Dempsey comments that around one in every hundred people experiences a bipolar-related condition. People living with bipolar experience changeable moods including mania, a heightened state associated with increased behavioural activity, energy and speeded thoughts, and depression, including the experience of low mood, sleep difficulties and low energy. There are many other experiences associated with bipolar-related conditions, including increased anxiety, psychosis and other general health-related issues, so people’s experience of bipolar can vary. People living with bipolar also often report difficulties in their social and personal lives, and have an increased risk of dying by suicide compared to the general population. Estimates suggest that around 19% of people with a clinical diagnosis of bipolar die by suicide, but this could be an underestimate given that some people do not come into contact with healthcare services and may not receive a bipolar diagnosis, so the actual rate could be higher. It is important to note that many people with bipolar maintain a high quality of life, self-manage the symptoms associated with a bipolar diagnosis very well, and many attribute positives with their diagnosis such as increased empathy, creativity and enhanced emotions (Lobban et al., 2012).

The research we conduct here at Staffordshire University does not treat bipolar as an ‘abnormal’ experience, rather we see a bipolar continuum on which everyone in the general population is located, with some experiencing more severe and changeable moods than others. We focus on understanding the interaction between psychological and social factors in people’s experiences of bipolar and have conducted various studies in this area (1, 2, 3, 4).

Our current research has investigated the role of appraisals of an individual’s social environment in the experience of suicidality for people living with bipolar. We have conducted qualitative interview studies to understand the role of various social factors in the experience of suicidality for people with bipolar (5), the complex relationship between bipolar and social functioning and vice versa (6), as well as the experience of talking about suicidality in our interviews from the perspective of our participants (7). We are currently analysing data from a quantitative study investigating the prospective predictors of suicidality in a sample of people with bipolar, and have already reported that feelings of defeat and internal entrapment (feelings of being trapped by one’s moods and thoughts) are a predictor of increased suicidal ideation over time (8). By better understanding the psychosocial precursors of suicidality experienced by people with bipolar we can inform the development of more effective, targeted interventions to improve outcomes for people living with bipolar.

I hope that World Bipolar Day helps to raise awareness of bipolar-related conditions, improve the understanding of the varied experiences associated with bipolar, and helps to reduce the stigma that is often associated with bipolar and other related conditions.

Dr Rob Dempsey was also briefly featured on the BBC Radio Stoke news bulletins on 30th March discussing his research into suicidality and bipolar (click here to listen: from 3:15 into the programme).

WBD is an initiative of International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF) in collaboration with the Asian Network of Bipolar Disorder (ANBD) and the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). For more information about World Bipolar Day please visit http://ibpf.org/webform/world-bipolar-day.

Dr Rob Dempsey is Co-Director of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, home to psychology-related research 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. The Centre has two overarching research streams, Health and Behaviour Change, and Applied Perception and Cognition.

Dr Daniel Jolley blogs about his recent research on the psychology of conspiracy theories

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Daniel Jolley (Lecturer in Psychology, Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) blogs about his recent research:

In a recent paper published in Political Psychology by myself, Karen Douglas and Robbie Sutton from the University of Kent, we found that conspiracy theories might be a way that people can defend their everyday lifestyle when society is under threat. In other words, conspiracy theories may sometimes bolster rather than undermine support for the social status quo when its legitimacy is threatened.

Conspiracy theories are associated with almost every significant social and political event, such as the suggested theory that the U.S. government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. A similar thread throughout conspiracy narratives is that they point accusing fingers at authority (such as the government). Conspiracy theories single out a small group of perceived wrongdoers who are not representative of society more generally but instead are working against us. Believing in conspiracy theories may, therefore, give people the opportunity to blame the negative actions on these wrongdoers, thus then bolstering support for the social system in general; blaming a few bad apples to save a threatened barrel.

This argument is in line with system justification theory which proposes that we all have a motivation to hold positive views about the society that we live in. When our society is threatened, however, we seek to defend or bolster the status quo; for example, people may use stereotypes – which are mental shortcuts about different groups of people – to justify differences between people to maintain the status quo that we are used to. In our new paper, we argue that belief in conspiracy theories may join the ranks of these system-justification processes.

We tested the system-justifying idea across several research studies, using both undergraduate students and members of the general public. We found that conspiracy theories increased when the legitimacy of society was threatened, and that also being exposed to conspiracy theories increased satisfaction with the status quo when under threat. We found that conspiracy theories were able to increase satisfaction with society in general because people blamed society’s problems on a small group of wrongdoers, rather than society in general.

This research provides a new understanding of the role that conspiracy theories may place in our society. To directly quote the end of the paper: “The present results suggest that by pointing fingers at individuals – even groups of individuals charged with operating the system – conspiracy theories may exonerate the system, just as blaming a driver for a car crash shifts blame from the car.”

Reference: Jolley, D., Douglas, K.M, & Sutton R. (in press). Blaming a few bad apples to save a threatened barrel: The system-justifying function of conspiracy theories. Political Psychology.

The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research is home to research activity in the Psychology Department at Staffordshire Centre. The Centre is home to a number of research-active psychologists who are engaged in research across a wide range of psychological subdisciplines. The Centre has two overarching research streams, Health and Behaviour Change, and Applied Perception and Cognition.

Mental Health Research Seminar: “Bipolar Disorder & Suicidality” and “Books, Meaning and Hope”

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Robert Dempsey (Lecturer in Psychology & Co-director of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) blogs about a recent seminar on mental health-related research.

Rob presenting research at the CHAD seminar in November 2016

I was pleased to be able to present some of our ongoing bipolar disorder and suicidality research at a seminar hosted by Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health and Development, a collaboration between the University and local councils (Stoke-on-Trent City and Staffordshire County councils) which focuses on addressing health inequalities. We held the seminar for the second time at the Staffordshire County Council Buildings in Stafford in February 2017, with myself and researchers from the South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust presenting research to a mixed audience of academics, service-users, charity workers, public health staff and representatives from the local councils. (Click here for a write-up of the first seminar)

My talk presented some of the latest findings from our research focusing on understanding the experiences of suicidality amongst people with a bipolar disorder diagnosis, including the need to better understand the psychological pathways to suicidality for people living with bipolar disorder (especially to design appropriate interventions to reduce suicidality). I presented some findings from a new paper investigating the mediating role of perceptions of defeat and entrapment on the experience of suicidal ideation at a four month follow-up amongst a sample of people with bipolar disorder.

Our paper is the first to investigate the role of defeat and entrapment in the experience of suicidality for people with bipolar disorder, despite defeat and entrapment being key predictors of suicidality according to several key theories of suicide and being previously associated with suicidality amongst other groups (e.g. people living with psychosis and post-traumatic stress). Our findings suggest that a sense of ‘internal entrapment’, being trapped by your own thoughts and feelings, explains the relationship between defeat (a sense of low social rank) and suicidal ideation. Interestingly, ‘external entrapment’ (by social circumstances, for example) did not mediate this relationship, suggesting that there is a pathway to suicidality through feeling entrapped by your own thoughts and moods when feeling defeated – which makes sense in the context of bipolar disorder, where many people experience changeable moods and other symptoms which may not always be easy to predict or manage. One possibility is that the experience of bipolar disorder may be a defeating one for some individuals.

I also briefly presented some ongoing analyses into the role of perceived social support on these pathways to suicidality, which seem to indicate that perceptions of social support are important in reducing feelings of defeat and entrapment (prior to feeling suicidal) but not after someone feels defeated/entrapped. We are continuing to analyse this data, but it appears that perceived social support has a specific role in the pathway to suicidality suggesting that boosting individuals’ awareness of their social support resources may lower the risk of feeling defeated/trapped by their thoughts, feelings and current circumstances.

Our defeat/entrapment mediation paper is currently in press and we hope to publish further articles on our suicidality data in the near future:

Owen, R., Dempsey, R., Jones, S., & Gooding, P. (in press). Defeat and Entrapment in Bipolar Disorder: Exploring the relationship with suicidal ideation from a psychological theoretical perspective. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

It was also pleasing to hear about some service-user led research into the role of ‘book clubs’ for individuals in recovery from various mental health conditions. Dr Joy Thorneycroft and Dr David Dobel-Ober talked about how these book clubs were co-produced between service-users and healthcare staff and aimed to help support service-users in recovery and post-discharge from trusts. Joy and David’s talk included some very interesting qualitative data about the challenges and benefits associated with running these groups, including good practice for running other co-produced groups in the future. What seemed particularly important was that the book groups were informal, unpressured (in terms of having to read a certain number of books per month), and were run in a ‘non-mental health’ setting (i.e. a local library). Their evaluation of these groups suggested that they were particularly helpful with boosting the attendees’ self-confidence and social interaction, if not with more specific issues like concentration difficulties associated with the experience of and recovery from depression.

Both talks highlighted the importance of social support and interaction for improving mental health outcomes and recovery – irrespective of whether support is perceived or based on actual, in-person interactions with others. Giving opportunities for social interaction for those experiencing an ongoing mental health issue, and reinforcing their available support resources, may be critical for improving mental health outcomes.

The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research is a hub for research excellence for psychology research at Staffordshire University. The Centre is a lively and active research community, including established academic researchers, early career researchers and postgraduate students. The Centre runs a regular series of public engagement events, including research seminars and Psychology in the Pub talks which are open to the public (click here for more details).

The Centre houses experts from a variety of psychological disciplines, including our renowned Centre for Health Psychology, and offers Postgraduate Training in Research, including Applied Masters by Research courses, MSc in Health Psychology, MPhil/PhDs, as well as taught Professional Doctorates in Health and Clinical Psychology.

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.

New research investigates the role of education in developing children’s drawing abilities

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Robert Dempsey

Dr. Sarah Rose (Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Director of the Staffordshire Children’s Lab) discusses research carried out with Dr Richard Jolley (Senior Lecturer in Psychology) which investigates the extent to which children’s drawing abilities differ in two contrasting educational settings.

Dr Richard Jolley and Dr Sarah Rose

Dr. Rose explains that although there has been over 100 years’ of research investigating how children’s drawing develop, very little attention has been given to the influence of education on their development. In order to address this gap in our understanding drawings produced by pupils (age 6 to 16 years) who attended Mainstream and Steiner schools were compared.

These two school types were chosen as they have contrasting approaches to teaching drawing. Whereas in the Mainstream schools observational and expressive drawing skills are taught concurrently, in the Steiner schools the emphasis is on imaginative and expressive drawings, with observational drawing skills not being taught until children are 12-years old. In addition, the amount of time, and the artistry of the teachers have also been identified as defining features of Steiner schools.

Pupils were asked to complete six drawings; three expressing a particular mood (happy, sad and angry), an observational drawing of an artist’s mannequin, a representational drawing of a house that they had seen and a free drawing. Local artist were involved in scoring all the drawings for the level of drawing skill demonstrated.

Considering the differing emphasis of the art education experienced by the pupils at the two school types the results of the research were somewhat surprising. Steiner pupils, including those in the younger age groups, were better at the observational and representational drawing tasks compared to those in Mainstream schools. However, their expressive and free drawings were rated very similarly. This evidence suggests that maybe art teaching does not have as much impact on drawing ability as might be thought. However, it is also possible that actually the approaches to teaching drawing in these two schools may not be as different as the curricula suggest.

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Two free drawings by 16-year-old pupils: one attending a Mainstream school (right) and one attending a Steiner school (left)

Drs Rose and Jolley are hoping to carry out further research in this area to investigate the impact of differing experiences of art education within Mainstream schools.

Rose, S. E. & Jolley, R. P. (2016). Drawing Development in Mainstream and Waldorf Steiner Schools Revisited. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, 10, 447-457.

The Children’s Lab is home to developmental psychology research at Staffordshire University and is part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research.

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

Intrigued by Dr Sarah Rose’s research? Wonder whether screen time is actually having more negative than positive effects on child health and development? Staffordshire University offers a range of psychology degrees which are characterised by our research-informed teaching by active research staff.

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

Find out more about our Psychology degrees here!

Dr Michael Batashvili joins the Psychology Department at Staffordshire University

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Robert Dempsey

Dr Michael Batashvili

Dr Michael Batashvili, who has recently joined Staffordshire University as a Lecturer in Psychology, introduces himself in his first InPsych blog post:

I am delighted to be joining an enthusiastic academic team here in the Psychology Department. My first week has been great and I am looking forward to what’s to come.

A bit of background on me: Since high school I wanted to become a developmental psychologist. However, within my second year of undergraduate study at the University of Derby, I was hooked on cognitive and biological psychology. I received my BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology in 2009 and decided that I wanted to continue studying as much as I could. I enrolled in a ‘new route PhD’, which included a Masters of Research (MRes) and a PhD studied over the course of four years. I had a keen interest in brain activity (still do) and began the PhD just as the university had invested in some neurophysiological equipment. I became enthusiastic about studying method of electroencephalography (EEG for short) and planned to use it in my PhD research. After setting up the lab with my supervisors, working as an Associate Lecturer, collecting all my data and writing up my thesis, a long time had passed. However, I had completed it and was extremely happy with what I had accomplished and the journey I had been on.

For those interested, my research area is Maths Anxiety and electrical brain activity. I’m aware that a great number of individuals dislike maths and some fear it and I have a keen interest to understand what and how this occurs in the brain.

Nearing the end of my PhD I began working at the University of Sheffield in a teaching focused role in psychology. I enjoy research but I have a passion for teaching so this suited me very well. After being there for just over a year I arrived at Staffordshire University in a lecturer position in psychology. Now that I am here, I am very excited to get back to my research and to continue teaching within this fantastic department.

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683 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.

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

Watch: The Reflecting Nature Exhibition Art-Psychology exhibition now visiting Staffs University

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Robert Dempsey

The Reflecting Nature Exhibition, a collaboration between Dr Nichola Street (Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) and Mark Ware (Multimedia Artist), is currently on display in the Science Centre at Staffordshire University’s Stoke City Campus. The exhibition is open to the public, and has been extended until the end of November 2016.

Mar16 VSS 2

Dr Nichola Street, Mark Ware, and collaborator Dr Gemma Hurst, are featured in the below interview detailing the project:

For more information about the exhibition please visit: The Reflecting Nature Tour: Arts and Psychology Collaboration