Tag Archives: Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research

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

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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.

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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 indexclubs’ 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.

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The 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.

Guidelines on children’s screen time need to be built on evidence

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Dr Sarah Rose (Lecturer in Developmental Psychology & Director of the Staffordshire Children’s Lab) blogs about a recent debate in the media regarding the effects of screen time on children’s development and wellbeing:

A letter published in the Guardian on Christmas day claimed that ‘Screen-based lifestyle harms children’s health’. This was signed by a group of forty writers, psychologists and charity heads who argued that national guidelines on screen based technology are required.

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The claims for the links between and increasing screen-based lifestyle and children’s wellbeing are not supported by the evidence. I am delighted to have been able to add my support to this response from a group of academics and expert practitioners published by the Guardian last week. In this we argue that screen time guidelines need to be built on evidence, not hype or scaremongering.

Of course the wellbeing of children is important and the impact of screen-based lifestyle requires investigation but currently there is insufficient research evidence on which to base National Guidelines. Rather than focusing on quantity alone, evidence is needed regarding context of use (where, when and how digital media are accessed), content (what is being watched or used), and connections (whether and how relationships are facilitated or impeded).

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683Interested 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? 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 and Postgraduate courses.

Sarah Higgins wins the National BPS/ATSiP Technical Support in Psychological Teaching Award!

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We are very pleased to announce that Sarah Higgins, Technical Sarah-HSkills Specialist in the Psychology Department at Staffordshire University, has won a National Award in recognition of her excellent contribution to teaching!

Sarah’s award is jointly recognised by the British Psychological Society and the Association of Technical Staff in Psychology (ATSiP), and has been announced as a joint-winner of this year’s award. Sarah has been invited to the BPS’s Annual Conference to be held in Brighton in May 2017 to receive her award.

Sarah’s award recognises her excellence in teaching, her contributions to teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, supporting staff research projects, her advanced technical skills knowledge as well as her interactions with prospective students at Open Days where she demonstrates the state-of-the-art equipment housed in the £30 million Science Centre home to the Psychology Department. Sarah is also an active member of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, home to Staffordshire University’s psychological research, and has previously won national prizes for her own research (click here for further details).

Judy David, Academic Group Lead for Psychology and one of the team who nominated Sarah for the award, commented:

“Psychology is so proud of Sarah, and we feel very lucky indeed to have her in our Technical Team.  The award is so richly deserved! Sarah works incredibly hard in teaching and supporting students and helping them learn new skills and knowledge. We are delighted this has been recognised with this prestigious award.  With two award winners now in our technical team, we know our students are getting the very best experience possible!”

Dr Amy Burton, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology who was also part of the nominating team, said:

“Sarah is an irreplaceable member of the team having progressed from being an undergraduate student to MSc level and now actively contributing to our MSc Health Psychology. Sarah has shown a fantastic commitment to our students from assisting at open afternoons, giving applicants a taste of the equipment and inspiration on how it might be used, through to one-to-one tutorials facilitating the use of complex technical equipment.

In particular, Sarah plays an essential role in the learning and development of our MSc Health Psychology students and supports them to complete high quality, well-designed and innovative research using technology and equipment at the forefront of the discipline. Sarah fully deserves this award and we are very proud and lucky to have her as part of our team.”

Many congratulations to Sarah on her fine achievement!

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The 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.

“They think I’m a square for eating them” – New research into children’s beliefs about fruit and vegetables

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Dr Rachel Povey

This month, Dr Rachel Povey and Lisa Cowap have had their article “They think I’m a square for eating them”: Children’s beliefs about fruit and vegetables in England published in the British Food Journal. The article was written together with Lucy Gratton, a Public Health Development Officer from Staffordshire Public Health.

The article describes the results from an interview study where 9-11 year old children were asked about their views of fruit and vegetables. The children were all attending an after school club associated with a primary school in a deprived area in the West Midlands.

The results from the study were encouraging in that the children seemed to have a very good awareness of the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. However, children were also found to hold negative beliefs towards fruit and vegetables. Some of these beliefs were associated with the senses (such as taste and texture), for example, one child described eating a mushroom to be like “eating a small furry animal” and another suggested that mushrooms tasted like “slimy worms”.

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Parents were found to be positive influences on children’s eating habits, but surprisingly siblings and friends were sometimes shown to have negative influences, including teasing children for being “square” for eating fruit and vegetables. Recommendations from this study are to make fruit and vegetables more appealing to children, and also to develop interventions which focus on the influence of friends and siblings. Rachel Povey and Lisa Cowap are now developing this research further by designing and evaluating class-based healthy eating workshops for primary schools.

Both Rachel and Lisa are members of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research and the Centre for Health Psychology based at Staffordshire University. For more details of their study, please click on the below link:

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a Psy1centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and BPS Accredited Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology.

The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research and the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

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

New research explores the reciprocal relationship between Bipolar Disorder & Social Interaction

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Dr Robert Dempsey (Lecturer in Psychology & Co-Director of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) blogs about a newly published study in the journal Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy investigating the relationship between the experience of bipolar disorder and social interaction (and vice versa):

As part of our ongoing research into the role of psychosocial factors in the experience of suicidality by people with a bipolar disorder diagnosis, we have recently published a qualitative study exploring the relationship between bipolar disorder and social interaction (and the other way, the effects of social interaction on people’s experience of bipolar disorder). We have previously published data on the impact of social factors and interaction on the experience of suicidality for people with bipolar disorder (read more here), but we were also interested in exploring the general relationships between social functioning on bipolar disorder, and the effects of bipolar-related experiences (e.g. mood symptoms like hypomania, depression and mania) on our participants’ social functioning.

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Social functioning can take many forms – including relationships with friends, family and work colleagues, to being able to be socially active.

We know that having social support is key for improving wellbeing, irrespective of whether you have a diagnosed mental health condition or not. Social support, which can take many forms (e.g. family support, friendships, online relationships), may help buffer against the experience of negative thoughts, low mood, even suicidality. However, we also know that the experience of bipolar disorder can put a strain on social relationships (especially for close relatives and/or caregivers as applicable) as well as on the individual’s ability to maintain their social relationships and current functioning. Our study consisted of a series of interviews with 20 people with lived experience of bipolar disorder, where we asked about their social experiences, the effects of bipolar disorder on their social experiences, and the effects of social experiences on their experience of bipolar disorder (especially the experience of bipolar mood symptoms). We interviewed our participants, transcribed the data and analysed the interviews using an inductive thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

We organised our themes into four groupings, including:

(1) positive effects of bipolar disorder on social experiences, where our participants discussed how their bipolar disorder gave them social advantages – especially when feeling more self-confident which our participants attributed to be a result of feeling more hypomanic. Having a diagnosis of bipolar disorder was, for some of our participants, beneficial for helping family and friends understand their experiences.

(2) negative effects of bipolar disorder on social experiences which were experienced by all our participants – often where the symptoms of a major mood episode had a negative impact on relationships, sometimes due to behaviours which may have negatively affected other people (e.g. loss of friendships when flat sharing when manic). The label of having a bipolar disorder diagnosis could also create stigma and social disadvantages – with participants discussing how others (e.g. work colleagues) withheld opportunities from them as they were perceived to ‘just get unwell again’, when actually the participant was fully able to complete such activities.

(3) positive effects of social experiences on bipolar disorder; for many, social support from others, especially when others were empathetic and showed understanding towards the individual, facilitated our participants’ wellbeing and personal coping. Friends and family were key in offering support, helping the individual to challenge their own negative thoughts about themselves by boosting their positive self-worth.

(4) negative effects of social experiences on bipolar disorder; some participants discussed experiences of other people perceiving that their behaviour was due to their bipolar disorder when actually their behaviour was benign and non-mood related. Our participants felt that some people failed to see the difference between the individual and their mood symptoms (which some participants referred to as their ‘illness’).

The relationship between bipolar-related experiences and social functioning was a complex one for our participants, with a number of positive and negative effects. A key strength of our findings is that these are based on our participants’ own personal experiences. We did note that all of our participants discussed that their experience of bipolar disorder had a negative impact on their social functioning, however, there were a number of positives which our participants felt gave them a social advantage (e.g. increased confidence, increased resilience and better relationships with friends and family). This is consistent with prior research which has highlighted a number of positives associated with the experience of bipolar disorder (including increased creativity and inspiration, and enhanced perception; Lobban et al., 2012).

We are currently analysing data from a prospective study investigating the predictors of suicidality over a four month period in a sample of 80 people with bipolar disorder (including predictors like social functioning, self-appraisals, appraisals of social support and resilience), which we will blog about at a later date. You can read more about our current qualitative study via the journal’s website:

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology research and is situated in the heart of England.

The School is home to the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, a hub for research excellence for psychology research at the University. 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.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details, and to book your place at an upcoming 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.

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

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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 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

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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_45-1024x683The 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.

Exercise for All! The beneficial effects of physical activity for all ages

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Dr Sarah Dean (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology & a Trainee Health Psychologist) and Dr Amy Burton (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology & Health Psychologist) blog about ageing, health, stereotyping and physical activity in a piece reposted from the Stoke Sentinel newspaper:

If we were to ask you to describe your typical older person chances are we’d get a wide range of answers from “grey-haired, lonely, unable to work”, “frail, memory problems and declining health” to “wise, caring, happy and active”. What is clear is that there isn’t a ‘typical older person’ at all but there are lots of negative stereotypes that are linked to aging. Interestingly there are now many more older people alive than ever before and this number is set to rise dramatically in the coming years, with record numbers of people living into their 80s, 90s and beyond!

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Physical activity is really important for everyone and this doesn’t change as we get older. Exercising keeps us physically fit and helps protect us from developing a range of major illnesses including stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia. It can help us to feel good about ourselves, be a great stress buster and be a fun way to socialise.

Even though many of us know taking exercise is good for us, some people find it difficult. There are many reasons people might have for not exercising. Some feel they are too busy or that it’s too expensive. Others feel nervous about starting a new activity or worry that they are too unfit or overweight to start exercising. People may even think that they are too old for exercise!

As they get older some people start to do much less exercise, others stay physically active and some take up new sports or activities when they retire. One reason for these differences is the extent to which people believe negative aging stereotypes and the extent they apply these to themselves. If someone believes the stereotype that “Aging means a decline in fitness and an increase in ill health” and also believes “I am an older person so I can expect to be less fit and have poorer health” they are much less likely to engage in physical activity than someone who doesn’t believe the stereotype at all or someone who doesn’t believe it applies to them and instead thinks “I am not your average older person, so I can run a marathon”. For example, in 2011 British national Fauja Singh became the first 100 year-old to complete a marathon! At Staffordshire University we are exploring ways of measuring aging self-stereotypes. Once we can accurately measure them we can explore ways of changing them, which should encourage more older adults to exercise!

So…what does all of this mean for you? Regardless of your age, engaging in some form of physical activity each week is likely to be good for you. With Stoke currently the European City of Sport there couldn’t be a better time to do a little more exercise or try something new! If you plan to regularly take exercise it’s a good idea to choose something you enjoy. You should also choose something suited to your current fitness level and your budget. A range of exercise classes are available at the local gyms, such as Zumba, circuit training, aqua aerobics and Osteo-Aqua (a low-impact class designed to combat the effects of conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis, as well as keeping the joints supple). You could try Walking Football or Tai Chi, join a Walking for Health Group or try out one of the 5k Parkruns at 9am every Saturday in Hanley Park.

If you are an older adult or are worried about getting older here are a few things for you to bear in mind:

  • While it’s true that physical changes do occur in us as we get older, a rapid decline in our health and physical functioning is not inevitable. Regular exercise can help to protect against decline and improve stamina and fitness.
  • The way we think about things can have a really big impact on the way that we behave and feel. Research has shown that simply encouraging older adults to think about negative aging stereotypes results in short term memory declines, slower walking speeds and poorer handwriting!
  • If you have a medical condition or have had an injury that makes certain activities difficult or unsuitable for you, try to find something that you can safely do.
  • If you have any doubts remember to discuss increasing your levels of physical activity with your GP first.

The take home message? In relation to exercise, we should put less focus on our age and more focus on our own abilities and goals!

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a Psy1centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and BPS Accredited Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology.

The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research and the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

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

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

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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.

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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

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The 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).

Dr Jo Lloyd featured on BBC Radio Stoke discussing her Stoke Psychologist in the Pub talk

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Dr Joanne Lloyd

Dr Joanne Lloyd, Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University, was featured on BBC Radio Stoke’s Stuart Gordon early evening show talking about the Stoke Psychologist in the Pub series and her talk on “Is Gambling Really the Son of Avarice or the Father of Despair”?

You can listen to Dr Lloyd’s interview via the BBC iPlayer link below:

The Psychologist in the Pub series takes place on the first Wednesday of the month and is co-organised by the West Midlands Branch of the British Psychological Society and the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research. The series of talks is kindly hosted by The Glebe Pub in Stoke town, near Stoke Minster.

Missed the first talk of the 2016/17 series? Don’t worry, upcoming talks include:

Weds 2nd November: Dr. Jim Grange, Keele University. “The Reproducibility Crisis in Psychological Science: One Year Later”

Weds 7th December: Dave Spence. “The Psychology of Beliefs: Christmas Special”

Weds 1st February: Dr. Daniel Jolley, Staffordshire University. “Are Conspiracy Theories Harmless?”

Talks start at 6pm, but we recommend arriving at 5:30pm to buy food and drink, and find a seat! Directions to the Glebe Pub can found here.

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The 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).