Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research – Showcase Seminar (Thurs 22nd Sept, 4-6pm)

We are delighted to announced that the first of our Visiting PrintSpeaker Series of research talks for the 2016/17 academic year will feature a number of short talks by Psychologists based in the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research at Staffordshire University.

The Centre is home to research activity in the Psychology Department at the University, and is part of the research-active culture in the department incorporting academic staff, postgraduate researchers and PhD students.

The Showcase Seminar takes place on Thursday 22nd September, 4pm-6pm, in the R002 Lecture Theatre located in the Ground Floor of the Science Centre (click here for the location of the Science Centre in the Stoke-on-Trent campus).

4pm Welcome to the Showcase Event 
Short talks by:

Dr Daniel Jolley: Tin-foil hats and secret plots: What’s the harm with conspiracy theories anyway?

Dr Rachel Povey: ‘They said I’m a square for eating them’: Children’s beliefs about eating fruit and vegetables.

Dr Justine Drakeford: Do executive problems in Major Depressive Disorder cause temporal order memory deficits?

Dr Helen Combes: Q Method: Inter-disciplinary differences in Understanding psychological health.

Dr Amy Burton: Being a behavioural scientist in Uganda.

Dr Robert Dempsey: Why the Clinical Risk Factor approach may not be sufficient for understanding suicidality in Bipolar Disorder.

5:45pm Professor Karen Rodham
6pm onwards Discussions and networking opportunities at the Verve Bar, Leek Road Campus, Staffordshire University (short walk from the Science Centre)

The Showcase Seminar is open to everyone who has an interest in Psychology – including students, staff and members of the public! No need to book, just turn up!


Upcoming Visiting Speaker Talks

The Visiting Speaker Series then continues in the 2016/2017 academic year with talks from invited speakers from across the UK, including:

29/9/2016: Dr Kevin Hochard (University of Chester) discussing the relationship between suicidality and sleep disturbances.

10/11/2016: Stacey Heath (University of Exeter) talking about the relationships between community identification and psychological wellbeing.

For details of the dates and locations of these talks please visit our Visiting Speaker Series pages (click here). Details of further talks will be announced via our @StaffsPsych twitter feed. You can follow the discussions about the Visiting Speaker Series using the #StaffsVSS hashtag.


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).

The Role of Health Psychology in fighting the Obesity Epidemic, #StaffsVSS, Thursday 7th April 4pm

Apr 16 Gillison VSS

Dr Fiona Gillison

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Fiona Gillison (Senior Lecturer in Exercise & Health Psychology, University of Bath) who is giving the next Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 7th April, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Fiona previously worked in a public engagement role with primary care teams, and as a stop smoking and weight management specialist in the NHS, and so has continued to take a very applied approach to her research. Fiona’s current focus is on applying psychological theory into practice, in investigating how we can better support people to improve their health behaviours in the prevention and reduction of obesity – whether at the individual, community or policy level. She is currently involved in a range of research studies including; an intervention to promote weight loss in people with high cardiovascular risk, work with school nurses, public health teams and health communication specialists to improve the positive impact of the National Child Measurement Programme, and a collaborative project to identify the important dynamic processes within groups that facilitate behaviour change.

April7th VSS F Gillison

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!


The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

“Reflecting Nature: Psychology & Art”, #StaffsVSS, Thursday 10th March 4-5pm

The School of Psychology, Sport & Mar16 VSS 2Exercise is pleased to welcome Mark Ware (an award-winning multimedia artist and a Honorary Research Fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School) who is giving the Visiting Speaker Series talk with Dr Nichola Street on Thursday 10th March, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Mar16 VSS

Mark will be speaking about his personal experience of a stroke, how this affected his art, and his recent Arts Council England supported collaborative art/science work with Dr Nikki Street (Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University) – click on the below flyer for more details:

Mar16 VSS Street WareAll staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!


The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

From the body to the self: How body signals contribute to self-consciousness (#StaffsVSS, Thurs 11th Feb 4pm)

StaffsVSS Jenkinson profile

Dr Paul Jenkinson

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Paul Jenkinson (Senior Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire) who is giving the Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 11th February, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Paul will be speaking about his neuropsychological research which explores the underlying mechanisms and relationship between the mind, body and self. He employs various methods including experimental neuropsychology, and cognitive, behavioural, and psychodynamic neuroscience. His work examines the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying body awareness, ownership, and interoceptive signals in neurological patients and healthy subjects.

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

Feb16 VSS Jenkinson


The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

The role of Health Psychology in understanding death and dying (#StaffsVSS, Thurs 28th Jan, 4pm) CANCELLED

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TALK HAS BEEN CANCELLED

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Paula Smith (Senior Lecturer, University of Bath) who is giving the fifth Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 28th January, 4pm, in the LT003 Lecture Theatre in the Ashley Building (Leek Road campus).

Paula will be speaking about her applied psychological research into death and dying. Paula is a Health Psychologist and a qualitative researcher whose current work explores the way in which families and health professionals manage the loss of a baby at birth, the nature of twin bereavement and also the psychological consequences and management of stroke in the acute phase.

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

Jan16 VSS Smith


The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

No need to book a place – just turn up!

Exploring the Role of Experience in Face Recognition (#StaffsVSS, Thurs 19th Nov, 4pm)

Dr Sarah Laurence

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Sarah Laurence (Lecturer in Psychology, Keele University) who is giving the fourth Visiting Speaker Series talk on Thursday 19th November, 4pm, in the R001 Lecture Theatre in the Science Centre (Leek Road campus).

Sarah will be speaking about her cognitive psychological research into face perception. Sarah’s research investigates the basic psychological processes associated with facial recognition, how experience influences facial recognition, and the potential applications of understanding the basic processes of face recognition in contexts such as the criminal and justice system (e.g. when applied to eyewitness testimony).

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research. No need to book a place – just turn up!

Crystal Meth, Group Sex and HIV: Exploring applications of Health Psychology among marginalised populations (Thurs 5th Nov, 4pm)

Nov 15 VSS Bourne profile pic

Dr Adam Bourne

The School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Adam Bourne (Lecturer, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) who is giving the third Visiting Speaker talk on Thursday 5th November, 4pm, in the R001 Lecture Theatre in the Science Centre (Leek Road campus).

Adam will be speaking about his research into health behaviours among marginalised populations, particularly as they relate to sexual health. Adam’s work has included a number of mixed-methods studies of HIV-related risk behaviour among gay and bisexual men, both in Europe and in the Caribbean, and of black African migrant populations. Adam has also lead several studies that explored the wider health and well-being of gay and bisexual men, and has a particular interest in alcohol and drug use among this population.

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

Nov 15 VVS BourneThe Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.

Making an impact: Service design for School Communities (Visiting Speaker, Thurs 15th Oct, 4pm)

Oct 15 VVS Norgate profile picThe School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise is pleased to welcome Dr Sarah Norgate (Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Salford), who is giving the second Visiting Speaker talk on Thursday 15th October at 4pm in the R001 Lecture Theatre in the Science Centre (Leek Road campus).

Sarah is an applied developmental psychologist and will be speaking on her research into service design in schools and the use of mobile app technologies to support the use of “walking buses” with primary school children.

All staff, students and members of the public are welcome to attend these free Visiting Speaker talks – join in our live tweeting from the talk using the #StaffsVSS event hashtag. We hope to see you there!

Oct 15 VVS Norgate


The Visiting Speaker seminars are a regular series of free talks hosted by the School of Psychology, Sport & Exercise. Psychologists from across the country are invited to speak at these events to share their research and discuss their findings with staff and students from Staffordshire University. The Visiting Speaker series is also open to anyone from the general public with an interest in psychological research.