kentpsychologist
School of Psychology
University of Kent
Newsletter Vol 9 No 1
March 2015
Psychology at Kent among best in UK for Research Excellence
It’s a great time to be a Kent Psychologist!
Rankings published in Times Higher
Education show that research conducted by
academic staff in the School of Psychology
at the University of Kent is ranked 11th
/82 in the UK. This is based on Research
Intensity calculated in the 2014 Research
Excellence Framework (REF). Psychology
at the University of Kent is placed between
Cambridge and Oxford, and also above
many Russell Group universities such
as Warwick, York, Durham, Exeter, and
Cardiff, and neighbouring universities such
as Sussex, Surrey, and Essex. 100% of the
School’s research impact was classified as
having outstanding or very considerable
reach and significance.
The research intensity ranking reflects the
high levels of research activity as 95% of
academic staff provided outputs that were
evaluated, showing the School’s commitment
to maintaining strongly integrated research
and teaching, and to conducting research
that has practical importance. The School’s
diverse academic community members are
supported to participate fully in teaching,
research, enterprise, and engagement with
external organizations and individuals. This
gives our students a dynamic and vibrant
experience in which they have the chance
to be taught and supervised by international
leaders in a range of areas of psychology.
Dr Georgina Randsley de Moura, Head of
School, commented on the excellent REF
research intensity ranking, saying that: “All
members of the School are very proud of our
collective achievements. The REF provides
independent confirmation of our research
excellence, and the high proportion of staff
who contributed reflects the value we place
on research and research-led teaching”.
Welcome to our world: Our experience of psychologically informed
support of life writing for people living with Dementia
Dementia is a neurodegenerative condition
associated with gradual loss of cognitive
function, which often includes short term
memory. In clinical practice, reminiscence
has been shown to be an effective way of
working therapeutically with people living
with the condition (Guss et al., 2014).
During our applied year on placement with
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care
Partnership Trust (KMPT), we worked with
a group of people living with dementia.
Keith Oliver, diagnosed with earlyonset Alzheimer’s disease, invited
us to play a vital role in a unique
life writing project, led by a local
professional writer. This involved a
small group of people with dementia,
who would embark upon a six week
writing course culminating in the
publication of a book detailing their
life stories (Welcome to Our World,
Forget Me Nots 2014).
Our role in this project was to
support the writing sessions, both
on a group and a one-to-one basis.
We
provided
encouragement,
In This Issue
Students’ Placement Experience
1
Introducing Anamaria and Nichola
2
Cyber-Crime Workshop
2
What’s On/ESRC Cybersmart Day
3
Student-led Psychology Cafe
4
Play and Learn Outreach Event
4
Recent Publications & Congrats
5
And much more...
validation, and person-centred working,
offering tailored support to meet individual
needs. Typically, this involved transcribing
or taking dictation, using creative methods
to elicit memories, and later in the process,
editorial suggestions. Each session was
based around a theme which informed
activities. For example, the session
titled ‘The World I’ve Seen’ involved
interaction with large maps, in which
writers and students annotated the maps
with memories of places they had been.
Not only did the writers benefit from this
process, but we also found it to be an
enriching experience, both academically
and personally. We were not simply
learning about their lives but about our own,
gaining an intergenerational perspective on
the challenges that life presents. It shifted
our attitudes around ageing, and away from
the traditional narrative of dementia. Whilst
dementia is often portrayed as a story of
loss, these writers demonstrated the ability
to gain new skills and experiences.
We have gained a greater
understanding of the tragedies,
comedies, the loves and the losses
that make up the tapestry of human
experience, and have done so from
people with lived experience, rather
than from the textbook or lecture
theatre. It was a privilege to be
welcomed into the worlds of such
inspirational people, determined to
not allow dementia to dictate their
lives, and to be trusted with their life
stories.
As the project progressed towards
publication of the book, one-to-one work
between writer and student became pivotal.
As we developed these person-centred
relationships, the building of rapport and
trust enabled writers to take risks in their
writing, and to tell us stories that had
never before been told. An understanding
of dementia from neuropsychological and
behavioural perspectives broadened our
capacity for empathy and sensitivity when
working with these writers, which in turn
informed the support that we provided.
When confronted with challenges presented
by the nature of dementia, we were able to
respond with flexibility and understanding.
Authors:
Alexandra
Bone,
Charlotte Massingham, Sophie Razzel,
Jennifer Russell & Lewis Slade (final
year Applied Psychology undergraduate
students)
References:
Forget Me Nots (2014). Welcome to Our
World: A Collection of Life Writing by
People Living with Dementia. Canterbury:
Forget Me Nots.
Guss, R., Middleton, J., Beanland, T.,
Slade, L., Moniz-Cook, E., Watts, S., &
Bone, A. (2014). A Guide to Psychosocial
Interventions in Early Stages of Dementia.
Leicester: British Psychological Society.
kentpsychologist
1
Introducing Anamaria and Nichola
In February, the School of Psychology
welcomed Anamaria Buescu as EDI
Project Officer. Anamaria will be in post
for the next two years and is working
on a University-wide project funded by
OFFA.
I
have
a
background
in Linguistics
and Semiotics
(Pragmatics),
Conference
I nte r p r et i n g ,
and Cultural
Studies, all of
which
meet
my
interest
in
social
language
and
its
psychological
a
n
d
anthropological implications. I have looked
at the ways in which discourse may
cause power struggles between those
holding conflicting attitudes across and
between different cultures, thus exposing
the embedded ideological ramifications
of language. I have explored Race and
Ethnicity, Identity and Identification, Power
and Identity Politics, with a particular focus
on Masculinities and gendered discourse.
My latest research focuses on Masculinity
in Crisis through a study of authorship
and the impact of the writer’s block on
the demise of Hegemonic Masculinity.
In my current role as an Equality, Diversity
and Inclusivity Project Officer, I conduct
research on key matters underlying the
academic performance of Psychology
undergrads
from
different
ethnic
backgrounds, in the aim of designing
inclusive strategies to improve overall
satisfaction of all students. Specifically, I
look at variables such as ethnicity, gender,
residence and expectations, to assess
their impact on attainment, attendance and
retention. Part of my role is sharing practices
with other EDI Officers working towards
addressing the existing gap in attainment
across different ethnic groups. Drawing
on my expertise in Communications and
Cultural Studies, I am also interested
in raising awareness of and promoting
Multicultural Competence, with the aim of
enhancing Intercultural Communication at
all levels (staff and students).
Nichola Tyler joined the School of
Psychology as a Postdoctoral Research
Associate last year.
I completed my undergraduate degree
in Psychology and Law, MSc in
Forensic Psychology and PhD at Kent.
I completed my PhD in December
2014 and my research focused on the
offence process, treatment needs, and
effectiveness of specialist treatment for
mentally disordered firesetters.
I am now a Postdoctoral Research Associate
jointly employed by the University of Kent
and Kent Forensic Psychiatry Services
(Kent & Medway NHS and Social Care
Partnership Trust). Within this role I am the
lead coordinator for the evaluation project
associated with the Firesetting Intervention
Programme for Mentally Disordered
Offenders (FIP-MO). The FIP-MO is the first
standardised treatment programme for male
and female mentally disordered firesetters
and is currently being run nationally across
the UK within private hospitals and the
NHS. The associated evaluation seeks to
examine (1) whether the FIP-MO is effective
in reducing firesetters key deficits pre-post
treatment and
(2) whether it is
effective when
compared to a
control group
of firesetters
receiving
treatment as
usual (i.e., not
receiving the
FIP-MO).
Cyber-Crime Workshop
On Thursday 19 January, Dr Afroditi Pina,
Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the
Centre of Research and Education in
Forensic Psychology (CORE-FP), hosted
the an interdisciplinary workshop on
Cyber-Crime and Internet Safety here at
the School. This workshop was attended
by Psychology Staff, PhD students as well
as colleagues from different Schools in
the Faculty of Social Sciences within the
University. It brought together expertise
from psychologists, practitioners and police
officers working in the field of Cyber-Crime,
Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Trolling
and Stalking. The attendees had a chance
to view cutting edge work from the CyberCrime Working Group (CCWG) that consists
of Drs Afroditi Pina, Keri Nixon, Adrian Scott
& Simon Duff as well as DC Steven Manning
and DCI Brian Roberts from Cheshire
Police, as well as engage in a round-table
discussion with the presenters. The CCWG
is a working group between Cheshire Police
the Universities of Kent and Nottingham in
the UK as well as Curtin and Edith Cowan
Universities in Australia. This workshop was
funded by the School of Psychology Seed
Fund awarded to Dr Pina.
Below
are
some
testimonials
from some of the PhD Students
that attended the workshop:
2
kentpsychologist
“As my research interests include
victimization within the context of intimate
relationships, the Cyber-Crime workshop
expanded my knowledge about alternate
routes individuals may take to initiate
numerous forms of abusive and controlling
behaviours. One of the most interesting
insights from the workshop, was the role
police investigators have in the process,
and the lack of interventions and resources
available. Another, is the question of the
onset of risk to the victim and the knowledge
of how the internet infiltrates most aspects
of a persons life.” Anita Ruddle, PhD
Student.
“Considering myself quite advanced with
computer technology and conducting
a lot of research in prisons, I felt that my
understanding of Cyber-Crime was on a
good level. However, after attending this
workshop, my eyes were opened to all the
areas that we know minimal information
about and how much research there needs
to be done in order to successfully police
the cyber space. What was probably the
most shocking was the lack of available
resources there are to police cyber space.
Attending this workshop made me realize
the importance of future research within this
fast expanding area of crime.” Katarina
Mozova, PhD Student.
“The Cyber Crime Workshop was really
useful in raising awareness about this
highly prevalent yet little understood area
of criminal activity. The presentations
delivered throughout the day facilitated
interesting and engaging discussions of
some of the important issues being faced
by police officers and other professionals
attempting to prevent and intervene in
online criminal activity. The workshop
covered a diverse range of issues and
perspectives of relevance to researchers
and practitioners working in this area.
From attending the workshop I gained a
much better understanding of the extent of
cyber-crime in our society, its detrimental
consequences, and how the police are
tackling this type of criminal behaviour.”
Tom Page, PhD Student.
Professor Joachim Stoeber’s Inaugural
Lecture on Thursday 19 March at 6pm in
Keynes College Lecture Theatre 4.
On behalf of Professor Joachim Stoeber,
we are pleased to invite you to attend
his Inaugural Lecture, to celebrate his
promotion to Professor. The title of the talk
is: “Perfectionism: A double-edged sword”
and it will be followed by a drinks reception
at 7pm.
To find out more about Joachim’s
research,
please
go
to:
w w w. ke n t . a c .u k /p syc h o l o g y/p e o p l e /
stoeberj/.
Professor Dominic Abrams Esteem Lecture
on Wednesday 25 March at 6pm in
Grimond Lecture Theatre 1.
As part of the series of Esteem Lectures
announced by the University of Kent
for its 50th anniversary year Professor
Dominic Abrams, Director of the School
of Psychology’s internationally esteemed
Centre for the Study of Group Processes,
will give a lecture entitled “The Pride and
Prejudice of Leaders and their Groups:
Social Competition, Social Control and
Tests of Tolerance”.
A ten-week Forensic Psychology Evening
Course started earlier this month.
What’s On
There’s still time to book your place on the
course which is taught by some of the UK’s
leading forensic psychology experts. To
register, go to: http://bit.ly/1NJfiSA.
Members of the University’s Centre of
Research and Education in Forensic
Psychology (CORE-FP) will highlight famous
cases, such as that of Jack the Ripper, to
present an insight into murder and profiling,
while other parts of the course will put the
spotlight on juries, stalking and harassment,
sex offenders and rehabilitation, and the
reliability of eyewitnesses.
Wednesday 22 April, 9am-5pm in
Keynes College. The course will cover
the administration of RSVP, the structured
professional judgement risk assessment
instrument which provides evaluators with
guidance on assessing risk and developing
risk plans to prevent sexual violence.
Book online: www.kent.ac.uk/enterprise/
training/rsvp-apr15.html
Practitioners, students and academics
can now book their place on two new
training courses with CORE-FP on
HCR-20 Version 3 and RSVP (Risk
for
Sexual
Violence
Protocol).
The HCR-20 Version 3 course will run
on Wednesday 25 March, 9am-5pm in
Keynes College. Attendees will learn about
best practices using the HCR-20 set of
guidelines for comprehensive violence risk
assessment and management based on the
Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ)
model.
Book online: www.kent.ac.uk/enterprise/
training/hcr20-mar15.html.
The RSVP (Risk for Sexual Violence
Protocol) course will take place on
More Research Seminars will take place
this term in Keynes Lecture Theatre 4.
All University staff, final year undergraduate
and postgraduate students are welcome to
attend. Refreshments are provided. We
have the following Research Seminars to
look forward to:
2 April - “Intuitive morality judgments and...
Continued on page 4
Safety of the Net: Kent’s ‘CyberSmart’ Day
Final year student Holly Summers tells
us about her involvement in an event
which highlights social science in
society.
Bullying in schools has been a problem
since… well schools really. But what
happens when the bullies are not just at
school, but on the bus, in your bag and on
your desk in your bedroom at home? This is
reality of Cyberbullying, where bullies can
contact their victims any place, anytime.
Cyberbullying is an ever-growing problem
for young people growing up in The Internet
Age and the issues range from smutty
texts to snide tweets and from scary Trolls
to exploitive photos and videos gone viral.
Cyberbullying has a major impact on the
safety of children and can have detrimental
effects to their mental health.
At the beginning of November, the School of
Psychology at the University of Kent hosted
an event for children from local secondary
schools in order to raise awareness about
Cyberbullying, as part of the ESRC funded
Festival of Social Science. The event was
organised by Dr Lindsey Cameron, a child
development specialist at the University’s
School of Psychology.
Around 60 year eight pupils from schools
in Kent came to campus and were guided
in small groups by student ambassadors,
to different bases on campus. There they
had the opportunity to try out cutting edge
technology including Google Glass, a 3D
Scanner and Oculus Rift and to have a
think about how these might be used for the
good, the bad and the downright ugly. They
also tried out the School’s emotion facereading software, eye-tracking systems and
participated in a simulated online chatroom.
All the pupils completed a workbook of ‘Lab
Notes’, which asked questions about how
they thought the tech they had sampled
could be improved, used and abused.
Each small group had at least one student
ambassador to help with their lab notes and
answer their questions about university life.
After lunch, the groups came together
to share their ideas and participate in a
workshop about staying safe online, run
by a representative from Project Salus
(formerly Kent Safe Schools). Project Salus
is a non-profit organisation which provides
talks to pupils, teachers and parents about
the facts on Cyberbullying and bust the
myths of the internet to help children stay
safe while surfing the web. The workshop
included activities and interactive quizzes
which allowed the pupils to show what they
had learned in the morning session and ask
questions about cyberbullying and online
safety.
The final activity which the pupils participated
in was designing and presenting an idea for
a smartphone app, which could be used to
help stop cyberbullying. There were loads
of great ideas and creative designs which
the groups all shared with one another.
The day provided pupils with the opportunity
to try out loads of cool new technology,
think about what cyberbullying is and reflect
on their own experiences and future actions
online, as well as have a look around the
Canterbury campus and see the kind of
research done here at Kent.
Further information about the services
provided by The Salus Project is available
at: www.projectsalus.co.uk/.
Pictured above are some of the staff and
students who helped to make the event a
great success.
kentpsychologist
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Employability in the First Degree
PhD
Student
Lynsey
Mahmood
researches students’ perceptions of
their own employability.
A common worry for undergraduate
students is finding employment after their
degree finishes. Once they have gained the
degree and all of the transferable skills that
go with it, finding employment shouldn’t be
a problem. However, employer’s state that
graduates are not marketing themselves
well, making the process much more difficult
for both the graduate and the employer.
It’s not that they don’t possess the skills,
there just seems to be some difficulty in
articulating their skill set.
Research in higher education has become
increasingly
interested
in
graduate
employability since changes to tuition
fees and student funding have been
implemented. A lot of research has asked
employers what they look for in graduates
and whether graduates are meeting the
employers’ expectations. In general, there
seems to be some disparity between what
employers expect, and what graduates
are offering. But perhaps this is due to
graduate’s preparedness for the job market
and lacking a clear understanding of the
employers expectations. Little research has
focussed on the graduates understanding
of the graduate job market and how they
view their own employability. Understanding
the graduate’s perspective on employability
would not only help researchers to
understand why this disparity exists, but
would also inform career advisors, personal
tutors and other professionals in an advisory
role. This would allow sufficient support to
be put in place and tailored to the students
who will soon be entering the graduate job
market.
Our article presents research aiming to fill
this gap in our understanding of graduate
employability by asking work placement
students about their perceptions of skills
gained and employability developments
throughout their degree. We hope that
this will start to inform higher education
research as to the student perspective on
these issues and bridge the gap between
what employers want and what graduates
can offer.
Mahmood, L., Slabu, L., Randsley
de Moura, G. & Hopthrow, T. (2014).
Employability in the first degree: The role of
work placements on students’ perceptions
of graduate employability. Psychology
Teaching Review, 20, 124-134.
This research commenced during Lynsey’s
placement year on her Applied Psychology
BSc at Kent. During this time Lynsey also
helped to develop an employability website:
www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/employability/.
Play and Learn Outreach Event
In November, a team of psychologists from
Psychology ran a very successful Play and
Learn event in Chartham, Canterbury. This
event was funded in part by the Economic
and Social Research Council (to Dr Lindsey
Cameron) and in part from the Pro-Vice
Chancellor for Research and Innovation
(to Drs Lindsey Cameron, Kirsten AbbotSmith, and Erika Nurmsoo).
The event was an opportunity for families
to enjoy free refreshments and soft-play,
whilst learning about child development.
Students and staff ran six information
stands,
each
showcasing
various
aspects of child development. Parents
and children also had the chance to
participate in current research and use
the Eye-Tracker to see first-hand how we
conduct research, and of course to ask
questions about their child’s development.
The feedback received from parents was
unanimously positive, with many asking us
to provide more such events. Families in
attendance had travelled from as far away
as Margate, Ramsgate, and Ashford.
Around twenty dedicated Master’s, final
year project, and Research Experience
Scheme students assisted with staffing
the stands and talking to parents. They
did a wonderful job of demonstrating
Developmental Psychology to parents and
to the children. Special thanks to all who
attended and supported the event.
We hope to run many more of these events
in the future and that parents and child care
providers will continue to engage with our
exciting research!
What’s On Continued
...moral stereotypes of scientists” with Dr
Bastiaan Rutjens, University of Amsterdam.
9 April - “Do We Want a Fighter? The
Influence of Group Status and the
Stability of Intergroup Relations on Leader
Prototypically and Endorsement” with Dr
Ilka Gleibs, London School of Economics.
TBA - “Hostility Involving Interacting
Groups” with Prof Verlin B Hinz,
North
Dakota
State
University
&
Universidad Carlos III Madrid.
Even more Academic and Professional
Development Workshops will run this term
12-2pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
in
Keynes
Seminar
Room
9.
Plus don’t forget about the regular Café
Psychology talks; these events are a
chance for Psychology staff and students
to talk animatedly about a subject they are
passionate about.
ASI-WAS Undergrad
Prize Winner
MSc student Charlotte Parfitt tells us
how she came to win The Animals and
Society Institute (ASI) and Wesleyan
Animal Studies (WAS) Annual Prize.
Following three years of hard work I had
finally finished my degree, along with my
final year research project. Myself and
my supervisor, Dr Emma Alleyne, were
extremely pleased with the outcome of
my research and began our search for
potential journals to publish my paper. Last
year, we came across The Animals and
Society Institute and Wesleyan Animal
Studies undergraduate paper prize in
human-animal studies, which seemed like
a great opportunity to try and get my paper
published. Each year they offer a prize to
outstanding, original theoretical or empirical
scholarly work that advances the field of
human-animal studies.
My research examined the psychological
and
behavioural
characteristics
of
adulthood animal abusers; which is a much
neglected area of research. Animal abuse
literature is significantly focused on young
offenders, therefore findings are often
applied to adult populations. As a result of
this, there is very little research which looks
directly at adults who abuse animals and
the factors which are associated with this
type of offending behaviour. In my research
I looked at community adults’ likelihood or
proclivity to engage in animal abuse and
the factors that could be used to predict this
behaviour. I found that childhood animal
abuse, empathetic concern (i.e., sympathy),
proneness for human-direct aggression
and personal distress (i.e., low moods
or discomfort as a result of becoming too
deeply involved in other’s pain), were all
significant factors in predicting animal
abuse in adults. Based upon these findings,
my research highlights areas that should
be targeted in prevention and intervention
programmes aimed at reducing animal
abuse. It also highlights the importance of
distinguishing between different forms of,
and motivations for, animal abuse.
Much to my surprise, towards the end
of November, they announced my
research paper “‘Taking it out on the dog:’
Psychological and behavioural correlates
of animal abuse proclivity”, as the winning
paper. As part of my winning, my paper
is due to be published in the Society &
Animals Journal and I will receive a book
of my choice from ASI’s Human-Animal
Studies book series published by Brill.
I would recommend this competition to
future undergraduates who are carrying out
their research in the field of human-animal
studies as it is a great way to get your
research out there!
To find out more about the ASI-WAS prize
including how to apply and past winners like
Charlotte, go to: http://bit.ly/1HJUeY2.
kentpsychologist
4
Alleyne, E., Tilston, L., Parfitt, C., &
Butcher, R. (in press). Adult-perpetrated
animal abuse: Development of a proclivity
scale. Psychology, Crime & Law.
DOI: 10.1080/1068316X.2014.999064.
Alleyne, E., Wood, J.L., Mozova, K., &
James, M. (in press). Psychological and
behavioral characteristics that distinguish
street gang members in custody.
Legal and Criminological Psychology.
DOI: 10.1111/lcrp.12072.
Damian, L. E., Stoeber, J., Negru, O.,
& Băban, A. (2014). Perfectionism and
achievement goal orientations in adolescent
school students. Psychology in the Schools,
51, 960-971.
Forrester, M. A.
(2015) Early Social
Interaction: A Case
Comparison of
Developmental
Pragmatics and
Psychoanalytic
Theory. Cambridge:
Cambridge
University Press.
Grisdale, E., Williams,
D.M., & Lind, S.E., & Eacott, M. (2014).
Self-referential memory in autism spectrum
Congratulations to Prof Theresa Gannon,
Dr Emma Alleyne, Dr Caoilte Ó Ciardha,
Dr Lona Lockerbie (Honorary Lecturer),
Nichola Tyler, Helen Butler, Magali Barnoux
and Katarina Mozova for being awarded
the Faculty of Social Sciences Research
Prize for their work on “Understanding
and
Treating
Deliberate
Firesetters”.
Congratulations to Dr Giovanni Travaglino
for being awarded the University Prize
for Postgraduate Research for his work
on “Honour, Masculinity, and Criminal
Organisations: The Psychology of Omertà”.
Congratulations to Dr Kristof Dhont
and Prof Arne Roets (Ghent University,
Belgium) who have been awarded €1215 by
the International Development Office (Kent)
and International Relations Office (Ghent)
for their joint Kent-Ghent collaborative
project entitled “Political Psychology
Research Collaboration on Ideology and
Intergroup Relations” .
Congratulations to Prof Dominic Abrams
who has been awarded £36,980 by British
Academy for a project entitled “Perception
of and attitude towards the Syrian refuges
in Turkey”. Special thanks go to Dr Giovanni
Travaglino for helping to secure the funding.
Congratulations to Dr Anna Brown who has
been awarded £12,000 by the SHL Group
Limited for a project entitled “Asking the
right questions: increasing fairness and
accuracy of personality assessments with
Recent Publications
disorder and typical development: Exploring
the ownership effect. Consciousness and
Cognition, 30, 133-141.
Mahmood, L., Slabu, L., Randsley
de Moura, G., & Hopthrow, T. (2014).
Employability in the first degree: The role of
work placements on students’ perceptions
of graduate employability. Psychology
Teaching Review, 20, 124-134.
Pliatsikas C., Moschopoulou, E., & Saddy,
D. (2015): The effects of bilingualism on
the white matter structure of the brain.
Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. 112 (5), 1334–1337.
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1414183112.
Sayers, Janet V. (2015). Review of Sex
Versus Survival: The Life and Ideas of
Sabina Spielrein, by John Launer. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://bit.ly/198adUd.
Stoeber, J., Haskew, A. E., & Scott, C. (2015).
Perfectionism and exam performance: The
mediating effect of task-approach goals.
Personality and Individual Differences, 74,
171-176.
Stoeber, J., Kobori, O., & Brown, A. (2014).
Examining mutual suppression effects in
the assessment of perfectionism cognitions:
Evidence supporting multidimensional
Congratulations
Computerised Adaptive testing”.
Congratulations to Dr David Williams
on being made an Associate Editor at
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Congratulations to Dr Giovanni Travaglino,
Dr Maria Ridda (School of English,
University of Kent) and Benjamin Abrams
(Department of Sociology, University of
Cambridge) who have been awarded
$4,000 by ISPP as a contribution towards
a symposium on collective action, change,
and resistance in Southern Italy. The
meeting will address ‘Italy’s Southern
Question’, whilst creating an opportunity for
cross-disciplinary exchange among political
psychologists, historians, and sociologists.
The meeting is part of the INSPR’s
(www.inspr.eu) series of interdisciplinary
events on collective action.
Congratulations to Prof Dominic Abrams
(PI) and Dr Hannah Swift (Co-I) who have
been awarded £5,000 by the Department
of Business, Innovation and Skills for an
evidence review entitled “The barriers and
enablers to positive attitudes to ageing and
older people, at the societal and individual
level”.
Congratulations to Dr David Kelly who has
been awarded £2,500 by the Experimental
Psychology Society for a project entitled
“Can multisensory inputs facilitate otherrace face processing?”. David has also
recently been awarded £9,667 by The
assessment. Assessment, 21, 647-660.
Stoeber, J., Kobori, O., & Brown, A.
(2014). Perfectionism cognitions are
multidimensional: A reply to Flett and Hewitt
(2014). Assessment, 21, 666-668.
Stoeber, J., Sherry, S. B., & Nealis, L. J.
(2015). Multidimensional perfectionism
and narcissism: Grandiose or vulnerable?
Personality and Individual Differences, 80,
85-90.
Stoeber, J. (2014). Perfectionism in sport
and dance: A double-edged sword.
InternationalJournal
of
Sport
Psychology, 45(4), 385-394.
Ward, D., Connally, E., Pliatsikas, C.,
& Watkins, K. (2015): The neurological
underpinnings of cluttering: some initial
findings. The Journal of Fluency Disorders.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2014.12.003.
Yang, H., Stoeber, J., & Wang, Y. (2015).
Moral perfectionism and moral values,
virtues, and
judgments: A preliminary
investigation. Personality and Individual
Differences, 75,229-233.
Yazar, Y., Bergström, Z.M., & Simons, J.S.
(2014). Continuous theta burst stimulation
of angular gyrus reduces subjective
recollection. PLoS ONE, 9, e110414, 1-7.
British Academy for a project entitled
“Putting infants in control: measuring
gaze-contingent viewing patterns and
preferences in the first year of life”.
Congratulations to Dr David Wilkinson
who has been awarded funding for
a PhD Studentship from KentHealth
(www.kent.ac.uk/health/funding/). This is the
5th year that the scheme has run and the
first time that Psychology has won. The title
of the studentship is:- ‘Neuropsychological
outcomes in military veterans with traumatic
brain injury’ and the terms and conditions of
funding are the same as that for an RCUK
studentship. Congratulations also go to final
year student Emma Denby who has been
offered the studentship.
Congratulations to Dr Aleksandra Cichocka
who has been awarded £3,938 by the Faculty
of Social Sciences for a project entitled
“Using experiments to determine trust and
legitimation beliefs”, and is a collaboration
between Aleksandra and Ben Seyd from the
School of Politics and International Relations,
which they have initiated as part of the
activities of a Political Psychology Lab.
Congratulations to PhD student Benny
Ogidan who has been awarded £1,950
by the Experimental Psychology Society
under the EPS Study Visit Scheme. This
has enabled Benny to visit Dr Hayley Ness
in Edinburgh where he was trained to use
featurally-based facial composite systems.
Continued on page 6
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5
Student Experience
Forum
Undergraduate students in the School
are invited to attend the new Student
Experience Forum. This forum offers an
opportunity to meet senior members of the
School, to hear about new initiatives, and to
hear what students feel is important for the
student experience. It is due to take place
on 25 March at 1-2pm in the Psychology
Conference Room. Refreshments will be
provided.
If you are interested in attending the
Forum or you would like to find out more,
please email Dr Caoilte Ó Ciardha at
[email protected].
Kent Psychologists in the Media
Julie Van de Vyver, a PhD researcher in
the School of Psychology, wrote a research
article for People United’s website. To read
“An Unlikely Pair? Anger and Kindness”,
please go to: http://bit.ly/1aZIV2U.
Research carried out by Dr Rachel Calogero
was highlighted by The Washington Post
online in October in an article titled “What
do fir women want? Strong or skinny?”
(http://wapo.st/1CmimeQ).
Prof Dominic Abrams and Dr Hannah Swift’s
research as part of the Eurage was included
in Autumn 2014 edition of Society Now
which is the regular magazine published by
the ESRC. The article titled ‘Ageism affects
how well older people feel’ is available here:
http://bit.ly/1tD9Bg9.
Last year PhD student Angelique Eydam
was interviewed for an article titled ‘Talk
to your baby: they might understand’ by
Horizon: The EU Research & Innovation
Magazine online (http://bit.ly/1E8HeK6).
Student-led Psychology Café London Event
Psychology Café is a new monthly event
launched by Assistant Psychologist, Aska
Matsunaga, in the hopes of creating an
open forum for discussion and bridging the
gap between students and professionals in
clinical psychology.
It is an event for collaboration and to help
attendees gain helpful insight directly to
both the career pathway and reflections of
practice from those currently going through
the process.
Although it is in the early stages, the first
event went down well with representatives
from the University of Kent, Regents
University, and assistants and trainee
psychologists from the CNWL NHS
Foundation Trust. This event is open also to
students from UCL and UWL, again allowing
for a broader network to emerge amongst
clinical psychologists and enthusiastic
students.
In our January event, we discussed how to
access clinical psychology as a career with
students realizing just how accessible it is
and how many different routes there are to
get into the field. Additionally, the differences
in the role psychology can play for a range
of clinical conditions was discussed with
great debate, as each psychologist begins
to identify their own method and approach
throughout their career.
Our next meetings will take place on the
27 March and 24 April (5.30-8pm) at the
Timberyard Seven Dials Café (7 Upper St
Martin’s Lane, Seven Dials, London, WC2H
9DL). If you would like to attend or have any
queries, please contact Aska Matsunaga on
[email protected]. You can also
keep up-to-date with meetings via Facebook:
www.facebook.com/psychologycafelondon.
Final Year Memento
As in previous years, the School of
Psychology will be giving free mugs to its
final year students on deadline day for receipt
of projects. Look out for communications
from your year group representatives about
suggestions for slogans to appear on the
memento mug for 2015!
Congratulations Continued
Congratulations to Dr Ayse Uskul on being
invited to act as a member of the British
Council Researh Links and Institutional
Links (Social Sciences) funding panel.
Congratulations to Dr Anna Brown who has
been awarded £2,760 by Imagini Holdings
Limited for a project entitled “Investigation
of psychometric properties of a visual
forced-choice stimuli”.
Congratulations to Dr Kirsten Abbot-Smith
(PI) and Dr David Williams (Co-I) who
have been awarded £4,986 by the Faculty
Research Fund for a project entitled “The
role of social shared experience in how
children interpret linguistic requests”.
Congratulations to Drs Heather Ferguson
and David Williams who have been
awarded a grant by the Leverhulme
Trust for £225,482.
The project will
start in September 2015 and the title is
“Imagining the self in fictional worlds:
Evidence from Autism Spectrum Disorder”.
Congratulations to final year undergraduate
student Fatima Tresh who was award £50
from the BPS London and Home Counties
branch for a poster titled “Women in the
workplace: is the unconscious bias holding
them back?”.
Congratulations to Dr Joe Brooks who has
been awarded £3,500 by the Experimental
Psychology Society for a project entitled
“Workshop in honour of Professor Jon
Driver and his influence in mentoring
others”.
Congratulations to Dr Hannah Swift who
has been awarded £7,913 by The Learning
through Landscapes Trust for a project
entitled “Grounds for Discovery”. Hannah is
the PI on this grant and Ann Marie Towers is
the Co-I and a Research Fellow in PSSRU.
Need Help/Advice?
If you have any personal or academic
issues that may affect your ability to study
you can talk to Lisa Clark, Student Advisor
for Psychology.
Please email her at: [email protected]
There are a range of services available to
all Kent students including the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Careers and Employability Service
Disability and Dyslexia Support Service
International Students
Counselling
Chaplaincy
Medical
Plus many more...
You can find more out about Student
Services from the following webpage:
www.kent.ac.uk/guidance/
Any Suggestions?
If you have any comments or suggestions
for the staff in the School of Psychology,
then you can feed these back to us by using
our suggestions box located outside the
Psychology Student Office (Keynes M1.13).
Kent Psychologist
The School of Psychology’s Newsletter
is for students and staff. We welcome
contributions from both staff, students and
alumni for future issues. If you would like to
write an article or have any news you’d like
to share, please contact Carly Turnham.
School of Psychology,
Keynes College
University of Kent,
CANTERBURY,
Kent. CT2 7NP
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01227 824775
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