SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER
Issue 2
School of Experimental Psychology Newsletter August 2014 - July 2015
From the Head of School Another busy year in terms of research with the REF results in December 2014 and a number of new grants starting up in the School. We also launched the 4-year MSci in Psychology, to begin at the start of the new academic year. Our students continue to be active with outreach activities and winning awards. This July saw the first cohort of graduates who had paid the increased tuition fees; we wish them every success in the future. Professor Jan Noyes, Head of School
People Chris Jarrold receives EPS Mid Career Award
Dr Lauren Marsh wins BPS Doctoral Award
Professor Chris Jarrold was elected as the winner of the 14th Mid career award of the Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) in January. The EPS is a UK-based learned society that supports experimental psychology.
Research Associate, Dr Lauren Marsh received the BPS Doctoral Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research Contributions to Psychology in March and will be invited to deliver a lecture based on her research at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference next year.
Chris will now present an award lecture at one of the EPS’s Scientific Meetings in 2016, a version of which will subsequently be published in the Society’s journal, the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Lauren was one of two researchers to win the award which is made each year by the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Research Board. Candidates are judged on the basis of one or two published articles reporting the research they carried out for their degree.
Welcome to Dr Susanne Quadflieg and Dr Claire Haworth who joined the School this year.
Congratulations To Dr Angela Rowe on her promotion to Reader in Social Cognitive Psychology.
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER | Issue 2
Visual processing in Alzheimer’s disease results published and presented by Dr George Stothart Dr George Stothart presented his research in September 2014 with Dr Nina Kazanina and Professor Andrea Tales demonstrating changes in early visual processing in Alzheimer’s disease at the International Organization of Psychophysiology biennial meeting in Hiroshima, Japan. With support from the BRACE charity and Guarantors of Brain funding, Dr Stothart was able to attend this International Organisation meeting in
Japan, and present these results in a symposium on visual mismatch negativity.
One of the top 50 highestcited articles
From backbench to lab bench: MP meets Bristol researchers
In February, Professor Marcus Munafò and colleagues where informed that their paper, Association between genetic variants on chromosome 15q25 locus and objective measures of tobacco exposure, was one of the top 50 highest-cited articles in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) in 2012. This is a prestigious oncology journal (Impact Factor 15.161).
Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West, swapped legislation for a lab coat when he visited the School. The unique insight is part of a pairing scheme run by the Royal Society, which sees him shadow the work of an academic and vice versa In February Dr Angela Attwood spent 4 days in Westminster learning more about Mr Williams’ work. Dr Attwood works in the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group (TARG). The School is one of only a few research institutions in the country to have a fully equipped CO2 laboratory, and TARG is leading the way in using this anxiety induction tool in psychological research.
The findings for publication have also recently been accepted in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Nick Scott-Samuel and Roland Baddeley to construct a “Camouflage Machine” Dr Nick Scott-Samuel and Dr Roland Baddeley with Professor Innes Cuthill (School of Biological Sciences) have received a large grant from EPSRC to construct a ‘Camouflage Machine’, which will optimise patterns for camouflage and visibility. Using state-of-the-art computational modelling techniques, the methodology (implemented in a computer programme) will allow the comparison and assessment of different approaches to visual concealment and signaling. Nick Scott-Samuel has also been awarded another large grant from the BBSRC with Innes Cuthill and Dr Heather Whitney (Biological Sciences) for a 3-year grant investigation into ‘Deceptive Iridescence’.
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER
Issue 2
Congratulations to our MSc and PhD Graduates
Congratulations to our 2015 Graduates
On Thursday February the 12th, the School of Experimental Psychology celebrated the Gradation of its Taught Postgraduate MSc and PhD students. This was a particularly special occasion as it involved the graduation of the first cohort of students studying the Master's programe which is run in conjunction with the North Bristol Trust.
On Thursday July the 22nd, we celebrated the graduation of our third year students. Families came from around the world and enjoyed a very pleasant occasion celebrating in the School of Chemistry with prosecco and cake.
Congratulations also go to the following MSc prize winners: Annabelle Redfern, Thomas Davis, Andrew Gordon and Sheila Cacchione.
Congratulations go to the following BSc prize winners: Becky Maguire, Sam Jones, Alex Walford, Ollie Platt, Amy Jane Hall, Coral Crouch, Molly Russen, Julie Lee, Sarah Tayleur, Tamar Lehmann, Kay Lian, Liam Fitzpatrick, Saskia Phelps, Eleanor Yorke and Madeleine Dwyer.
Dr Suzi Gage discusses challenges faced by women in STEM with US Ambassador On Monday 20th July, Dr Suzi Gage was invited to the US Ambassador's house in Regent's Park, London, along with 15 other women who work in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Network subjects. The Ambassador wanted to discuss the challenges faced by women in STEM and hopes for the future, in an informal setting over coffee and biscuits, which is why he hosted it at his residence, rather than the Embassy building. The Ambassador Matthew Barzun described the meeting, which lasted nearly 2 hours, as 'inspiring' on twitter. Suzi said afterwards 'it was a great discussion, and hopefully will be a jumping-off point for some practical advice to help retain and support the talented women who want to be scientists, mathematicians, engineers or in tech’.
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER
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The South West Undergraduate Psychology Conference 2015 The South West Undergraduate Psychology Conference was held on Saturday 21st March at Bath Spa University. The day was very successful with some amazing project work being reported. An excellent keynote lecture was given from Dr Peter Etchells, a previous Experimental Psychology Undergraduate and Postgraduate, on the topic of “Brains on games: what do we know about the effects of playing video games on human behaviour”. Nine of our undergraduate students took part in this year's SWUC, Madeleine Dwyer and Julie Lee were awarded commendations for their oral presentations.
Research in the News Decision Making Intensive Care Unit
GW4 Accelerator Grant Success Dr Nina Kazanina and Dr George Stothart are part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Universities of Exeter, Bristol, Bath and Cardiff who have recently established a research community to advance the study of large-scale brain networks in disease. This endeavour was recently awarded an Accelerator Grant by the GW4 alliance (PI: Marc Goodfellow, Exeter) which is a collaborative agreement between these four universities http://gw4.ac.uk/.
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Professor Iain Gilchrist, Dr Andreas Jarvstad and Dr Gaurav Malhotra have been working with clinicians from the Bristol Royal Infirmary Intensive Care Unit to study how both doctors and nurses make decisions in this complex and demanding environment. In the study, they are investigating how the structure of the environment can influence decision making. For more details about the project see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= AeFzge59jW0
Working Memory for Educational Psychologists – New Resources launched Dr Debbora Hall and Professor Chris Jarrold have launched a series of four films, games, and factsheets which explore working memory in the classroom. The resources are aimed at Educational Psychologists, Special Educational Needs, and specialist teachers, and were developed to provide cutting edge research into working memory and education in an easy to digest format. The resources are available at: www.bristol.ac.uk/workingmemory
GW4 University Alliance Workshop Professor Stephan Lewandowsky and Professor Marcus Munafò received funding from GW4 for a workshop entitled ‘The role of science in society and policy’, which was held in Bath on 21st and 22nd January. In addition to Marcus and Stephan, the attendees included academics from disciplines as diverse as sociology. The project is based on the premise that science infuses every fibre of contemporary life, from medical treatments to large-scale risk management of climate change. However, the importance of science stands in contrast to some concerning mega-trends: for example trust in science, government and universities is declining.
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER | Issue 2
Neuroscience at Bristol confirmed internationally leading by REF The REF2014 results in December assessed the quality and impact of the research carried out by each UK institution in different research areas. Research in the School of Experimental Psychology was assessed alongside research in Psychiatry and Neuroscience. The results confirmed that Bristol has one of the largest concentrations of researchers in this area and consistently produces work of the highest quality. Overall 80% of the activity was rated as either world-leading or internationally excellent. The REF also confirmed the impact that our research has beyond the academic world, 80% of our work was awarded the highest ranking possible and was classified as have ‘Outstanding impacts in terms of their reach and significance’.
Enterprise Dinner 2014 Dr Olivia Maynard was awarded one of the three engagement awards for her research which focuses on encouraging healthy behaviour change. Results from her PhD have shown that plain tobacco packaging increases attention to health warnings on cigarette packages. Dr David Turk was one of two nominees to be highly commended. During visits to primary school children, it became apparent that despite their interest in science, there was very little provision within the curriculum, particularly in rural and socially deprived areas. With the help of Experimental Psychology students, STEMNet and Professor Jan Noyes, the Brain Box Challenge was born. This is a suite of hands-on activities delivered by Bristol students and staff, aimed at bringing science to the classroom.
Eating different brands of the same food product could contribute to overconsumption As part of her work as a post-doctoral researcher in Experimental Psychology, Dr Charlotte Hardman, now at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, examined the eating behaviour of nearly 200 people who ate several different makes and varieties of pepperoni pizza, and those who tended to consume the same brand and type of pizza. The research was part of a three year, BBSRC-funded project, led by Professor Jeff Brunstrom, and the first study of its kind to look at the effect of the wide variety of types and brands of massproduced foods on consumption. The number of varieties of the same food product that are available to consumers has increased dramatically since the 1970s and the use of low-energy sweeteners and fat substitutes means that the calorie content can vary considerably. The research is published in April by PLOS ONE, ‘So Many Brands and Varieties to Choose from: Does This Compromise the Control of Food Intake in Humans?’ by Charlotte A. Hardman, Dr Danielle Ferriday, Lesley Kyle, Professor Peter J. Rogers and Professor Jeffrey M. Brunstrom.
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER
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BBRC-funded researchers explore the dietary behaviour of Samburu pastoralists of North-Central Kenya
The Nutrition and Behaviour Unit have been working on a BBSRC-funded project exploring cross-cultural differences in dietary behaviour and responses to a complex diet. This involved a field trip working with a cultural anthropologist to study Samburu pastoralists in a remote region of North-Central Kenya, Africa. The BBSRC has released a short film which describes this exciting work at:. http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/foodsecurity/2015/150317-f-how-do-we-choose-the-food-we-eat.aspx
Psychology Undergraduate Volunteers in Sri Lanka
Plain packing reduces ‘cigarette seeking’ response by almost a tenth
Lena Berger, Aliya Biggs, Megan Barnett, Louise Sweeney and Oliver Metcalfe took part in a 5 week Psychology placement in Sri Lanka this summer. The week consisted of numerous workshops, such as how to work with mentally ill patients and how to teach English as a foreign language, and involved working in the National Institute of Mental Health, the largest mental health facility in Sri Lanka.
Plain tobacco packaging may reduce the likelihood of smokers seeking to obtain cigarettes by almost 10 per cent compared to branded packs, according to research from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter.
Aliya Biggs said “Being allowed to work in this facility, and planning and implementing our own therapy was a great privilege. This type of experience could never be found in the UK, and I believe that the work of SLV here really does make a great difference to the patients’ lives”.
The findings come amidst debate over whether a law introducing plain cigarette packaging in England and Wales could come into force in 2016. In January, ministers said MPs would be asked to vote on the plan before May's general election, following a series of public consultations on the issue. The research is published in the journal addiction. ‘Plain cigarette packs do not exert Pavlovian to instrumental transfer of control over tobacco-seeking’ by Hogarth L, Maynard OM, and Munafò MR at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/february/plainpackaging-for-cigarettes.html
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER
Issue 2
New grants Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grants Funded project for impaired eye movement control Professor Iain Gilchrist and Cathy Williams from the School of Community Medicine and Bristol Eye Hospital have been awarded a grant from the EPSRC to develop a training app for children who have problems with eye movement coordination.
How do humans interact with a change in visual world? Professor Iain Gilchrist and Dr Casimir Ludwig have been awarded an EPSRC grant for the project ‘Vision for the future’. The grant will focus on developing a better understanding of the visual mechanisms and processes evolved in humans and other animals, and relating these to similar technology challenges. The Bristol Vision Institute researchers on the project include: Professor David Bull, Dr Jeremy Burn, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, Professor Innes Cuthill, Professor Iain Gilchrist, Dr Casimir Ludwig and Dr Nicholas Roberts.
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grants Sarah Griffiths receives ESRC Impact Acceleration Award In June 2014 the University launched an internal open call for four types of projects, with awards ranging from £100+ for Impact Travel Awards, to £20,000+ for Impact Projects and Knowledge Exchange Secondments. PhD student, Sarah Griffith’s project is to develop a tablet app for teaching emotion recognition to children with autism spectrum disorder in schools. The Funding Assessment Panel was pleased with the range and imagination of project proposals and with the commitment of the external partners involved.
Professor Stephan Lewandowsky awarded ESRC Impact Acceleration Award A second round of the University’s ESRC-funded Impact Acceleration Account has funded five Social Science projects to a total of £60,000. Professor Stephan Lewandowsky’s project, titled “When, not if: The inescapability of an uncertain future” seeks to find ways in which this counterintuitive fact about uncertainty can be better communicated to stakeholders.
Leverhulme Trust Grant Professor Chris Jarrold and Dr. Félice Van ‘t Wout have been awarded a three-year Leverhulme Trust Project Grant to study the ‘Development of Procedural Working Memory’. The work will shed light on how children’s ability to remember action plans improves with age, how they learn to manage different task demands, and how they learn the rules needed to complete new tasks. The grant is also accompanied by a PhD studentship.
Newton Mobility Grant Exploring effects of literacy acquisition on knowledge and awareness of spoken sounds Professor Markus Damian was awarded a Newton Mobility Grant from the British Academy in March. The grant will provide funding for exploratory meetings and pilot studies. In this project the long-standing question if (and if so, how) the acquisition of literacy restructures individuals’ knowledge and awareness of spoken sounds will attempt to be answered. To this aim, children in the critical stages of literacy acquisition will be targeted, as well as adult illiterates.
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER | Issue 2
Engagement Activities Decision Making Bristol 2014 Last September the School welcomed over 150 delegates from around the world for a 4 day conference, 'Decision Making Bristol 2014’. Reflecting Bristol's own approach to research in this area the meeting brought together researchers from a very wide range of disciplines who have an interest in decision making. Professor Iain Gilchrist, one of the organisers of the meeting, said: “This is an exciting time for decision making research and human decision making has an impact on our health and the health of our planet so there is a pressing need to deepen our understanding of this fundamental mental process”.
Bristol Politics Café
Soapbox Science 2015
In a new initiative, Policy Bristol supported the 'Bristol Politics Cafe' up to the time of the general election. This politics cafe will involved a series of discussion evenings, during which University of Bristol and University of the West of England academics held talks on topics ranging from the EU to schools, media bias and cultural integration.
The National Soapbox Science Festival was held in Bristol on Sunday 7th June, bringing 12 inspirational local female scientists to the streets to share their research, engage the public and inspire the next generation of scientists. The event was held in Millennium Square and offered everyone the chance to meet female scientists who are researching everything from climate modelling and the social lives of insects to brain science and astronomy.
Two professors from Experimental Psychology gave presentations in this series of talks. Professor Stephan Lewandowsky discussed ‘The Psychology of Bias and Misinformation: Climate change, vaccines and weapons of mass destruction’ and Professor Colin Davis discussed ‘How do we decide who to vote for? Social influences, bias and manipulation in electoral decision making’.
Dr Susanne Quadflieg explained to passersby the areas of the brain responsible for facial recognition, snap judgements, and mind attribution. She also presented behavioural studies that looked at the cross cultural aspects of these processes.
Why Do We Believe the Unbelievable? Professor Bruce Hood was invited to speak at this year’s Wired Event in London where he told the audience about his work on children’s reasoning and the origins of supernatural beliefs. His talk, ‘Why Do We Believe the Unbelievable’ covered some of his recent research on mind-body dualism, sympathetic magic and more specifically essentialism where we believe that the physical world has a non-physical dimension. Further details of Bruce’s talk and the full video can be found on the wired webpage.
SCHOOL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NEWSLETTER
Issue 2
Future Brunels visit Experimental Psychology A group of local secondary school pupils selected to participate in the “Future Brunels” programme spent a day at the university experiencing various activities in science and engineering. In Experimental Psychology, the theme of their session was “The Brain as a Magician”. Dr Nina Kazanina and her PhD students Jen Todd Jones and Emily Darley welcomed the Future Brunels to the School with a presentation unlocking some of the hidden magic that our brains constantly perform without our conscious awareness. From auditory and visual illusions to a classic ‘change blindness’ video, the pupils were intrigued and contributed a constant stream of questions. The rest of the afternoon was spent in the electroencephalography (EEG) lab, where the Future Brunels quickly volunteered one of their numbers to take part in an experiment. Nina and her students were impressed by the enthusiasm of the Future Brunels, who left the School tired, buzzing with new knowledge, and more than a little covered in conductive gel. Hopefully, the programme attendees will be back for more visits to Experimental Psychology in the future.
STEM Ambassadors visit Nailsea School On Wednesday 4th February, Jess Brown, a current MSc student, and four other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Ambassadors from the School of Experimental Psychology took part in their first information evening at Nailsea School. The STEM Ambassadors work with schools, colleges and STEM employers to enable young people of all backgrounds and abilities to meet inspiring role models, understand real world applications of STEM subjects and experience hands-on STEM activities that motivate, inspire and bring learning and career opportunities to life.
@Bristol Brains Night @Bristol’s After Hours evenings offer adults plenty of interactive fun and hands-on activities as they have free rein of the science centre. The theme of the evening was “Brains” and was well attended by PsychSoc members (the school’s student Psychology society) as well a variety of University staff who were assisting with displays. One display run by PhD student, Alex Milton, used a commercial single-sensor headset to demonstrate the concept of visualising and recording electrical brain activity (electroencephalography). A few displays along, Dr Pete Etchells demonstrated his point light walker research which was first developed in the BVI motion capture lab within Experimental Psychology, and Downstairs, Bristol Neuroscientist Dr Emma Robinson, ran a demonstration involving the dissection of sheep brains.
12a Priory Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK Tel: +44 (0)117 928 8450 http://www.bristol.ac.uk/expsych /