BPS Annual Report

The British Psychological Society Promoting excellence in psychology

www.bps.org.uk

Annual Report 2013

One in 50 members of the BPS is a highly active volunteer in a variety of

roles representing the range of activities within the Society. This is a higher

ratio than the National Trust.”

“

Cover: Dr Richard Mallows pictured with part of papier mâché model of ahuman brain at the opening of ‘Mind Maps: Stories from Psychology’ exhibitionat the Science Museum (see p.17). Photo: Jennie Hills, Science Museum.

Other photographs courtesy of Tony Dale Photography, Marcos BevilacquaPhotography and the Psychological Society of South Africa.

3Annual Report 2013

Welcome

The Society is tantalisinglyshort of its 50,000thmember. A great prizeawaits this person. Theforthcoming strategic planhas membership as a majordriver, so next year couldwell see a recipient.As President I have been veryprivileged to meet many members ofthe Society at home and abroad. Ihave been impressed by theenthusiasm and engagement I havewitnessed. One in 50 members of

the British Psychological Society(BPS) is a highly active volunteer in avariety of roles, representing therange of activities within the Society.This is a higher ratio than theNational Trust.

During the year I have managed tovisit all parts of the United Kingdomand spoken to sections, divisionsand branches of the Society, as wellas at our events aimed at studentsand graduates. I have representedus at a number of other learnedsocieties and with the government.All of this has reinforced one of mymajor aims for the year, namely toaugment the BPS as a learnedsociety. Another aim for the year hasbeen to be outward looking; aspects

of internationalism, such as capacitybuilding, are now being activelypursued.

A highlight of 2013 for the BPS wasthe opening of the ‘Mind Maps:Stories from Psychology’ exhibition atthe Science Museum, which runsuntil August 2014. This high-profileexhibition will reach the generalpublic in a deeper and moremeaningful way than, say, a briefexposure on television. I repeat myrecommendation that all who canshould visit.

Cyberpsychology, torture, dyslexia,ethics in science, fashion,

government and improving access topsychological therapies, leadership,managing football and mental well-being are indicative of the range ofissues a Society President getsinvolved with, reflecting the breadthof psychology.

This new-style report was wellreceived last year and I hope youenjoy the 2013 version. The Societycontinues to thrive, supported by thecommitment of its members andstaff. My hope for the future is thattogether we can work towards apsychologically literate society.

Dr Richard MallowsPresident

44 The British Psychological Society

25 years of The

5Annual Report 2013

The Psychologist www.bps.org.uk/thepsychologist

Psychologist

The January 2013 issue marked the25th birthday of our monthlymagazine The Psychologist. At thebeginning of 1988 it replaced theSociety’s Bulletin, which had beenpublished since 1948.

Professor Mary Boyle, one of thehonorary editors of the Bulletin forsix years up to and including itstransition to The Psychologist, recallsthat it was held in some affection byits readers: ‘But by the mid-1980s itwas clear that change was needed.Other professions were updatingtheir publications with graphics,colour, more varied covers and awider range of content, leaving theBulletin looking decidedly staid.There was acknowledgement thatthe BPS needed to be more outwardlooking in promoting psychology.’

So began the evolution of the livelymagazine members enjoy today.

Though its early years sawimpressive content such asinterviews with B.F. Skinner andNoam Chomsky, there were tensionsbetween the academic ethos of theBulletin and the more inclusive styleof the new magazine. For some years

The Psychologist carried full-blownacademic articles, complete withlong lists of references.

Gradually, new features appeared inthe magazine. Maryon Tysoe, whoedited The Psychologist from 1997to 2000, recalls: ‘The coming onstream of new initiatives was alwaysexciting – an expanded “Research inBrief”, as the section on the latestresearch was then called, new series(“State of the art,” “Why I study…”,“Personal space”), a guide to writingfor The Psychologist to helpcontributors and so on.’

A measure of how far the magazinehad come by this era was its abilityto put together a feature in which 10psychologists gave short, insightfulanalyses, drawing on theory andresearch from their own areas, of thecomplex reactions to the death of thePrincess of Wales.

In 2000 the current editor, Dr JonSutton, took over and the magazinehas continued its evolution. He says:‘At The Psychologist and DigestPolicy Committee meetings we arefond of the “village” metaphor: ThePsychologist helps all members of

the village communicate, but wemight also showcase what psychologyhas done for those outside thevillage, and invite guests in.’

To give a flavour of this breadth ofcoverage, in 2013 The Psychologistcarried articles on the globalisation ofmental illness and psychologists’experience of appearing as an expertwitness, and interviews with OliverSacks, Dorothy Bishop and thecomedian Richard Herring.

Dame Glynis Breakwell, one of ThePsychologist’s honorary editors in itsearly days, says today: ‘For me, ThePsychologist remains a vital channelinto the Society and its activities. Itkeeps me updated in an easy-to-digest way. It seems to have evolvedand matured, it is no longeruncertain about the job it has todo… Long may it serve the Society –and evolve with it.’

Left: Managing Editor Dr Jon Suttonsits in ‘The Psychologist bath’ at theSociety’s Annual Conference. Ashowerhead microphone recordedaudio on the past, present and futureof psychology. Hear the results attinyurl.com/psych25bath.

September saw the 10th birthday ofour Research Digest. It has beenedited throughout its life by DrChristian Jarrett.

The Digest has come a long waysince the first fortnightly emailnewsletter was distributed on 1 September 2003 to a handful of readers.

Today the email reaches more than30,000 subscribers and the award-winning Research Digest blog(launched in 2005) attractshundreds of thousands of page-views each month.

Together with its presence on Twitterand Facebook, the Research Digestis now one of the most popular and

trusted sources of psychologyresearch news in the world.

At the heart of the blog are itsaccessible, accurate reports on newstudies. These are drawn from atrawl of hundreds of peer-reviewedjournals from across the breadth ofpsychological science. The reportsoften lead to a lively debate amongreaders in the comments section andthe email newsletter helpspsychology teachers to relate them tothe A-level curriculum.

Dr Jarrett says: ‘We look for studiesthat are relevant to real life, timely,novel or thought-provoking. We wantto demonstrate how interesting anduseful psychological science can be,

whilst also casting a critical eye overthe methods used.’

Another valued feature of the Digestis its regular round-ups of journalspecial issues in psychology.

To mark its anniversary week, theDigest delved into the archive andpublished a series of six ‘self-help’posts, based on past items, that hadpractical lessons for real life. Theseries began with evidence-backedtips on studying.

Research Digest:bps-research-digest.blogspot.co.uk

Ten years digested


A section and a special group wereadded to our list of member networksafter each gained the support of theSociety’s membership for itsestablishment.

The Crisis, Disaster and TraumaPsychology Section held its inauguralmeeting in October. It has been setup to bring together psychologists ofall specialisms who play a role inplanning for disaster managementand in mitigating the effects ofdisasters and terrorism.

This new section will promote cross-disciplinary research into thereactions to crisis and promoteevidence-based interventions.

Its other goals include facilitatingdiscussion, developing teaching inthis area at both introductory andadvanced professional levels andmaintaining the Society’s database ofdisaster resources.

It will liaise with the EuropeanFederation of Psychologists’Associations standing committee in this field and work with our policyadvice team to ensure psychologicalfindings influence public policy.

The Special Group for IndependentPractitioners has been set up tosupport its members in competentand ethical psychological practice ina small-business context.

Its work will have four themes:

• providing a forum for networking,discussion and research, includingat least one CPD event each yearwith a specific independentpractice theme;

• drawing together all areas ofpsychological practice andexpertise in the independent fieldas a resource for members;

• providing guidance and discussionaround ethics and professionalboundaries; and

• promoting best practice by aiding areview of the Society Guidelines forIndependent Practice (2010) andsending a representative to theProfessional Practice Board.

New member networks

7Annual Report 2013

A new careers portal that bringstogether our existing resources andnew interactive tools was launched in2013. It enables us to offer a betterservice to people interested in acareer in psychology.

One interactive tool helps enquirersto find out more about the differentareas of psychology including trainingroutes, work experience and pay.Click on one of these areas and, aswell as text and relevant links, youwill find a video of a psychologist inthat field talking about what isinvolved in his or her work.

A second interactive tool offersadvice to people that is tailored to

the stage of education they havereached. So visitors to the websitecan click on ‘I am at school/college’,‘I’m an undergraduate’, ‘I’m apostgraduate’ or ‘I want to changemy career’ and find the informationthey need.

The portal also links to the Society’ssearchable list of accredited coursesand to the latest jobs advertised inthe appointments section of ThePsychologist.

One of the existing Society resourcespromoted by the portal is ourDirectory of Volunteer CareerSpeakers. Searchable by geographiclocation and area of psychology, this

lists Society members who are willingto visit schools and other institutionsto talk about their career andpsychology more widely.

Towards the end of the year weencouraged users of the portal tosend us their feedback. Thatfeedback was positive and will beused to guide the future developmentof our online careers service.

Careers portal:www.bps.org.uk/careers-in-psychology

Careers portal


Annual

9Annual Report 2013

Each Annual Conference seesinnovations and the one held atHarrogate between 9 and 11 April2013 was no exception.

We invited two local schools to bringtheir A-level Psychology students to asymposium on classic studies insocial psychology chaired byProfessor Alex Haslam. They were

also able to visit the exhibitionstands and talk to BPS staff andmembers.

More than 500 people attended anda further 120 took part in theSociety’s Student Conference on thefirst day – double the studentattendance at Glasgow in 2011 (ourlast such conference outside London).

The nine postgraduate bursaryplaces awarded by our ResearchBoard also encouraged a moreyouthful attendance. For the first timewe held a supervisor conference atthe same venue on the day beforethe Annual Conference opened.

Five invited keynote speakers tookpart:

• Professor Robin Dunbar – ‘WhyFacebook won’t get you any morefriends’.

• Professor Peter Fonagy (left) –‘Using what we know about theways children learn so we deliverhigh value clinical services: whatworks for CAMHS?’

• Professor Susan Gathercole –‘Childhood disorders of workingmemory: causes, consequencesand treatment’.

• Professor Alex Haslam – ‘Rewritingthe lessons of social psychology'sclassic studies: Not mindlessconformity but identifiedfollowership’.

• Dr Karen Kitchener – ‘Researchimplications for learning ethics:emotion, cognition and action’.

Though the number of submissionswas slightly down on 2011, theStanding Conference Committee feltthe standard was much higher thistime and a greater proportion wereaccepted – 168 out of 237submissions received for oral papers,posters, symposia and workshops.

Although the conference coincidedwith the death of Baroness Thatcher,it still attracted considerable mediaattention. Among the papers andposters to interest journalists were:the aroma of rosemary and memory;

social media and relationships; thedifferent power dynamics at play inonline and face-to-face negotiation;football referees’ exaggeratedconfidence in their own judgement.

Other topics discussed at Harrogateincluded a lifespan perspective onattachment child witnesses, policeinterviewing, the lives of asylum

seekers, the 2011 riots, andcontemporary masculinities. Dr PeterLovatt from the University ofHertfordshire – better known as ‘DrDance’ – gave a free public lectureduring the conference and led awell-received and unusually activesession on ‘Dance psychology:health, thinking and hormones’ aspart of the student conference.

The Harrogate International Centreand the town as a whole werepopular with delegates. The socialprogramme saw a civic winereception at the Royal Hall, attendedby the Deputy Mayor and his wife,with a string quartet from the LeedsSchool of Music providing theevening’s entertainment. Theconference gala dinner, held at theMajestic Hotel, was sponsored byWiley-Blackwell.

Conference


An innovation in 2013 was our firstPsychology4Graduates event, held inNovember at the Regent’sConference Centre in London.

Intended for recent psychologygraduates and currentundergraduates, the day highlighted– in a friendly and relaxedatmosphere – the careeropportunities available, with a focuson the routes to becoming aChartered psychologist.

Psychology4Graduates was openedand closed by our President, DrRichard Mallows, with Dr Philip Wilsonand Dr Abigael San giving the keynotepresentations. In total there were 10speakers from all of the applied areas

across the two speaker sessions. Theytalked about their careers and gave aninsight into what postgraduate study inpsychology involves.

Interactive break sessions gave theaudience the chance to mingle withestablished psychologists from everyarea of the profession and have theirindividual questions answered.

The day was fully booked and DrMallows later said ‘an interesting mixof applied psychologists’ haddemonstrated ‘huge enthusiasm fortheir areas both in their talks andwhen mingling with the graduates inbreak-out sessions’.

As usual we also put on twoPsychology4Students events aimed

at young people taking PsychologyA-level and at first-yearundergraduates. This year’s venueswere London and Sheffield.

Each event saw five keynotespeakers; they were chosen to give abroad view of the many areas ofpsychology. Some talks were relevantto the A-level curriculum, whileothers helped to widen delegates’perspective on where a psychologydegree might take them.

Like Psychology4Graduates, thesetwo events featured an exhibitionarea with interactive demonstrations,bookstalls and careers advice.

Psychology4Graduates

In November our Wessex Branchheld its second Military PsychologicalWell-being Conference. Taking placeat Winchester Town Hall, it had thetwin themes of military families andreservists.

The four keynote speakers were Dr Laura Goodwin and Dr NicolaFear from King’s College London,together with Major General RanaldMunro (Deputy Commander LandForces and himself a reservist) andMrs Cathy Walker (Deputy ControllerVolunteer Support – SSAFA).

It emerged from their speeches andthe other presentations that therewas a great deal of overlap betweenthe day’s two themes.

Both reservists and military familiesare obliged to live a dual life as partof the military and as part ofmainstream society. Plannedchanges to Britain’s military structurewill involve increased reliance uponreservists and their closer integrationwith regular forces.

Sue Roberts and Kathryn Fieldenfrom our Wessex Branch said: ‘Weare really pleased that this issue hasbeen highlighted. In our review ofour first Military Psychological Well-being Conference we reported on theimportance of cohesion as a majorfactor in the psychological well-beingof those deployed on active militaryduties and that reservists’ experience

intermittent cohesion and have agreater vulnerability to a loss ofpsychological well-being.’

The conference attracted not onlypsychologists from different areas ofthe profession but also militarypersonnel and people from thevoluntary sector who work with themilitary and their families.

The packed programme made for avery full day and the Wessex Branchhas decided that its third MilitaryPsychological Well-being Conferencein 2014 will be a two-day event.

Conference website:tinyurl.com/nkj757r

Wessex Branch conference

Annual Report 2013 11


Policy m

13Annual Report 2013

In 2013 the Society made significantprogress in encouragingpolicymakers to take up the findingsof psychological science.

At the heart of this work was ourstrategy for policy development and

dissemination, which was launched inFebruary. It named our priorities as:

• health and well-being • behaviour change• economic growth• the legacy of psychology to society.

To put these into practice werevitalised our organisation in thenations and regions of Britain,continued to build our relationshipswith other stakeholders and carriedout an internal reorganisation thathas helped our policy andcommunications teams to worktogether more closely.

The Society also established a policynetwork, bringing together policyleads from our Member Networks.This acts as a forum for the exchangeof information on our priorities andencourages members to engage withexternal audiences.

Working at Westminster, wesupported parliamentary meetingsand events. We worked with and

influenced other stakeholders andresponded to consultations onlegislation. Our evidence to theCommons Justice Select Committeeon older prisoners was cited in itsreport on the subject.

At the Conservative Party Conferencein Manchester we organised a jointfringe event with the BritishAssociation for Counselling andPsychotherapy. ‘Psychologicaltherapies and public health: Thebenefits for government,commissioners and patients’featured Professor ChristopherArmitage from our Division of HealthPsychology on its panel.

Two well-attended ‘hot topic’ sessionswere held during the Society’s AnnualConference in Harrogate. In the first,Dr Julie Waumsley from theUniversity of Northampton, Chair ofthe Society’s obesity working group,and Professor Paul Bissell looked atpsychological interventions withobese and overweight populations.

In the second, Professor LynnMcDonald from MiddlesexUniversity, Martin Swain (the WelshGovernment’s Deputy Director,Children, Young People and

Families) and Dr Susan Elmer fromLeeds Trinity University talked aboutwhat psychology can offer to supportsocially excluded families.

The Society’s range of externalrepresentatives continues to grow,

helping to promote psychology to awider audience. We have been busybuilding our relationship within thenew NHS England architecture,particularly with colleagues in NHSEngland, Health Education Englandand Public Health England.

Progress has been made across thenations. In Scotland we now have apublic affairs team to give policyadvice, and moves are in hand torecruit a policy liaison officer in Wales.

Our Northern Ireland Branch hasbeen particularly active. As well asrecruiting a policy liaison officer, ithas held several events with a publicpolicy theme and worked to influenceStormont. Its annual conferenceincluded a widely reported lecture onpolitical leadership by Professor Jo Silvester.

We continue to work to make theSociety the authoritative and publicvoice of psychology.

matters…

The Joint Commissioning Panel forMental Health (JCPMH) exists toinspire commissioners to improvemental health and well-being using avalues-based commissioning model.

The Society is one of 17 leadingnational organisations that make upits membership and we havecontributed significantly to its work.

In 2013 JCPMH published itsguidance on Acute care – inpatientand crisis home treatment. Among its10 key recommendations were that:

• commissioners should have astheir standard that theycommission acute care servicesthey would recommend to familyand friends;

• there should be evidence of service

user, patient and carer involvementin the commissioning, strategicdirection and monitoring of acutecare standards.

JCPMH has developed practicalguidance on what good services formental illness, dementia andlearning disabilities should look like.Alongside this, it has publishedguidance on public mental healthand values-based commissioning.

The JCPMH is co-chaired by theRoyal College of Psychiatrists andthe Royal College of GeneralPractitioners.

Further useful guidance came from aworking party of our own ResearchBoard. Ethics guidelines for internetmediated research looks at the

questions and challenges – some ofthem not obvious – that can arisewhen conducting research online.

Among these are the public-privatedistinction, the confidentiality andsecurity of online data, andprocedures for obtaining validconsent.

New as these challenges are, thedocument emphasises that theprinciples and advice offered in ourCode of human research ethics from2011 apply online too.

JCPMH:www.jcpmh.info

Internet Research Guidelines:www.bps.org.uk/internetresearch

Each year the Society makes grantsto researchers to allow them toprovide an undergraduate withpractical experience during thesummer vacation.

Twelve grants were made in 2013,providing each student with a weeklystipend of £200 for a project lastingsix to eight weeks.

This is a prestigious award thatmarks out the student as a futureresearcher and potential academic.It is hoped the researcher willdevelop the student’s potential andencourage them down this path.

Rusne Kuliesiute, a recipient of oneof this year’s grants, wrote:

‘The greatest experience that theBPS assistantship gave me was theopportunity to work with professionalsin the field and to see how the scienceof psychology actually “happens”.

‘It was the first time in my academiccareer that, as well as being a part ofa team, I was also allowed a lot moreindependence in my work, whichstrengthened my confidence infurther pursuit of an academic orresearch career in psychology.’

The list of recipients reveals a widevariety of projects – from theinteraction of sleep disruption withmood and paranoia to an investigationof social learning in parrots.

The academics receiving the grantsare Society members and activeresearchers working in a highereducation institution in the UK. Thestudents had to be at the end of thepenultimate year of an undergraduatedegree, planning to start their finalyear on completion of the project andexpected to achieve a 2:1 or better.

Undergraduate ResearchAssistantship Scheme:www.bps.org.uk/researchassistantship

Guidance

Research assistantships


Our outgoing President Dr PeterBanister described this year’s AnnualConference as ‘a truly global affair’.

We welcomed to Harrogaterepresentatives of psychologicalsocieties from Australia, Japan,Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland andthe International Union ofPsychological Science and held aPresidents’ roundtable. During areception for delegates at the RoyalHall, Dr Banister and Takao Sato(below) had the pleasure of signing aMemorandum of Understandingbetween the Society and theJapanese Psychological Association.

In the summer, Dr David Murphy,chair of our Professional Practice

Board, represented us at the FifthInternational Congress on Licensure,Certification and Credentialing ofPsychologists in Stockholm.

Dr Murphy commented: ‘It was anincredible experience for leaders frompsychology organisations across theworld to come together, and ratherthan simply reporting what happensin their own countries, workingtogether to try and identify thecommon components of professionalpsychology practice globally’.

Our President, Dr Richard Mallows,Honorary General Secretary, ProfessorPam Maras, Vice-President, Dr PeterBanister, and Chief Executive,Professor Ann Colley, also travelled

to Stockholm. They represented theSociety at the European Federationof Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA)General Assembly. Society memberscontinue to represent UK psychologyon a wide range of EFPA Boards andstanding committees. In October theBoard of Ethics met in London.

The Society strengthened itsengagement with Mental HealthEurope (MHE), a key pan-Europeanmental health platform based inBrussels. The Society contributed tokey MHE initiatives, including itsresponse to the latest Diagnostic andstatistical manual of mental disorders(always a cause of controversy) andindividual placement and support.

International links



Storiesfrom


Opening at the Science Museum on10 December, the Society-sponsoredexhibition ‘Mind Maps: Stories fromPsychology’ tells the story of 250years of understanding andmisunderstanding the human mind.

‘Mind Maps’ looks at keybreakthroughs in scientists’understanding of the mind, frommesmerism to cognitive behavioural

annual symposium at Senate House,University of London, under the title‘Psychology and the Arts’. Openingthe event, convener Dr Alan Collins(University of Lancaster)acknowledged that, with psychologyincreasingly turning to theneurosciences, this might seem anodd choice of topic. However, heargued, psychology’s cultural links

scientific experiments by CharlesWheatstone and his contemporariesto the supposed presence of sataniclyrics in rock music.

The centre also ran eight seminarsthrough the year in its popular‘History of the PsychologicalDisciplines’ series. These took placeat University College London.

psychologytherapy, and how they have beenemployed to help people. It bringstogether psychology and relatedsciences, medicine and humanstories, and presents a rich array ofhistorical and contemporary objects,artworks and archive images.

Phil Loring, BPS curator ofpsychology at the Science Museum,told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The questto uncover the mysteries of the mindhas preoccupied scientists forcenturies and continues to do so in2013 – where mental well-beingremains a pressing topic in society.This exhibition looks at how far we’veprogressed in our understanding ofthe mind and how treatments formental health conditions haveevolved over the past threecenturies’. ‘Mind Maps’ will be openuntil 12 August 2014.

In October 2013 our History ofPsychology Centre held its third

with the arts are just as important.

The day saw five speakers:

• Dr Gregory Tate (University ofSurrey) – ‘John Keats’s principledfeeling: Knowledge and emotion inRomantic poetry, medicine andpsychology’.

• Dr Alexandra Lewis (University ofAberdeen) – ‘Psychology and thenovel: Trauma and memory in the19th century’.

• Dr James Kennaway (University ofNewcastle) – ‘Musical mindcontrol: The history of an idea’.

• Dr Nick Lambert (Birkbeck,University of London) – ‘Thecomputer in the cave’.

• Professor Nicholas Wade(University of Dundee) – ‘Toyingwith perception: Philosophical toysand the simulation of motion inearly 19th-century London’.

Between them they covered a widerange of topics – from the first

A new initiative by the centre in 2013was the publication of its firstmonograph: British educationalpsychology: The first hundred years.Produced to mark the anniversary ofthe London County Council’semployment of Cyril Burt as its firstapplied psychologist in 1913, itoutlined the development of theprofession in the United Kingdomover this first century of existence.

Leading members of the professioncontributed essays on importantthemes from its history, and acollection of vignettes captured theexperiences of educationalpsychologists over this century andthe challenges they have faced andmust still face.

Mind Maps:tinyurl.com/m9jqp4r

History of Psychology Centre:www.bps.org.uk/hopc

The Faraday Theatre at the RoyalInstitution, famous from its televisedChristmas lectures, was the venuefor two panel debates sponsored bythe Society to increase, in anengaging way, the public awarenessand understanding of psychology.

Curated and chaired by the Societymember and broadcaster ClaudiaHammond, ‘Mind Games:Psychology in the Modern World’brought together expert panellists todiscuss issues in psychology.

On 26 September, ‘Can psychologychange the world and why doesn’tit?’, discussed how we can influencegovernment. The panellists, all ofwhom have experience of influencing

policymakers, were Lisa Harker, theNSPCC’s head of strategy, ProfessorTommy Mackay, a former BPSPresident, and Professor RupertBrown from the University of Sussex.

The debate looked at the difficultiesof translating scientific findings intopolicy recommendations. Politicianswant to hear simple messages, butscience is often complex andscientists can be reluctant to givedefinite answers. The discussionlooked at ways that psychology canprovide recommendations that areboth useful and true to the science.

A week later the subject examinedwas ‘The science of sexism’ and thepanel comprised Professor Sophie

Scott from University College London,Professor Deborah Cameron fromthe University of Oxford Universityand Professor Lynn Segal fromBirkbeck, University of London. Allhave experience in looking at gender,sexuality and sexism.

A view emerged from the debatethat, as long as people of differentgenders are treated differently frombirth, it will be difficult to weigh theimpact of nature and nurture inrelation to gender.

Listen to the debates:tinyurl.com/osyzygk

Royal Institution events


As part of our work bringing theinsights of psychological science to awider public, the Society sponsoredtwo sessions at the CheltenhamScience Festival in June.

Cheltenham is one of Europe’sleading science festivals, with over300 events promoting dialogue aboutthe latest ideas in science andengineering. It is recognised acrossthe world as an important platformfor science communication andpublic engagement.

Our first session, organised by MarcJones (below right), who is nowProfessor of Stress and Emotion atStaffordshire University, looked backat London 2012. It discussed the

latest research on using psychologyto enhance sports performance andincluded the Olympic rowing goldmedallist Greg Searle (below left).

Before the session, Professor Jonessaid:

‘I am delighted to be joined by GregSearle to discuss the psychology ofLondon 2012. I will be discussingwhether having a home crowdincreases the medal count, thetechniques athletes use to deal withpressure, and how those athletesretiring cope psychologically afterperforming at such a fantastic event’.

The second Society-sponsoredsession looked how touch-screentechnology can improve the quality

of life of older people with dementia.The speakers here were Dr Tim Jonesfrom the University of Worcester andTim Lloyd-Yeates, founder of thecharity Alive!

We also had a stand in one of thefestival’s exhibition areas, which weused to showcase interactive exhibitsprovided by the University ofWorcester as well as a range of visualand sensory illusions. Our Originsexhibition, which looks at theevolution and impact of psychologicalscience, provided the backdrop.

Cheltenham Science Festival:www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science

Cheltenham Science Festival


Recognising excellence in all areas of psychology

At the awards ceremony held at theSociety’s Annual Conference inHarrogate in April, 10 psychologistswere honoured, along with the sixauthors who shared our Book Award.

Professor Alan Baddeley from theUniversity of York received theLifetime Achievement Award forDistinguished Contributions toPsychological Knowledge for his

lifelong contributions to the cognitivepsychology of human memory.

The Professional Practice BoardLifetime Achievement Award wasmade to Professor Peter Fonagyfrom University College London. Hiswork has transformed the way weunderstand human attachment andmany common disorders, and it hasbeen translated into effective clinical

practice around the world.

Susan van Scoyoc was recognisedas Practitioner of the Year for heroutstanding commitment toprofessional practice in court andfamily work, in health, as a teacher,researcher and supervisor, and tothe profession as a whole.

The Psychology Education BoardLifetime Achievement Award was

Awards

The British Psychological Society20


won by Annie Trapp. She wasrecognised for her contribution to theeducational knowledge base of thediscipline as an editor and director ofthe Higher Education Academy’sPsychology Network.

Professor Constantine Sedikidesreceived the Presidents’ Award forDistinguished Contributions toPsychological Knowledge for hisdistinctive, creative and influentialcontributions to our understanding ofself-definition.

The Psychology Education BoardExcellence in Psychology Educationwent to Dr Peter Thompson from theUniversity of York. Dr Thompson hasmade a sustained and inspiringcommitment to the teaching ofpsychology in a way that has excitednot only undergraduate students ofpsychology but also school childrenof all ages.

Dr Angelica Ronald received theSpearman Medal for heradvancement of our understandingof the genetic and environmentalunderstanding of autistic spectrumdisorders and developmental mentalhealth conditions from infancy toearly adulthood.

Dr Helen Fisher was awarded theAward for Outstanding DoctoralResearch Contributions in recognitionof the significant contributions madeto psychological knowledge by herresearch on the role of nature–nurtureinterplay in psychosis.

Two Awards for Promoting Equality ofOpportunity were presented.Professor Martin Milton wasrecognised for his work highlightingthe need for a more broadly basedapproach to therapeutic practiceacross the applied psychologies andin counselling psychology in particular.

Professor Mark Burton has a longcommitment to the question ofequality, particularly in working withpeople who have learning disabilities,and has displayed a sustained andsignificant commitment to the peopleof Manchester.

An innovative and accessible guidedesigned for readers new topsychology was selected to receivethe Book Award. Described by onewebsite as ‘a great book thatcombines both style and substancethroughout’, The Psychology Bookwas written by Nigel Benson,Catherine Collin, Joannah Ginsburg,Voula Grand, Merrin Lazyan andMarcus Weeks, and published byDorling Kindersley.


Dr Sathasivan (Saths) Cooper waselected an Honorary Fellow of theSociety at our Annual GeneralMeeting in June.

Saths Cooper has been described bythe International Union ofPsychological Science (IUPsyS) as akey figure in restoring credibility toSouth African psychology after itsyears of isolation during theApartheid era. In 1994 he wasinstrumental in the formation of thePsychological Society of South Africa(PsySSA), the country’s firstpsychological organisation to acceptmembers regardless of race orgender. He has had a major impacton his country’s policy and legislativeframeworks and was elected fourtimes as president of PsySSA and asits first Fellow in September 2002.

In 2000 Dr Cooper became the firstsub-Saharan African to be elected tothe executive committee of IUPsySand he was also the first non-European to be made its president.He was influential in enabling the30th International Congress ofPsychology to be held in Africa in2012 for the first time in the event’s123-year history.

The struggles and achievements ofhis career mirror the struggle for anemancipatory and just psychology inSouth Africa. In July 2012, DrCooper received the IUPsySAchievement Against the OddsAward, in recognition of research hecarried out under extremely difficultconditions. He was declared a ‘victimof gross human rights violations’ bySouth Africa’s Truth andReconciliation Commission in 1998.

He completed his first degree inprison, having been sentenced to 10years under the Terrorism Act in1976. He served his sentence atseveral prisons, among themRobben Island, and was released at

the end of 1982. He then completedhis honours and masters in AppliedPsychology through the University ofWitwatersrand and, after a secondspell of detention, studied for adoctorate in the US as a Fulbrightscholar.

Dr Cooper is a clinical psychologistwith an impressive record ofdissemination and public and policyengagement including over 150 peerreviewed papers, keynotes andinvited addresses. A recent vicechancellor and principal of theUniversity of Durban-Westville, heworks in the health, education andtraining sectors. He continues to

encourage and build the capacity ofyoung psychology scholars andprofessionals to take up leadership inlocal, national and global contexts.

Part of Saths Cooper’s imprisonmentwas spent in the same cell block asNelson Mandela. On Mandela’sdeath in 2013, Dr Cooper recalledwhat the he had learnt from him.

‘He taught me patience’, he toldHuffington Post, ‘that certain thingscan be done if you are patient ratherthan wanting to change things nowor yesterday; things will happen ifyou plan and execute them properly.’

Honorary Fellow


The Trustees are pleased to present their report and accounts of the Society and tradingsubsidiary for the year ended 31 December 2013.

General and financial activities The Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities for the year is set out on page 9 of the full financial statements.

Review of 2013

IncomeThe Society has had another good year in which a surplus has been returned to reserves. The amount was at theupper end of expectations and was in accordance with the budget for the year. Income has continued to growalthough contributing activities need to be reviewed to ensure that they continue to develop into the future.

ExpenditureThe cost basis of the group (the Society and BPS Communications Ltd) is well controlled despite the upward pressureon all activities. Overall the increase for the year is less than 3 per cent, which is in line with inflation.

Structure, governance and management The Society is governed by Royal Charter originally granted in February 1965 and subsequently revised, the lastupdate being completed in November 2010. The objects are ‘to promote the advancement and diffusion of theknowledge of psychology pure and applied and especially to promote the efficiency and usefulness of members of theSociety by setting up a high standard of professional education and knowledge’.

Governance and internal controlThe term of office for Trustees is three years. The Trustees meet regularly to review strategy and performance and toset the operating plans and budgets. The Presidential team comprises three posts: President, President Elect andVice President. The same person fills each post in consecutive years and each post is for one year’s duration.

Charity legislation requires the Trustees to prepare consolidated financial statements for each financial year that give atrue and fair view of the state of affairs of the Society and of the surplus or deficit for that period.

In so far as the Trustees are, individually, aware:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the Society’s auditor is unaware; and • the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant auditinformation and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Society has appropriate systems of control, financial andotherwise. They are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy atany time the consolidated financial position of the Society and enable them to ensure that the consolidated financialstatements comply with Regulation 7 (2) of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2005 (SI2005/572).They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Society and hence for taking reasonable steps to ensurethe prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Investment policy and returnsThe Society investments were professionally managed during the year by Investec Wealth and Investment. TheTrustees have an agreed policy on ethical investment, which is reviewed on a regular basis; 2013 has seen improvedreturns and this is reflected in the accounts.

Society reservesThe Trustees have reviewed the reserves in line with guidance from the Charity Commission. They have includedUnrestricted Funds, Restricted Funds and the Designated Funds.

Trustees Annual Report


Achievements and performance The Trustees are aware of their obligations in respect of Charities and Public Benefit as defined by the Charities Act2006. The Society aims to promote the science and practice of psychology while ensuring that the public can accessand derive benefit from psychological knowledge. Below is a summary of some of the events that have taken placeduring the year relevant to these aims.

• Membership: 2013 saw a small growth in Chartered and Graduate members, and a 15 per cent growth inSubscribers.

• Promoting the highest standards in learning, teaching and professional practice: The Society now accredits atotal of 471 undergraduate and conversion programmes, 101 Masters programmes and 70 Doctoral programmesacross 122 universities in the UK.

• Providing excellent publications and events: Our monthly magazine, The Psychologist, celebrated its 25th

anniversary and our electronic Research Digest celebrated its 10th anniversary. Our scientific journals continue toperform well nationally and internationally and our Annual Conference attracted over 450 delegates.

• Supporting Member Networks: Two new Member Networks, the Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Section and SpecialGroup for Independent Practitioners, were set up.

• Psychological testing: There are now over 12,000 members on the Register of Qualifications in Test Use), anincrease of over 9 per cent over the last year.

• Infrastructure: Investment in the Leicester office resulted in new high specification double glazed windowsthroughout, bringing improved security and significant energy saving.

• Policy: A new policy network was established bringing together policy leads from our Divisions. The new networkacts as a forum for the exchange of information on current priorities and for coordinating engagement with externalaudiences.

Public benefit The Trustees have reviewed this matter, in conjunction with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, andconcluded that:

• the aims of the organisation continue to be charitable; • the aims and work done give identifiable benefits to the charitable sector and that members of the public are awareof the high standards and education that members achieve;

• the benefits are for the public, are not unreasonably restricted in any way and certainly not by ability to pay; • there is no detriment or harm arising from the aims or activities;• the public are made aware of developments in the profession and the science that affect their daily lives;• membership fees are modest and that there is a grade of membership that is open to the public who share aninterest in the profession; and

• the courses and the website are available to all and not just members.

Baker Tilley Audit is responsible for the audit of the Society and their help and advice is much appreciated by theTrustees, the Chief Executive and the Finance Director.

Professor Ray MillerHonorary Treasurer 7 March 2014


Abridged financial information

Consolidated statement of financial activities for year ended 31 December 2013

2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 General Designated Restricted Total Total funds funds funds

Incoming resources £000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Activities in furtherance of the Charity’s objectives

Subscriptions 6,024 – – 6,024 5,677

Registers and directories 717 – – 717 761

Conferences and events 1,220 – – 1,220 1,157

Journals and book publishing 1,819 – – 1,819 1,785

Other income and grants 1,767 – – 1,767 1,622

Activities for generating funds

Trading income 433 – – 433 652

Investment income 258 – – 258 211

Total incoming resources 12,238 – – 12,238 11,865

Resources expended

Costs of activities in furtherance of the Charity’s objectives

Advancement of psychology 1,802 – – 1,802 1,856

Application of psychology 1,746 – – 1,746 1,598

Conferences and events 1,234 – – 1,234 1,179

Cooperation with other organisations 219 – – 219 212

Diffusion of knowledge 1,782 – – 1,782 1,708

Examinations and training 1,090 – – 1,090 1,086

Membership and conduct 1,920 – – 1,920 1,857

Science and policy 657 – – 657 635

Governance 125 – – 125 120

Costs of generating funds

Trading costs 318 – – 318 485

Investment management fees 39 – – 39 27

Total resources expended 10,932 – – 10,932 10,763

Net incoming resources before transfers 1,306 – – 1,306 1,102

Transfer between funds 300 (300) – – –

Net incoming resources after transfers 1,606 (300) – 1,306 1,102

Gains on investments 1,186 – – 1,186 516

Net movement in funds 2,792 (300) – 2,492 1,618

Funds brought forward as at 1 January 2013 11,356 1,000 77 12,433 10,815

Funds carried forward as at 31 December 2013 14,148 700 77 14,925 12,433


Consolidated Balance Sheet at 31 December 2013

2013 2012

Fixed assets £000 £000

Tangible assets 4,229 4,144

Investments 9,671 6,770

13,900 10,914

Current assets

Debtors 939 1,708

Cash at bank and in hand 2,631 2,661

3,570 4,369

Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year (2,425) (2,610)

Net current liabilities 1,145 1,759

Total assets less current liabilities 15,045 12,673

Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year (120) (240)

14,925 12,433

Represented by

Income funds

General funds 14,148 11,356

Designated funds 700 1,000

Unrestricted funds 14,848 12,356

Restricted funds 77 77

Total funds 14,925 12,433

The summary financial information is not the statutory accounts but it has been extracted from the Society’s auditedfinancial statements for the year ended 31 December 2013 on which an unqualified audit opinion was given. Thefinancial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 7 March 2014 and have been sent to the CharityCommissioners. These summarised financial statements may not contain sufficient information to allow for a fullunderstanding of the financial affairs of The British Psychological Society. Copies of the full financial statements maybe obtained from the Society’s Leicester office, St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR.

Professor Pam Maras Professor Ray MillerHonorary General Secretary Honorary Treasurer

An overview of some of our activities in 2013,from conferences to dancing about statistics

PTC successOur Psychological Testing Centreissued 4958 Certificates ofRegistration in Educational andOccupational Testing.

Supporting member networksIn 2013 our Member NetworkServices team supported over 900volunteers through guidance andinduction days, as well as attending259 meetings and teleconferences.

Our online shopOur online shop processed over21,000 transactions for publicationsand over 1300 bookings for peopleattending CPD workshops offered viathe BPS Learning Centre.

Growing influence on social mediaThe following for the Society’s officialsocial media continues to grow. Bythe end of the year we had 20,004people liking us on Facebook and18,606 followers on Twitter –increases over 2012 of 204 per centand 96 per cent respectively.

Psychology in the workplaceOur Occupational Digest, edited byDr Alex Fradera, receives around15,000 blog views each month andhas over 2500 subscribers by emailand over 3000 followers on Twitter.

Global reachThe Society’s media monitoringservice estimates that worldwidecoverage of our Annual Conferencehad a potential readership of 300million.

Educational testingThis year saw a 25 per cent rise inthe number of test usersdemonstrating their competencethrough our educational testingqualifications.

Psychology in the newsOur press team wrote or edited 896stories for the Society website. Manyincluded comments from ourmembers giving a psychologicalcontext on the day’s news.

Society conferences and eventsEighteen conferences wereorganised by our Conferences &Events team, attracting almost3500 delegates. The teamprocessed 6957 bookings throughthe year.

CPD workshopsThis year the Learning Centreoffered 103 workshops with acombined attendance of 2200. Its e-learning courses continued to offerquality learning at the users’ own

pace, with 3433 courses followedduring the year.

Guaranteeing quality coursesThe Society accredits undergraduateand conversion programmes across134 academic departments in 122universities. We currently accredit 97 MScs, 70 doctorates and 4 post-qualification programmes inpsychology. We also accredit 13psychological well-being practitionerprogrammes in England on behalfof the Improving Access toPsychological Therapiesprogramme.

Serving members and the publicIn 2013 the Society’s office inLeicester received over 100,000telephone calls.

Public engagementSome 57,838 people downloadedone of the ‘Dancing statistics’ videosproduced with the help of one of ourpublic engagement grants.

Information by emailEach month 28,405 members andsubscribers who have opted to do soreceive the Member Update. Thiselectronic bulletin gives them thelatest news of the Society and itsactivities.

Achievements

48,602Society members & subscribers

29,840The combined membership of our 10 professional Divisions

18,699Chartered Members

20,004People have liked the Society’s page on Facebook

64Member Networks

2,200Delegates attending Learning Centre workshops

www.bps.org.uk

For further information on the workof the Society and to download acopy of our annual report, pleasevisit our website or contact us at:

t: +44 (0)116 254 9568

e: [email protected]

The British Psychological SocietySt Andrews House48 Princess Road EastLeicesterLE1 7DR

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BPS Annual Report

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