Welcome to Brunel Psychology

Professor Taeko WydellHead of Psychology

24th July 2012Psychology Graduation Day &

Olympic Torch Bearers at Brunel

PsychologyPsychology - the study of behaviour and of the mind Psychologists investigate a diverse range of topics :• The relationship between the brain, behaviour & subjective

experience• Human development• The influence of other people on the individual’s thoughts,

feelings & behaviour• Psychological disorders & their treatmentLeft-Brain Functions Analytic

Analytic thought Logic Language Science & Math

Right-Brain Functions Creative Holistic thought Intuition Creativity Art & Music

PsychologyPsychology - the study of behaviour and of the mind Psychologists investigate a diverse range of topics (2) :

• The impact of culture on the individual’s behaviour & subjective experience

• Differences between people in terms of their personality & intelligence

• People’s ability to acquire, organise, remember & use knowledge to guide their behaviour

Relationship; Jealousy;

Friendship etc.

Psychology at Brunel Our degree ensures that you gain an understanding of the breadth and diversity of the discipline.

As you progress through the course and discover the areas which interest you the most, it becomes increasingly possible to specialise, through both our work placement and modules.

Psychology at Brunel

• BPS accredited degrees

• Excellent research facilities & internationally renowned staff

• Interesting specialised options at Level-III

• Psychology work placements improve career prospects

Level-III Option Modules Advanced Issues in Social Psychology Advanced Topics in Individual Differences Approaches in Psychotherapy Autistic Spectrum Disorder Cross Cultural Psychology Drugs, Hormones and the Brain Eating/Feeding Disorders Evolutionary Psychology Intergroup Relations Health Psychology Practical Investigations of Mind and Brain Psychology of Aesthetics The Cognitive Neuroscience of Consciousness

Work Placement – Examples• Clinical Psychology (e.g., St. George’s SWLT Health Trust; Central

& North West London NHS; Community Mental Health Trust)

• Research in Psychology (with clinicians & researchers, e.g., Royal Free Medical School; Barts and QMUL Medical School; Oxleas Community Mental Health Trust; Institute of Education; UCL; Goldsmiths; Brunel)

• Community-based Programmes (working with/giving support for different vulnerable groups, e.g., Catch 22; NAS West London; Hillingdon & Ealing Victim Support)

• Placements also frequently in:• Mainstream and special-needs schools• HR departments• Prisons

4-YR FSN (N =62)2010-2011

3-YR FT (N=116)2010-2011

4-YR FSN (N=55)2011-2012

3-YR FT (N=139)2011-2012

4-YR Thin Sandwich Programme (work placements) tends to produce better degrees than 3-YR Programme. BPS graduate memberships can be obtained for those whose degrees are 2:2 or above.

%

UG ProgrammesCompared(2010-11 &2011-12)

%

2012-13 UG Programmes Compared 4-YR work placement vs 3-YR FT

First Class (Hons)

Upper Second (Hons)

Lower Second (Hons)

Third Class(Hons)

2012-13 work placement 22% 75% 3% 0%

2012-13 FT 8% 58% 18% 2%

4-YR Thin Sandwich Programme (work placements) tends to produce better degrees than 3-YR Programme.

Staff research interestsSocial Psychology

Psychoanalysis Developmental Psychology

Staff research interestsEvolutionary Psychology

Psychopharmacology Health & Clinical Psychology

Deputy Head of Psychology

Staff research interestsCognitive Psychology &

Cognitive Neuropsychology/Neuroscience

Head of Psychology

http://www.plosone.org/article/related/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0052913

Philip Erritty graduated from Brunel-Psychology with a First in 2011, published his UG dissertation in 2013 with his supervisor, Professor Taeko Wydell in PLoS ONE.

Opportunities to conduct publishable research at Brunel-Psychology

Whilst at Brunel…• More Energy Fitness gym, football pitches, tennis

courts, squash courts, running track, climbing wall and more.

• Arts Centre, Language Centre• Placement abroad?• Student Union – clubs, societies, events• Work part-time on Campus and in Uxbridge• Enjoy London!

World-class training facilities, used by Olympic athletes like Usain Bolt

Whilst at Brunel…

Psychology at BrunelOur degree ensures that you gain an understanding of the breadth and diversity of the discipline.

As you progress through the course and discover the areas which interest you the most, it becomes increasingly possible to specialise, through both our work placement and option modules.

See you all again in September 2015!

WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?

Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr.Applicant Days Co-Coordinator

Division of PsychologyDepartment of Life Sciences

College of Health and Life SciencesBrunel University

• Social psychology can be defined as the study of the impact of real, implied, or imagined other persons on individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.

DEFINING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

• The definition of social psychology from the previous slide was originally developed by Gordon Allport, whose classic book The Nature of Prejudice (1954) helped to establish intergroup relations as a major focus of social- psychological theories and research.

GORDON ALLPORT: ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS

AN EXAMPLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: GORDON ALLPORT’S (1954) PERSPECTIVE ON INTERGROUP RELATIONS

• For example, from the discipline of psychology, social psychologist Gordon Allport (1954) offered insight into the direct effects of families on individuals’ stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination.

AN EXAMPLE OF SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: ERVING GOFFMAN’S (1963) PERSPECTIVE ON INTERGROUP RELATIONS

• Complementing Allport’s (1954) perspective, from the discipline of sociology, social psychologist Erving Goffman (1963) offered insight into the direct effects of societies on individuals’ stigmatisation of others.

COMBINING THE TWO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIES: JAMES JONES’S (1997)

PERSPECTIVE ON INTERGROUP RELATIONS

• As the writings of psychological social psychologist James Jones (1997) attest, the two social psychologies (e.g., Allport, 1954; Goffman, 1963) can be combined to yield a deeper understanding of intergroup relations.

BEYOND INTERGROUP RELATIONS: THE SCOPE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

• This is not to say that social psychology is only about the study of intergroup relations.

• The British Psychological Society (BPS) include intergroup relations as one of many topics within the field of social psychology.

TOPICS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE

• It is entirely possible to combine two or more topics in social psychology.

• For example, psychological social psychologist Stanley Gaines (1997) has examined one area of intersection between intergroup relations and interpersonal relations – that is, interethnic romantic relationships.

ONE EXAMPLE: SECURE ATTACHMENT AMONG PERSONS IN INTERETHNIC

RELATIONSHIPS

• For example, Gaines et al. (1999) found that most men and most women in interethnic romantic relationships are securely attached – which is exactly what one finds among most men and most women in intraethnic relationships (e.g., Gaines et al., 1997).

A RELATED EXAMPLE: SECURE ATTACHMENT AND ACCOMODATION

• In the same study, Gaines et al. (1999) found that among interethnic couples, secure attachment was associated with higher levels of accommodation toward partners than was insecure attachment – again, exactly what one finds among intraethnic couples (e.g., Gaines et al., 1997).

RESULTS CONCERNING INTERETHNIC RELATIONSHIPS: CONSISTENT WITH

THEORIES

• Gaines et al.’s (1999) results concerning attachment styles and accommodation in interethnic relationships are consistent with British psychoanalyst John Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory; and with American social psychologists John Thibaut and Harold Kelley’s (1959) interdependence theory.

BEYOND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: THE BREADTH OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A

DISCIPLINE

• So far, we have focused exclusively on the field of social psychology.

• However, within any undergraduate psychology programme accredited by the BPS, students will learn about several additional fields that draw upon the discipline of psychology.

BPS-ACCREDITED PROGRAMMES AS PROVIDING GRADUATE BASIS FOR

REGISTRATION IN PSYCHOLOGY

• All BPS-accredited undergraduate psychology programmes provide the Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR) in psychology – an essential step toward becoming a professional psychologist certified by the BPS (i.e., a Chartered Psychologist).

EXAMPLES OF BPS-ACCREDITED PROGRAMMES: BRUNEL UNIVERSITY’S

PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMMES

• For example, you will see that Brunel University offers three BPS-accredited undergraduate psychology programmes.

SINGLE-HONOURS AND JOINT-HONOURS PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMMES AT BRUNEL

UNIVERSITY

• Brunel University’s BPS-accredited undergraduate programmes include (1) single-honours Psychology, (2) joint-honours Psychology and Sociology, and (3) joint-honours Psychology and Social Anthropology.

WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES AMONG BRUNEL’S BPS-ACCREDITED

PROGRAMMES?

• All three of Brunel University’s BPS-accredited undergraduate psychology programmes offer core modules in biological, cognitive, developmental, differential, and social psychology; research methods; and a dissertation (and, optionally, work placement experience), among other modules.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES AMONG BRUNEL’S BPS-ACCREDITED

PROGRAMMES?

• The differences among Brunel University’s BPS-accredited undergraduate programmes involve those modules that are not required by the BPS but may be taken by individual students (i.e., optional modules in Psychology, Sociology, or Social Anthropology).

• Please feel free to contact Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. (Psychology Applicant Days Co-Coordinator, Brunel University) at the following e-mail address for more information regarding the field of social psychology: Stanley.Gaines@brunel.ac.uk

FOR MORE INFORMATION...

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Measuring Meaning- An Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience -

Dr Guido OrgsOpen Day

Kiss

Beso

What is meaning?

 ਚੁੱ��ਮਾ�

Measuring Mental Processes• Cognitive Psychology studies mental processes, including:

– Perception– Action– Attention – Language– Memory – Thought and Reasoning

• Cognitive Neuroscience links these mental processes to brain activity...

VisionAudition

Attention

Languageproduction

Language understanding

Thought and Reasoning

Memory

TouchAction

....But where’s meaning???

Piano

The Priming Task

(1) Hear sound(2) Read word(3) Compare meaning of sound and word(4) Respond

Are sound and word related?

“Yes!” “No!”

Kiss

Kiss

Kiss

Orgs, Dombrowski, Lange, & Heil, 2006

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

“Idle” Brain

“Busy” Brain

Meaning of words and soundsRelatedUnrelated

N100

Read the Word

N400

Compare Meaning

Orgs, Dombrowski, Lange, & Heil, 2006

Fz

Cz

Pz

Oz

P3 P4

• Cognitive Neuroscience links mental processes to brain activity

• We can measure meaning...– by using sounds and words that refer to the same

concept and recording electrical activity from the brain.

• Why do we care?

Summary

EEG

Coke

Soft Drink

Pepsi

Weakly related

Strongly related

Thank you for your attention !

What do physical shape and motion have to do with psychology?

Dr Michael Price & Dr Andrew Clark

3D body scanner studies (collaboration with Engineering and Design)

How does facial shape influence personality perception?

Dr Nicholas Pound

Physical predictors of personality

• Several collaborative studies with Brunel students• Relationships between bodily and facial shape

(attractiveness, formidability) and personality (egalitarianism, aggression)

Physical predictors of personality

• Attractiveness measures include:– Waist-chest ratio (males) and waist-hip ratio

(females)– Ratings of body models and facial photos

• Formidability measures include:– Upper body size and grip strength

• Examples of key findings:– Physical formidability in men is negatively related to

egalitarianism and positively related to being pro-war– Why?

• Ancestrally, strong men likely to benefit from inequality & conflict• Less true in modern environments, but “our modern skulls house

stone-age minds”• Attitudes that seem irrational in modern environments may have

been ‘adaptively rational’

Physical predictors of personality

• High spatial (~1 mm) and temporal (120 Hz) resolution

• 28 motion capture markers

Anthropometrics•Height•Weight•48 landmark measures (e.g. limb lengths, segment circumferences)•Bioimpedance analysis

Psychometrics•SOI•SPMS•Self-esteem•Anxiety•Activity surveys•etc

Anthropometrics•Height•Weight•48 landmark measures (e.g. limb lengths, segment circumferences)•Bioimpedance analysis

Psychometrics•SOI•SPMS•Self-esteem•Anxiety•Activity surveys•etc

Anthropometrics•Height•Weight•48 landmark measures (e.g. limb lengths, segment circumferences)•Bioimpedance analysis

Psychometrics•SOI•SPMS•Self-esteem•Anxiety•Activity surveys•etc

Normal walks“Do your normal everyday walk, as if you were walking from A to B and not really paying much attention”

“Proceptive” walks“Imagine that there is an attractive individual watching you while you walk”

Does walking proceptively increase attractiveness?

F p

walker gender 9.57** 0.003

walk type 12.62** 0.001

walker gender X walk type 8.46** 0.005

Predicting attractiveness of proceptive walks in females

PC1 (female)

mean attractiveness of normal walk -0.509**(0.009)

mean attractiveness of proceptive walk -0.341(0.096)

proceptive gain (proceptive - normal) -0.003(0.99)

Predicting attractiveness of proceptive walks in males

PC1 (male)

mean attractiveness of normal walk 0.228(0.273)

mean attractiveness of proceptive walk -0.549**(0.004)

proceptive gain (proceptive - normal) -0.601**(0.001)

Summary• Women get an attractiveness boost by walking proceptively, but men do not

• For women, body shape predicts normal walking attractiveness, but not who gains from being proceptive

– Any woman “gains” from walking proceptively, not just attractive women

• For men, nothing predicts normal walking attractiveness, but body shape predicts who’s attractive when walking proceptively, and who gains from walking proceptively

– A man needs to be attractive to pull off a proceptive walk

Females – simple signal of availability?Males – emphasising attractive qualities?

BSc Psychology 4 year placement course

Ajay Sooklall

Why Brunel?

• Its not easy choosing one University out of five

• Well respected University for Psychology• On campus living• Great societies and sports facilities• Great staff and placement opportunities

Choosing a work placement?

Brunel offer a 3 year or a 4 year placement course•Your not alone the placement and careers office is there to help•Great way to get early experience•Looks good on a CV•Good way to see if the career is a good/bad fit for you•And most importantly WORK CAN BE FUN!

Extra info

• Paid placements require 110 days of work• Unpaid placements require 75 days• A full day counts as 6 hours excluding lunch

breaks• Most placements are unpaid but don’t let that

put you off• When being interviewed just be yourself

My Work Experience

I worked at Bede House Association in the Starfish Project, which was a domestic violence and hate crime charity.•Travel expenses covered•Worked 78 days, Mon- Fri (9.30-4.30)•Exposed to all type of family issues and got a real feel what its like to be responsible for other peoples lives

What I gained

• Didn’t know anything about DV and HC aside from what was written in textbooks

• Time management• How to truly empathise with others• How to handle high pressure situations• Greater knowledge of other professions• Sense of pride

Social Life

• Always a range of events going on at Academy and Locos

• Societies and clubs social events• Great chance to socialise and meet new

people• Have an open mind and try new things

Any Questions?