Year 12 Psychology students spent a day immersed in the Psychology in Action lecture series in London two weeks ago.
The students’ favourite speaker was Dr. Philip Hurst, who was a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Canterbury Christ Church University and a past elite athlete (we were impressed with his photos racing next to Mo Farah). His research examined the role of the mind in the effectiveness of performance-enhancing substances and the placebo effect. Students were surprised about how powerful this cognitive bias can be in changing mindset and physiological response.
Mrs. Shoebridge’s favourite speaker was Veronica O’Keane, who spent almost four decades as a practicing psychiatrist and a clinical researcher. Her main research interests were mood disorders and post natal psychosis and her more recent work focused on mapping brain function to human experience. She spoke about her book, The Rag and Bone Shop, which examines memory as an experience and detailed some fascinating case studies.
The students were well-engaged throughout the day and learned a lot about a wide range of practical applications of psychology, such as road crossing behaviour with the introduction of driverless vehicles through the use of eye-tracking data and how the brain best retains information through active learning! Great to see so many Y12 Psychology students on the trip and enjoy the day!