School News

Lecture theatre dedicated to inspirational lecturer

Alun Waddon was a lecturer at the School of Psychology from 1970-2005. Following his recent death, the School decided to recognise the important role he played within Psychology by dedicating Lecture Theatre 1 to his memory. He was an inspirational lecturer, who always went that little bit further to help a student out, who always had that extra minute for a question, and who opened doors for students, both literally and figuratively. Lecture Theatre 1 was named the Alun Waddon Lecture Theatre by Alun’s wife, Dr Michelle Aldridge-Waddon, and 2 of his 3 children in a ceremony held on October, 27th that was attended Alun’s colleagues and friends.

Bangor University on your mobile...

Bangor University is one of the first universities in the UK to launch a ‘mobile web’ site aimed at attracting new students and providing the basis for a range of exciting new mobile web-based services for current staff and students.

It is certainly the first multilingual mobile website supporting English, Welsh and Chinese speaking visitors and one of the first in the UK aimed specifically at potential students.

The new website, designed for use on internet enabled smart-phones, has been developed to add to the already well-developed online information on the University’s website. It is aimed at students considering studying at Bangor University and available in the palm of their hand.

Smartphone users visiting the full site of www.bangor.ac.uk are automatically taken to the mobile site, but can opt to visit the full site if they wish.

“It’s a bit like building Dr Who’s tardis –it’s is an awful lot bigger on the inside than it first appears on the outside!“ says Sam Foster, Web Team Manager at Bangor University.

“We hope visitors will find it a useful addition to their decision-making process.”

Visitors to the mobile site are provided with key information about Bangor University, the courses, student support, studying as an international student, BangorTV videos, an image gallery, news and events, information, tools to contact Bangor and maps of the campus- which vary according to their current location if on campus.

To make it easy for users of the mobile site to make contact with the University a number of features are included. These include ‘Get in touch’ forms with an option to order a prospectus, and Contact links - including ‘live’ telephone numbers dialled when you click on them, Facebook and Twitter presences, and listings of the University’s academic schools and service departments.

Bangor's Bilingualism Research is highly influential

Bilingualism: Language and Cognition (BLC), is an international peer-reviewed journal focusing on bilingualism from a cognitive science perspective. An article by Prof. Gathercole of Bangor's Psychology department has been included in a list of editors’ highlights of recent influential articles. Cambridge Journals have provided free access to this article here.

A First for Gwynedd

The first Age Well Centre in Gwynedd will be officially opened on Wednesday, 12 October, with an Open Day offering special taster sessions and information stalls.

The Centre is situated at Nefyn, on the Llŷn peninsula, which is a joint project, run by Age Cymru Gwynedd a Môn and Bangor University. The Centre is open to anyone aged 50 and over, and offers a variety of activities such as Tai Chi, Arts and Crafts and Environmental projects.

The Centre will be open three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

“We’re very pleased to be opening this invaluable Age Well Centre, which is located within the brand new Community Centre in Nefyn,” says Age Cymru Gwynedd a Môn Chief Executive, John Clifford Jones. “We hope that it will develop into a vibrant meeting place for the over 50s of the area. We’ll be offering a variety of courses and activities at the Centre, there will be something there for everyone.

“I would also like to thank our partners in this project, Bangor University, for their support. It’s exciting that we can work together to enrich the lives of the over 50s of Gwynedd. The research that the University will be carrying out at the Centre will also provide invaluable information which will, it is hoped, in time, further help the older members of our communities.”

“I'm very excited about this innovative partnership with Age Cymru Gwynedd a
Môn,” says Professor Linda Care, of Bangor University’s School of Psychology. “By working together to help older people maintain their well-being and
quality of life, we will be able to gather firm evidence about the benefits
the AgeWell Centre brings for the over 50s of Gwynedd, which should support
further initiatives in the future.”

Five members of staff will be employed at the Centre, but owing to its range of activities, Age Cymru Gwynedd a Môn are always on the look out for volunteers.

Says Volunteer Co-ordinator Terry Jones, “We’d love to hear from anyone who has some free time to spare. We couldn’t offer the range of services we do without the help of our volunteers. We appreciate every hour of your time. If you’d like to help, please contact us at our base in Caernarfon, tel: 01286 677711 or by e-mail: elaine@acgm.co.uk. Volunteer work is extremely satisfying, and it’s fun! You get to meet so many interesting people.”

US Award for Expert in Ageing

An internationally recognised expert on ageing and dementia, Professor Bob Woods of Bangor University, is to be the first international recipient of an American Award on Thursday 13 October2011.

Professor Bob Woods, who is Director of Dementia Services Development Centre and Professor of Clinical Psychology of the Elderly at Bangor University is the first international Honouree and speaker at the 10th Annual Reisberg Award and Lecture.

An Honouree for the Award is selected jointly by the "I'm Still Here" Foundation, which supports the care and treatment of the five million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States and Dr. Barry Reisberg, Clinical Director of New York University's Aging and Dementia Research Center for annual this award.

The award recognises people who have made distinguished contributions in the area of non-pharmacologic treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Prof Woods will be addressing professionals and care partners meeting in New York on the topic: Finding hope in dementia care: What difference can we make?

Bob Woods is a clinical psychologist who has been involved in developing and evaluating psychological interventions for people with dementia and their supporters for 35 years. He pioneered an evidence-based approach, notably in relation to cognitive stimulation and reminiscence work. He continues to work clinically and leads an active dissemination programme, including staff training and service development. He has received awards from the British Psychological Society and the Alzheimer’s Society, in recognition of his contribution involved in developing and evaluating.

Bangor Psychology ranked in the top five in UK for Student Satisfaction (again!)

The recently released results of the latest National Student Survey have again confirmed Bangor Psychology's place amongst the elite UK Psychology departments. In terms of student satisfaction Bangor was beaten by only three (out of more than 140) departments achieving a score of 95% which equalled that of Oxford University.

Dr Charles Leek, the new Head of School, said, "I am delighted that all the hard work my academic colleagues put into ensuring our students receive an undergraduate education that is on a par with the best the UK is reflected in the experiences of our students.

"I am equally sure that a large element of this exceptional performance is down to the support we give our students in all aspects of their university life and it no doubt helps that Bangor is a fantastic place to be a student whatever you are studying." To look at the results of the NSS in more detail you can visit the unistats website.

Learning Advisor Support Project for International Students

The HE Statistics Agency reports a steady increase in international students choosing to study at UK Institutes (non-UK domicile students: 368970 in 2008/09, 405805 in 2009/10), but unfortunately many of these students experience language barriers and cultural transition difficulties during their first academic year. These issues are often not related to academic ability, but are due to lack of understanding of UK learning systems and institute procedures.

The School of Psychology at Bangor University is dedicated to supporting our international students to ensure that they are able to develop both academically and personally in a positive multicultural environment. Dr Fay Short has recently been awarded a Higher Education Academy Teaching Development grant to introduce an intervention to support students in overcoming communication barriers and transitional difficulties in order to maximise their academic potential. This intervention will train current undergraduate students to work as learning advisors during their third year. Each trained learning advisor will then be paired with a first year international student to work through a program of activities during the first semester. This intervention enhances the ‘buddy’ system by training learning advisors to coach students through a set program designed to address potential problems. In addition to enhancing the employability of the trained learning advisor, this intervention will also provide new international students with individual support to overcome language and cultural barriers at the start of their academic experience.

The findings of this intervention will provide valuable information about improving international student experience - if successful, this Learning Advisor program could be employed across multiple Higher Education Institutes to increase the retention, performance, and satisfaction of international students studying in Wales & across the UK.

Psychology wins a prestigious grant to provide Dual Masters degrees in Behaviour Analysis

Bangor University (Wales), California State University, Stanislaus, and Warsaw School of Social Sciences & Humanities (Poland), have been awarded a highly prestigious grant to facilitate international Dual Masters degrees in the area of Behaviour Analysis.

The grant is provided by the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) – the US Department of Education and the European Union.

Students accepted onto the Atlantis EU-US program will spend a year studying in Europe (1 semester in Bangor and 1 semester in Warsaw), and 10 months (2 semesters) at CSU Stanislaus in Turlock, California. When studying in the USA, the grant provides students with a €12,000 stipend, which will consist of €2,000 to assist with the move and €1,000 per month for each of the 10 months spent in the USA.

In order to apply for the program, you need to be a student already enrolled on the MSc/PG Cert/PG Dip in Applied Behavioural Analysis, or have been offered a place on the course starting in September 2011.

If you’re interested, please contact the Psychology Admissions office (psychology@bangor.ac.uk) for additional details and the application form. Alternatively, you can also contact the course director for the MSc ABA, Dr Carl Hughes (c.hughes@bangor.ac.uk).

For more information about the Atlantis EU-US program and the MSc ABA, including how to apply, please click here.

International recognition for Food Dudes

The Bangor University academics behind the highly successful Food Dudes programme, which encourages healthy eating choices in young children and their families, are to receive an award for the way that they have adapted their scientific knowledge for a very practical purpose.

Professor Fergus Lowe and Dr Pauline Horne of Bangor University’s School of Psychology are to receive the Scientific Translation Award (Technology Transfer) from the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Analysis at their Annual Convention in Seattle in the USA in May 2012.

The Award recognises the development and dissemination of the Food Dudes programme. It is awarded to an individual or individuals in the public or private sector who address socially significant problems using methods directly linked to behavioural analysis or that effectively incorporate behavioural principles.

“At a time when obesity rates around the world are trending upwards and children are deprived of important nutrients found in fruit and vegetables, SABA is proud to recognise the achievements of the Food Dudes programme in improving the diets of children in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sicily, and the US. Your integration of behavioural principles through the many components of Food Dudes interventions is a model for others wishing to impact societally important behaviour,” said Maria Malott Secretary of the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis.

“The Food Dudes project is gaining global recognition for the very successful way that it can improve eating habits. As well as winning a World Health Organisation Award for its application in Ireland and winning the UK Chief Medical Officer’s Gold Medal Award, the Food Dudes has been adopted by the European Commission to illustrate how governments in Europe can tackle obesity. This is a project from Bangor University that can make a real impact on the health of people in those societies worldwide that are now faced with such a major obesity challenge. I’m very pleased that the academics involved are receiving the recognition of their professional peers for their contribution,” said Prof John G Hughes, Vice-Chancellor of Bangor University.

Professor Fergus Lowe and Dr Pauline Horne, Directors of Bangor University’s Food and Activity Research Unit, have recently won another prestigious international award.
Along with colleagues from the Irish Government and the Irish Fresh Produce industry, they were invited to Istanbul to attend a World Health Organisation European Ministerial Meeting on counteracting obesity at which the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Dr Marcos Kyprianou, presented the award.

The award was given in recognition of the success of the Food Dudes programme which the Irish Government, in a major project, is now running in primary schools across Ireland.
The Food Dudes scheme, which is designed for primary schools, uses four healthy eating cartoon characters - the Food Dudes - and a range of other behaviour change procedures to help children develop a liking for fruit and vegetables, encourage them to eat them at home and be proud that they are healthy eaters.

Pioneering Support for International Psychology Undergraduates

Unfortunately many overseas students experience language barriers and cultural transition difficulties during their first academic year. These issues are often not related to academic ability, but are due to lack of understanding of UK learning systems and institute procedures. The School of Psychology at Bangor University is dedicated to supporting its international students and Dr Fay Short has recently been awarded a Higher Education Academy Teaching Development grant to introduce an intervention to support students in overcoming communication barriers and transitional difficulties in order to maximise their academic potential. This intervention will train current undergraduate students to work as learning advisors during their third year. Each trained learning advisor will then be paired with a first year international student to work through a program of activities during the first semester. In addition to enhancing the employability of the trained learning advisor, this intervention will also provide new international students with individual support to overcome language and cultural barriers at the start of their academic experience. If successful, this Learning Advisor program could be employed right across the UK's HE sector."

Congratulations to our graduates of 2011

The Department would like to extend its congratulations to all its 450+ graduates of 2011. The graduation ceremonies were held on Friday 15th July and provided a fitting climax to their years of study. We wish you all the best for the future.

Bangor team places second in national business competition

A team of six Bangor students competed in, excelled at – and very nearly won – the largest business enterprise competition in UK higher education.

Held in Bristol over two days and attended by teams from more than 40 universities, the sixth annual FLUX Competition, held earlier this year, challenged students to create, develop, and present business ideas to panels of entrepreneurial experts and investors. Bangor’s team, which was selected from more than 100 participants in its recent “Enterprise by Design” (EbD) course, wowed the judges. It placed first in the networking competition and first in the formal business presentation event. Only in the very final event, voted on all by all competitors, did Bangor place second.

“The competition was really intense,” said Gareth Harvey, Bangor PhD student in Psychology. “Through this process, we came up with our idea, which was to create the world’s first ‘demand-analyser’. This is a tool that would enable banks to estimate the likelihood that a new business venture would succeed. It works by comparing the demographic profile for an area where a similar business ventures has been successful and seeing how alike the demographic profile of the two areas are. The actual pitching of the idea was really tough, and we had to make compelling case for it. But thanks to the experience we gained though EbD we were prepared for it. By the end of the competition I got a lot from it, including a few job offers.”

The team also included one masters student (Rob Laing: Psychology) and four undergraduate students (Jessica Davies: Psychology, Robin Boyd: Engineering; George Ullrich: Design; Angela Connolly: Creative Studies). Dr. James Intriligator (Psychology) served as the team’s supporter/coach. “I’m really proud of our team,” commented Intriligator. “They were so professional in their demeanor and presentation, and the corporate folks were itching to hire them. I’m sure it’s all because of fantastic preparation they got from Enterprise By Design.”

Bangor’s unique “Enterprise by Design” programme takes students from a range of academic schools and puts them in multi-disciplinary teams to design a new product or service. This year the programme included twenty-two students (twenty undergrad and two post-grad facilitators) from each of five schools (business, psychology, engineering, design, and creative studies). Over the course of eight weeks, the students work to develop a business concept and all the required supporting materials to “sell it on” to a panel of expert judges (dragons'-den style). The programme, which has been running for several years now, will eventually be associated with the university’s new Pontio Arts and Innovation centre.

Consumer Psychology Students assists Local Businesses

More than thirty of this year’s consumer-psychology and business masters students have been conducting semester-long research projects in the local community. As part of Dr James Intriligator’s “applied consumer psychology” module, students have been investigating a range of psychological issues related to consumer activity. For example, one team of students worked with Dimensions health food store (in upper Bangor) to understand things like: what motivates people to shop there, what are non-shoppers “like”, and how do people navigate and explore their online store. Other teams worked with the university’s “Bar Uno” to study space and price perception and assisted organisations including Penrhyn Castle and Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue.

'Dragons Den' - Bangor Style

Twenty undergrads, two post-grads, and several members of staff have been helping to pilot Bangor's new "Enterprise By Design" programme. This programme took place over the course of eight Thursday evenings and included 100 second and third-year students from five different schools (psychology, business, engineering, creative studies, and design). The students were put into 5-person multi-disciplinary teams and given a challenge to design a new product for a local company (Gelart). The final designs were presented in a Dragon's-Den style final night and the top three teams were awarded significant cash prizes. More details can be found here

Psychology play central role in visit of leading Chinese University

A delegation from East China Normal University (ECNU) has visited Bangor University to see the facilities on campus and to meet with staff. ECNU is one of China’s most prestigious Universities, with a strong research culture and has over 49,000 students studying subjects from over 18 schools and colleges. The key objectives of the visit where to further explore collaborative opportunities for student exchange, research and joint degree programmes and Prof. Guillaume Thierry made a presentation on the School of Psychology which included information on an ongoing study he is doing in collaboration with another prestigious Chinese University which involves the study of Chinese/English bilinguals. Prof. Turnbull, Head of Psychology commented " We were delighted to meet up again with ECNU so soon after meeting them on our recent visit to China. There are clearly strong synergies between the Psychology departments at the two institutions and we look forward to working more closely together in the future."

PsyPAG Conference 2011

The 26th Annual Conference of the Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group (PsyPAG), held in the School of Psychology, Bangor last week. This conference was organised by a team of Psychology PhD students lead by Kat Burnett as the Conference chair and its success is a credit to their efforts. Over 200 PhD and MSc students attended the Conference, which ran from Wednesday 6th July to Friday 8th July 2011.

Overall, 47 UK universities were represented. Delegates attended over 100 talks, as well as taking part in poster sessions and workshops ranging from qualitative analysis and post-doctoral advice, to fMRI and TMS methods. There were three excellent keynote speakers, Dr Paul Mullins and Dr John Parkinson from Bangor, and Dr Lauren Stewart from Goldsmiths whose talks stimulated considerable debate. The main goal of the Conference was to bring together postgraduate psychology students from across the UK to an event at which they could disseminate their research in a relaxed and friendly environment. This was also an opportunity for networking, and for early career researchers to attend training that might not be available to them within their own departments. The atmosphere was one of support and respect, and the Conference was fun, successful and most importantly valuable for all who attended.For more information on PsyPAG please visit their website.

For she's a jolly good Fellow!

erdfg Dr Fay Short is the latest member of the School of Psychology's impressive teaching focused academics to be awarded a Bangor University Teaching Fellowship. These awards are highly competitive, and recognises excellence across a wide range of activities including outstanding contributions to teaching, student support and pastoral care.

Dr Short is an integral part of the department's highly regarded 'Teaching Team' and is also the department's International Student Tutor.

Dr Short said, "I feel privileged to be a member of a University that values teaching so highly and I am honoured to receive this award for teaching excellence.

"It is truly an indication of the high quality of education in the School of Psychology that we can now boast four Teaching Fellows in our teaching team! I am looking forward to joining Jesse Martin, Mihela Erjavec and Mike Beverley at the Bangor Academy of Teaching Fellows, and I hope that we can continue to develop exciting and innovative ways to educate and support our students."

OBE for Bangor Psychology Professor

Professor Judy Hutchings of the School of Psychology and the Incredible Years Wales centre is to receive an OBE for her services to children and families. Prof Hutchings has been instrumental in introducing Incredible Years programmes which support children and families into Wales as well as measuring their effectiveness.

The Incredible Years Centre at the University researches the effectiveness of the programmes, provides training and also has a charitable arm, IY Cymru Charity, which fundraises for research and dissemination activity and support to services that are using the programmes. Prof Hutchings also heads a newly opened Centre for Evidence Based Early Intervention, which builds on 20 years of research conducted by Prof Hutchings both at the local NHS Trust and the University.

“There is no doubt as to the powerful effect that universities, their teaching, research and activities can have on people’s lives and I am delighted that Professor Hutchings has received such deserving recognition,” said Vice- Chancellor, Professor John G. Hughes."

British Psychology Society (Wales) Student Conference

Kevin Deyna-Jones, a third-year Psychology students, recently won the top prize at the recent BPS Student Conference for the best presentation. Kevin shares his experience of the conference below:'

On 26th March 2011, nineteen undergraduate psychology students from Bangor attended the annual BPS Wales conference in Swansea. Each of us presented our third-year research projects to a mixture of students and academics.

image of prize winners Everyone from Bangor presented clear and professional speeches, which reflected the quality of research that students conduct at Bangor. It was also clear that two and a half years of POPPS sessions had paid off! For me, it was a great opportunity to share and learn about existing psychological research. It made me realise how much I had learnt about Research Methods at the Science of Psychology at Bangor. I also realised that Bangor has equipped many of its students with excellent presentation skills.

My study looked at teachers’ beliefs about the use of evidence-based teaching. A highlight for me was the discussion that followed my talk; it was great to find out that people were interested in a subject that I am passionate about. I obviously was very familiar with the topic and enjoyed answering questions.

Once the talks had all finished, representatives from the BPS Wales committee met together and awarded prizes for the best presentations. I was bowled over to find out that I had won the first prize, being awarded ‘Best Presentation’ for Bangor! Having worked on the project for nearly a year and a half, this made all the hard work worth it, knowing that people had engaged with my psychology research. Afterwards, a couple of staff from other universities even came and asked me for more details so that they could make use of the research themselves.

Surprisingly, Fay and Tracey (Dr Short and Dr Lloyd, from the Bangor teaching team) who accompanied us on the trip, were not the only ones singing on the way home.

Researchers measure the value of a smile

Researchers at Bangor University have placed an economic value on a smile, demonstrating scientifically the effect that a genuine smile can have on our decision-making. The psychologists call this ‘social information’ and say that it has more of an effect than you may imagine.

Danielle Shore, a PhD student at the School of Psychology and the lead author of the research explains:

“Imagine you need a new car. What factors influence your choice? You might intend to base your decision on purely practical matters such as running costs and reliability, however new research shows that social factors, such as the salesperson’s behaviour, play a bigger role than you think.”

“If the salesperson gives you a genuine smile of pleasure, you will have a positive experience and be likely to buy a nicer car or more add-ons than you originally intended. Indeed, genuine smiles appear to act as a form of social currency, a valuable reward that people will pay to receive,” she explains.

The researchers examined people’s responses to two types of smiles: genuine and polite. The feature that distinguishes these smiles is the presence of “laugh lines”, the tiny wrinkles that appear at the corners of the eyes during genuine but not polite smiles. The authors designed an experiment in which students played a game against computerized ‘opponents’ with either higher or lower chances of winning money and who smiled either genuinely or politely. In the later stages of the ‘game’, the researchers measured people’s preferences by asking them to choose their opponents. The results allowed the researchers to determine how valuable participants found each type of smile.

“The important finding in this experiment,” explains Shore, “is that people preferred genuinely smiling opponents, even when they were associated with a lower chance of winning. We found this interesting because our participants, who were all university students, are usually highly motivated to earn money. We expected them to prefer genuinely smiling opponents only when the odds of winning were equal. The fact that they chose opponents who were less likely to pay out was a big surprise.”

Indeed, the researchers calculated the value of a genuine smile in the experiment at just over a third of a penny.

“This is a small amount, but imagine that you exchange 10 to 20 of these smiles in a short interaction. That value would add up quickly and influence your social judgment. So, the new car might seem a better bargain if a genuinely smiling salesperson sells it to you,” suggests Dr Erin Heerey, the study’s co-author.

According to Shore, this research has implications for how people make a range of important social decisions.

“Genuine smiles might help people see eye-to-eye during interactions. People who often make genuine smiles may have an easier time convincing others to adopt their goals. Because positive interactions help people build relationships, smiles might cement the social ties we share with our friends and colleagues.”

Their research has been published in the journal Emotion. Danielle’s PhD studentship was supported by the Economic & Social Research Council.

PsyPAG Annual Conference will be hosted by Bangor University 6-8 July 2011

PsyPAG is a national organisation for all psychology postgraduates based at UK Institutions. Funded by the Research Board of the British Psychological Society, PsyPAG is run on a voluntary basis by postgraduates for postgraduates.

The annual conference will be held over three days, and is a chance to meet other psychology postgrads from around the country, swap ideas, network, and have some fun while presenting in an unpressured atmosphere. Delegates will have the opportunity to present through talks or posters if they wish, or they may choose to attend simply to learn about other research taking place in the UK and to meet new people going through similar experiences.

Registration and abstract submission are now open, and we look forward to seeing you there.

More information

To contact the conference team, email: conference2011@psypag.co.uk

Experts of the future brought to Wales

Wales’ leading universities have won a multi-million pound award to train top-level social scientists on a range of issues affecting society today.

The establishment of a Doctoral Training Centre will allow 33 new postgraduate studentships to be offered every year in Wales for the next five years.

The postgraduates will be trained in a range of important disciplines, including social policy, psychology, economics, environmental planning and linguistics.

Cardiff University will lead a Wales consortium with Bangor, Aberystwyth and Swansea in creating the Doctoral Training Centre, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Bangor will lead on three subject areas across the DTC: Psychology, Bilingualism and Economics and Finance, although all social science doctoral students in Wales will benefit from the closer collaboration across the four institutions.

In addition to those listed above, subject areas which will attract the fully funded studentships across the DTC include education, human geography, management and business studies, political science and international studies, science and technology studies, social work and social care, criminology, sociology, language based area studies and empirical studies in law.

Full details of the studentships and how to apply will be available soon via the websites of the collaborating universities.

The Wales consortium forms part of a national network of 21 accredited Doctoral Training Centres across the UK judged by the ESRC to deliver truly excellent postgraduate training provision.

Dr David Grant, Vice-Chancellor Cardiff University said: “This successful collaboration furthers Wales’ international reputation for excellence in the social sciences.

“In gaining accreditation, the Wales Doctoral Training Centre has demonstrated excellence in the breadth of its social science postgraduate training, which is integrated into the highest quality research environment”

Bangor University Director of Research, Professor Jo Rycroft-Malone said: ‘The DTC arrangements will add valuable new dimensions to the experience of postgraduate students by providing more varied pathways, more advanced training, and enhanced support. Training will be delivered in an interdisciplinary research environment across the four institutions, and Bangor is delighted to be involved.’

The studentships will start at the Wales Doctoral Training Centre in October 2011. For further information, email ESRCWalesDTC@cardiff.ac.u

Are you considering postgraduate study at Bangor?

You can never be too overqualified for today’s job market- a post graduate qualification could assist you in marking you out amongst applicants, could open doors to new career opportunities or could help you to move forward or change direction in your current career.

Bangor University is holding a Postgraduate Courses Fair on Friday 18 February 2011 between 12.30 – 2.30.

This is to enable current students at Bangor and graduates working locally or wanting to study at Bangor to visit the University and learn at first-hand what options for taught and research degrees are available at the University.

The University’s Postgraduate Admissions Office and Careers and Opportunities advisors are also available to advise and guide would-be applicants and students.

The event will be held in the University’s Prichard Jones Hall. Those registering their details at the event will also be entered into a prize draw to win an Apple iPad. Pre-register for the event online via the University’s website.

“Anybody interested in postgraduate study at Bangor is most welcome to attend, and take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the many different postgraduate programmes that are currently available,” said Michael Rogerson Postgraduate Marketing Officer.

In addition, some academic Schools such as School of Ocean Sciences, Psychology, and Environment, Natural Resources and Geography will be holding individual tours and subject talks for those who would like a more in depth look at their courses and resources following the event.

Consumer Psychology Graduate Pulls in Two Prestigious Awards

In just his first year on the job, a recent Bangor graduate has played a key role in earning his new employer not one but two national business awards.

Six months ago, Paul Dazeley was finishing his MSc degree in Consumer Psychology and Business at Bangor University. Then he heard about a job opening at Ella’s Kitchen, the organic baby food company based in Henley, near Reading. Paul asked his advisor at Bangor for advice in preparing for the interview.

Dr. James Intriligator, head of the MSc programme, suggested that Paul design some original research just for Ella’s Kitchen, to demonstrate his unique new skills. So Paul quickly created and completed a study of consumer perspectives on baby food manufacturers’ websites. It so impressed Ella’s Kitchen, a company that is committed to putting consumers first, that they offered Paul a job straightaway. After completing his MSc programme with top-marks, he started work at Ella’s Kitchen last June.

New on the job, Paul joined the company’s Head of Making Friends, Nicole McDonnell, to present their pitch for the IGD Food Industry Awards. Up against industry giants like Nestlé and Heinz, the young UK company succeeded, winning the General Mills award for Consumer Understanding. More recently at the National Business Awards, Ella’s Kitchen also won the Blackberry Customer Focus award for small businesses.

By utilizing consumer research, Ella’s Kitchen follows a policy of putting customers at the heart of every decision. As a result, it has seen phenomenal growth in just over 4 years. The brand has achieved a 12% market share of the UK wet baby food market. Every second of every day someone around the world is consuming an Ella’s Kitchen product.

Paul Lindley, Ella’s Dad and founder of Ella’s Kitchen, explains: “Everyone at Ella’s is passionately driven to help babies and toddlers eat better food. We want them to discover that healthy food can be fun, tasty and cool, and that this will in turn develop healthy habits that last a lifetime.”

Paul Dazeley credits Bangor with preparing him for his great early success. “My project goes beyond the usual market research that most companies undertake,” he says. “I’m bringing scientific and psychological methods into a commercial setting to investigate how parents can help their infants to enjoy healthy foods. I’ve really got the right combination of knowledge and skills to help Ella’s Kitchen build on what they’re already doing.”

Bangor’s Dr. Intriligator celebrates Paul’s achievement: “Companies are starting to see how consumer psychology can deepen their understanding and benefit their bottom line. As a result, graduates of our programme are in great demand. I’m really happy for Paul. He was an excellent student and now he’s using what he learned here to achieve his own goals, and that shows what we’re all about.”

Psychology Student receives Excellence Scholarship

Nicola Lloyd The Bangor University Excellence Scholarship is awarded to new undergraduate students from the UK and EU who achieve the highest academic attainment upon entry in the relevant subject areas. Students recently received Excellence Scholarships ranging in value from £3,000 to £4,500 at a presentation evening hosted by the University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof Colin Baker.

Nicola Lloyd, 18, from Brecon in Mid Wales attended Gwernyfed High School where she received A*, two As and a B at A Level as well as a Level 3 Welsh Baccalaureate. Nicola is now studying Psychology at Bangor and is the recipient of an Excellence Scholarship award of £3,500. Nicola said, “It feels unbelievable to win the Scholarship. I think Scholarships like this one are an excellent way to encourage students to work harder in their A-levels and to reach their full potential. It is also very helpful for those who do receive it to take some financial pressure off them so that they can concentrate on their studies more to try and do the best they can in their-degree.”

More European Recognition for Bangor's Psychology Department

The 2010 CHE European Excellence Ranking placed 59 European Universities in the "Excellence Group" for Psychology. Of these Bangor's Psychology department was placed in joint third overall (second in UK) in terms of the number of stars it achieved based on the institutional survey and was also placed in the top ten based on the CHE preselection criteria index. Stars are awarded to departments who do particularly well in certain areas and the fact that Bangor has scored so highly in terms of stars awarded is a clear demonstration of the department's overall quality and the international esteem in which its staff and students are held.

The CHE -- Centre for Higher Education Development is an independent institution that is committed to reform of higher education. The CHE Excellence Ranking is intended to help inform students who wish to study beyond undergraduate degree level about the quality of a departments postgraduate teaching and research, as well as academics and non-academic staff interested in finding out the European standing of a particular department. The ranking includes evaluations by students and information about study programmes and teaching, computer and laboratory equipment, research performance and aspects on internationality.
"I am delighted that Bangor Psychology has performed so well in this ranking of elite Psychology departments. The fact that we have achieved 6 stars for the institutional survey section, placing us in joint third overall, is an excellent indication of the quality of the postgraduate and faculty research environment we have to offer. When that is combined with the fantastic natural environment surrounding the university I believe there is no better department in the UK to work for or study in." Prof. Oliver Turnbull, Head of Psychology

Bangor Psychology also has one of the largest student cohorts in the UK and offers UK and International students alike a combination of quality and quantity, in a fantastic natural environment and lively student focused city, simply not available elsewhere.

Gold & Silver International Scholarships for 2011

The School of Psychology is pleased to announce that there are number of International (non EU) Scholarships available for students applying for undergraduate and postgraduate study commencing in September 2011. These will be awarded on a merit basis to the applicant who has completed a scholarship statement and who is deemed to have outstanding qualifications for their chosen programme of study. They are awarded only in the year of entry.

A number of Gold (up to £5K) and Silver (up to £2K) will be awarded by the School. These are available to applicants for all Psychology masters programmes. To apply for one of the Psychology Scholarships, candidates must submit a 500-1000 word statement in support of their application, which answers the following question: Why have you chosen to apply to study Psychology at Bangor?

There are two deadlines for application:
Interim deadline: 1st March 2011 Final deadline: 1st June 2011

Applications received by the 1st March will be considered in the first round of awards. Successful candidates will be informed of the outcome by the 31st March. Any candidates who have not been successful in the first round, will be submitted for further consideration after the final deadline of 1st June, along with those who applied after the 31st March.

Please send the statement, with a short covering letter, to:

Admissions and Marketing Officer
School of Psychology
Bangor University
Brigantia Building
Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2AS
e-mail: psychology@bangor.ac.uk
telephone + 44 (0) 1248 382629
fax + 44 (0) 1248 382599

Gwynedd’s use of innovative teaching method for autism reported internationally

The introduction of an innovative teaching method for children with autism to Gwynedd LEA’s bilingual education system is to be discussed at an international conference in Texas, USA.

Dr Elin Walker Jones and her colleagues at Bangor University’s School of Psychology have been developing and researching the use of Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) as the specialist teaching method is called, in Welsh. The introduction of ABA in languages other than English is not well researched. Most of the studies to date have been conducted through English.

The children who participate in ABA programs show improvements in their communication skills and social behaviours. Being able to deliver this specialist teaching method locally using both Welsh and English as appropriate, enables children who need this additional input to stay within their communities.

The project team will be discussing the issues arising from their project translating and adapting ABA into Welsh at an international conference in San Antonio, Texas. They fly to San Antonio on 27 May.

“ABA is proven to be successful with children with autism. It is used widely in the USA and has growing support internationally. This has led to an interest in how it is affected by cultural and linguistic diversity- other papers at the Conference will discuss the use of Spanish in the US,” explained Dr Elin Walker Jones, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Honorary Lecturer at Bangor University.

“This may well be the first time that the Welsh language will have ever been subject to a discussion at this conference, and it is very exciting that the Welsh language is contributing to the wider, international debate regarding cultural and linguistic diversity in ABA,” added project colleague and Bangor Psychology lecturer Dr Maggie Hoerger, BCBA-D.

Bangor University is one of the few Universities in the UK where it is possible to study a Master’s Degree in Applied behavioural Analysis.

15/04/2010 Psychology Teaching Associate wins New Investigator Award

Image of Fay Short A member of the School of Psychology’s teaching team has been awarded a prestigious prize by the American Psychological Association (APA) in recognition of her work in the field of human perception and performance.

The New Investigator awards are presented annually by five neuroscience related journals, published by the APA, to honour outstanding new investigators.
Dr Fay Short’s paper on "Virtual limbs and body space: Critical features for the distinction between body space and near-body space", which was co-authored by fellow Bangor psychologist Dr Robert Ward, has been awarded the Division of Experimental Psychology 2009 New Investigator Award in Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.
Describing the award win, Fay said, “It is a great honour for me to receive this prize early in my career as a psychologist, and I am hopeful that it will inspire me to continue conducting research to this high standard.”

Fay first came to Bangor in 1999 after studying at Prestatyn High School and Yale College, Wrexham. She graduated with a First Class Honours Degree (BSc) in Psychology in 2002, completed a Masters in 2003 and received her doctorate in Cognitive Neuropsychology in 2008.

Explaining the findings she presented in her paper, Fay said. “Previous research has found that you are naturally faster at responding to things on your body rather than near your body. Imagine how quickly you would respond to a spider crawling near your hand then imagine how much quicker you would respond to a spider crawling on your hand!

Image of Fay Short “Our research investigates whether it is possible to ‘trick’ your brain into incorporating external objects into the internal representation of your body.”
Describing her research methods she added, “We used virtual reality techniques to determine whether we can encourage our natural bias towards our real body to extend to a virtual body.

“We found that the brain can indeed accept virtual hands as though they are real limbs, even to the extent that responses to targets located on the virtual hands are quicker than responses to targets located near the virtual hands. This has important implications as our findings reveal that this extension of ‘body representation’ is only possible when you have good control over the virtual body.”

In addition to her research interests in body representation, Fay has a strong interest in the field of counselling, is dedicated to the art of teaching and has extensive training in this area. Her current role at Bangor University allows her to focus all of her energy on guiding students towards academic success.

08/03/2010 How a candidate moves influences how you vote

The perceived health of an election candidate can predict how people will vote according to recently published research- and voters can form opinions about how healthy a candidate is based solely on the way that person moves.

The voters' conclusions may not be correct- and they may not even be aware that how the candidates moved influenced their decision to vote, but a clear link between how a candidate moves and subsequent voting patterns has been proven for the first time. Apparently, we are more likely to vote for someone who moves in ways that appear healthy to us.

The paper in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology also provides a clear illustration of how we form subconscious conclusions about other people based on how they move.

Psychologists at Bangor University asked people to view short video clips of Barak Obama and John McCain, or Gordon Brown and David Cameron- with the images converted to stick men - representing only the individual's movement and with the sound removed. People rated the 'stick men' for a range of characteristics including attractiveness, trustworthiness, leadership and physical health. They didn't know who the 'stick men' were, but were asked which one they'd vote for.

The outstanding finding was that the majority voted for the person they'd also rated as most healthy - based on clips of only nine seconds in length. The link between perceived health and voting pattern was far stronger than between leadership and voting.

In an experiment run before the US presidential elections, 63% of those taking part voted for the unidentified 'Obama stick-man' (Obama won 52.7% of the popular votes), In the Brown-Cameron 'stick man run-off', there was no clear majority. This may be because the group as a whole rated both Brown and Cameron equally healthy, based on the clips selected.

The important finding is the link established between the candidate subconsciously perceived as the healthiest and the person's subsequent voting choice.

The paper's lead author, doctoral student Robin Kramer of Bangor University's School of Psychology explains: "It's our opinion about how healthy another person is that influences our voting choice."

"Our experiments focused on very short clips of each speaker. Removing appearance and using solely movement, we were still able to ask participants about their perception of the candidates. In real life people would many more opportunities to see and hear candidates. They'd be taking on other already established influencing factors such as how the candidates sound and dress, as well as considering the policies and parties involved."

"Our results further emphasise that important decisions, like who we vote for, can be influenced by feelings we may be unaware of. Whether a politician appears to be healthy and vital may be completely irrelevant to what they would do in office, yet that appearance may still grab our vote," added co-author, Dr Robert Ward, of the Bangor University's School of Psychology.

The clips used in the experiment can be viewed here:

The paper can be read online here:

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