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Postgraduate Conference
16th, 18th & 19th of May 2016
Abstracts Booklet
Ψ
University of Sheffield
Department of Psychology
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Index of speakers
Name Page
Reem Abdal-Sahib ............................................................................................................ 4
Kate Adkins ....................................................................................................................... 4
Shahah Musaed AlTammar ............................................................................................... 5
Nazli Altin .......................................................................................................................... 6
Haffiezhah An-Nadiah Azlan .............................................................................................. 6
Stephanie Armstrong ......................................................................................................... 7
Ali Aytemur ........................................................................................................................ 8
Harriet Baird ...................................................................................................................... 8
Rhianan Beal ..................................................................................................................... 9
Matthew Bennion ............................................................................................................... 9
Abdullah Bin Dawood ...................................................................................................... 10
Panagiota Blouchou ........................................................................................................ 10
Agnes Bray ...................................................................................................................... 11
Gaia Brezzo..................................................................................................................... 11
Emma Broglia .................................................................................................................. 12
James Brookes ................................................................................................................ 13
Christopher Brown ........................................................................................................... 13
David Buxton ................................................................................................................... 14
Martin Clark: .................................................................................................................... 14
Elaine Clarke ................................................................................................................... 15
Ana M C Coneo ............................................................................................................... 16
Andrea Díaz-Barriga Yáñez ............................................................................................. 17
Dan Denis ....................................................................................................................... 17
Ed Donnellan ................................................................................................................... 18
John Dotse ...................................................................................................................... 18
Hanis Durrani Mohamad Ramdzan .................................................................................. 19
Rachel Evans .................................................................................................................. 19
Yuan Fu ........................................................................................................................... 20
Emily Gagnon .................................................................................................................. 21
Lesia Gates ..................................................................................................................... 21
Phillippa Harrison ............................................................................................................ 22
Connor Heapy ................................................................................................................. 22
Maria Elena Hernandez ................................................................................................... 23
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Philippa Howsley ............................................................................................................. 23
Gwyn Jones..................................................................................................................... 24
Birsu Kandemirci ............................................................................................................. 25
Elizabeth Kirkham ........................................................................................................... 25
Chloe Lane ...................................................................................................................... 26
Samantha Linton ............................................................................................................. 26
Aini Azeqa Ma’rof ............................................................................................................ 27
Kendra Meyer .................................................................................................................. 28
Justina Mischewski .......................................................................................................... 28
Kerry Montgomery ........................................................................................................... 29
Emma Morgan: ................................................................................................................ 30
Luana Nunes ................................................................................................................... 30
Ligia Orellana Calderon ................................................................................................... 31
Zachary Parker ................................................................................................................ 31
Angelo Pirrone ................................................................................................................. 32
Gabrielle Pitfield .............................................................................................................. 33
Timothy Riley ................................................................................................................... 33
Poliana Sepulveda .......................................................................................................... 34
Jose Sepulveda Maldonado ............................................................................................ 34
Melanie Simmonds-Buckley ............................................................................................ 35
Chloe Simpson-Southward .............................................................................................. 36
Bethanie Smales ............................................................................................................. 36
Giacomo Spigler .............................................................................................................. 37
Jodie Stevenson .............................................................................................................. 37
Caroline Treweek ............................................................................................................ 38
Mariana Tsatali ................................................................................................................ 38
Sophie Turnbull ............................................................................................................... 39
Marcel Wiechmann .......................................................................................................... 40
Daniel Wilson .................................................................................................................. 40
Lewis Wong ..................................................................................................................... 40
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Resources for Autism Studies in the Big Data Era. A Systematic Search for
Data
Reem Abdal-Sahib: Year 1
Dr. Elizabeth Milne, Dr. Myles Jones
Recently, there has been a dual drive for researchers to share data and to incorporate larger
participant numbers or data quantities into their studies and analyses. Both sharing and
studying large datasets are greatly valuable for producing solid reliable research, especially
research involving clinical populations and heterogeneous disorders such as Autism Spectrum
Disorders (ASD). However, there is little awareness of the scope of the available platforms for
researchers to share and obtain ASD data. A systematic search for ASD data sharing
platforms was conducted using the Scopus database, the Google search engine, the pages
on recommended data platforms by key journals, and personal correspondence. A number of
specialized and general ASD data platforms offering various data types were found, including
platforms offering phenotypic, neuroimaging, genetic, and omics data. Although there are
numerous great initiatives for making data available, there are still some limitations that need
to be addressed to prompt further progress and to smooth the transition towards a big data
era.
Imperfect skin: A never ending story of stigmatisation in women’s magazine advertisements?
Kate Adkins: Year 2
Dr. Andrew Thompson, Dr. Julia Moses (Department of History), Prof. Paul Overton
Twitter: @AdkinsKate
Background: Content and advertisements within women’s magazines have the potential to
reflect and perpetuate contemporary sociocultural appearance ideals and myths surrounding
acne. However, no existing studies examine acne depictions in women's magazine
advertisements nor how they have changed over time.
Methods: A total of 1240 advertisements were collected from 3 UK women’s magazines
(Cosmopolitan, Woman, Spare Rib), covering 1972-2008 at 5 year intervals. Most related to
acne (51%). Acne-related advertisements were analysed using ethnographic content analysis
and informed by techniques derived from thematic analysis, for a more rigorous approach to
analysis, and contextualised using social history.
Findings: Three substantial themes were identified: (1) perfect skin as an achievable ideal;
(2) acne myths; (3) psychosocial impact. One smaller divergent theme emerged: normalising
acne. Content differed between magazines; Cosmopolitan consistently contained the most
acne-related advertisements (n=534), contrasting with Spare Rib (n=0). Acne-related
advertisements in Woman diminished from 1980 onwards. Content varied over time, reflecting
shifts in magazine technology, acne treatments, marketing strategies, appearance ideals, and
the position of women in society.
Discussion: Perfect skin was synonymous with spot free flawless skin. Perfect skin was
implied to be a requirement for beauty, wellbeing, success and romantic relationships with
‘blemished’ skin seen a barrier to these. Acne was associated with dirt/poor hygiene. Perfect
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skin could be achieved quickly through products/procedures, implying personal accountability
for acne. Colour photographs of women with unrealistically flawless skin became increasingly
commonplace. Post 1990 cosmetic surgery advertisements rose dramatically, and
emphasised a need to remove acne scarring and undergo multiple procedures. These results
suggest a society increasingly focused on achieving unrealistic beauty ideals via self-
improvement. Viewing such content may have harmful psychosocial implications for female
readers with acne.
Translating and Adapting the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-
Short Form (FFMQ-SF) using Vallerand’s Cross-Cultural Translation
Methodology
Shahah Musaed AlTammar: Year 2
Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Georgina Rowse
Twitter: @SH_ALTAMMAR
Background: Most Mindfulness questionnaires are only available in English. There is
therefore a need to develop a measure that is suitable for Arabic cultures to investigate the
role of mindfulness across different countries and cultures.
Objective: We aimed to cross-culturally adapt the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-
Short Form (FFMQ-SF) to the Arabic language and to assess its reliability and validity.
Method: Seven stages were undertaken to translate, adapt and validate an Arabic version of
the FFMQ-SF: (1) preparation of a preliminary version, (2) evaluation of the preliminary version
and preparation of pre-final version, (3) pre-testing of the pre-final version, (4) pilot-testing of
the pre-final version, (5) evaluation of reliability, (6) evaluation of concurrent validity and (7)
establishing norms.
Findings: A sample of 31 bilingual speakers completed the English and Arabic versions of
the FFMQ-SF. No significant differences were found between scores on the two versions.
Scores on the two versions were highly correlated with each other. The test-retest reliability of
the Arabic version of the FFMQ-SF (AFFMQ-SF) was also found to be high in a sample of 50
monolingual speakers. Pearson correlation coefficients were also calculated between
AFFMQ-SF (overall and sub-scales) and other constructs (depression and anxiety) in a
sample of 437 monolingual speakers. Negative correlations were found between symptoms
of depression and anxiety and the AFFMQ-SF in line with predictions. The strongest
correlations were found for acting with awareness, non-reacting and overall mindfulness.
Conclusion: The AFFMQ-SF has acceptable psychometric quality and it can be used to
measure mindfulness in Arabic countries and cultures.
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Measuring social attention in intergroup context: gaze cueing effect
Nazli Altin: Year 3
Dr. Megan Freeth, Dr. Danielle Matthews
Twitter: @nazlialtin
Eyes are one of the key components of non-verbal communication during social interaction.
Eye following behaviour is evolutionary important as it exists in from iguanas to nonhuman
primates and humans. Human eyes might be evolutionally linked to a system of social
cognition, playing a predominant role in the early face processing system. The following two
studies investigated the interaction between group behaviour and social attention in humans.
In the first study, we investigated the effect of social group belonging on gaze cuing task. In
this task, participants (students) either had an in-group or out-group gazer. We hypothesized
that social group belonging would create an in-group out-group behaviour and people would
react faster to detect the eye gaze with in-group faces. Results indicated no difference on
measured response time although, they significantly indicated that they feel like they belong
to an in-group scenario but not out-group. In order to understand in-group behaviour we did
another study hypothesizing that social power would affect male and female participants
differently. Primary analysis indicated that male participant were more reflexive on gaze
following when they see a female face with high social power, whereas female participants did
not show any difference on response time. Previous works, proposed that gaze following is
stronger in women. Although, results suggest that this difference between genders might be
about social power difference within society. Furthermore, measuring social attention would
help us to understand how intergroup relations effect our behaviour.
Keywords: Gaze cueing effect, Social attention, Gaze perception, Social group belonging,
Social power
Effects of patient-partner dyadic disgust responses on psychological
wellbeing in cancer patients
Haffiezhah An-Nadiah Azlan: Year 3
Prof. Paul Overton, Dr. Jane Simpson¹, Dr. Philip Powell (Economics)
¹University of Lancaster
Objective: Mood disorders (anxiety and depression) have a high prevalence rate of 30-40% in
people with cancer, and previous research suggests that unregulated disgust reactions can
play a role in their genesis. A potentially powerful influence on emotional responses in cancer
patients are the emotions of their partners, engendered for example by reactions to the
patient’s illness, symptoms, and treatment side effects. In the present study we investigated
the relationship between disgust responses in cancer patients and their partners, and their link
with patients’ psychological wellbeing.
Methods: Fifty participants with heterogeneous cancer diagnoses and their partners were
recruited in this study. Patients and their partners completed questionnaires separately
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pertaining to three domains of trait disgust - disgust sensitivity, propensity, and self-directed
disgust. In addition, patients’ levels of anxiety and depression levels were assessed.
Results: Partners’ disgust sensitivity was significantly correlated with cancer patients’ self-
directed disgust (r = 0.34, p < .05), and depressive symptoms (r = 0.39, p < .01). When
controlling for cancer patients’ disgust traits, disgust sensitivity in partners predicted self-
disgust in patients (β = .50, p < .05).
Conclusions: This study provides initial evidence that disgust responding in partners of cancer
patients may impact on patients’ psychological wellbeing, indirectly through self-disgust. How
partners appraise (i.e., are sensitive to) their own disgust responses may manifest in such a
way that patients read and internalise those responses and incorporate them into their self-
evaluation as disgusting. The findings stress the importance of emotions, like disgust, in
psychological adaptation to cancer and have implications for cancer care.
The relationship between multisensory integration processing patterns
and dyslexia: an approach based on sensory processing theory
Stephanie Armstrong: Year 1
Prof. Rod Nicolson
Sensory Integration is the neurological process that organises sensation from one's own body
and the environment, which enables develop adaptive responses (Ayres, 1972). Research
has shown that identifiable patterns of sensory processing occur at different developmental
ages and stages across the lifespan. Furthermore, some developmental disabilities my be
characterised by distinctive and in many cases, intense patterns of sensory processing (Dunn,
2007; Beaudry, 2006; Baker, Lane, Angley, & Young, 2008; Talay-Ongan & Wood, 2000;
Cheung & Siu, 2009).
For dyslexia, literacy acquisition is the primary symptom, but many dyslexic children also show
secondary symptoms of poor balance, coordination and automatisation of skill, thereby having
high 'comorbidity' with other developmental disorders including ADHD, DCD and SLI. The
present study investigates the sensory integration dimension to these issues, assessing any
relationship between sensory processing (especially multisensory integration) and the other
symptoms of developmental difficulties.
This study focuses on children between 8 and 12 years old. Patterns of multi-sensory
integration processing in dyslexic children will be compared with a control group of typically
developing children and also a group of children with developmental co-ordination disorder.
The Child Sensory Profile 2 (Dunn, 2014), which is a questionnaire that evaluates child’s
sensory processing patterns in the context of home, school and community-based activities
will be administered. In addition, the skills performance of children will be assessed using the
Dyslexia Screening Test - Junior (DST-J) (Nicolson, Fawcett, 2004) which provides a mult skill
profile of abilities. Finally, participants will undertake a multisensory vision-audition-cognition
task.
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Modality Specific Brain Areas Modulate Sensorimotor Temporal
Recalibration: Evidence from transcranial direct-current stimulation
(tDCS)
Ali Aytemur: Year 1
Dr. Liat Levita, Dr Jim Stone
Adaptation to repeatedly delayed sensory feedback following voluntary action produces a
subjective shortening of time between the action and the feedback (temporal recalibration
effect, TRE). It is unclear whether TRE is a sensory modality specific phenomenon. In two
experiments employing a sensorimotor synchronization task, we investigated the contributions
of the auditory cortex (AC) and visual cortex (VC) to both auditory and visual TRE using
cathodal transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS). In Experiment 1, we found that AC
tDCS decreased visual TRE compared to sham stimulation, but it did not produce significant
changes in auditory TRE. Experiment 2, compared visual TRE between AC, VC and sham
tDCS groups. It showed that visual TRE decreased in both tDCS groups compared with sham
group. These findings suggest modality specific contribution of VC together with modulatory
role of AC in visual TR process. AC involvement in the visual TR process supports the
hypothesis that visual timing information can be translated into auditory representation due to
the robustness of auditory system in timing. Also, our finding of no tDCS effect on auditory TR
and contribution of AC in visual TR process support the dominance of auditory system in
temporal processing.
The Influence of Time Perspective on the Likelihood and Nature of
Monitoring Goal Progress
Harriet Baird: Year 2
Dr. Thomas Webb, Dr. Jilly Martin, Dr. Fuschia Sirois
Monitoring goal progress is considered to be an integral component in the translation of
intentions into action. For example, people who are trying to lose weight may use weighing
scales to see how they are doing, before making adjustments to their calorie intake in order to
achieve their weight loss goal. However, there is currently little research on the factors that
hinder or promote monitoring. The present research proposes that individual differences in
people’s time perspective – that is, their attitudinal and behavioural preferences for the past,
present or future – may influence the frequency and nature of progress monitoring.
Participants (N = 273) completed an online survey which measured their time perspective,
goals, the properties of these goals, and the frequency and methods by which they monitored
their goal progress. Regression analyses indicated that a future-orientation was the strongest
predictor of whether people engaged in progress monitoring across a variety of behaviours.
Future-orientated individuals were also more likely use both automatic and active (e.g.,
stepping on weighing scales) methods of monitoring. Present-orientated individuals were
more likely to monitor their goal progress passively (e.g., noticing that clothes feel looser) and
by obtaining feedback from others. Such findings suggest that goal striving theories may need
to account for the influence of time perspective and could inform strategies and interventions
designed to help people to achieve their goals.
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Validation of the Lifespan Risk-Taking Inventory (LRTI)
Rhianan Beal: Year 1
Dr. Liat Levita, Dr Elizabeth Milne
Background: Adolescents are more likely than any other age group to engage in risky
behaviours such as substance abuse, casual sex, driving recklessly, as well as violent or
criminal activity. We wanted to investigate emotions affect our likelihood to engage in risk-
taking behaviours at different developmental stages; however, existing measures of risk-
taking were considered to be invasive and unsuitable to administer to children, adolescents
and adults. Therefore, we developed the Lifespan Risk-Taking Inventory (LRTI) as a tool for
measuring changes in risk-taking behaviours across the lifespan. The present study seeks to
validate the LRTI.
Method: Participants (N=247) completed 3 questionnaires online including the LRTI, as well
as the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events (CARE) and State-Trait Personality Inventory
(STPI) which were included to assess internal validity. The LRTI was sent out a second time,
two weeks later to assess test-retest reliability.
Results: Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed, indicating a two component
structure of risk-taking and emotion. Internal reliability, internal validity and test-retest reliability
were high. Preliminary analyses also indicate gender differences in relation to frequency of
risk-taking, and the relationship between emotion and risk-taking.
Conclusion: The LRTI is a valid and reliable measure of risk-taking behaviours across the
lifespan. Future studies should seek to validate the measure in a child and adolescent sample.
Improving user interface features to promote engagement in e-
therapies for older adults
Matthew Bennion: Year 2
Dr. Abigail Millings, Prof. Roger Moore (Computer Science), Prof. Gillian
Hardy
Twitter: @matthewrbennion
Presently there are a limited number of therapeutic interventions specifically tailored to older
adults (Oude Voshaar 2013). A systematic review carried out by Crabb et al. (2012) indicated
a low rate of participation by older adults in published clinical trials of e-therapies. This
research aims to examine the extent to which tailoring an e-therapy’s user interface to an older
adult demographic promotes engagement, along with an exploration of the appropriate forms
that such adaptations should take. The work is at a primarily stage; here we discuss the
methodology that has been developed to carry out this research.
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The effect of grammatical gender on semantic categorisation
Abdullah Bin Dawood: Year 1
Dr. Yanjing Wu, Dr. Clare Howarth
The study investigates the effect of grammatical gender system on conceptual categorization.
English monolinguals, English-Arabic bilinguals, and Arabic-English bilinguals will participate
in a pictures categorization task. They will be presented with 200 pairs of pictures with four
conditions based on two factors: Sematic relatedness and Grammatical congruity, conforming
to a 2 X 2 design. Behavioural and physiological data will be collected and analysed. This
study will contribute to the debate of Linguistic Relativity, which argues that characteristics of
language systems have influences on domain-general conceptual categorization. Previous
studies have shown an effect of language on thought in many aspects, such as mathematical
abilities, colour perception, and objects categorization. This will be the first study that
examines Arabic-English bilinguals. Arabic is a language that has been largely
underrepresented in the field of Psycholinguistics and even more so in Cognitive
Neuroscience. Based on the literature of European languages, we predict that Arabic-English
bilinguals and English-Arabic bilinguals will classify objects according to the Arabic
grammatical gender system, whereas English monolinguals will show a comparable effect, as
grammatical gender is not a part of English language syntax.
An investigation into the effects of stress and anxiety on learning in dyslexic and non-
dyslexic students
Panagiota Blouchou: Year 3
Prof. Rod Nicolson
Introduction: It has long been hypothesised that students with learning disabilities, including
dyslexia, may be highly vulnerable to emotional consequences, such as anxiety. Also recent
cognitive neuroscience theories of stress propose that stress promotes a shift from cognitive
to habitual processing, suggesting that dyslexics may demonstrate deficits in procedural
processing. In this talk, I will present an overview of the studies of my PhD and focus on the
results of my second study. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between
dyslexia, anxiety and depression in higher education students with dyslexia, compared to
those without dyslexia; and to assess whether there is an effect of dyslexia on self-esteem in
dyslexic students compared to those without dyslexia.
Method: Three hundred and seven students (140 with dyslexia, 167 without dyslexia) from the
University of Sheffield were asked to complete a few self-report questionnaires concerning
State and Trait Anxiety (including social and academic anxiety), Test Anxiety, Depression,
Self-Esteem and coping strategies.
Results: Individuals with dyslexia experienced significantly greater social anxiety (p = 0.01),
greater academic anxiety (p <.001), and greater test anxiety than controls (p < .001), and
significantly more depression (p**) than those without dyslexia. There was no difference
between dyslexics and controls in self-esteem (p = .159).
Conclusion: Dyslexic students in higher education show higher levels of anxiety and
depression than students without dyslexia. The anxiety is not confined to academic work but
also affects social situations, especially in terms of emotional well-being.
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The democratic deficit in wind farm siting
Agnes Bray: Year 3
Dr Christopher Jones, Dr John Steel
According to public opinion polls, a sizeable majority of the UK population are reportedly in
favour of the building of new wind farms in the UK yet many specific projects are delayed or
curtailed as a result of active local opposition. The ‘democratic deficit explanation’, a new
approach to understand the reasons behind this paradox, suggests that a social bias could be
responsible for local opposition to wind farm applications. Namely, because opponents are
able to advocate their opinion more effectively than supporters (both in their personal networks
or through biased media sources) these oppositional views are perceived to be normative
within the communities, which in turn prevents supporters from speaking out about their
opinions. This PhD project draws data on three studies: Study 1 is a media analysis of 170
journal articles that reported about both successful and failed wind farms, Study 2 consists of
two survey studies conducted with residents living near proposed wind farm sites, and Study
3 is a set of two imagined contact experiments. These studies aim to identify (a) the extent to
which media reporting provides biased views about wind farm siting, (b) the extent to which
opposition is actually normative within affected communities and how this influences peoples’
willingness to participate in wind-farm related activities (such as joining support/opposition
groups or signing petitions for/against wind farms), and (c) whether psychological
interventions designed to motivate political engagement might help to reduce the democratic
deficit in onshore wind farm siting.
Models of Alzheimer’s disease without the knockouts: Investigating the
role of acetylcholine and neuroinflammation on neurovascular coupling
and neuroimaging signals.
Gaia Brezzo: Year 3
Dr Chris Martin¹, Dr Jason Berwick¹, Dr Julie Simpson²
¹Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield.
²Department of Neuroscience (SITraN), The University of Sheffield.
Twitter: @Gaia_Brezzo
In recent years a number of brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), have become
associated with pathological changes in blood flow regulation and the neurovascular
apparatus that supports it, the neurovascular unit (NVU). This has led to research into how
interventions to improve neurovascular function could provide a degree of neuroprotection
from neurodegenerative diseases. Neurodegenerative diseases have numerous pathological
features exacerbating disease state, but two ubiquitous characteristics of AD are cholinergic
dysfunction and neuroinflammation. From the literature it has clearly emerged that both
disease features are associated with NVU and/or cerebral blood flow changes. Therefore, an
important question to address is how the cellular and functional changes in the NVU impact
upon neurovascular coupling.
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To investigate this, we are using a rodent model in which cerebral blood flow (CBF), neuronal
activity and haemoglobin concentration/oxygenation are measured across a range of sensory
stimulation parameters in order to quantify effects of either cholinergic dysfunction or
neuroinflammation on haemodynamic and neurovascular coupling measurements. CBF is
measured with a laser speckle camera and 2D-Optical Imaging Spectroscopy used to quantify
haemoglobin changes. Neuronal activity is simultaneously recorded using an implanted or
surface electrode.
These data will have implications for (i) identifying early disease biomarkers by investigating
neurovascular coupling changes, (ii) interpreting functional brain imaging signals acquired
from patients with cholinergic dysfunction and/or neuroinflammation (iii) our understanding of
the physiological mechanism underpinning the effectiveness of current drug treatments for AD
and (iv) how to develop more effective treatment targeting multiple aspects of the disease.
Keywords: neurovascular coupling, acetylcholine, neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s disease
Exploring distress in a UK student clinical sample: comparisons of the Counselling Centre Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS)
and CORE-10
Emma Broglia: Year 2
Prof. Michael Barkham, Dr Abigail Millings
Background: The demand and severity of student mental health issues continue to increase
at a time of increased financial pressure on students and services alike. This study aimed to
explore distress in a help-seeking sample of UK students, through comparison of CCAPS-62
and CORE-10. In doing so, this study also aimed to provide an initial evaluation of CCAPS in
a UK student sample, to explore the added benefit of administering a student-specific clinical
measure over general measures of psychological functioning.
Methods: Data from 294 UK help-seeking students were analysed to explore the reliability
and factor solution of CCAPS-62 in a UK context. Correlations and clinical boundaries were
explored between CORE-10 and CCAPS subscales, and comparisons were made with US
published data.
Results: CCAPS-62 demonstrated a strong factor solution which matched the intended
subscales. All subscales were shown to have good reliability and correlated highly with CORE-
10. Compared to US students, UK students were consistently higher on all symptoms. The
majority of students were shown to reach clinical criteria on both CORE-10 and CCAPS, and
students were particularly elevated on academic distress, depression, anxiety and social
anxiety.
Conclusions: This is the first study to validate the clinical utility of CCAPS in a UK student
clinical population. CORE-10 and CCAPS DI provide reliable measures of general
psychological distress, but symptom subscales within CCAPS provide additional indicators of
psychological distress which are contextually relevant to the student lifestyle.
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Carving antisocial behaviour at the joints: Aggression, Rule-Breaking
and Callousness
James Brookes: Year 1
Dr. Richard Rowe, Dr. Chris Stride
Twitter: @JBrookesPsych
Antisocial behaviour presents a multifaceted construct which involves aggression, violation of
the rights of others, and rule-breaking. Previous attempts to divide antisocial behaviour into
subtypes have included forming aggressive and rule-breaking dimensions, since these
present conceptually distinct behaviours. Alternative literature has distinguished Callous-
Unemotional (CU) traits (being cold, lacking guilt and empathy) as a separate antisocial
construct. However, there is a lack of integration between the CU and aggression/rule-
breaking literature. Therefore, the current research will consider the utility of a tripartite model
distinguishing CU traits, aggression and rule-breaking, using an existing large scale dataset.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis will be applied to test these three factors, and an alternative
model specifying a dual CU/aggression and a rule-breaking factor. The resulting factors will
then be regressed onto depression and anxiety using SEM, to ascertain their differential
predictive validities and further validate their conceptual distinction. Research has also
suggested gender differences in levels of antisocial behaviour, with boys consistently scoring
more highly than girls. However, it is unclear whether CU traits, aggression and rule-breaking
are being measured equivalently across genders, and whether suggested differences in levels
of behaviour are due to differential measurement. Thus, Multigroup Confirmatory Factor
Analysis will be applied to the best fitting previous model to test whether these factors are
being measured in an equivalent manner across boys and girls. This will highlight the validity
of hypothesised gender differences, or whether these differences may be an artefact of
incomparable measurement.
Understanding how elite athletes make the transition to retirement: A
longitudinal cohort study
Christopher Brown: Year 1
Dr. Thomas Webb, Dr. Mark Robinson, Rick Cotgreave
The transition from being an elite athlete to other roles in life has been identified as an
important developmental period that is associated with numerous psychosocial changes, such
as a shift in identity, a change in social relationships, and a need to develop and adapt
personal skills. Previous research has identified a number of putative predictors of adjustment
to life after retiring from sport, including financial status, pre-retirement planning, and
perceptions of social support during the transition, but has relied predominantly on cross-
sectional data. Therefore, we have designed a longitudinal cohort study that aims to better
understand the dynamic process of transition by following a sample of elite athletes as they
move closer to and beyond the point of retirement. Data will be collected via online surveys,
which include measures of the putative predictors of adjustment, and of adjustment itself -
such as measures of mental health, and satisfaction with life. Latent growth mixture models
will be used to identify sub-groups within the sample that show distinct patterns of change in
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adjustment outcomes - allowing us to identify groups of athletes that may face particular
challenges during transition out of sport. The hope is that the research will provide a foundation
for developing targeted interventions that can deliver the right support, to the right athletes, at
the right time.
Substance P enhances the striatum's ability to switch between distinct
actions within a sequence
David Buxton: Year 2
Prof. Kevin Gurney, Dr. Enrico Bracci, Prof. Paul Overton
The striatum is the primary input nucleus for the basal ganglia, and receives glutamatergic
afferents from the cortex. Under the hypothesis that basal ganglia perform action selection,
these cortical afferents encode potential 'action requests'. Previous studies suggest the
striatum may utilise a mutually inhibitory network to act as a filter for these requests so that
only those of high salience are acted upon. However, this account does not sufficiently explain
the striatum's ability to perform clean, rapid switching between actions that form part of a
learned sequence.
Substance P (SP) is a neuropeptide co-released with GABA in MSNs preferentially expressing
D1-type dopamine receptors. SP has a facilitatory effect on subsequent glutamatergic inputs
to target MSNs, suggesting an additional co-operative function for the otherwise inhibitory
MSN network. Additionally, blocking the action of SP in the striatum is known to affect
behavioural transitions. It is therefore hypothesized that the release of SP may boost the
effective salience of inputs that form part of a sequence, thus allowing for rapid switching
between such actions.
The current research uses a hybrid model comprising a spiking GABAergic striatal microcircuit
and a rate-coded model representing other basal ganglia structures in order to show that
switching between actions in a sequence takes place more efficiently with patterned SP
connectivity. This supports the hypothesis that SP plays a role in the execution of action
sequences and suggests that formation of directional SP projections may be part of
action sequence automatisation.
Loops of pleasure - The striatal reward circuits with a specific focus on
the connections between the Nucleus accumbens Shell and Ventral
Pallidum
Martin Clark: Year 1
Dr. Enrico Bracci, Dr. Jason Berwick
Multiple areas of research implicate the Nucleus accumbens Shell (NacS) in pleasure
components of reward learning. Recent research has pointed to unique localised areas within
the NacS modulating pleasure responses. These areas have also been associated with
disorders of affect, such as depression, and are targeted for deep brain stimulation in patients
suffering various affective disorders. They are also implicated in addictive behaviours, such
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as the place preference associated with drugs of abuse. Tract tracing and
immunohistochemical investigation has shown these regions to innervate the Ventral Pallidum
(VP). The Ventral Pallidum is known to provide extensive outputs to areas of the brain
implicated in mood, behaviour and reward. Although the connections between the NacS and
VP have been identified, and the nature of some of these connections assessed, little is known
about how these connections are modulated by neurochemical agents. Recent research
suggests the modulation of the connections between the NacS and VP may be unique,
compared to other indirect pathways descending through the striatalpallidal circuitry. The
current research project aims to use acute brain slices in vitro and electrophysiological
techniques, including the use of a multi-electrode array, to study these connections and
assess the impact of various pharmacological protocols on their function. Pilot data suggests
that the connections are likely GABAergic as stimulation of the NacS has been seen to induce
temporal inhibition in the tonic firing of VP neurons. This effect is reduced by Picrotoxin, which
is a selective GABAa antagonist. Pilot data also suggests that opioids may modulate this
response.
Disgust, self-compassion, and depression in people with visible skin
conditions
Elaine Clarke: Year 2
Dr. Andrew Thompson, Prof. Paul Norman
Twitter: @elainenclarke
Background: People living with skin conditions have been found to report elevated levels of
depression. Disgust has been proposed to be a contributing factor in depression and may be
particularly relevant for people with visible skin conditions, as broken skin has been proposed
to be a disgust elicitor. Three different disgust traits have previously been identified: disgust
propensity, disgust sensitivity, and self-focused/ruminative disgust. Research indicates that
depression involves an imbalance between different emotion regulation systems; the relative
over-activation of the threat/protection system and under-activation of the
soothing/contentment system. Each of the disgust traits is expected to activate the
threat/protection system and therefore be positively associated with depression. Conversely,
self-compassion (sensitivity to one’s distress and motivation to alleviate it) is expected to
activate the soothing/contentment system and therefore be negatively associated with
depression. This study sought to investigate the associations between disgust traits, self-
compassion, and depression in people with visible skin conditions.
Methods: Dermatological outpatients (N = 154) completed measures of disgust traits (Disgust
Propensity and Sensitivity Scale- Revised; DPSS-12), self-compassion (Self-Compassion
Scale; SCS), and depression (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale; DASS-21).
Findings: The data indicated that 45% of participants were experiencing clinically significant
symptoms of depression. Disgust propensity, disgust sensitivity, and self-focused/ruminative
disgust were all significantly positively correlated with depression (r = .44, .39, and .49
respectively, ps < 0.01), while self-compassion was significantly negatively correlated with
depression (r = -.48, p < 0.01).
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Discussion: Although many people with skin conditions cope well, it is common for
dermatological outpatients to experience symptoms of depression. This study found that
depression is positively associated with individual differences in disgust traits, but that self-
compassion may act as a protective factor. Dermatological patients may benefit from
screening for depression, and psychological treatment for depression in this population may
be enhanced by exploration of disgust and self-compassion traits.
The impact of appearance concern, disgust sensitivity and motivations to
respond without prejudice on attitudinal responses to disfigurement
Ana M C Coneo: Year 2
Dr Andrew Thompson, Professor Paul Norman, Dr Stacey Lavda
Background: Reactions towards stigmatised groups involve both implicit reactions, associated
with automatic and reflexive processes, and explicit responses that involve conscious
deliberations, guided by motivations to conform to social norms. Furthermore, people’s
reactions to individuals with facial disfigurement may in part be driven by an innate tendency
to avoid potentially contagious diseases. Recent studies suggest that underlying emotional
and cognitive variables (like disgust sensitivity and appearance concern) are likely to play a
role in the perception of body image stimuli and subsequent negative evaluations. This study
examines associations between disgust sensitivity, appearance-related cognitions,
motivations to respond without prejudice, and implicit and explicit attitudes towards
disfigurement.
Methods: A within-group cross-sectional design was used with a convenience sample.
Participants (N = 489) completed the online study, which included measures of internal and
external motivation to respond without prejudice (IMS/EMS), valence and salience of
appearance (CARVAL/CARSAL), and disgust sensitivity (DS-R). Participants then completed
an explicit measure of attitudes and the Implicit Association Test (IAT).
Findings: In the IAT, participants showed preference for faces without disfigurement
(t(488)=96.78, p<.001). The construct of contamination disgust was found to be positively
correlated with negative implicit attitudes (r = .18, p<.001) and high implicit motivation to
respond without prejudice was found to be associated with positive attitudes on both explicit
(t(472) = 2.8, p = .005) and implicit measures (t(476)= 2.5, p = .01).
Discussion: Participants showed negative implicit responses towards facial disfigurement;
however, they did not consider individuals with facial disfigurement to be any different from
others on an explicit level. The significant association with the construct of contamination
disgust indicates that stigmatisation might be in part due to a response associated with a
disease avoidance mechanism.
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Exploring the cognitive mechanisms that underpin children’s mathematics skills
Andrea Díaz-Barriga Yáñez: Year 2
Dr. Daniel Carroll, Dr. Danielle Matthews
Mathematics skills are essential for many everyday activities involving decisions based on
quantitative information, as well as for later academic and career outcomes. Nevertheless,
understanding how maths skills develop is particularly challenging, since maths is a complex
high-level skill that depends on many different cognitive mechanisms. My research focuses
on understanding the roles of (i) working memory and (ii) language in the development of
children’s maths skills.
In Study 1, 78 children between 5 and 6 years old were assessed on their receptive vocabulary
and mathematics skills, as well as on different aspects of working memory (visuospatial
memory, phonological memory and executive memory). Results of a hierarchical regression
suggested that there were two distinct patterns of maths performance. For complex problems
involving verbal and visual prompts, children tended to rely on their visuo-spatial sketchpad to
solve the problem. For problems presented in either written or oral form, children tended to
rely on their central executive and their receptive vocabulary to solve the problem. These
results are broadly consistent with other studies that indicate that general language skills are
related to mathematics (Fuchs et al., 2005; LeFevre et al., 2010). However, they also indicate
that further research is needed into the roles that specific language skills play in supporting
distinct aspects of mathematics skills. Study 2 (in progress) directly addresses this question,
by focusing in greater detail on different aspects of children’s language skills in supporting
maths in children. Theoretical implications of both studies will be discussed.
The role of cortical sensorimotor oscillations in expert action
anticipation
Dan Denis: Year 3
Dr. Richard Rowe, Dr. Elizabeth Milne
Twitter: @DanDenis73
The human action observation network (AON) is believed to play a crucial role in facilitating
skilled athlete’s ability to anticipate the actions of an opponent. Here we used EEG to examine
sensorimotor oscillatory activity in the mu (8-13Hz) and beta (15-25Hz) frequency bands, both
EEG indices of AON activity. Skilled (N = 18) and unskilled (N = 21) tennis players observed
videos of an expert player hitting groundstrokes, occluded 40ms before racket-ball contact.
Following occlusion, participants anticipated ball direction. It was hypothesised that during the
observation period prior to anticipation, skilled players would engage their own motor
representations, represented by earlier and greater event related desynchronisation (ERD) in
both frequency bands compared to unskilled participants, who lack the necessary motor
representations. Behavioural results indicated only the skilled group performed significantly
above chance and were more accurate than the unskilled group. In both frequency bands, the
skilled group showed significantly earlier and greater ERD compared to the unskilled group.
Specifically, only the skilled group showed ERD in the high mu (11-13Hz) band, whilst the
unskilled group showed no ERD. These results suggest skilled players activate specific motor
representations when observing an opponent, which may aid in their superior ability to
anticipate.
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Intentional communication in human infants
Ed Donnellan: Year 3
Dr. Michelle McGillion1, Dr. Katie Slocombe2, Dr. Danielle Matthews1
1 University of Sheffield, 2 University of York,
Language, both spoken and signed, is the hallmark of human communication, and is a highly
specialized and efficient form of intentional communication. Prior to the developmental onset
of language, human infants often engage in behaviours such as vocalizing and gesturing,
thought to be communicative precursors to language proper. Recent findings suggest that the
onset of pointing and babbling predicts elements of infant’s later vocabulary (McGillion et al.,
2016) and it has been repeatedly demonstrated that measurable characteristics (e.g.
frequency, onset and types) of early infant gestures (e.g. Bates et al., 1979) and vocalizations
(e.g. D’Odorico et al., 1997) at around 12-months predict later language abilities. However, it
remains an empirical question as to whether infant’s gestures and vocalizations at the end of
the first year of life predict later language because they represent an infant’s first attempts to
intentionally communicate, or because they are markers of infants’ phonological and motoric
development necessary for language. Our current research focuses on 11-month-old infants’
(N=137) vocalizations and gestures during 10-minutes of naturalistic play in the home with
their primary caregiver. We investigated whether children made eye contact with their
caregiver whilst engaging in these behaviours, which is thought to be a marker of an intention
to communicate (Bates et al., 1975, Harding & Golinkoff, 1979, Tomasello et al., 1997),
especially if the eye contact occurs just prior to, or during the behaviours (Desrochers et al.,
1995, Franco & Butterworth, 1996). We will present preliminary findings from this data (n=65).
Behavioural Predictors of Driver Crash Risks in Ghana: A Research
Proposal
John Dotse: Year 1
Dr. Richard Rowe, Prof. Rod Nicolson
Globally over 1.24 million people die each year through road crashes with some 50 million
more sustaining severe injuries and living with long-term adverse health consequences (WHO,
2015). Road traffic injuries are currently estimated to be the seventh leading cause of death
across all age groups globally, and are predicted to become the second leading cause of death
by 2030 (WHO, 2015). The rate of road crashes in Ghana is very high compared to other West
African countries and even the world (WHO, 2015). Ghana’s transportation sector which is
largely 90% road remains the least safe among all forms of transportation (WHO, 2015). Road
traffic fatalities in Ghana are predicted to see significant increase in the coming years. While
efforts are being made to reduce road traffic deaths by improving legislation, enforcement,
and making roads and vehicles safer, driver behavioural factors have not received much
attention as they are not being considered in the formulation of the road safety laws and
policies. Crash and fatality reduction targets set by various stakeholders in road safety in
Ghana are therefore not being met. There seemed to be a major underrepresentation of
behavioural factors in the very few researches on road safety in Ghana. There will be an initial
qualitative exploratory study to identify factor influencing driving behaviour in Ghana. A follow
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up quantitative study will explore the links between behavioural factors and driving behaviour.
The results will inform road safety policy in Ghana. This presentation will give an overview of
the problem and outline the plan of the study.
A content analysis study of popular television programme and food
commercials directed towards children
Hanis Durrani Mohamad Ramdzan: Year 1
Dr. Mark Blades, Prof. Rod Nicholson
The current epidemic of childhood obesity has become a major public health concern. Food
and beverage advertisements targeting at children are shown to have negative influence over
children’s diet and food consumptions. Recent researchers have found that children are likely
to choose unhealthy food items over healthier options after being exposed to food
advertisements. One reason for advertisements’ influence on children may be the diverse
persuasion techniques used in commercials. The current study will provide an analysis of the
content of television programmes and advertisements aired during such programmes targeted
at children in the UK and in Malaysia with the emphasis on unhealthy food and beverage
items. The study will also investigate the difference in appeals used for two types of food
products; healthy food and unhealthy food items. Popular children’s programmes and
embedded commercials during the programmes will be recorded and analysed with particular
focus on food and beverage items. The Elaboration of Likelihood Model of persuasion will be
used to identify the persuasion appeals used by advertisers in food commercials targeted at
children. The study predicts (1) that unhealthy foods and beverages are presented more
frequently than high nutrient food items in both countries; and (2) that unhealthy food
commercials tend to use peripheral cues (e.g. celebrity, characters, humour etc.) more often,
compared to healthy food advertisements in promoting the products. In order to captivate
children’s attention and establish attribute formation, the study anticipates that marketers
discretely use peripheral cues in addition to central cues (e.g. nutritional values, convenience,
benefits etc.) as part of their persuasion strategies.
Using Temporal Self-Regulation Theory to predict healthy and unhealthy
eating intentions and behaviour
Rachel Evans: Year 1
Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Thomas Webb
Twitter: @HealthyNPsyched
Objectives. According to Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (TST; Hall & Fong, 2007): (i)
Intention is predicted by beliefs regarding the likelihood, valence (i.e. positive or negative) and
timing of perceived outcomes of the behaviour, and (ii) behaviour is predicted by intention,
with direct and moderating effects of self-regulatory capacity and behavioural pre-potency (i.e.
the default response to environmental stimuli). This study aimed to test these relationships for
fruit and vegetable intake and unhealthy snacking.
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Design: Two studies both using a prospective correlational design with 1-week follow up.
Methods: Participants completed an online questionnaire measuring the key TST constructs
for fruit and vegetable intake (Study 1: N = 133) or unhealthy snacking (study 2: N = 125).
Eating behaviour was assessed one week later.
Results: Beliefs about the likelihood of outcomes explained 26.9% of variance in intentions to
consume fruit and vegetables, with beliefs about long-term positive and short-term negative
outcomes as significant predictors. TST explained 60.2% of the variance in fruit and vegetable
intake at follow-up, with intention and past behaviour as significant predictors. Past behaviour
moderated the relationship between intention and behaviour. Connectedness beliefs
explained unhealthy snacking intention (R2 = .24). TST explained 30.7% of variance in
unhealthy snacking with behavioural pre-potency as a significant predictor.
Conclusions: The results suggest that TST as measured by self-report does not provide a
comprehensive account of healthy and unhealthy eating behaviour. Future research using
performance-based or neurological measures of self-regulatory capacity is necessary to
further explore its relationship to intention and behaviour.
Chinese children’s recognition of search engine advertising
Yuan Fu: Year 1
Dr. Mark Blades, Dr. Caroline Oates
Children’s cognitive development restricts their ability to discriminate and understanding
advertisements and their content. Previous literature on this issue focused on television
advertising. There has been almost no research into children’s recognition of online
advertising. Children can identify what is and what is not an advertisement on television by
the age of 5 but identifying online advertising is much later. This study investigates when
Chinese children could recognize advertising on the output pages of search engines,
specifically, the text-based and picture-based advertising. 128 children aged 6, 8, 10, and 12
years were recruited from a Chinese primary school. They were presented with 34 invented
web pages adapted from four most popular search engines in China. Each web page was
divided as four parts, and there was only one advertisement on the page. Children were asked
to point out where they thought was an advertisement. Several factors were taken into
account, including gender, number of siblings, number of search engines the children knew,
and how frequently they used computers. Children at age 6 and 8 only identified 23% and
27% of advertisements, children aged 10 years identified 67% of advertisements, and children
aged 12 years identified 92% of advertisements. Results also indicated that, except for age,
none of other factors affected children’s performance. The findings suggest that children
cannot consistently recognize advertisements on search engine output pages until about 12
years of age. This is very much later than their ability to recognize television advertisements,
and has implications for advertising regulation.
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Legal Highs and Novel Psychoactive Substances: Development of theory-
based health messages for young people
Emily Gagnon: Year 2
Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Jilly Martin
‘Legal highs’ refers to psychoactive substances that are neither licensed for legal use, nor
controlled by the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. Following several decades of a stable market and
declining drug use hundreds of novel psychoactive drugs have emerged over the last ten
years. These Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are deliberately designed to mimic the
effects of traditional controlled drugs, but have appeared so rapidly that current drug laws have
been unable to keep up, leading to a thriving market in legal highs. Although harms are difficult
to assess, evidence indicates many NPS are potentially harmful. Despite government
attempts to control legal highs through a ban due to come into force next month, the
emergence of NPS signals changes to the recreational drugs market which irreversibly impact
the risks young people are exposed to. The huge array of psychoactive substances now
available, and the tendency for both NPS to be cut with traditional illicit drugs and vice versa,
means exposure to drugs of unknown content, potency and harm potential is likely to increase.
This research aims to develop theory based health messages to reduce the harms associated
with NPS use. Following recommendations outlined by Epton et al. (2014) for the development
of health messages, focus groups were conducted with young people from local community
groups to elicit specific beliefs about legal highs. This poster presents the development of the
theory based focus group questions and the findings of the focus groups in relation to relevant
models of health promotion.
Understanding the Relationship between Self-Compassion, Exercise, and Body Image for Health Promotion
Lesia Gates: Year 1
Dr. Fuschia Sirois, Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Stephen Kellett
Twitter: @LesiaGates2
Self-compassion refers to responding with self-kindness rather than self-judgement in times
of challenge or failure. Research has shown that self-compassion is associated with health
behaviours such as exercise, in part because of its relation to self-regulation resources.
Research has also demonstrated that there is a bidirectional relationship between exercise
and body image. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between self-
compassion, exercise, and body image from a self-regulation resource perspective. I will
briefly outline the problems associated with having negative body image as compared to the
benefits of having positive body image, and the maladaptive exercise behaviours that can be
linked with body image concerns. I will then explain the theoretical framework of the Self-
Regulation Resources Model in relation to self-compassion, exercise, and body image. Next,
I will present the research questions, hypotheses and aims of the study, and how the research
will address the hypotheses. Data from emerging young adults (e.g., age 18-25) will be
collected over the next three months and analysed. Self-compassion is hypothesized to be
an effective intervention to promote long-term exercise behaviours perhaps by promoting
positive body image.
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The development of a measure of expectations of therapy for depression
Phillippa Harrison: Year 2
Prof. Michael Barkham, Prof. Gillian Hardy
Twitter: @PsychPhillippa
A measure of expected engagement with therapy was developed and validated. Previous
measures typically assess expectations of the therapy overall rather than the specific methods
and goals which make it distinct from other therapies. This measure was devised to assess
these specific therapeutic components. Two hundred and thirty nine participants completed
an online questionnaire about their expectations of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and
Counselling for Depression (CfD). Participants rated 30 CBT and CfD therapeutic components
plus general facilitative conditions (FC) derived from three therapist adherence scales. The
credibility, expected engagement, and expectancy of each item was rated to determine if
expected engagement was a distinct concept from other types of expectancy. These concepts
were validated using the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ) and Client Involvement
Scale (CIS). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted to determine the items most
strongly representing CBT and CfD factors. PCA revealed that credibility, engagement and
expectancy items were closely related but distinguishable concepts. The Sheffield
Engagement in Therapy Scale (SETS) was formed, including 4 CBT, 4 CfD and 4 FC items
as 3 different factors. This study provides a measure to assess client expectations of the
components of CBT and CfD, thereby providing a better means of matching the therapy
assignment to the client. Expectations of therapy have been shown to be associated with drop
out from therapy so an assessment tool provides the opportunity to reduce attrition by
assigning a therapy which corresponds with a client’s perspective.
Working memory in individuals with subclinical obsessive-compulsive
disorder: are deficits a consequence of obsessive intrusive thoughts?
Connor Heapy: Year 2
Dr. Lisa-Marie Emerson, Dr. Dan Carroll
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a clinical disorder characterized by unwanted
thoughts, images or impulses (obsessive intrusive thoughts - OITs) alongside ritualistic
behaviours. The term ‘sub-clinical’ OCD refers to individuals with high scores on measures of
OCD but whose symptoms are not severe enough to meet diagnostic criteria. Individuals with
subclinical OCD are at increased risk of developing OCD; therefore, a better understanding of
these individuals could have implications for prevention and early intervention. Individuals with
a diagnosis of OCD have been found to perform poorly on a range of executive function tasks,
in particular, high-load, visuospatial working memory tasks. However, it is unclear whether
individuals with subclinical OCD demonstrate the same working memory deficits. In addition,
it is unclear whether working memory deficits are a cause or consequence (or neither) of
obsessive-compulsive symptoms (such as OITs). The current study had two aims 1) to explore
working memory performance in a sample with subclinical OCD 2) to determine whether
working memory deficits are a consequence of an increase in OITs. Nonclinical individuals (N
= 70) and individuals with subclinical OCD (N = 70) completed a visuo-spatial working memory
task (N-Back). Half of participants were primed with OITs before completing the task and half
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were not. Results from this study will be presented. It is predicted that 1) non-primed
individuals with subclinical OCD will perform poorer on the working memory task than non-
primed nonclinical controls 2) primed individuals will perform poorer on the working memory
task than non-primed individuals.
Therapist drift in cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders:
Differences between the UK and Latin America
Maria Elena Hernandez: Year 1
Prof. Glenn Waller, Prof. Gillian Hardy
Background: Although cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is well-established for the
treatment of adults with eating disorders, therapists often fail to deliver key techniques that
are an essential part of the therapy. Such therapist ‘drift’ has been studied in highly developed
countries. In locations with a different cultural background, such as Latin America, there are
factors (e.g., lack of regulations, poor training, and culture-specific personality traits) that could
potentially make therapists drift more. Sociocultural studies show that those personality traits
include a greater desire to be accepted by others (collectivism) than those from more
developed countries – a trait that might make clinicians less likely to impose some of the more
demanding elements of CBT on their patients.
Aim: To determine how widely core CBT techniques for eating disorders are used by Latin
American clinicians, compared with UK clinicians.
Method: The study will employ a cross-sectional mixed design, with correlational and
comparative elements. The sample will consist of three groups of therapists who deliver CBT
for eating disorders in psychological health settings (British, Mexican, and other Latin
American clinicians). Participants will complete an online survey about the frequency of use
of individual CBT techniques, along with tests of personal characteristics (e.g., anxiety,
personality and social desirability). Sample size analysis demonstrates that between 53 and
69 participants will be needed per group.
Progress to date: Access to the samples has been established, and the study is under ethical
review.
Behavioural and neural mechanisms underlying risk-taking behaviours
and anxiety during adolescence
Philippa Howsley: Year 3
Dr. Liat Levita, Prof. Glenn Waller
Twitter: @philippahowsley
Adolescence is a period of significant emotional, behavioural and physical change, which
frequently results in heightened anxiety levels and a greater propensity to take risks. Despite
the role of approach and avoidance behaviours in incentive-seeking behaviours and anxiety
disorders, relatively little is known about the neural networks that mediate approach and
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avoidance behaviours during adolescence. In this talk I will provide a brief overview of my PhD
research examining the behavioural and neural mechanisms underlying heightened risk-
taking and anxiety levels during adolescence. In particular, I will focus on an EEG study that
extended previous EEG work showing that adolescents and young adults have learning-
dependent potentiation of N170 amplitudes to warning signals when avoiding negative
outcomes. Moreover, adolescents had greater potentiation of the N170 in comparison to
young adults (Levita, Howsley, Johnson & Johnston, 2014). The present study extended these
previous finding by examining both early occipitotemporal (N170) and late centroparietal (Late
Positive Potential, LPP) event-related potentials to visual cues that predicted either positive or
negative outcomes during an associative learning task. Ninety-four volunteers aged 9-23
years participated in this study. No age or gender effects were found for the N170. In contrast,
LPP amplitudes were significantly greater to cues that predicted either a positive or negative
outcome compared to control cues. The amount of LPP potentiation also changed significantly
during the course of adolescence, with younger adolescents showing enhanced LPP
responses compared to older adolescents.
Improving police interviews with child eyewitnesses
Gwyn Jones: Year 1
Dr. Mark Blades, Dr. Sarah Krähenbühl, Prof. Rod Nicholson
Researchers have shown that the use of poor police interviewing techniques when questioning
alleged victims of child sexual abuse can have a negative effect on the accuracy of the
testimony provided by the child (Bruck, 1999). Colour information has potential importance for
identifying an abuser (e.g. eye or hair colour, or colour of clothes) or identifying where the
abuse took place (e.g. colour of bedding),but there has been no research at all into children’s
references to colour in forensic interviews. The aim of the current study was to find out if
interviewers or children refer to colour during actual police interviews
We examined a sample of 100 police interview transcripts of interviews conducted with
children who were either alleged victims of sexual abuse, or witnesses to sexual abuse aged
4-11 years (M= 7.6 years) at the time of interview. Interviews were conducted by police officers
and/or social workers, in accordance with the Home Office’s Memorandum of Good Practice
interview protocol (Home Office, 1992).
Given the lack of any previous research we could not make specific predictions about the
frequency or type of colour references, or whether such references would be prompted by
police questioning or come from spontaneous utterances by the child. It might even be the
case that colour references are so rare in interviews that previous researchers had ignored or
overlooked such references when analysing transcripts. Therefore we did not expect many of
the interviews to include references to colour, and even in those that did include colour
references we expected the references to be rare.
Contrary to our expectations there were colour references, often frequent and extensive ones,
in every one of the interviews. This suggests that colour information is important in child
forensic interviews and should be given greater research attention.
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The Effects of Technological and Non-Technological Tools on Children’s
Storytelling Abilities
Birsu Kandemirci: Year 2
Dr Elena Hoicka, Dr Danielle Matthews
The role of technological devices in young children’s lives has become more visible in recent
years (Hauge & Williamson, 2009) and the starting age for using these
devices keeps decreasing. There is an ongoing debate on the effects of this trend among
educators and caregivers (Plowman & McPake, 2013). While technological devices are
believed to benefit children’s cognitive abilities, a study found no significant effect of using a
technological device over a non-technological equivalent on word learning when the teaching
method remained the same (Allen, Hartley & Cain, 2015). The aim of my research is to look
at the impacts of using technological and non-technological devices on children’s creative and
collaborative storytelling abilities. Six to-seven-year-old-children (N = 100) told stories
using storytelling cubes, a mobile application version of the same cubes on a tablet
computer, and no tools, both on their own and with another peer. Each child told six stories in
two sessions. To obtain a cultural comparison, the study was conducted with English and
Turkish children. All the stories have been evaluated using Computerised Language Analysis
software (CLAN). The results so far proved to be multifaceted and will be discussed in the
scope of creativity, peer collaboration and cultural differences. Social and educational
implications of the results will also be addressed.
Abnormal approach of angry facial expressions in young adults with
high levels of early life stress
Elizabeth Kirkham: Year 3
Dr. Liat Levita, Prof. Gillian Hardy
Twitter: @EK_Neuro
Early life stress such as abuse or neglect increases the risk of developing a mental illness in
adulthood. This increased risk may be partially explained by abuse-related alterations in
neurocognitive processes. Children who have been abused show alterations in their
processing of emotional facial expressions: they identify the formation of angry expressions
earlier than children who have not been abused. It is thought that this atypical processing
helps children in abusive environments to avoid danger. However, it remains unclear whether
the effects of early life stress on recognition of anger persist into adulthood, nor whether adults’
approach-avoidance responses to emotional facial expressions are affected by their
experiences of early life stress. To address these questions, we asked mentally healthy
participants aged 18-19 to complete an online survey in which they viewed photographs of
angry, happy and neutral facial expressions and indicated (a) the extent to which they
perceived the expressions to be happy or angry, and (b) the extent to which they would
approach or avoid the person in the photograph. They also completed measures of early life
stress and current depression and anxiety. As expected, we found a positive relationship
between early life stress and subclinical depression and anxiety. However, in contrast to our
expectations, we found that higher levels of early life stress were associated with increased
approach and decreased avoidance of angry facial expressions. These alterations in
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neurocognitive processing could have a detrimental impact on social interactions, which could
in turn increase individuals’ vulnerability to the development of mental illness.
The cognitive profile of Sotos syndrome
Chloe Lane: Year 2
Dr. Megan Freeth, Dr. Elizabeth Milne
Sotos syndrome is a congenital overgrowth disorder with an incidence of approximately 1 in
14,000. Intellectual disability is one of the cardinal features. The aim of the present study was
to establish whether there is a specific cognitive profile associated with Sotos syndrome.
Cognitive abilities were assessed using the British Ability Scales, third edition (BAS3).
Participants were 36 individuals with Sotos (mean age = 15.41 years, SD = 10.15; range of 5
– 50 years). The BAS3 provides a general conceptual ability score (GCA) which indicates
general level of intellectual functioning (100 is the population average). Mean GCA score of
the participants was 63.88 (SD = 15.98) and ranged from 39 – 101. Verbal ability scores were
significantly higher than both spatial ability scores (p =.003) and non-verbal reasoning ability
scores (p <.001). Spatial ability scores were significantly higher than non-verbal reasoning
ability scores (p =.010), indicating that the typical profile for Sotos syndrome is
Verbal>Spatial>Non-verbal reasoning ability. In addition, scores on a short-term visual
memory task were significantly higher than scores on a spatial visualisation task (p <.001),
suggesting a relative strength in spatial memory in this population. These findings provide a
preliminary indication of the cognitive profile of individuals with Sotos syndrome.
Fearful faces as action feedback produce an enhanced temporal recalibration effect
Samantha Linton: Year 1
Dr. Liat Levita, Dr. Jim Stone
Twitter: @Samantha_Linton
Temporal recalibration refers to a phenomenon by which the brain adapts itself to temporal
asynchronies. Specifically, repeated delayed action feedback during an adaptation phase
accelerates processing of the feedback following an action in a testing phase, as measured
with a temporal order judgement task. Our overall aim was to investigate whether the effect of
adaptation to delayed feedback using a neutral stimulus (grey oval) would be differentially
transferred between emotional face stimuli and the same neutral stimulus in the testing phase,
and if so whether autonomic arousal would be involved. Experiment 1 confirmed the existence
of a temporal recalibration effect (TRE) using the same grey oval stimulus as both feedback
and test stimuli. In Experiment 2, following adaptation to delayed feedback using the oval
stimulus, fearful faces were judged as appearing significantly earlier than the oval stimulus.
This accelerated processing of fearful faces was not associated with autonomic arousal, as
measured using skin conductance responses. In experiment 3, we confirmed that the fearful
expression of the faces were affecting the degree of temporal recalibration, as they were
judged as appearing significantly earlier than neutral faces. Hence, we found the transference
of TRE between neutral and emotional stimuli with the same shape (oval then fearful face) is
27
greater than that of between two identical neutral stimuli. We suggest increased attention to
fearful faces produces an acceleration effect, due to their biological significance for
communicating threat.
Imagined contact gives prodigious effect in promoting prosocial behavior
Aini Azeqa Ma’rof: Year 2
Prof. Richard Crisp, Dr Abigail Millings, Dr Thomas Webb.
Adequate interaction is crucial especially when interracial disparity is obvious, and this
problem is expected to grow worse if there is no action taken to cater this issue in improving
intergroup relations. In the current studies, imagined contact interventions represent a
technique for addressing access to this lack of interactions problems. Throughout 3 studies,
we examined and compared participant’s intergroup attitudes and feelings towards an out-
group member among experimental and control groups in a multicultural country; Malaysia.
We also examined the effect of such mental stimulation on intention to help others and their
willingness to donate to designated organizations. Results from a serial mediated mediation
shows that imagined a cooperation-contact task from a third-person perspective promotes
altruistic prosocial behavior, encouraged willingness to donate to out-group organization and
this effects was mediated by reduced in intergroup anxiety, heightened feeling of oneness and
increased outgroup trust. These findings support the feasibility of imagined contact in
imagining a total outgroup members, particularly in a race-based country.
Emotion and motor function
Marco McSweeney: Year 1
Dr. Liat Levita, Dr. Myles Jones
Preparatory brain activity as reflected by attentional processes and response preparation
related to motor action is critical for the successful completion of goal-directed behaviours.
Both attentional and anticipatory control are largely dependent on the functional integrity of
the frontal lobes which can be either enhanced or disrupted depending on the timing and input
from emotional circuits. Recent EEG studies examining the role of contingent negative
variation (CNV) amplitudes during goal-directed behaviours have shown attentional and motor
related deficits in some individuals, particularly during developmental stages. In addition, sMRI
and fMRI studies have demonstrated both structural and functional differences in fronto-parital
networks and subcortical regions of interest. In extreme cases such as Nonepileptic Attack
Disorder (NEAD) this disruption may play a key role in precipitating and perpetuating the
cardinal symptoms believed to result from dysfunctional emotional responses to external and
internal emotionally eliciting stimuli. However, questions remain regarding the role of these
networks in the development of psychopathology and psychophysiology as it pertains to
attentional, anticipatory and motor processes, the relationship these have with one another,
and how these may or may not be modulated by emotion. The aim of this research is to further
examine the neural and structural correlates of attention and motor response preparation, how
this is modulated by emotion and gender, and the role that this may play in emotional and
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functional well-being. This will be achieved through EEG and sMRI in young adults, NEAD
patients and healthy –age and –sex matched controls.
Best practices in child interviewing
Kendra Meyer: Year 1
Dr. Mark Blades
Twitter: @kendrameyer16
The legal system represents a domain in which children are forced to participate, even though
it is often not well adapted to their developing cognitive skills and abilities. Designed to function
with adults in mind, children are often poorly equipped with its demands and objectivities. In
the past twenty years, many researchers have systematically investigated the relationship
between interviewing conditions and the quantity and quality of information retrieved by child
witnesses, in both forensic and clinical settings. Despite agreements on some aspects of
interviewing, such as the positive effects of open-ended question types and the need to inform
children about “don’t know” responses, there is still almost a complete lack of research into
the non-verbal aspects of interviewing. Two interviews with Swiss police child investigators
were conducted to compare and evaluate European child-interviewing guidelines. The plan
for the first experimental study is to conduct a replication/extension of the research by Kirk et
al., (2015), investigating the gestural misinformation effect in children’s eyewitness interviews.
As interviewer’s gestures can communicate misleading information, they can lead to
inaccurate testimonies and ultimately to wrong statements. It will be investigated, to what
extent gestures can influence children’s eyewitness reports about a witnessed video stimulus.
The second study will investigate the effects of interviewer’s non-verbal behaviour (supportive,
i.e. smiling, versus non-supportive, i.e. closed body posture) on children’s eyewitness
statements about a witnessed event. It is expected that children questioned by the supportive
interviewer will be more resistant to suggestive questions than the children questioned by the
non-supportive interviewer.
Imagined contact with socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals
increases support for income equality
Justina Mischewski: Year 3
Prof. Richard Crisp, Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Chantelle Wood
In this research we explored the impact of intergroup contact on perceptions of
socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. People have a tendency to be biased in their
judgments of others categorized as members of an outgroup. Particularly when group interests
are perceived as conflicting and the outgroup is seen as a competitor for resources, biases
that favor the ingroup and disfavor the outgroup can often result in prejudice and, ultimately,
discrimination. Intergroup contact theory, the idea that contact between groups can be an
effective way to reduce prejudice, has received much empirical support. While contact
research predominantly focuses on the reduction of prejudice against ethnic and racial groups,
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perceived socioeconomic status has largely been neglected as a basis for categorization. This
is noteworthy considering that research suggests that individuals categorized as poor are
among the most negatively perceived groups. Here, we aimed to investigate perceptions of
and attitudes towards fairness in society as a potential consequence of imagined contact with
socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. As a relatively new approach to the
improvement of intergroup relations, the imagined contact paradigm (Crisp & Turner, 2009)
has been shown to reduce prejudice and improve intergroup behavior across different target
groups and contexts (Miles & Crisp, 2013). In two experiments, we asked participants to
mentally simulate an encounter with a socioeconomically disadvantaged stranger. Participants
in the experimental condition showed an increased preference for income equality compared
to a control group. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Mindfulness interventions for social anxiety in dermatology patients
Kerry Montgomery: Year 3
Dr. Andrew Thompson, Prof. Paul Norman and Prof. Andrew Messenger (Dermatology)
Introduction: Social anxiety and appearance concern are common problems for people living
with visible skin conditions. The first two studies of this PhD examined psychosocial distress
and cognitive processing within social situations to determine potential targets for intervention.
The results informed the development of a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
group programme for people living with visible skin conditions experiencing social anxiety.
Method: A multiple baseline single case design was used. Thirteen participants living with skin
conditions experiencing social anxiety were recruited and randomised to a two, three or four
week baseline period, followed by an 8 week intervention period and four week follow-up. The
group intervention was based on the MBCT for depression programme with adaptations to
incorporate psychoeducation on social anxiety. The intervention was facilitated by a trained
CBT therapist/MBCT practitioner and delivered over 8 weekly 2.5 hour sessions. Idiographic
measures administered daily through text messages, examined participants’ ratings of social
anxiety throughout the study. Measures of mindfulness and social anxiety were administered
weekly. In addition, anxiety, depression, and dermatological quality of life, were measured pre-
and post-intervention and at follow-up.
Results: Eleven participants started the intervention, three dropped out within three sessions
and eight completed the group. Clinically significant change in levels of social anxiety was
reported in 4/8 participants. All participants reported improvements in mood, particularly in
managing anxiety following the intervention.
Conclusions: Learning flexible ways of attending to negative self-beliefs through MBCT may
be beneficial in reducing social anxiety in people living with skin conditions.
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Implicit and Explicit Mentalising and the Effect of Social Presence
in Autism
Emma Morgan: Year 1
Dr. Megan Freeth, Dr. Dan Carroll, Dr. Elena Hoicka
Previous research has shown that individuals with autism show deficits in their unconscious
ability to mentalise, but that they can mask these deficits by consciously and deliberately using
compensatory strategies (Senju, Southgate, White and Firth, 2009). However, this research
has mainly focused on children. Further to this, new research has shown that people show
different behaviours on mentalising tasks depending on if they take place in non-social or
social environments (Chevallier, Parish-Morris, Tonge, Le, Miller and Schultz, 2014). This has
implications for the generalisability of previous studies, as they have been carried out using
computer based tasks. Based on this previous research, we propose a series of studies
investigating mentalising ability across social and non-social contexts. This will be studied both
in relation to the number of autistic traits displayed by neurotypical participants and, in
subsequent studies, with participants with autism. The first aim of these studies will be to
establish whether participants with autism, or neurotypical participants with higher levels of
autistic traits, show pervasive deficits in the ability to unconsciously mentalise. Following from
this, the second aim is then to establish if this deficit persists across social and non-social
contexts. This will also allow us to assess if the participants in each study show quantifiable
differences in mentalising behaviours depending on these settings. This will allow key insights
into the generalisability of findings from lab based, non-social experiments.
Multi-alternative decision making with non-stationary inputs
Luana Nunes: Year 3
Prof. Kevin Gurney , Dr. Roderich Groß(ACSE)
Perhaps one of the most widely implemented models for multi-alternative decision making is
the Multihypothesis Sequential Probability Ratio Test. Despite its statistical optimality and
relative ease of implementation, this algorithm has no obvious way of discarding outdated
evidence and therefore is limited mainly to trial based, non-time-varying scenarios. Through
the introduction of a rectangular integration window with a transparent decision boundary, we
allowed for the algorithm to select and de-select options as input evidence for them changed,
therefore making it suitable for integration of inputs with time-varying mean.
A window setting method based on the average decision time for a level of difficulty (difference
in means of competing options) allowed for a decrease in decision time (versus the original
MSPRT implementation), while maintaining low error rates, therefore maximising reward.
The main shortcoming of this implementation is the constraint on signal means, which requires
that only two values of mean channel input can be present and that all the losing channels
have the same mean, which is not plausible in a real world situation. To avoid this constraint
and show robustness of the algorithm in ethologically plausible situations, we have
experimented with non-ideal scenarios and measured quality of results.
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This algorithm was then implemented in a Sheep-herding scenario where the decision maker
had no knowledge of the other agents' dynamics, therefore allowing for its application to a
multitude of different agent dynamics.
The encountered imagination:
Contact with the imagination of others and its potential to reduce prejudice
Ligia Orellana Calderon: Year 1
Prof. Peter Totterdell, Dr. Aarti Iyer
Twitter: @simeonistico
Imagination has been traditionally studied as a private, personal phenomenon, until recent
times, when the focus has shifted to its role in social interactions. This study provides a first
approach to the concept of encountered imagination, contact with the imagination of others,
and whether it can influence social outcomes such as prejudice. This proposal is framed within
the intergroup contact theory, specifically exploring prejudice toward gay men and lesbians.
338 heterosexual participants (Mage = 32.17, SD = 11.68), from United Kingdom and El
Salvador, responded to an online questionnaire. Participants were presented one of four
conditions: two encountered imagination conditions, a film trailer or a short story depicting
positive interactions between heterosexual and homosexual individuals; and two imagined
contact conditions. Proposed dimensions of the encountered imagination and intergroup
evaluations were measured. Participants exposed to the encountered imagination conditions
did not report less prejudice toward gay men and lesbians in comparison to those in the
imagined conditions, in the whole sample and after cross-cultural comparisons. However,
statistically significant scores in the film condition and other response patterns suggest
dimensions that may increase the effect of the encountered imagination on intergroup
attitudes: valence of affective content, attributes (varying aspects of the stimulus), and
functions (reasons to engage with the stimulus). Results also suggest that the attributes may
predict prejudice, regardless of the medium in which the social interaction is presented. Future
research will focus on whether and how appraisal of dimensions of the encountered
imagination may modify attitudes toward outgroups.
Labelling CBT: A portrait of failure to provide acceptable mental healthcare
Zachary Parker: Year 3
Prof. Glenn Waller, Dr. Liat Levita
Technical treatment failures, such as therapist drift, can prolong and increase the suffering of
service users. Therapist drift occurs when the clinician deviates from protocol in treatment
without rhyme or reason. Unfortunately, this happens often in the treatment of anxiety
disorders. This presentation will present two empirical studies to explore how clinicians drift
from safe and appropriate methods from both the prospective of the service user and of the
clinician. Clinicians and service users completed surveys regarding what occurred in therapy.
Clinicians reported on their attitudes and level of anxiety. While service users reported on the
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outcome of therapy and their perceptions of their therapists. Both groups report similar
underutilization of one of the core methods (i.e., behavioural therapy) in the most efficacious
and effective treatments for anxiety disorders (i.e., cognitive behavioural therapy). This
potentially harmful behaviour appears to be driven by clinician factors (e.g., attitudes and
clinician anxiety). In order to better provide effective and safe care for service users, we must
first acknowledge the problem of services being provided incorrectly, determine the reason,
and then decide how to respond.
Contrary to predictions from the Drift Diffusion Model, decision making is magnitude sensitive
Angelo Pirrone: Year 3
Dr. Tom Stafford, Prof. James Marshall, Prof. Kevin Gurney
Computational models of choice allow to isolate and identify the contribution of specific
cognitive processes underlying decision making. In particular, the Drift Diffusion Model can fit
behavioural and neural data from various human and animal choice tasks and has been
proposed as a unifying computational framework for describing decision making.
The DDM functions by integrating the difference in evidence between two options,
disregarding the absolute level of inputs for each choice option. This reliance on evidence
difference rather than evidence magnitude entails predictions of equal reaction times for
choices between two options of equal difference, regardless if they are two high magnitude
options or two low magnitude options. Further, the reliance on evidence difference results in
decision deadlocks in the case of equal alternatives.
In Pirrone, Stafford and Marshall (2014), we have proposed evolutionary plausible arguments
suggesting why we should expect decision making to be sensitive to evidence magnitude
rather than only to evidence difference. We have then measured the effects of magnitude on
equal-alternatives decisions in two different contexts, perceptual decisions in humans and
reward-based decisions in rhesus monkeys (in collaboration with a lab at Rochester
University, USA). In both cases, decisions of interest were embedded in a larger set of
decisions between unequal alternatives. In both cases, we observed a significant decrease in
reaction time with increasing magnitude for equal-alternatives options. These results cannot
be accommodated by the DDM and endorse the idea presented in Pirrone et al (2014) that
neural decision systems make use of magnitude-sensitive decision mechanisms in order to
resolve costly deadlocks and improve long-term reward intake.
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Positive Dyslexia – enhancing strengths beyond words and improving
self-esteem of adolescents through a positive intervention
Gabrielle Pitfield: Year 2
Prof. Rod Nicolson, Dr. Jilly Martin
The study aimed to explore the self-esteem and strengths of dyslexic adolescents in
mainstream secondary school compared to non- dyslexics. Since recent studies illuminated a
‘Strengths Decathlon’ of cognitive, work and social skills in successful dyslexic adults, this
study investigated adolescent boys, a pivotal time in identity formation and decision-making.
This mixed method study of 4 dyslexic and 4 non dyslexic boys (13 - 14 years old) measured
self-esteem and emotional, behavioural, character & reasoning strengths at four time
junctures. Each boy’s evolving identity is charted by the ‘The Life Story Interview’. It is
suggested that narrative is the personal myth individuals construct to define themselves and
weave together a coherent sense of self. The impact of an 8 week intervention which focussed
upon positive emotions in the past (gratitude), present (character strengths) and future (hope
& goal setting) was evaluated in terms of self-esteem and strengths recognition.
Findings indicated dyslexic boys, hampered by lower self-esteem than the non-dyslexic boys,
were unable to fully identify and appreciate their strengths (in comparison to their parents and
teachers). Although the ‘social skills’ pillar of the ‘Strengths Decathlon’ was underdeveloped,
combined findings from both assessments and interviews revealed a ‘skills spectrum’.
After the intervention the dyslexic boys’ exhibited enhanced pro-social skills, competent
coping skills and creativity which mapped onto increased personal self-esteem. Findings are
sustained at 6 month follow up and support Fredrickson’s (1998) ‘broaden & build’ theory that
positive emotions widen an individual’s momentary thought–action repertoire, building an
individual’s personal resources.
Metergoline partially reverses D-amphetamine induced depression of visual
activity in the Superior Colliculus
Timothy Riley: Year 3
Prof. Paul Overton, Mr. Leonard Hetherington
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent neurodevelopmental disorder
which causes impairment across the lifespan. Current estimates show a prevalence rate of
ADHD of 5-10% in children and 2-5% in adults with psychostimulant medications such as D-
amphetamine used to treat up to two thirds of patients. Though the efficacy of psychostimulant
medication in relieving ADHD symptoms has been repeatedly demonstrated, the abuse
potential of psychostimulants coupled with the high substance abuse rates associated with
ADHD has created controversy regarding their use for treatment of childhood ADHD. Critics
of psychostimulants have emphasised the need for development of new non-addictive drugs
with similar levels of treatment efficacy, the first step of which is to elucidate the mechanism
of action of current psychostimulant medication. One potential therapeutic target of D-
amphetamine is the superior colliculus (SC), a midbrain sensory structure which plays an early
role in directing attentional resources to distracting stimuli. It has previously been
demonstrated that D-amphetamine depresses visual responses in the superficial layers of the
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SC in vivo, which in-vitro evidence has shown to be reversed following local application of a
serotonin (5-HT) antagonist. The present study aims to investigate whether D-amphetamine
depression of SC visual responses in vivo is mediated by 5-HT. We explored the effects of
systemic injections of metergoline, a broad spectrum 5-HT antagonist, on SC responses to
visual stimuli following systemic or intra-collicular injections of D-amphetamine. D-
amphetamine application resulted in a dose dependent depression of the amplitude of visual
responses in the SC. This depression was reversed following the introduction of metergoline.
The results suggest that a focus on 5-HT drugs may be a useful route to developing non
addictive therapies for ADHD.
Dyslexia at the workplace
Poliana Sepulveda: Year 2
Prof. Rod Nicolson
The poster summarises the research I have undertaken as part of the “Positive Dyslexia”
program at Sheffield aimed at allowing individuals to find their strengths and enter a career
utilizing them. In this specific study we were keen at understanding company’s views towards
dyslexics. My first two studies were dedicated to understand the work strengths in dyslexics,
in both quantitative and qualitative studies, and a comparison in between them and non-
dyslexic individuals. In my third study, I aimed to interview 20 companies in two different
countries (England and Brazil) in order to understand the employers perspective towards
dyslexics. It was found that Brazil still has a huge lack of knowledge about dyslexia, which
leads to fear in hiring individuals who would potentially disclose the information. Brazilian
companies that were more open-minded towards hiring a dyslexic would also not do it for
their strengths, but as a 'good cause to society'. Interestingly, even though England has a
much less 'prejudice approach' and a much higher knowledge about dyslexia, none of the
companies involved in the study had a different treatment, in recruitment, selecting and
training for dyslexics. Employers shared that dyslexics would receive the same treatment like
everyone else in the company. The present research aimed to develop a ‘Dyslexia Friendly
Companies’ that will guide companies to understand how to extract the best skills out of their
(undeclared) current dyslexic employees and their future dyslexic candidates and have a much
higher effectiveness.
Immersive leisure activities and interpersonal effects: A study
comparing video games and fiction reading
Jose Sepulveda Maldonado: Year 1
Prof. Peter Totterdell, Dr. Chantelle Wood
Twitter: @jasepulveda
The experience of playing video games has grown to be so rich and complex that some
authors consider video games as a new art form, comparable to that of reading fiction or
watching movies, in terms of the mental stimulation of interacting with others that they involve.
In this context, the present study aimed to compare the influence that reading books of fiction
35
and playing video games have over interpersonal variables. The main hypothesis was that
both playing video games and reading fiction are positively associated with interpersonal
variables. The study consisted of an online questionnaire answered by 373 participants (176
males, 197 females: Mage = 25.18, SDage = 8.81) that measured cognitive theory of mind
(through a False Belief Test), affective theory of mind (through the Reading the Mind in the
Eyes Test) and empathy (through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index) as dependent variables,
and the average weekly hours of fiction read and video games played as independent
variables. Multiple regression analysis showed that reading fiction predicted two subscales of
empathy, but not cognitive nor affective theory of mind, while playing video games did not
predict any of the dependent variables. Limitations of this study were its correlational scope,
sampling method and the nature of the measurements, aspects that will be addressed in future
studies.
Understanding when and why evidenced-based treatment for depression
fails to work – and testing an intervention to improve outcomes
Melanie Simmonds-Buckley: Year 1
Dr. Stephen Kellett & Prof. Glenn Waller
Background: The development of evidenced-based practice in psychotherapy for depression
has empirically focused on patients who respond to treatment and therefore neglected the fact
that some patients do not benefit from interventions offered and whilst not being harmed by
the therapy, a ‘stasis’ outcome is recorded. Improving Access to Psychological Therapies
(IAPT) services target 50% clinical recovery rates, therefore highlighting that 50% of patient’s
will/may experience a ‘stasis’ depression outcome and so continue to suffer.
Objective: The aim of this research is to focus on this previously empirically and theoretically
overlooked ‘stasis’ population by (1) pin-pointing the rates, reasons and predictors of ‘stasis’
outcomes from an evidenced-based group therapy for depression and (2) testing whether
depression ‘stasis’ rates can be reduced through an intervention.
Method: The research is based around the provision of behavioural activation groups (BAG)
in the local IAPT service. Results from a pilot study will be presented to evidence the current
clinical effectiveness of the existing BAG intervention. The proposed studies will analyse an
archived dataset of BAG patient outcomes and develop an augmented version of the existing
BAG treatment, which is hypothesised to reduce ‘stasis’ and drop-out. The embedded
augmentation will have two strands – (1) an implementation intentions enhancement
incorporated into the process of setting between-session work and (2) a psychoeducation
enhancement about BAG dose-effect and outcome predictors to moderate patient therapy
expectations. Outcomes from the intervention will be compared with the ‘baseline’ archived
outcome data to investigate the intervention’s effect on depression ‘stasis’ rates.
Implications: The findings will support the use of augmentations that can be incorporated into
existing evidenced-based psychotherapy to help increase the number of people suffering with
depression to benefit from treatment.
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How do we know what makes for ‘best practice’ in clinical supervision?
A content analysis of supervisory models and approaches
Chloe Simpson-Southward: Year 3
Prof. Glenn Waller, Prof. Gillian Hardy
Twitter: @ChloeSimpson01
Clinical supervision for psychotherapies is widely used in both clinical and research practices.
It is often assumed that supervision ensures adherence in therapy and positive client
outcomes. While there is actually very little empirical research in this area, there are numerous
supervision models. However, we do not know whether models are communicating a
consistent message about how to conduct supervision. This review aimed to discover which
aspects of supervision were consistent across models, and which were not.
A content analysis of 52 models was conducted, revealing 66 separate supervisory elements.
Overall, models tended to focus on supervisee learning and/or development (88.46%), but
there was less focus on the emotional aspects of work (61.54%), and managerial and ethical
responsibilities (57.69%). Considering the three individuals in supervision, most models
included a focus on the supervisee (94.23%) and on the supervisor (80.77%). In contrast, only
half focused on the client (48.08%). This lack of client focus was reflected in assessment
aspects of the models. While evaluation was recommended by 59.62%, only 13.46%
suggested that evaluation should take the form of client outcome monitoring. Finally, although
almost all models cited research (73.08%), none were directly based on a piece of empirical
research.
While we might expect clinical supervision to contribute to positive client outcomes, findings
indicate that models actually have very little focus on the client. In addition, these models are
not directly based on empirical research and there is a lack of consistency across models.
Therefore, perhaps we cannot rely on such models to ensure positive therapeutic outcomes.
The impact of food advertising on childhood obesity
Bethanie Smales: Year 1
Dr. Mark Blades, Dr. Caroline Oates
Childhood obesity is one of the most serious global public health challenges of the 21st century
and has more than tripled in the past 25 years. Childhood obesity is very complex with
contributing factors in our society that include physical activity, education, food marketing and
promotion. The aim of this research is to see whether exposure to different food advertisement
methods including celebrity endorsements influence children’s food intake. Measuring a
child’s actual food consumption is a novel procedure, so far only used by one other research
group in the UK. Children aged between 7-12 years viewed 1 of 4, 60 second commercial or
TV clip embedded within a cartoon: (1) a branded crisps TV advertisement (Walkers) which
features a celebrity endorsement (Gary Lineker); (2) TV footage of the endorsement figure
Gary Lineker outside of a food context; (3) a TV clip of a family eating crisps (4) a control clip
without any advertising. Children will be given bowls of crisps after they have seen one of the
videos to see how the advertisements influence children’s food consumption. Children who
viewed the food clips or the celebrity endorser in a non food context all ate significantly more
37
than the control group. This data suggests that children’s unhealthy food consumption is
influenced through both the presence of food on TV and also by celebrity endorsers in a non
food context.
Stimulus familiarization: a theory of repetition suppression predicts
interference between overlapping cortical representations
Giacomo Spigler: Year 2
Dr. Stuart Wilson, Dr. Renee Timmers (Music), Prof. Tony Prescott
One of the challenges in neuroscience is to understand how the brain encodes and represents
objects and patterns of information. Here, we are interested in how the brain builds
representations of novel objects (e.g., faces) that have never been encountered before, and
how such representations change during the process of learning. We suggest that the initially
distributed representation of novel objects shifts to a more localist one during familiarization,
and that hebbian learning and lateral inhibitory connections are sufficient to produce the
transition. We further suggest that this reconfiguration accounts for the measured effect of
repetition suppression, in a manner similar to the Sharpening Theory. We present a set of
simulations to investigate these hypotheses, and we formulate a novel prediction of selective
modulation of the strength of repetition suppression dependent on the degree of overlap
between the cortical representations of the stimuli used. In particular, we argue that highly
overlapping cortical representations interfere and compete with each other and that this is
reflected in a multitude of phenomena, such as learning, visual masking, repetition
suppression and perceptual processes.
The relationship between attachment security and mindfulness: A systematic review
Jodie Stevenson: Year 1
Dr. Abigail Millings, Dr. Lisa-Marie Emerson
Researchers have posited that mindfulness shares important correlates with attachment
security. Additionally, mindfulness-based interventions in adults have been successful in
promoting greater personal and interpersonal well-being, especially for those who have
experienced insecure attachment formation in early childhood. This paper presents a
systematic review of the research linking attachment and dispositional mindfulness to date,
with additional focus given to the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions and the
moderating effects of attachment style. Based on the PRISMA guidelines, six electronic
databases of both published studies and thesis manuscripts (including PsycArticles, PsycInfo,
PubMed, EBSCO Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Proquest) were
searched using terms ‘attachment’ AND ‘mindfulness’. This search resulted in the retrieval of
10,238 records. Study inclusion criteria guidelines were used to determine the relevance of
each study for inclusion in the review. Thirty-six articles, totalling 39 individual studies, met the
inclusion criteria. Within the literature, the majority of studies were cross-sectional in design
with several reporting the impact of short-term mindfulness-based interventions. Overall,
research demonstrated clear evidence of an association between adult attachment and
38
mindfulness, presenting significant correlations between the two variables. Additionally,
increased mindfulness levels significantly predicted lower attachment anxiety and avoidance.
Mindfulness-based interventions had a significant effect on reducing symptomology often
associated with insecure attachment, e.g. maladaptive emotional regulation, thus promoting
healthier attachment styles and overall well-being. Future research should aim to establish the
causal direction and mechanisms of these associations using longitudinal designs with the
inclusion of possible mediating variables.
Challenging perceptions of people with Autism using Imagined Contact
Caroline Treweek: Year 2
Dr Megan Freeth, Dr Chantelle Wood
Studies utilising both imagined contact and counter-stereotyping as prejudice reduction
strategies, have shown these to be effective interventions for changing people’s attitudes and
behavioural intentions towards marginalised groups of people in society. This study tested the
validity of imagined contact as a strategy to reduce negative stereotyping and improve
attitudes towards people with Autism, in addition to whether a new hybrid approach
amalgamating both imagined contact and counter-stereotyping strategies, resulted in reduced
stereotyping and improved attitudes towards people with Autism. Two hypotheses were
tested: (1) imagined contact with a person with Autism will reduce levels of negative
stereotyping and improve attitudes towards people with Autism compared to a control
condition, and (2) imagined contact with a counter-stereotypic person with Autism, should
result in even lower levels of negative stereotyping and the most improved attitudes, compared
to simply imagining contact with a person with Autism. One hundred and eighty participants
were recruited and randomly allocated to either a control scene (no contact), imagined contact
with a person with Autism, or imagined contact with a counter-stereotypic person with Autism.
Results demonstrate that imagined contact with a person with Autism compared to a control
scene (no contact) did not result in lower levels of stereotyping and improved attitudes towards
people with Autism. It was also found that imagined contact with a counter-stereotypic person
with Autism did not result in lower levels of stereotyping or improved attitudes compared to
simply imagining contact with a person who has Autism. Both of these findings are contrary to
what previous studies have found.
Are self-conscious emotions (self-disgust, shame and guilt) affected in
Parkinson’s disease patients as compared to healthy controls?
Mariana Tsatali: Year 3
Prof. Paul Overton, Dr. Ana Vivas
Introduction Parkinson’s disease (PD) alters a patient’s self-perception and self-image.
Additionally, taking into account that PD patients have emotion recognition deficits, it can be
assumed that they don’t perceive feedback for their actions well from other people.
Consequently, it is proposed that PD patients may have lower levels of self-conscious
emotions.
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Methods 39 patients with PD, matched for gender, age and education with 34 healthy
matched controls completed the Self-Disgust and TOSCA (Test of Self-Conscious Affect,
which measures shame and guilt) scales. These emotions were also measured at baseline
using Visual Analog Scales (VAS) in an experiment to induce self-conscious emotions via
narratives and photographs.
Results A 2 x 3 MANOVA was conducted to test possible differences of self-conscious
emotions levels between the two groups as measured by SDS and TOSCA. Results showed
that PD patients had significantly higher levels of self-disgust and shame than healthy controls,
as measured by the self-report scales, and the VAS for self-disgust. PD patients also showed
significantly higher levels of guilt compared to the controls on the VAS scales, however there
were no group differences in guilt with the self-report scales.
Discussion Overall, the findings suggest that levels of self-conscious emotions are increased
in PD when compared to healthy controls, and this result seems to be more robust for self-
disgust (found both with SD scale and VAS). Results are against our initial hypothesis. Further
analysis will shed light on the other factors affecting the relationship between PD and self-
conscious emotions.
“Think happy thoughts!”: positive mood and delaying gratification in children
Sophie Turnbull: Year 2
Dr. Daniel Carroll, Dr. Elena Hoicka, Dr. Danielle Matthews
Twitter: @sophieaturnbull
Delay of gratification (DoG) is the capacity to voluntarily postpone immediate gratification for
the sake of a more temporally distant outcome. This tendency develops significantly during
childhood and predicts later life outcomes, including mental well-being, physical health and
academic attainment. Understanding the factors that enable children to delay gratification may
help us to foster this skill in younger children. In the present study, we investigated whether
inducing positive thinking would improve DoG in 4-6 year old children. Eighty-seven children
were randomly allocated to recall activities that they enjoy, or the names of their classmates
(as a control). Children then completed a DoG task in which waiting longer corresponded to
winning more food rewards. We found that although children successfully recalled positive
thoughts, the positive thought induction did not increase levels of positive thinking or subjective
reports of positive mood during the DG task compared to the control condition. Children who
thought about the content of the positive mood induction showed a trend towards waiting
longer during the task, although this effect did not reach significance due to a small n.
However, this is in line with previous findings that positive ideation improves DoG in children.
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Adapting to Ethnically Diverse Environments: Diversity Exposure and
Self-Regulation
Marcel Wiechmann: Year 3
Prof. Richard Crisp, Prof. Peter Totterdell, Dr. Chris Jones
Twitter: @MWiechm
The cultural diversity of today's world is unprecedented, creating complex heterogeneous
societies. What are the psychological implications of living in these cognitively challenging
environments? Research has demonstrated that minority members such as immigrants can
yield benefits from their diversity experiences such as increased creativity and cognitive
flexibility. However, for majority members the consequences of living in diverse environments
are less clear.
For majority members, adapting to cultural diversity might lead to improvements in inhibitory
control. Dealing with diversity requires suppressing existing stereotypes and one’s own
cultural perspective. Engaging in these activities consistently might therefore offer the
opportunity to improve self-regulation more generally.
I will present a set of three studies investigating the effect of diversity experiences of White
British participants on self-regulation. Contrary to our predictions, participants who had
experienced a high degree of diversity reported weaker self-regulation. However, self-
regulation was only affected by diversity experiences if diversity was salient; under neutral
conditions the effect was not present. Our findings indicate that participants with a lot of
diversity experience might, under certain conditions, activate a temporary mindset that down-
regulates cognitive control. Dampening cognitive control might be a necessary side-effect of
other beneficial effects of diversity experiences such as enhanced creative performance and
epistemic unfreezing. Implications of these results for understanding the impact of cultural
diversity as well as avenues for future research will be discussed.
Daniel Wilson: Year 2
Neurovascular function in atherosclerosis
Lewis Wong: Year 1
Dr. Jason Berwick, Prof. Sheila Francis, Dr. Nigel Hoggard
Twitter: @lewiswongy
Cardiovascular and neuronal dysfunction have to a large extent been treated as separate
disease categories from both research and clinical perspectives. However, there is now
growing evidence that pathological changes in the shared circulatory system may be key
drivers of both cardiovascular and neuronal dysfunction. It is speculated that compromised
circulatory function, as can be seen in inflammatory vascular conditions such as
atherosclerosis, may impact the regulation of cerebrovascular blood flow in response to
dynamically changing neuronal metabolic demands also known as neurovascular coupling.
With impaired neurovascular function being a pathogenic factor underlying cerebrovascular
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pathology, here we aim to establish if atherosclerosis elicits any alterations in the
neurovascular function.
Paigen Diet fed ApoE -/- mice fitted with a stable cranial window over the right somatosensory
cortex combined with state of the art multi-modal neurovascular imaging comprised of 2D-
optical imaging spectroscopy (OIS) to measure evoked blood flow, volume, and oxygenation
changes and electrophysiology to record neuronal activity. Any neurovascular breakdown will
then be further investigated using high resolution multi-photon microscopy and
immunohistochemistry to identify cellular deficits and potential molecular targets. Functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will also be used later to assess any sub-cortical effects
that 2D-OIS and electrophysiology cannot detect, which will assist in combining highly detailed
but invasive measurements using animal models and non-invasive MRI readouts with
possibility of translation to humans.
Results have currently demonstrated that Paigen diet fed ApoE-/- mice are stable under
anaesthesia for long term studies using our multi-modal neurovascular imaging methods to
produce haemodynamic and neuronal activity readouts. We now aim to continue to establish
any alterations in neurovascular function using animal models of inflammatory cardiovascular
disease with the hope of identifying potential biomarkers of cerebrovascular dysfunction. This
may provide novel diagnostic and prognostic tools for detecting/predicting cardiovascular and
cerebrovascular events such as stroke, vascular dementia, and manifestation of cognitive
impairment. Future work will include investigating if targeting key inflammatory signalling can
attenuate any atherosclerosis induced neurovascular breakdown, using drugs or genetic
knockdowns.
