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Postgraduate Conference

18th, 20th & 21st of May 2015

Abstracts Booklet

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University of Sheffield

Department of Psychology

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Index of speakers

Name Page

Adkins Kate ....................................................................................................................... 4

AlTammar Shahah Musaed ............................................................................................... 4

Altin Nazli .......................................................................................................................... 5

Azlan Haffiezhah An-Nadiah .............................................................................................. 6

Baird Harriet ...................................................................................................................... 6

Bennion Matthew .............................................................................................................. 7

Berrios Raul....................................................................................................................... 7

Beyle Christian ................................................................................................................ 8s

Blouchou Panagiota .......................................................................................................... 9

Bray Agnes ........................................................................................................................ 9

Brezzo Gaia..................................................................................................................... 10

Broglia Emma .................................................................................................................. 10

Buxton David ................................................................................................................... 11

Coneo Ana Maria Chamorro ............................................................................................ 11

Clarke Elaine ................................................................................................................... 12

Collins Emily .................................................................................................................... 13

Croft Simone ................................................................................................................... 13

Damer Ekaterina ............................................................................................................. 14

Denis Denis ..................................................................................................................... 14

Díaz-Barriga Yáñez Andrea ............................................................................................. 15

Dickinson Abby ................................................................................................................ 15

Donnellan Ed ................................................................................................................... 16

Eman Saima .................................................................................................................... 17

Ferra Gkolfo (Fenia) ........................................................................................................ 18

Gagnon Emily .................................................................................................................. 18

Gallant Zoe ...................................................................................................................... 19

Glancy Jonathan ............................................................................................................. 20

Harrison Phillippa ............................................................................................................ 20

Heapy Connor ................................................................................................................. 21

Hernández Ibar Daría ...................................................................................................... 21

Hope Aimie ...................................................................................................................... 22

Hostler Tom ..................................................................................................................... 22

Howsley Philippa ............................................................................................................. 23

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Jones Gareth ................................................................................................................... 23

Kandemirci Birsu ............................................................................................................. 24

Kerdegari Hamideh.......................................................................................................... 25

Kirkham Elizabeth ........................................................................................................... 25

Lane Chloe ...................................................................................................................... 26

Leyland Anna .................................................................................................................. 26

Ma’rof Aini Azeqa ............................................................................................................ 27

Meade Keelan ................................................................................................................. 27

Mischewski Justina .......................................................................................................... 28

Montgomery Kerry ........................................................................................................... 29

Nunes Luana ................................................................................................................... 30

O’Connor Brendan........................................................................................................... 30

Parker Zachary ................................................................................................................ 31

Patel Priya ....................................................................................................................... 31

Pitfield Gabrielle .............................................................................................................. 32

Poerio Giulia .................................................................................................................... 32

Radulescu Carola ............................................................................................................ 33

Riley Timothy ................................................................................................................... 34

Samaneh Sadeghi ........................................................................................................... 35

Sepulveda Poliana Piacesi .............................................................................................. 35

Simpson-Southward Chloe .............................................................................................. 36

Slack Rebecca ................................................................................................................ 36

Spigler Giacomo .............................................................................................................. 37

Treweek Caroline ............................................................................................................ 37

Turnbull Sophie ............................................................................................................... 38

Veltri Theresa .................................................................................................................. 39

Whittle Colin .................................................................................................................... 39

Wiechmann Marcel .......................................................................................................... 40

Wood Natalies ................................................................................................................. 41

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Understanding body shame, stigma, disgust, and depression: How can developing

self-compassion help in living with a visible skin condition

Kate Adkins: Year 1

Dr. Andrew Thompson, Dr. Julia Moses (History), Prof. Andrew Messenger (Dermatology) and Prof. Paul Overton

The aim of this research is to develop understanding and awareness of how factors relating to body-image, shame and disgust contribute to depression in individuals with visible skin conditions. As part of this, we hope to establish and explore the historic, cultural and emotional concepts of ‘disgusting’ skin.

Visible marks on the skin have the potential to mark and stigmatise those with skin diseases as different and discredited (Goffman, 1963). Scholars from a wide array of disciplines and sub-disciplines have contributed to the conceptualisation and theory around stigma. It, therefore, seems to appropriate to collate the existing research to establish an interdisciplinary approach to stigma and skin. Furthermore, a systematic review will be used to appraise and summarise empirical studies, which have examined or investigated the phenomenon of stigmatisation in connection with skin conditions.

We live in a society where we are media and advertisements portray idealised images of skin and encourage us to ‘fight imperfections and aging’. A mixed method design will be employed to gain a better understanding of the experience of living with a visible skin condition, with a particular focus on the role of media, situated in the context of the present era and a historical study exploring written media sources’ portrayal of skin conditions.

The findings from these studies will facilitate an appropriate choice of intervention to be used in a feasibility trial of self-help with a population living with a skin condition and comorbid depression.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire

Shahah Musaed AlTammar: Year 1

Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Georgina Rowse

Background: There is a growing body of evidence showing the impact of mindfulness-based therapy on reducing negative functioning and increasing a range of positive outcomes including mental and physical health, interpersonal relationships as well as behavioural regulation. However, to date most of the research on mindfulness has been conducted in Western cultures.

Objective: The aim of this study is to perform an Arabic cross-cultural adaptation of The Five Facet of Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form (FFMQ- SF), using the cross-cultural adaptation methodology recommended by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), and test whether the adapted version is a statistically valid and reliable representation of the English version,

Method: The study will undertake seven stages to translate, adapt and validate an Arabic version of the FFMQ-SF: (1) forward translation to Arabic, (2) synthesis of the forward translation, (3) back translation, (4) synthesis of the back translation, (5) expert committee review, (6) test of the pre-final version and (7) pilot testing the Arabic FFMQ-SF. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) will be used to analyse test-retest reliability. Cronbach’s alpha will be used to estimate the internal consistency of the overall FFMQ-SF scale and its subscales.

Conclusion: The study will provide a reliable, valid and culturally adapted Arabic version of the FFMQ-SF that can be used in future research to assess relationships between mindfulness and physical and mental health outcomes in Arabic cultures.

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Does social group belonging have an effect on the strength of gaze cueing

Nazli Altin: Year 2

Dr. Megan Freeth, Dr. Danielle Matthews

Objective: How we process others people’s eyes and gaze is fundamental for sharing

mental states. Emery (2010) suggests that gaze perception, found across many species, is

an essential tool for survival. Direction of looking of eyes is not easy to ignore as people tend

to look at gaze direction on computer screen even when it does not give any clue of target

location (Driver et al., 1999; Friesen & Kingstone, 1998). This social attention is sensitive to

physical dominance (Jones et al., 2010) and physical self-similarity (Hungr & Hunt, 2012),

additionally to social status and social similarity (i.e., group affiliation, Pavan, Dalmaso,

Galfano, & Castelli, 2011). Here we tested the effect of social group belonging by using

Posner`s like gaze cueing task.

Design: Two studies were conducted to test whether group belonging would have an effect

on gaze cueing effect. The first study used an online survey conducted to choose stimuli and

second study was a behavioural study using a computer based gaze cueing task.

Method: Participants were shown four stories in the online study. A total of 115 students

from University of Sheffield participated in this study. Then two stories from that study were

shown in the behavioural study to prime participants for social group belonging. A total of 70

participants took part on behavioural study.

Results: Congruency of the cueing trials significantly effected response time on computer

based task. People tend to respond faster when the eye cue and target were in the same

location. We did not find any significant effect of social group belonging in response time but

participants reported themselves to be in the same group with Sheffield University student

condition competed to non-student condition. There were no differences according to gender

or ethnicity.

Conclusion: This suggests that although people have a feeling of belonging in a social

group, story type did not show any significant effect on gaze cueing task.

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Examining the implications of three distinct disgust orientations in cancer

Haffiezhah An-Nadiah Azlan: Year 2

Prof. Paul Overton, Dr. Jane Simpson¹, Dr. Philip Powell (Economics)

¹University of Lancaster

As an emotion that evolved to protect against disease, disgust is a critical affect in health contexts. Anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggest it may play a particularly important role in patients’ psychological responding to cancer. The objective of this study was to quantitatively examine the role of disgust in cancer experiences, exploring the implications of three related, yet distinct, disgust constructs: “disgust propensity”, “disgust sensitivity”, and “self-disgust”. One hundred cancer patients with a broad range of cancer diagnoses, identified from cancer charities and support groups, were enrolled onto a case-control study, along with 100 healthy control subjects, matched by age and gender. Analyses explored whether cancer patients differed in their disgust responding to that of healthy controls, and the associations between the disgust variables and two measures of psychological well-being (i.e., depression and anxiety) in each sample. Results showed that sensitivity to disgust and disgust towards physical and behavioural aspects of the self was higher in the cancer sample than in the general healthy sample. In the cancer sample, disgust sensitivity and self-disgust significantly independently predicted levels of anxiety, while self-disgust (physical) alone predicted levels of depression. In the healthy sample, disgust propensity and self-disgust (behaviour) significantly independently predicted levels of anxiety, while self-disgust (physical and behaviour) predicted levels of depression. Elucidating the role of disgust in patients’ responses to cancer has important implications for understanding the emotional processes that affect their well-being and how these may be approached clinically.

Keywords: disgust sensitivity, disgust propensity, self-disgust, depression, anxiety, cancer.

The Influence of Time Perspective on the Likelihood and Nature of Monitoring Goal

Progress

Harriet Baird: Year 1

Dr. Thomas L. Webb, Dr. Jilly Martin

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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Digital therapy in NHS mental health: Guidance, Evidence, Provision

Matthew Bennion: Year 1

Dr. Abigail Millings, Dr. Daniela Romano (Computer Science)

In 2014 the NHS published a five year plan to promote the use of technology and digital

platforms within health care service delivery (NHS England, 2014). Evidence suggests that

despite a global move towards digital communication very few NHS services currently

employ digital platforms (National Information Board, 2014).

The underuse of digital technology may stem from a lack of clear guidance. For example,

Improved Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) implement NICE approved interventions

for treating people with depression and anxiety disorders. NICE guidance regarding

computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (CCBT) was last updated in 2009 and comprised

of a bulleted list of recommendations as to what CCBT for people with persistent sub-

threshold depressive symptoms or mild to moderate depression should include. This

represented significant change from previous iterations that had included evidence based

software recommendations. With an absence of further guidance from NICE, IAPTs have

been left to independently develop CCBT provision leading to broad variations in practice

and a lack of clarity about how CCBT is currently used in NHS mental health services.

In this presentation we present initial findings from an ongoing review of data sourced

through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and systematic enquires on NHS websites.

This scoping exercise aims to establish which digital mental health tools are currently

employed. Following this scoping exercise we intend to explore the evidence base of these

tools to highlight any gaps in research evidence and to also highlight future directions for

research and development in new technologies for the provision of the next generation of

mental health tools.

Not everything is about being positive: The beneficial effects of mixed emotions on

well-being and self-control

Raul Berrios: Year 3

Prof. Peter Totterdell, Dr. Stephen Kellett

Commonly, emotions have been characterised as positive (e.g., happiness) and negative

(e.g., sadness). However, complex emotional experiences also occur in everyday life, such

as feeling mixed emotions – co-activation of positive and negative emotions. Despite recent

evidence has demonstrated that mixed emotions can be consistently elicited, research

exploring the consequences of mixed emotions is notably scarce. In three studies it is

demonstrated that mixed emotions can positively influence well-being and self-control. In

Study 1 (N=429) participants completed a validated measure of mixed emotions and several

other well-being related scales. Results using SEM indicated that greater experience of

mixed emotions predicted more eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, controlling for relevant

constructs. In Study 2 (N=53) participants who were about to graduate watched a short

video-clip aimed to elicit mixed emotions and then self-reported their perceived eudaimonic

well-being. Results showed that participants felt more mixed emotions after having watched

the video-clip compared to before, and changes in mixed emotions significantly predicted

greater eudaimonic well-being. Finally, evidence derived from a diary study (N=73; over

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3,000 observations) revealed that conflict between a current desire and a relevant goal

predicted greater mixed emotions, and in turn, mixed emotions predicted greater intentions

to resist temptations. Results also showed that efforts to resist temptations yielded to

experience less vitality, but this effect was moderated by the experience of mixed emotions

itself. Overall, these results suggest that mixed emotions may help individuals to flexibly

interpreting complex environments and learning to deliver adaptive responses.

Integrating perspectives on adoption and effectiveness of learning technologies

Christian Beyle: Year 3

Prof. Rod Nicolson, Dr. Abigail Millings

The effective and continued use of learning technology is one the main challenges for

practitioners and designers of virtual learning environments, especially when our current

theoretical frames are struggling to explain the high rates of dropouts.

Perspectives focused on attitudes propose that the adoption of technology is directly related

with positive attitudes towards technology (Davis, 1989), while perspectives centred on

learner characteristics support the idea that the fit between specific cognitive profiles and

determined designs will explain user intention of use (Eom & Raiser, 2000; Ellis, Weyers &

Hughes, 2013). This research examined and integrated the main frameworks of technology

adoption applied to learning settings throughout four studies.

The first study tested the attitudinal approach within the framework of assessing learning

technology effectiveness. The results suggested that while attitudes towards technology are

good predictors of intention of use, they are not good predictors of actual use, and that they

are not related with learning effectiveness.

The second and third studies explored the relationship between personal drivers, learning

approaches, learning styles, academic autonomy, learning environment characteristics, and

intention of use. The results indicate that the importance of a good attitude towards

technology is actually relevant, albeit learner's cognitive dispositions has a significant effect

on technology adoption through its direct effect on attitudes.

The fourth study tested this new theoretical approach and its relationship with learning

achievement. It concludes that by complementing the attitudinal approach with some

learners’ cognitive characteristics, the comprehension of the learning technology adoption

can be enhanced, more accurate and more useful in order to build an integrative frame of

adoption and effectiveness of learning technology.

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Stress and Dyslexia: An investigation into the effects of stress on the performance of

dyslexic and non- dyslexic primary school children

Panagiota Blouchou: Year 2

Prof. Rod Nicolson

Recent cognitive neuroscience theories of stress propose that stress promotes a shift from

cognitive to habitual processing. It has been hypothesised that dyslexics demonstrate

deficits in procedural processing, essentially parallel to habitual processing, suggesting that

dyslexics may be negatively affected by stress. The present study aimed to investigate how

stress affects the performance of dyslexic children and to identify dyslexic learning

preferences, which can be drawn upon to reduce stress in the classroom. An opportunity

sample of 20 students, 14 dyslexics and 6 non-dyslexics, underwent a series of six tasks

under stressful and non- stressful conditions. No overall significant effect of stress or group

on performance was found, except a dyslexic advantage on declarative tasks. (Overall alpha

level was .05.). An interview was also administrated, in line with positive dyslexia theories.

The interview aimed to establish strengths of dyslexic children, assuming that stress can be

minimised if focus lies on their abilities, rather than disabilities. Distinct learning preferences

were identified for the dyslexic group in support of the ‘Big Six Skills’ (Agahi & Nicolson,

2013).

The democratic deficit in wind farm siting

Agnes Bray: Year 2

Dr Christopher Jones, Dr John Steel

A sizeable majority of the UK population are reportedly favourable to the building of new wind farms in the UK yet many specific projects are delayed or curtailed as a result of an 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 the refusal of wind farm applications. Namely, that because opponents are able to advocate their opinion more effectively these negative views are perceived to be normative within the community, even though opponents might be an actual minority. This research draws data from a survey study conducted with residents (N = 98) living near the proposed Cottam Airfield wind farm in East Riding, Yorkshire, and aims to explore how people perceive the opinions of others around them and whether this has implications for their actions and their willingness to speak about the local wind farm proposal. The results show firstly, that supporters falsely believe that they are a minority, and secondly, that a large group of supporters refrain from vocalising their opinion because they believe that their opinion will clash with others’ in the community. These findings indicate that there is an emerging democratic deficit in the case of the proposed Cottam Airfield wind farm.

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Cholinergic Modulation of Neurovascular Coupling and Neuroimaging Signals

Gaia Brezzo: Year 2

Dr. Chris Martin, Dr. Jason Berwick

In recent years a growing 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. This has led to research targeted interventions to improve neurovascular function directly, whereby preserving brain health and thus providing a degree of neuroprotection from neurodegenerative diseases. Several central nervous system (CNS) penetrating cholinergic drugs such as donepezil have been developed for the treatment of AD and have shown to reduce disease symptoms, by improving cognitive and memory functions. A recent study (Kocsis et al., 2014), suggested that cognitive enhancement effects of CNS cholinergic drugs were mediated by vascular and not neuronal actions. An important question is whether and how these vascular effects are manifested in the brain’s neurovascular coupling response, in terms of the rapid and local adjustment of cerebral blood flow (CBF) to changing neuronal metabolic demands. To investigate this, we used a combination of CBF imaging and electrophysiological techniques in a rodent model with the aim of identifying the effects of pharmacological manipulations of brain acetylcholine (using a cholinergic inhibitor – scopolamine) on neuronal, haemodynamic and neurovascular coupling measurements. Preliminary findings have revealed a decrease in baseline blood flow and haemodynamic response magnitude for scopolamine, although electrophysiological data show little alternation to neuronal response magnitudes. These findings require further validation (increase n) but if a neurovascular modulation is confirmed, it may represent an important physiological component of the effectiveness of cholinergic drugs for the treatment of AD.

Implementing Evidence Based Practice in University Counselling Centres

Emma Broglia: Year 1

Professor Michael Barkham, Dr Abigail Millings

The demand for counselling services in Higher Education (HE) has been ever-increasing

with the presentation of more complex mental health needs. Furthermore, the student

demographic is changing in response to new government initiatives to widen access to

university and raise the tuition fee regime. At this time of change, embedded counselling

services are challenged to provide evidence of the effectiveness of their services and to

facilitate service development. However, inconsistencies in reporting methods have hindered

shared practice across the sector and UK norms on student counselling are yet to be

established. In order to support embedded counselling and facilitate service development it

is critical to implement evidence based practice. Employing research in this way holds

potential to empower counselling and therapeutic staff to optimise the effectiveness of their

services. I intend to address this need during my PhD with the support of the British

Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). In doing so, study 1 evaluated 80

student counselling services and sought interest from 45 heads of service for follow-up

interviews. In study 2, a Practice Research Network (PRN) was formed between heads of

University Counselling Services; with the aim to encourage UK norms for student

counselling. This was developed further in a recent implementation of a multi-site service

development comparing clinical outcome measures. Data from study 1 and 2 will be used to

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design a multi-site feasibility trial to explore the efficacy, acceptability and cost-effectiveness

of an enhanced university counselling service.

Substance P release in the striatum improves efficiency of switching between distinct actions in action sequences

David Buxton: Year 1

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'. It has previously been believed that selection of a particular action could be explained by mutual inhibition between GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs) enforcing a ‘winner-takes-all’ outcome for the action channel of greatest salience. However, this account does not explain the ability of the striatum to perform clean, rapid switching between distinct actions that form part of a learned action sequence. Substance P (SP) is a neuropeptide co-released with GABA in MSNs preferentially expressing D1 dopamine receptors. SP has a facilitatory effect on subsequent glutamatergic inputs to target MSNs, suggesting an additional co-operative function for the MSN network. Additionally, blocking the action of SP in the striatum is known to affect behavioural transitions. It has therefore been suggested that the release of SP may boost the effective salience of inputs to target MSNs and allow for rapid switching between actions in an action sequence. The current research uses a computational model of a core GABAergic striatal microcircuit to show that switching between actions in a sequence takes place more efficiently in a model with patterned SP connectivity. Specifically, for an action sequence of the form A-B, the model shows a selection advantage for a structured projection scheme in which SP is released from MSNs encoding action A that project to MSNs representing action B. This supports the hypothesis that SP plays a role in action sequence generation and suggests that formation of directional SP projections may be part of action sequence automatisation

Interventions for the reduction of stigma towards individuals with visible differences

Ana M C Coneo: Year 1

Dr Andrew Thompson, Professor Paul Norman and Dr Stacey Lavda

Individuals with visible differences often report experiencing stigmatisation which contributes towards high levels of psychological distress in this population (Kent, 1999; Lebel et al., 2013). Research suggests that people living with a visible difference are, in fact, victims of negative and intrusive reactions from others (such as exclusion and staring) and this has detrimental effects on educational, occupational and personal outcomes (Hong, Koo, & Koo, 2008). However, little is known about the cognitive variables underlying negative reactions towards this population and there is a need for the development of effective stigma-reduction interventions that address this phenomenon. The proposed PhD research will develop and test stigma-reduction strategies.

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The development of an intervention program will be based on a systematic review of the literature evaluating the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions to reduce health-related stigma. The empirical work will consist of two studies. Study 1 will test the association between appearance-related cognitions (valence and salience of appearance) and levels of stigmatisation towards visible differences. As we hypothesise that there will be a positive relationship between valence and salience of appearance and stigmatisation, participants with higher valence and salience will be invited to a second study, designed to test a self-image maintenance intervention strategy to reduce stigma.

Ultimate aim of this research project is to increase our understanding of the phenomenon of stigmatisation towards disfigurement and to develop an effective intervention program that could transcend the laboratory and be tested in the field.

Examining the roles of disgust and self-compassion on the development of depressive symptoms in people with a visible skin condition

Elaine Clarke: Year One

Dr Andrew Thompson, Prof Paul Norman, Dr Stacey Lavda

Skin disease is highly prevalent and carries with it an increased risk of depression (Dalgard et al., 2015). People with visible differences are likely to encounter avoidance and disgust reactions from others (Ryan, Oaten, Stevenson, & Case, 2012), and disgust appears to be important in depression. Depressed people process disgust expressions differently to controls (Surguladze et al., 2010) and there is emerging evidence that self-directed disgust is an antecedent of depressive symptoms (Powell, Overton & Simpson, 2014). Feelings of disgust directed towards one’s own skin among people with skin disease might put these individuals at greater risk of depression.

In spite of the increased risk of depression among people with visible differences there is wide individual variation in psychopathology, with many people coping well (Thompson & Kent, 2001). Individual differences in self-compassion may account for this variation, as self-compassion is negatively associated with psychopathology, including depression (MacBeth & Gumley, 2012). Self-compassion comprises self-kindness, mindfulness, and a sense of the common humanity of one’s difficulties, rather than being self-judgemental, over-identifying with distress, and feeling isolated by one’s difficulties (Neff, 2003). The ability to be self-compassionate may therefore protect people from the development of depression.

The current study will investigate the relationship between disgust and depressive symptoms in people with skin disease, and explore the role of self-compassion as a moderator of this relationship.

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Communication with Companion Robots: Individual Differences and Shared Signals

Emily Collins: Year 3

Prof. Tony Prescott, Dr. Abigail Millings

Recently, the concept of a `companion robot' as a healthcare tool has been popularised, and

even commercialised. Here I present MIRO, a robot that is biomimetic in aesthetics,

morphology, behaviour, and control architecture. I review how these design choices affect its

suitability for a companionship role. In particular, I consider how emulation of the familiar

body language and other emotional expressions of mammals may facilitate effective

communication with naïve users through the reliable evocation of intended perceptions of

emotional state and intent. I go on to present a brief pilot study addressing the question of

whether shared cultural signals can be relied upon, similarly, as components of

communication systems for companion robots. I explain that this study forms part of an

ongoing effort to understand and quantify human responses to robot expressive behaviour

and, thereby, develop a methodology for optimising the design of social robots by accounting

for individual and cultural differences.

Bidirectional associations between maternal depression and childhood emotional and behavioural problems

Simone Croft: Year 3

Dr. Richard Rowe, Dr. Christopher Stride

There is evidence that child behaviour is both a cause and a consequence of depressed

mood in parents. This longitudinal study explores behavioural continuity and reciprocity of

maternal depression and the emotional and behavioural problems of offspring across

childhood.

Repeated measures of self-reported maternal depression (Kessler 6 scale) and parent-

reported conduct problems, hyperactivity, emotional and peer problems (Strengths and

Difficulties Questionnaire) were obtained from over 16,000 families from the Millennium

Cohort Study when children were aged 3, 5, 7 and 11.

Autoregressive cross-lagged models were used to assess continuity and reciprocity of

behaviours over time. Autoregressive parameters estimate time-specific elements of

repeated measures, i.e. that previous behaviour directly influences later behaviour, while

cross-lagged parameters enable tests of reciprocal associations between parent and child

behaviours i.e. measures of maternal depression predict later increases in child outcomes

(parent effects) and child behaviours predict elevated depression scores at subsequent

assessments (child effects).

Significant and positive autoregressive parameters revealed substantial behavioural

continuity for mothers and children across time. Bidirectional associations that were positive

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and significant support both parent effects (i.e. maternal depression predicted later increases

in conduct problems, hyperactivity, emotional and peer problems) and child effects (i.e. child

behaviours predicted elevated maternal depression scores at subsequent time points).

Gender differences were not observed.

The practical and clinical implications of our findings are discussed alongside directions for

future research.

Diversity as Inspiration: Can Counter-Stereotypical Diversity Experiences Boost

Cognitive Performance?

Ekaterina Damer: Year 2

Prof. Richard Crisp, Dr. Thomas Webb, Dr. Chantelle Wood

Muslim hipsters, female CEOs, and hippie lawyers: Complex combinations of social,

religious and cultural identities increasingly characterise societies. How do humans

cognitively adapt to such new forms of social and cultural diversity? Despite recent advances

in theoretical integration (Crisp & Meleady, 2012; Crisp & Turner, 2011), astonishingly little

social psychological research has addressed this question in a systematic fashion. Emerging

evidence on the effects of counter-stereotypical diversity experiences indicates that they not

only lead to prejudice reduction but also boost cognitive flexibility (Goclowska & Crisp, 2013)

and reduce reliance on heuristic thinking (Prati, Vasiljevic, Crisp, & Rubini, 2015). Building

on this work, we have explored in three studies to what extent imagined contact with and

exposure to counter-stereotypical individuals can help boosting fundamental cognitive

processes. In the first two studies (a lab and an online experiment) we predicted and found

that imagined contact with a counter-stereotypical (vs. stereotypical) Muslim marginally

enhanced performance on heuristics and biases problems (Study 1) and boosted cognitive

reflection (Study 2). In study 3, we aimed to conceptually replicate this finding with a novel

manipulation and a new measure of cognitive reflection (Toplak, West & Stanovich, 2014). In

this online experiment we again found a marginal increase in critical thinking among those

participants who had imagined a counter-stereotypical female political leader (vs.

stereotypical female high school teacher). We highlight the importance of diversity

experiences for varied aspects of psychological functioning and hope to provide a reorienting

call in the study of social and cultural diversity.

Development of a video-based paradigm for examining anticipation skill

Dan Denis: Year 2

Dr. Richard Rowe, and Dr. Elizabeth Milne

Here we describe the development of a video-based test of expert anticipation skill in tennis

that would be suitable for EEG. In experiment 1, expert and novice tennis players watched

whole tennis groundstrokes and were required to anticipate shot direction as quickly and

accurately as possible. Whilst experts were significantly more accurate than novices, they

were also significantly slower to react. To look more specifically at the use of anticipatory

cues in the player’s body kinematics, in experiment 2 each trial was occluded 40ms before

racket-ball contact, meaning participants could only use kinematic information to anticipate

shot direction. Out of the 200 trials shown to participants, a significant effect of expertise was

found on a sub-set of these trials. To further validate this finding, a split-half method was

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used. There was a significant association between expertise effects on a trial in both halves

of the dataset (69.88% similarity). Trials showing a significant effect of expertise in half 1

also showed a significant expertise effect in half 2. Experiment 3 was a pilot EEG study of 13

participants, which showed that the test is able to elicit EEG components relevant to action

observation and understanding.

Exploring the relationship between separate working memory components and maths performance

Andrea Díaz-Barriga Yáñez: Year 1

Dr. Daniel Carroll, Dr. Danielle Matthews

It is known that mathematical abilities have a strong impact on different areas of life. Poor mathematical skills have actually a higher impact on life chances than poor literacy (Parsons & Bynner, 2005). Thus, understanding how children are able to successfully solve mathematical problems becomes and important subject to address. It is true that many different factors may contribute to mathematical abilities success, but it’s been shown that some cognitive traits may be helping to the account; such is the case of working memory (WM). The association between this two variables, has been demonstrated even beyond the contributions of intelligence (Passolunghi, Mammarella & Altoe, 2008; Alloway & Alloway, 2010; Geary, 2011). Furthermore, other studies had suggested different contributions of different WM components in relation to mathematical performance (Holmes & Adams, 2006; Holmes, Adams, Hamilton, 2008). Nevertheless, there are still inconsistencies in the literature proving the need to further explore the relationship between this two variables. This understanding may lead to the design of better training studies clarifying what it is to be trained, especially since it has been demonstrated that although you can improve performance on working memory this has no transfer effect to classroom environments. We are interested in exploring the relationship between WM components and maths performance in children attending Reception and Year 1. To do so, we use three different tasks to tap each WM component, and a numerical operations and mathematical reasoning task to tap maths performance. We also evaluated children’s vocabulary. Thus, we hypothesize that WM components are differently involved in solving mathematical problems.

Enhanced orientation discrimination and increased peak gamma frequency in autism

spectrum conditions

Abby Dickinson: Year 3

Dr Elizabeth Milne, Dr Myles Jones

Atypical perception, such hyper-as sensitivity to some types of visual stimuli (Tavassoli et al., 2013), is commonly reported in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). In the visual domain, those with high levels of autistic traits have been shown to display enhanced (lower) orientation discrimination thresholds (Dickinson et al., 2014).

As neural inhibition is highly implicated in the orientation tuning process, it is possible that higher levels of neural inhibition may lead to enhanced orientation discrimination thresholds.

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Peak gamma frequency is said to measure the balance of neural excitation and inhibition (E/I). Higher peak frequencies are associated with higher levels of inhibition (Muthukumaraswamy, et al., 2009). Here, we investigated whether orientation discrimination thresholds are altered ASC, and measured peak gamma frequency to determine whether this may be due to an E/I imbalance.

We measured orientation discrimination thresholds (n=96) and peak gamma frequency (n=80) in individuals with ASC, and matched control participants. Orientation discrimination thresholds were significantly lower in adults with ASC (M= 5.81, SD=2.26) than those without (M=6.88, SD=2.37; t(94)=-2.267, p=.026). Peak gamma frequency was also significantly higher in individuals with ASC (M=60.50, SD=11.38) than control subjects (M=52.34, SD=12.51, t(78)=3.03, p=.003).

This study is the first to measure peak gamma frequency in ASC, and demonstrates that in addition to superior orientation discrimination, we also see higher peak gamma frequency in those with ASC. This suggests that at least some individuals with ASC may have higher levels of neural inhibition. This discovery is significant as it challenges the currently-held view that ASC are associated with increased neural excitation.

Pretending not to hear: potential demonstrations of toddlers’ understanding of the

communicative intention

Ed Donnellan: Year 2

Dr. Richard Moore1, Dr. Elena Hoicka, Dr. Katie Slocombe2 & Dr. Danielle Matthews

1 Berlin School of Mind and Brain, 2 University of York,

Human communication is thought to have a dual intentional structure (Sperber & Wilson,

1986). When we communicate, we want our audience to recognize both that we are

communicating (our communicative intention), and what we are communicating (our

informative intention). Theoretical accounts propose that grasping this structure facilitates

language development (e.g. Tomasello, 2008). However, beyond a study with 3-year-olds

(Grosse, Scott-Phillips, & Tomasello, 2013) there are no studies into this pragmatic insight.

We present a novel study of toddlers’ attempts to pretend not to hear requests. Arguably,

this behaviour indicates they understand, and can selectively respond to communicative

intentions. We measured children’s ability to pretend not to hear through observing their

response when parents requested they do something pleasant (have a snack) or unpleasant

(change a nappy). In a comprehension study, we also measured children’s responses to a

scenario where adults occasionally didn’t notice, or noticed but did not respond to another’s

communicative efforts.

Both 18- and 24-month-olds (N=27) were able to selectively not respond to unpleasant

requests – a necessary prerequisite for pretending not to hear. These toddlers avoided eye

contact, remained silent and often continued with their activity. Some, typically older

children, also actively engaged in a new activity in an apparent attempt to make their

pretence more convincing. In the comprehension study, 24- but not 18-month-olds (N=30)

distinguished between cases where someone either did not notice, or noticed but did not

respond, to another’s communicative effort. We will present these findings along with a

follow-up study currently in progress.

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Understanding physically aggressive and non-aggressive behaviours amongst youth: Sensation seeking and callous and unemotional traits disqualified empathy

Saima Eman: Year 3

Prof. Rod I Nicolson and Dr. Mark Blades

Rationale: Empathy, sensation seeking, and callous and unemotional (CU) personality traits are different emotions related to antisocial behaviours (ASB). However, the evidence is not only inconsistent about the relationship between these personality traits and ASB, but it is not apparent which of these emotions predict specific ASB subtypes amongst normal youth.

Introduction to the study: This study examines subtypes of empathy (i.e. emotional reactivity, cognitive empathy and social skills), main and subtypes of sensation seeking (disinhibition, thrill and adventure seeking and experience seeking) main and subtypes of CU traits (callous, uncaring and unemotional) in hierarchical and stepwise regression models predicting physically aggressive (actual or threatened aggression against living things) and non-aggressive (actual or threatened aggression against others’ possessions) subtypes of ASB.

Method: Predominantly female students N=428, aged 18-25 years, from University of Sheffield, UK completed an online self-report survey consisting of modified Emotional Quotient-15, Brief Sensation Seeking Scale-8, The Inventory of Callous and Unemotional traits -24 (Youth version) and the Antisocial Behaviour Measure-17.

Results: Sensation seeking and CU traits followed by emotional reactivity predicted ASB subtypes. “Callousness” `and “disinhibition” were significant predictors of non-aggressive behaviours, while “callousness” and “thrill and adventure seeking” were significant predictors of physically aggressive behaviours.

Conclusion: Empathy does not predict ASB subtypes when sensation seeking and CU traits are predictors. Furthermore, callousness and different aspects of sensation seeking predict ASB subtypes.

Implications: This study contributes to knowledge about development of antisocial behaviours amongst normal youth and promotes consideration of preventive measures before one becomes an offender.

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Can we improve police interviews with child victims by reducing the number of officers who interview them?

Gkolfo (Fenia) Ferra: Year 3

Dr. Mark Blades, Dr. Sarah Krähenbühl, Prof. Rod Nicolson

Children will be interviewed by police officers if they alleged they have been abused, or if they have witnessed a crime.

In nearly all experimental studies of children’s eyewitness performance, there is only one interviewer. But in actual police interviews in Greece children will be questioned by 2 or 3 interviewers. Therefore the conclusions drawn from most of the studies of children’s eyewitness performance (with a single interviewer) may not apply to real life contexts (with up to 3 interviewers).

A few researchers have indicated the superiority of one-to-one contexts and have suggested that children produce more detailed and accurate disclosures when they are interviewed by one person. We investigated whether this would be the case for Greek children if interviewed about an event they had witnessed.

We hypothesized that children will give more complete and accurate testimonies if they are asked to recall information in front of one adult than in front of three adults.

Almost 200 students, aged between 6 and 12 years of age, have been recruited from 6 primary schools in Greece. The children watch a 7 minute film.. One week later half of the children were interviewed by one adult and the other half by three unfamiliar adults about the short film they watched. The children were asked for free recall about the event in the film and were then asked 24 specific questions about it.

If children have fuller and/or more accurate recall when interviewed by one person, this will have important implication for police practice in Greece.

Young people and Legal Highs: Development of theory-based health messages

Emily Gagnon: Year 1

Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Jilly Martin

Legal Highs are the common name for Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS). These legally available chemical substances can be used recreationally to produce similar effects to illegal drugs. With the number of people in the UK in treatment for taking Legal Highs rising 216% in the last five years, use of these substances poses a growing health threat, particularly to young people. Whilst research currently remains limited to issues of toxicology and detection in an attempt to inform legislation and control supply, the rapid emergence and easy availability of new psychoactive substances creates a steady supply of legally available drugs. This places the burden of responsibility for reduction of their use onto the individual. To date, no research has attempted to develop theory-based health messages about the use of Legal Highs. This research comprises of a series of studies as part of a multi-stage process for the development of theory-based health messages aimed at reducing young

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people’s use of Legal Highs. In the first stage, focus groups with a range of young people and key stakeholders will use semi-structured questions based around constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Behavioural Reasoning Theory and Prototype Willingness Theory to elicit young people’s beliefs and attitudes concerning the use of Legal Highs. Findings of the focus group will then inform the development of a questionnaire aimed at identifying which beliefs are key salient beliefs. The results will ultimately inform the development of an intervention co-produced with a diverse group of young people.

Physical and Mental Coordination in the elderly: A causal role for the cerebellum?

Zoe Gallant: Year 3

Prof. Rod Nicolson, Dr. Yan Jing Wu

Background: There remains considerable uncertainty as to the underlying causes of

cognitive decline in the elderly, with recent strong evidence of subcortical contributions to

cognitive function and cognitive coordination suggesting a potentially fruitful direction for

research. Recent intervention studies have highlighted the importance of exercise,

coordinative as well as aerobic, in increasing both hippocampal and cerebellar volume, with

corresponding improvements in both physical and mental performance. The present study

investigated further the link between subcortical and cortical function in the elderly by

undertaking a coordinative exercise intervention.

Method: 98 healthy older adult volunteers (mean age 68.2, S.D 6.6) participated and were

split into control and intervention groups. All participants undertook an initial series of pre-

tests designed to evaluate Physical Coordination, Memory, Language Dexterity, Fluid

Thinking and Affect, with identical post-tests around two months later. The intervention group

undertook an 8 week internet-based coordinative exercise intervention, while the control

group continued ‘life as normal.’

Results: The intervention group showed significant pre- to post improvements in 12 of the

18 tests, whereas the controls improved significantly on one only. Effect sizes ranged from

0.1 to 0.6. MANOVA revealed significant between-group differences for the physical tasks

and for the declarative memory tasks. Individual ANOVAs indicated that the intervention

group improved significantly more than the controls on three tests - Balance, Peg Assembly

and Delayed Picture Recall.

Conclusions: The results are consistent with studies indicating the benefits of exercise for

the elderly, but to our knowledge this is the first study that has investigated a range of

attributes from affective to cognitive to sensorimotor skills. The findings indicate that it is both

feasible and beneficial to deliver an internet-based balance and coordination program to

older adults, and highlight the opportunities for larger studies.

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How self-organisation can guide evolution

Jonathan Glancy: Year 3

Dr. Stuart Wilson, Dr. James Stone, Dr. Roderich Gross

Self-organisation is a process where patterns, or order, emerge at a group level from numerous interactions between low level components. There are examples of self-organisation across a breadth of sciences, from the flocking behaviour of birds in biology, to reaction diffusion equations in chemistry. Thermoregulatory huddling of juvenile rodents is an example of self-organisation, where an ability to maintain a desired body temperature is only possible through co-operation. By modelling huddling behaviours as simple, individual responses to local stimuli we can show how a group of ectothermic individuals are able to achieve thermal homeostasis across a range of environmental temperatures.

Clearly self-organising behaviours can be beneficial to the individuals, but what influence do they have across generations? Can self-organising behaviours help shape evolutionary trajectories? We investigated these questions through a toy problem, where an evolutionary algorithm attempts to optimise thermodynamic properties of an individual. In the absence of our self-organising behaviour (huddling), the system is found to be nearly impossible to optimise. However, when huddling was enabled we found that the problem becomes far more tractable, and an evolutionary algorithm is able to optimise the system. We believe this makes thermoregulatory huddling an example of the Baldwin Effect, where an adaptive process within an organism greatly improves the search-space for evolution.

Perceptions of talking therapy procedures for depression

Phillippa Harrison: Year 1

Prof. Michael Barkham, Prof. Gillian Hardy

In its first year in 2008, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) achieved a

successful 42% recovery rate for those with depression and anxiety, which has continued to

increase each year. However, those who do not successfully complete their treatment or

“drop out” are often less likely to remit and require further future treatment, which increases

the financial burden on NHS resources. To target the problem of therapeutic drop out in

therapies for depression, three client factors that influence perceptions have been identified

as likely contributors: expectation (expectancy of improvement and treatment credibility),

engagement and coping style. It is hypothesised that, when therapeutic orientation is

matched to these client factors, drop out rate will be reduced. Three questionnaires to

assess perceptions of therapy are proposed, which will be developed and validated using a

non-clinical sample. After being validated for use, this questionnaire will be extended to

Sheffield IAPT clients as part of a city-wide randomised controlled trial. The questionnaires

will determine whether one’s coping style (problem or emotion-focussed), as manifested

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through their expectations of and expected engagement with therapy, is matched to the

therapy they are randomised to. The IAPT-delivered therapies of Cognitive Behavioural

Therapy (CBT) and Counselling for Depression (CfD) will be compared for how well matched

their orientations are to individuals’ needs and whether this influences drop out rate.

Relatively little is known about the impact of client perceptions on therapeutic outcome

which, if shown to contribute, are ideal targets for pre-therapy intervention due to their

flexibility.

Can mindfulness protect against the development of OCD? The relationship between

mindfulness, obsessive intrusive thoughts and executive function in a subclinical

population

Connor Heapy: Year 1

Dr Lisa-Marie Emerson, Dr Dan Carroll

Obsessive compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by repetitive intrusive thoughts alongside mental or physical compulsive acts. Intrusive thoughts are also experienced by a ‘subclinical’ population; individuals who score highly on measures of OCD but who do not meet diagnostic criteria for OCD (Gibbs, 1996). Research suggests that individuals with OCD demonstrate deficits in some areas of executive function, including working memory, cognitive inhibition and cognitive flexibility (Abramovitch, Abramowitz, & Mittelman, 2013). However, little research has explored whether these same deficits exist in individuals with subclinical OCD symptoms and doing so may point to some of the protective factors that prevent nonclinical individuals from developing OCD. In addition, it may highlight possible target areas for interventions designed to reduce OCD symptoms. This project therefore aims to explore these executive function differences further in a subclinical sample. In addition to this, the project aims to investigate the use of an acceptance based intervention – mindfulness – in reducing OCD symptoms through its impact on executive functions.

Are people more likely to use automatic interpersonal emotion regulation

when experiencing mental load in a social context?

Daría Hernández Ibar: Year 3

Dr Thomas Webb, Prof Peter Totterdell

The present research explores interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) strategies (the things

people do to initiate, maintain, modulate, or change the occurrence, intensity, or duration of

someone else's emotions) in the context of a speed dating event. To elicit automatic IER we

assigned half of participants to a low cognitive capacity condition (remembering an 11-digit

number). Participants engaged in 5 or 6 different dates. After each date participants

answered a questionnaire about the emotion regulation strategies that they used and

experienced during the date. We distinguished automatic from controlled IER based on three

features: the extent to which it was (i) conscious or unconscious, (ii) intentional or

unintentional and, (iii) efficient. Participants in the low cognitive condition reported less

intention in the use of IER strategies the more dates they have had. These results suggest

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that IER requires cognitive resources which could have implications for interpersonal

interactions as these could be affected by fatigue and circumstances where cognitive

resources are not available.

Little Green Lies: exploring compensatory beliefs within an environmental domain

Aimie Hope: Year 3

Dr. Christopher Jones, Dr. Thomas Webb and Dr. Matthew Watson (Geography)

People generate justifications that permit them to give into temptations, even when so doing conflicts with their long term interests (De Witt Huberts et al. 2014). For example, Monson et al. (2006) found that dieters spontaneously generated compensatory beliefs when presented with high calorie foods (e.g., by reasoning that they could eat now and exercise later). Where compensatory beliefs are inaccurate or where people fail to follow through with the compensatory action there is an increased risk of failure to achieve long term goals. Recently, the concept of compensatory beliefs has been extended to the environmental domain (see Kaklamanou et al. 2013). This has led to concerns that just as people with the goal of achieving healthier lifestyles employ compensatory beliefs to justify acting in unhealthy ways, people may also justify desirable but environmentally harmful behaviours using compensatory strategies (e.g., “I just recycled so I can use the car now”). Results from a series of qualitative and experimental studies exploring whether, when, why and how people use compensatory beliefs to justify acting in environmentally detrimental ways will be presented.

Can emotional content be used to improve the effectiveness of implementation

intentions?

Tom Hostler: Year 3

Dr. Chantelle Wood, Prof. Chris Armitage¹

¹University of Manchester

Implementation intentions are “if [situation], then [behaviour]” plans that help people to

achieve their goals by planning a specific course of action in response to a situational cue.

Making an implementation intention has been shown to increase the cognitive accessibility

of the chosen cue, and help to automate the behavioural response when the cue is

encountered, which results in increased goal attainment. Prospective memory (PM) is

defined as memory for performing actions in the future in response to a previously chosen

cue and is therefore theoretically very similar to implementation intentions. Previous

research has shown that using a cue with emotional content - for example an emotional

word, or picture – can improve performance on a PM task, in comparison to a neutral cue.

Two experiments are described that investigated whether using emotional cues in an

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implementation intention paradigm would improve performance on a word-search task, in

which the goal was to respond especially quickly when a certain word was found.

Experiment 1 was conducted on young adults, and found a beneficial effect of forming

implementation intentions compared to control instructions, but a detrimental effect of

emotion. Experiment 2 used a similar methodology, and was conducted on older adults.

There was no effect of emotion, but in this sample implementation intentions hindered, rather

than improved, goal completion in comparison to control instructions. These results, some

possible theoretical explanations and their implications are discussed.

Approach and avoidance behaviours during adolescence

Philippa Howsley: Year 2

Dr. Liat Levita, Prof. Glenn Waller

Adolescence is a time 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 avoidance behaviours during adolescence. Recent EEG findings have shown that adults and adolescents show learning-dependent potentiation of N170 amplitudes to warning signals when avoiding unpleasant outcomes. Moreover, potentiation of the N170 was greater in adolescents in comparison to adults (Levita, Howsley, Johnson & Johnston, 2014). Therefore, this study examined age-related behavioural and neural changes in approach and avoidance behaviours during late childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. This study aimed to validate and extend our previous EEG findings (Levita, Howsley, Johnson & Johnston, 2014), as well as to assess the relationship between risk-taking behaviours and anxiety during childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Ninety participants aged 9-24 years old completed an approach-avoidance task while their brain activity was measured using EEG. Participants’ risk-taking behaviours and anxiety levels were also assessed. Behavioural and EEG findings from this study will be presented. This research allows us to further understand how approach and avoidance behaviours develop throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood and why anxiety and risk-taking behaviours increase so dramatically during adolescence.

Exercise After Leaving University: A Theory of Planned Behaviour Approach

Gareth Jones: Year 3

Prof. Paul Norman, Dr. Jilly Martin

The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used as the overarching theoretical framework

for the PhD research. The TPB incorporates three sets of beliefs: behavioural beliefs about

the consequences or advantages/disadvantages of the behaviour, normative beliefs about

the perceived views of important others, and control beliefs about the factors that may

facilitate or hinder performance of the behaviour. These beliefs determine attitude, subjective

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norm (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC), respectively, which in turn determine

intention, the proximal antecedent of behaviour.

Study 1 was a belief elicitation study and was conducted with final year undergraduate

students (N = 11) using an online questionnaire to identify the modal salient beliefs about

exercise after leaving university. Study 2 (N = 136) was a prospective study applying an

extended version of the TPB questionnaire, including habit strength, self-identity and action

planning, to predict exercise behaviour after leaving university.

Study 3 (N = 125) was an intervention study, based on previous studies, testing a TPB-

based intervention to reduce the negative effect of leaving university on exercise behaviour.

A 2 (condition: intervention vs. control) x 2 (time: end of university vs. 6 months follow-up)

mixed-measures design was employed to test the impact of the intervention on post-

university exercise levels. In both conditions, exercise levels decreased over the transition.

There was a significant difference between conditions at time one in SN and self-efficacy,

with the intervention condition scoring higher than the control condition. However, the effect

of the intervention on TPB beliefs and exercise behaviour at follow-up was non-significant.

This research adds to the current body of literature on the TPB and exercise. It supports the

use of the TPB as a predictive model across a significant life transition, although evidence

for its use to inform interventions to change exercise behavior is equivocal.

The effects of technology and peer collaboration on children’s creativity

Birsu Kandemirci: Year 1

Dr Elena Hoicka, Dr Danielle Matthews

Creativity has been widely described as coming up with ideas and/or products that are both

novel and appropriate. Creativity of children has received a good deal of interest over the

past few years. Given the circumstances in this century, children are more and more

connected with technology and it is becoming an inevitable part of their lives. This situation

brings up some questions about the impacts of technology on children’s development in

many different aspects. My study focuses on the effects of using technological devices on

children’s creativity. More precisely, I am looking at children’s storytelling abilities in both

technological and non-technological conditions by using a story telling tool. The tool consists

of 9 cubes that have different pictures on each side and the task involves rolling the cubes

and telling a story by combining the pictures that are faced up. Children receive the game in

two different formats: with actual cubes and as a mobile device application on a tablet. In

addition, there is a control condition where children tell a story without using any tool. My aim

with this exploratory study is to look at the outcomes of using a traditional tool, a

technological tool or not using a tool in terms of the creative values of the stories. In order to

examine whether children can understand the task and respond as expected, I conducted a

pilot study with 5 and 6-year-olds. At the moment I am contacting schools to recruit

participants for the actual study. Future studies will involve looking at the effects of both

technology and peer collaboration on children’s creativity.

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Tactile Language for a Head-mounted Sensory Augmentation Device

Hamideh Kerdegari: Year 3

Prof. Tony Prescott, Dr. Sean Anderson, Dr. Tom Stafford

Sensory augmentation means the additional synthesized information to an existing sensory channel rather than translate the form of one modality into the form of another. Additional senses provided by sensory augmentation can be used to provide spatial sensory information to visually impaired people and augment the spatial awareness of people operating in hazardous environments such as smoked-filled buildings. We present the design of a 2nd generation vibrotactile helmet as a sensory augmentation prototype that is being devel-oped to help users to navigate in low visibility environments. Using our vi-brotactile helmet prototype, we are seeking to understand what are the mini-mal vibrotactile commands—the tokens of the command language—that can be used to relay useful navigational information, minimize information over-load, and that have the potential to become ‘experientially transparent’.

In our experiment, the participant (while wearing the helmet) navigates along a virtual wall

whilst the position and orientation of the participant’s head is tracked by a motion capture

system. Vibrotactile feedback is presented ac-cording to the user’s distance from the virtual

wall and their head orientation. We have considered three simple vibrotactile commands:

turn-right, turn-left and go-forward. We investigate these commands in four different ways:

re-curring apparent motion, single apparent motion, recurring discrete and single discrete.

The effectiveness of these commands is evaluated according to speed of movement and the

smoothness of the user’s trajectory. The results of this study will be presented at the

conference.

Can the brain escape its past?

Elizabeth Kirkham: Year 2

Dr. Liat Levita, Prof. Gillian Hardy

Early life stress (ELS) refers to acute or chronic stress that occurs during childhood or

adolescence. Commonly studied forms of ELS include physical, emotional and sexual

abuse, and emotional or physical neglect. Early life stress is associated with a multitude of

detrimental outcomes, some of which may not become apparent until adulthood. Adults who

encountered high levels of stress as children are significantly more likely than those who had

happy childhoods to experience clinical anxiety and/or depression. Studies with community

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samples demonstrate that even amongst adults who are clinically healthy, high levels of ELS

remain associated with high levels of anxiety and depression.

A key issue within this area of research is how to measure levels of ELS. The majority of

studies investigating adults’ experiences of ELS use self-report questionnaires. One such

questionnaire is the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS; Sanders & Becker-Lausen,

1995). In the present study participants were asked to complete the CATS along with

measures of anxiety and depression. In line with previous work, it was found that higher

scores on the CATS were associated with higher levels of both anxiety and depression. The

findings suggest that the CAT scale provides an adequate measure of ELS.

Research has consistently supported the relationship between ELS and elevated levels of

anxiety and depression in later life. However, rather less is known about the cognitive and

neural sequelae of ELS. Future studies will use the CATS measure to investigate potential

neurocognitive abnormalities amongst adults who encountered high levels of ELS.

Cognition and Behaviour in Sotos Syndrome

Chloe Lane: Year 1

Dr. Megan Freeth, Dr. Elizabeth Milne

Sotos syndrome is a congenital overgrowth disorder with an incidence of approximately 1 in 14,000 live births. The cardinal features of the syndrome are overgrowth with advanced bone age, macrocephaly, characteristic facial appearance and learning disability. A systematic review of all published literature (1964 – 2014) identified that forty two journal articles providing empirical data on cognition and behaviour in Sotos syndrome have been published to date. Within this literature, data relating to cognition and/or behaviour in 578 individuals with a diagnosis of Sotos syndrome were reported. Intellectual disability (IQ < 70) was present in the majority of individuals. Performance on subscales of intelligence tests indicated that verbal IQ scores are consistently higher than performance IQ scores. Key themes that emerged in the behavioural literature were overlap with ASD, ADHD and high prevalence of aggression/tantrums. However, it is clear from the literature to date that the cognitive and behavioural profile of Sotos syndrome has not yet been fully specified. The focus of our research will be to assess the cognitive abilities of individuals with Sotos syndrome in order to establish whether there is a consistent cognitive profile. Cognitive abilities will be measured using the British Ability Scales (BAS) and a standardised questionnaire will be used to assess behavioural problems.

A brief mindfulness induction to moderate the immediate impact of fast-paced television on children’s executive functioning

Anna Leyland: Year 2

Dr. Lisa-Marie Emerson, Dr. Georgina Rowse

Objective: The study aimed to explore the effects of a brief mindfulness induction to moderate the possible deleterious impact of cartoons on executive functioning (e.g. inhibition, working memory) of children aged 4-7 years.

Methods: One hundred and fifty six children aged 4-7-years were randomly assigned to one of three exposures: fast paced high fantasy cartoon; slow paced low fantasy cartoon or drawing control; and one of two interventions: brief mindfulness induction or connect the dots

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control. All children subsequently completed four measures of executive functioning. Parents completed surveys regarding child behaviour, daily screen time.

Results: There was a significantly lower performance on a composite measure of executive functions for children exposed to a fast paced high fantasy or slow paced low fantasy cartoon relative to a drawing control. The mindfulness intervention resulted in lower performances on executive functioning measures than connect-the-dots control intervention for the slow paced low fantasy cartoon and drawing control exposures. However, following the mindfulness intervention there was a significantly higher executive functioning score for those watching the fast paced high fantasy cartoon than for those children who watched the slow paced low fantasy cartoon.

Conclusion: Exposure to cartoons may have an immediate deleterious effect on child executive functions of children age 4-7 years. Practicing mindfulness as a novel task may have differential immediate effects on child executive functions.

The Role of Visual Perspective in Maximizing the Impact of Imagined Contact Effects

Aini Azeqa Ma’rof: 1

Prof. Richard Crisp, Dr Abigail Millings, Dr Thomas Webb.

Recent research has shown that imagined intergroup contact, being based upon the adoption of principles of mental imagery and imagination, is able to elicit attitudinal and motivational responses as actual contact experiences. We explored the conditions under which imagining contact would lead to greater altruistic prosocial behavior and reduce intergroup anxiety. In our study participants who imagined a positive intergroup contact and induced with a helping script subsequently reported greater altruistic prosocial behavior, lowered egoistic prosocial behavior and greater willingness for monetary donations compared to participants who solely imagined a positive contact situation. This study also found that by mentally picturing ourselves performing desired behavior from a third-person perspective gave the greatest impact in engaging people to altruistic behavior and promote monetary donations. This relationship was mediated by intergroup anxiety. These findings suggest that imagined contact gives more impact when imagined from a third-person perspective which also supported studies that imagining contact from a third-person perspective heightens the impact on intergroup attitudes and behavior (Crisp & Husnu, 2011). These results has further significant implications to be tested in educational settings and further capitalize on the benefits of mental imagery for improving intergroup relations and demonstrating actual prosocial behaviors.

Physiological Responses to a Real and Simulated UK Landscape containing Wind

Turbines

Keelan Meade: Year 3 Dr Chris Jones , & Prof. Eckart Lange (Landscape)

Introduction: Two studies were carried out to assess physiological responses to videos of

wind turbines in a real-world and computer-simulated landscape (created using Sketchup

and Google Earth). The aims of these studies were to: (1) examine differences in skin

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conductivity while viewing wind turbines; (2) analyse participants’ visual focus using eye-

tracking; (3) examine the relationship between participants’ physiological responses and

self-report measures of attitudes, and (4) compare participant reactions between the real

and simulated landscape.

Main Findings: The findings show a quadratic relationship between subjective ratings of

wind turbines and skin conductance response for the real landscape. Those at the extremes

showed a greater response when turbines were present than those with a more neutral

attitude to turbines. The eye-tracking data show that participants spent longer looking at a

farm with more but smaller turbines, than farms with fewer but bigger turbines. The eye-

tracking data also showed a similar pattern for the simulated landscape. However, the skin

conductance data was reversed, with a greater response from those with more neutral

attitudes.

Discussion: Research into public acceptance of wind energy shows that it is based on

many different factors [Devine-Wright (2013, 2009, 2007, 2005); Wolsink (2012, 2007,

2000)]. However, we know little about how the public will react to cumulative impacts (Jones

et al., 2011). The findings suggest that larger numbers of small turbines have a greater

impact than fewer, large turbines. This could help with planning decisions, particularly with

regards to repowering of wind farms.

With recent advances in technology, computer visualisations can be used to model

landscapes for interactive design and planning, as well as research (Lange, 2011; 2005;

2002). Results suggest that people look at the simulated landscape in a similar way to the

real landscape but that their affective responses differ. This may bring into question the

validity of the use of simulations for research or planning.

Imagined contact with socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals increases support for income equality

Justina Mischewski: Year 2

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, 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

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showed an increased preference for income equality compared to a control group. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Mindfulness and psychosocial distress in visible skin conditions

Kerry Montgomery: Year 2

Dr. Andrew Thompson, Prof. Paul Norman and Prof. Andrew Messenger (Dermatology)

Background: Skin conditions can be associated with social distress and poor quality of life.

Despite this, there are relatively few psychological interventions available. Growing evidence

suggests that Mindfulness interventions are effective in reducing symptoms associated with

social anxiety and there is an increasing interest in using mindfulness approaches for people

with chronic physical health conditions. This study aimed to examine the relationship

between five facets of mindfulness (FFMQ); observe, describe, act with awareness, non-

judging of inner experience and non-reactivity to inner experience, and psychosocial distress

in people living with visible skin conditions.

Method: Dermatology outpatients (n=120) completed questionnaires assessing social

anxiety, depression, anxiety, skin shame, quality of life (DLQI), subjective severity of

condition and mindfulness (FFMQ). The FFMQ proposes that mindfulness is a multi-faceted

construct and measures the five facets individually, yielding 5 individual scores from the

FFMQ.

Findings: Regression analyses revealed that mindfulness explained between 6% and 41%

of the variance in outcomes after controlling for subjective severity. Mindfulness accounted

for the largest amount of variance (41%) in social anxiety when compared with other

psychological outcomes. Awareness emerged as the most consistent independent predictor.

Discussion: The findings provide support for using mindfulness interventions, particularly

those focusing on awareness to reduce psychosocial distress in people living with visible

skin conditions.

Ethological decision making with Bayesian Techniques

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Luana Nunes: Year 2

Prof. Kevin Gurney , Dr. Roderich Gross (ACSE)

The Multihypothesis Sequential Probability Ratio Test (MSPRT) is a statistical decision

making algorithm that has, historically, been used in discrete trial-based schemes with

constant inputs. In contrast, ethologically plausible decision making in animals should

proceed in a continuous fashion, with dynamically varying input. We designed several

experiments using an MSPRT algorithm that receives continuous, non-stationary, inputs

working in continuous selection mode. Taken together, our results indicate how the MSPRT

mechanism may be recruited for continuous, ethologically plausible decision making with

non-stationary inputs. This decision making mechanism was applied to a shepherding

algorithm which reproduces key features of empirical data collected from sheep-dog

interactions. This algorithm models behaviour of sheep and a shepherding dog according to

a self-propelled particle model of local attraction-repulsion resulting in more realistic input

saliences due to the less contrived protocol.Considering the MSPRT’s link with Basal

Ganglia anatomy and the parallel between the sheep-dog protocol and the empirical data we

believe the combination of the two to be more biologically plausible then the majority of

existing decision making models and to generate realistic behaviour for the shepherding

agent.

Combining miniaturised head-mounted video-oculography with high-speed videography to explore the relationship between whisker and eye movements in freely

moving rats

Brendan O’Connor: Year 1

Prof. Tony Prescott, Dr. Kendra Arkley, Dr. Chris Martin

Rats actively control the movement and position of their large facial whiskers to explore and sense their environment. As whisker movements have been shown to be purposive (not as a result of simple reflex responses), they are purported to reflect the animal’s current focus of attention – the salient region space. However, attention is a process governed by the integration of information from different sensory modalities, yet how rats coordinate whisker movements with their other senses remains poorly understood. Of particular interest is how vision and whisker-touch interact, given that these senses appear to have evolved to serve very different purposes in rats – the whiskers to decode the space about the snout of the animal, and the eyes to facilitate the detection of predators in the sky. However, previous research from our laboratory has demonstrated rats to modify whisker movements depending on the availability of visual cues, suggesting that this sense is more than a predator detector, but is also being used to actively sample the environment in combination with the whiskers.

To further explore the relationship between vision and whisker-touch, I will describe a study in which high-speed videography and a head-mounted, miniaturised video-oculography system will be combined to record both whisker and eye movements simultaneously in freely moving rats. Through the manipulation of contextual variables, such as the risk of object collision, we predict that shifting the focus of the animal’s attention to a particular region of space will modulate both whisker and eye movements to preferentially sample this region.

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Clinician Groups and inadequate delivery of therapy

Zachary Parker: Year 2

Prof. Glenn Waller, Dr. Liat Levita

Introduction: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) offers the most efficacious treatment

intervention for anxiety disorders. However, the effectiveness of these treatments falls short

of their efficacy. Often, the interventions or the clients are blamed for shortcomings in

therapy. However, research has shown that the problem can be that clinicians are delivering

the therapy inaccurately, possibly due to a lack of awareness regarding shortcomings in their

delivery of therapy.

Methods: Psychologists who work with anxiety disorders were e-mailed or asked at

workshops to participate in this study. Clinicians provided demographics and clinical

practice details (e.g., theoretical paradigm, time spent with patients, etc.). Clinicians also

reported on how they thought their skills compared to their colleagues, their beliefs about

their own treatment outcomes and what clinical skills they used, and completed self-report

measures on anxiety and self-esteem.

Results: A majority of cognitive behavioural therapists are not adequately delivering CBT

interventions for anxiety disorders. Of the clinicians surveyed, very few met inclusion criteria

for minimally acceptable delivery of CBT. Of those who met inclusion, many also met

exclusion. These findings broadly support other research in the field.

Conclusion: A potential reason this deficit may be that clinicians are unaware of their own

shortcomings, due to self-assessment bias. Clinical implications will also be discussed.

Does vasomotion alter functional connectivity? A multi-modal study using Optical Imaging Spectroscopy and BOLD fMRI

Priya Patel: Year 3

Dr. Myles Jones, Dr. Jason Berwick, Dr. Luke Boorman

Neurovascular coupling refers to the relationship between local neural activity and the

subsequent changes in cerebral blood flow. It has been shown to be a robust relationship

during normal function however, recently it has been suggested that neurovascular coupling

may be breaking down during abnormal physiological states such as those found in

diseased brains. To investigate the nature of this breakdown, our research has employed

multi-modal techniques such as; optical imaging spectroscopy (OIS) and blood oxygenation

level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) to characterise

cerebral blood based changes (haemodynamic) responses and multi-electrode recording

techniques to measure cortical neural activity in the somatosensory and motor cortex of

anaesthetised rodents. Our research focuses on a haemodynamic oscillation called

vasomotion, this signal has been observed in our data in particular when oxygen tension in

the brain is reduced. From this, we have performed a series of experiments to manipulate

the size of vasomotion by altering the blood pressure and the level of inspired oxygen. Our

results indicate that vasomotion is dependent on the amount of oxygen available in the brain

and this signal is present when blood flow in the brain becomes compromised, therefore,

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potentially making it a candidate as an early biomarker of brain pathology. Because of its

slow frequency (oscillating once every 10s) this also makes it an ideal biomarker that can be

measured in humans with haemodynamic based non-invasive imaging brain imaging

techniques with relatively low temporal resolution such as BOLD fMRI. The haemodynamic

responses driving the BOLD signal are drastically affected by altered neurovascular coupling

and presence of vasomotion. This alteration can also be characterised by the disturbance in

the connectivity between different brain regions that share functional properties, e.g. the

somatosensory cortex and motor cortex. This research will aim to use these multi-modal

techniques to explore the vasomotion signal and also understand changes in functional

connectivity between the two brain regions.

Positive Education – Identifying and enhancing strengths to engage, empower, and inspire to flourish

Gabrielle Pitfield: Year 1

Prof. Rod Nicolson, Dr. Jilly Martin

‘Positive Education’ applies the insights of positive psychology to education with specific reference to developmental dyslexia. This research embraces the ‘Positive Dyslexia’ blueprint of positive diagnosis of strengths, positive ambitions, positive acceleration and positive career. Recent studies have illuminated specific strengths in successful and entrepreneurial dyslexic adults. This ‘Strengths Decathlon’ consists of triads of strengths within the pillars of cognitive, social and work skills with an overarching strength in unconventional thinking.

There are twin objectives of this mixed method research. Firstly, to identify if dyslexic adolescents exhibit specific strengths compared non-dyslexic adolescents. Secondly, to evaluate the effect of a programme of positive psychology interventions on identified strengths and self-esteem. Since the ‘Strengths Decathlon’ is believed to develop post-school though experience this study focuses on a small number of 13-14 year old boys. Year 9 represents a critical year in both identity formation and decision-making regarding GCSE options. Strengths and barriers are identified by investigative strengths assessments and life story narrative. This is followed by a group programme of positive psychology interventions focusing on positive emotions in the past (gratitude), positive emotions in the present (identification & fostering of character strengths strengths) and positive emotions in the future (hope & goal setting). Pre-intervention strengths and self-esteem assessments are repeated post intervention and at 6 and 12 month follow up to facilitate a longitudinal perspective. It is envisaged that by nurturing specific strengths the adolescents will feel engaged, empowered and inspired to flourish in order to achieve their maximum learning potential.

Imagining others: Personal and interpersonal consequences of social daydreaming

Giulia Poerio: Year 3

Prof. Peter Totterdell, Dr. Lisa-Marie Emerson, Dr. Eleanor Miles

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A remarkable feature of the human mind is its ability to escape the constraints of the external

environment to mentally simulate past, alternative present, and possible future, realities.

Such mental activity often occurs in the form of daydreaming or mind-wandering where

mental content is internally generated, and independent of the thinker’s external environment

and current task. Daydreaming occupies a central position in mental life and is estimated to

consume up to a staggering 50% of waking thought. But why do we daydream? Is it simply

an idle or detrimental activity that distracts us from the external world or might it serve some

adaptive functions? My research has focused on the positive consequences of imagining

others during daydreaming activity. Although daydreaming is an internal and solitary

process, we are rarely alone in our daydreams. In fact, daydreams are predominately social

in nature: we frequently simulate past and possible future interactions with (real or imagined)

others and think about our relationships and lives with other people. In this talk, I present

evidence that social daydreaming is functional for social relationships and well-being. Across

three studies, I show that (1) naturally-occurring and volitional daydreaming about significant

others can up-regulate social feelings and counteract loneliness and (2) that the content and

emotional outcomes of social daydreams are associated with socio-emotional adaptation to

a new environment over time. Daydreaming is not something to be avoided or discouraged;

rather, the right kind of daydreaming can, and should, be harnessed to help us successfully

navigate and shape our socio-emotional worlds.

Understanding the fundamental mechanisms contributing to behavioural control:

How do nitric oxide interneurons control corticostriatal communication?

Carola Radulescu: Year 2

Dr. Enrico Bracci, Dr. Nicolas Vautrelle, Prof. Peter Redgrave

Correct processing and modulation of cortical and thalamic information in the striatum, the main input nucleus of the basal ganglia, are key mechanisms for decision making, while their dysfunction have been associated to disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Although the modulation of corticostriatal activity by dopamine and acetylcholine has been heavily studied, little is known about the role of striatal nitric oxide (NO) producing interneurons. This study combines in vitro electrophysiology with novel optogenetic techniques to investigate the effects of endogenous NO release on corticostriatal communication and striatal microcircuit activity. Striatal neuronal responses (local field potentials (LFP) and spiking) to electrical stimulations of the cortex were recorded in the presence and absence of photo-stimulation of NO interneurons. Light-induced release of NO produced a small decrease in the amplitude of the evoked striatal LFP. Application of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-NAME, reduced the amplitude of the LFP in the presence and absence of photo-stimulation. Additionally, release of NO also caused an increase in the firing of striatal tonically active neurons, which was occasionally followed by post-(light)-stimulus inhibition, and was abolished by application of L-NAME. In line with recent observations made in our laboratory, we propose that these neurons that responded to NO light-dependent release are the cholinergic interneurons of the striatum. The results reported here suggest that endogenous release of NO reduces corticostriatal communication. This is in agreement with recent findings which indicate that NO increases synaptic transmission between spiny projection neurons, and that the activation of cholinergic interneurons elicits a response in GABA-ergic striatal interneurons. Current research in this laboratory will try to determine whether the above mechanisms are the cause of NO-dependent decrease in corticostriatal transmission.

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Metergoline reverses d-amphetamine induced depression of visual activity in the superior colliculus

Timothy Riley: Year 2

Prof. Paul Overton, Mr. Leonard Hetherington

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent and debilitating 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 efficacious in relieving ADHD symptoms, the abuse potential of psychostimulants has created controversy regarding their use for treatment of childhood ADHD. Thus, there is a clear need to develop new non-addictive ADHD drug interventions whilst maintaining treatment efficacy of psychostimulants. The first step of this process is to elucidate the mechanism of action of current psychostimulant drugs. One potential psychostimulant target 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 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 introduction of metergoline, a broad spectrum 5-HT antagonist, on SC responses to visual stimuli following application of D-amphetamine. D-amphetamine application resulted in a dose dependent depression of visual activity which 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.

Antisocial behaviour and depressed mood: Phenotypic associations from adolescence to adulthood

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Samaneh Sadeghi: Year 3

Dr. Richard Rowe, Dr. Christopher Stride, Dr. Mark Blades, Prof. Barbra Maughan1, Prof. Thalia Eley1, Dr. Alice Gregory2

1 King’s College London

2 Goldsmiths, University of London.

Antisocial behaviour and depressed mood show high levels of comorbidity. Various mechanisms might underlie this association including the possibility that antisocial behaviour leads to depression (failure model); or that depression leads to antisocial behaviour (acting out model); or both disorders have similar risk factors (mutual reinforcement). Different subtypes of antisocial behaviour including physical aggression, delinquency and oppositionality act as precursors of depression. Studies addressing this issue so far have focused on cross-sectional data. This means that it is not possible to draw conclusions about change over time. The proposed study was built on this work by covering similar issues regarding the comorbidity between antisocial behaviour and depressed mood by adopting a longitudinal analyses using a large community sample data (G1219) from three time points to test both the acting out and the failure model. At the longitudinal level, results showed that paths from oppositionality and delinquency to depressed mood were similar to paths from depressed mood to oppositionality and delinquency. This indicates that both the failure model and the acting out model are similar in their effects. Thus, there is a mutual relationship between both traits across time. Further analyses capitalised on the genetically informative design of G1219 to disaggregate the role of genes and environment in the longitudinal associations using twin and sibling data. The results showed that genetic factors were common to both traits but trait specific genetic effects were also evident across time. This will be further explored with molecular genetic analyses to examine the role played by specific genes in the shared association between both traits.

Dyslexia and entrepreneurial tendencies

Poliana Piacesi Sepulveda: Year 1

Prof. Roderick Nicolson

My research is in Positive Dyslexia with an interface of entrepreneurial behaviours. Entrepreneur behaviour is a key for success in the 21st century and dyslexics have shown in prior researches, such as Sepulveda (2014) and Logan (2009) that many dyslexics entrepreneurs have the skills shown in the dyslexia decathlon. My PhD research aims to identify which of those skills are present in dyslexic students and try to cultivate entrepreneurial tendencies in students until further in their life. Previous studies (Agahi, Nicolson & Sepulveda, 2014) involved qualitative, IPA analyses of structured interviews with 10 dyslexic entrepreneurs and identified work-related character strengths, cognitive strengths and interpersonal strengths, underpinned in this case by freedom, control, and entrepreneurial family. Work strengths included proactivity, resilience, and risk awareness. Cognitive strengths included innovation, big picture approach, and vision. Inter-personal strengths included teamwork, empathy and communication. Differences between individuals may arise from a combination of differential background (for instance family activities) and differences in cognitive style and opportunities for self-determination. Taken in conjunction with other studies at Sheffield, these findings support the concept of the 'Dyslexia Decathlon' of strengths. A further study involves the administration of the 'Diverse Work Strengths Finder' - a 40-item quantitative questionnaire aimed at establishing the respondent's profile of strengths, and based around the Dyslexia Decathlon strengths together with

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entrepreneurial activities, income level and age of dyslexia diagnosis– to dyslexic and non-dyslexic students in a range of disciplines. It was found that dyslexics showed higher level of entrepreneurial traits and intentions, as well as a correlation in between age of diagnostic, income level and entrepreneurship.

Clinical supervision: The role of patient, therapist and supervisor characteristics

Chloe Simpson-Southward: Year 2

Prof. Glenn Waller, Prof. Gillian Hardy

Psychological treatments for depression are not always delivered consistently or effectively. Supervision of therapists is often assumed to keep therapy – and therapists – on track. While there are numerous theoretical models of supervision, there are very few empirical studies assessing what actually happens in supervision or its impact on therapy and, ultimately, patient outcomes. This poster presents two recent studies which take an experimental approach to investigating the content of clinical supervision for therapists working with patients with depression. Supervisors indicated their supervision focus for a series of vignettes, each representing a patient’s case brought to them by their supervisee. The vignettes varied in either patient characteristics (case complexity) or therapist characteristics (anxiety level and gender). As might be expected, patient case complexity had an impact on the focus of supervision. Less expected is the finding that therapist anxiety impacts supervisory focus but only when the therapist is female (this is regardless of supervisor gender). Finally, naturally occurring supervisor clusters emerged based on supervision focus. Which cluster supervisors fell into was related to their personal characteristics. Findings indicate that supervisors are influenced by factors outside of supervision. Those factors might cause them to drift away from stressing the importance of evidence-based aspects of therapy. This supervisory drift may, in part, lead to therapist drift.

What a state! The importance of baseline brain state in the haemodynamic response

Rebecca Slack: Year 3

Dr. Jason Berwick, Dr. Luke Boorman, Dr. Myles Jones

Many modern imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

are based upon the principle of neurovascular coupling. Neurovascular coupling is the

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relationship between the neural activity in a particular area of the brain and the concomitant

change in the haemodynamic (blood) response in that same area. It is also well known that

in mammals, the brain displays three different brain states: awake, rapid-eye-movement

(REM) sleep and slow-wave-sleep (SWS). There is little research on whether or not the

haemodynamic response to a particular stimulus remains constant across these brain states.

The use of the anaesthetic urethane can closely mimic two of these brain states: REM and

SWS. By recording the neural information from the rodent whisker and motor cortex using

two 16 channel electrodes and simultaneously capturing the hameodynamic response in the

same area using optical imaging spectroscopy (OIS), we are able to investigate whether the

same stimulus produces different haemodynamic responses dependent upon the baseline

brain state. Our research indicates that when the brain is in a urethane induced “REM” brain

state as opposed to an “SWS” state, haemodynamic responses to an identical stimulus are

significantly smaller, and can even produce an inverted response.

This research indicates that imaging technologies based upon changes in the blood should

demonstrate caution in the interpretation of their results in certain situations. One such

scenario, would be studies using blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI that use a

changing stimulus across subjects who may alter their brain states, throughout the different

stages of sleep for example. These studies may see a serious confound in the responses

they obtain, where the difference in haemodynamic response is inferred to be from the

stimulus presented, but instead, comes from the change in baseline brain state.

From Repetition Suppression to Sensori-Motor Musical Learning

Giacomo Spigler: Year 1

Dr. Stuart Wilson, Dr. Renee Timmers (Music)

In the present work we propose a biologically plausible framework for action learning in the motor cortex in the context of sensori-motor tasks. We then validate it against data on Repetition Suppression, that is the observed phenomenon of reduction in cortical activity after task learning and sensory priming. Within this framework, we assume that the reduced activity is due to learning of a specialized, efficient representation of motor patterns that are userful for the individual in the context of the task. We hypothesize that prior to training on a complex motor task, a large set of neurons is recruited in order to produce the desired novel actions, which is reflected in a widespread activation. After learning, however, a smaller specialized pool of neurons is sufficient to produce the desired task-specific actions, resulting in a lower overall activity.

For the scope of our project, music is especially well suited as it is possible to measure how the brain is affected during musical training on naïve subjects that have no prior experience in music, and thus lack any neural representation of the actions involved.

Finally, we investigate the role of our model in the context of embodied cognition, preparing future work on a humanoid robot platform."

Challenging perceptions of people with Autism using Imagined Contact

Caroline Treweek: Year 1

Dr Megan Freeth, Dr Chantelle Wood

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Studies utilising 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 tests a new hybrid intervention aimed at reducing negative stereotype endorsement, and improving attitudes towards people with autism, by asking participants to imagine contact with a counter-stereotypical person with Autism. It is hypothesised that asking participants to imagine contact with a counter-stereotypical person with Autism, will reduce levels of stereotype endorsement and promote more positive attitudes, when compared to simply asking participants to imagine contact with a person with autism (standard imagined contact scene), or imagining an outdoor scene (control scene). One hundred and one undergraduate students have been recruited and analysis of the data is currently under way. Preliminary results and suggestions for future work will be discussed.

Effects of induced mood on cognitive flexibility in 7-8 year olds: preliminary findings

Sophie Turnbull: Year 1

Dr. Daniel Carroll, Dr. Elena Hoicka

Research is increasingly supporting the intuition that emotional states have important effects

on cognitive processes: when we feel good, we think differently to when we feel bad or just

indifferent. Some theorists have suggested that being in a positive mood makes us think and

behave more ‘flexibly’. However, research with adults has found mixed effects of positive

mood on cognitive flexibility, defined as the ability to switch between tasks or mental sets.

The few studies that have explored this phenomenon in children found improvements in

cognitive flexibility in the presence of positively valenced task stimuli, but stimuli used in this

research suffer several confounds, and these studies examine emotions integral to the task

rather than incedental to it. In this study, we examined the impact of incedental mood on

cognitive flexibility in 7-8 year old children. Participants (n=49) completed the Switching

Inhibition and Flexibility Task (SwIFT) before and after watching an animated video intended

to induce a relatively positive, negative or neutral mood state. Children also self-reported

their emotional valence, arousal, and motivation for the task. The mood manipulation was

effective for negative mood, but no impact on cognitive flexibility performance was found.

However, this null effect could partially be attributed to unanticipated abnormalities in task

performance including low accuracy rates. Future directions for this research include

replicating these results with adjusted task parameters and induction methods, examining

effects of incedental mood on other related cognitive processes (such as inhibitory control or

divergent thinking), and exploring the mechanisms of the effects of mood on these cognitive

processes.

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The Effects of Nicotine on Auditory Perception: An EEG Study

Theresa Veltri: Year 3

Prof. Paul Overton

Nicotine is a legal and freely available drug widely self-administered in the context of music

(e.g. pubs, clubs). Although there are social reasons that may explain this phenomenon we

also suspect that cigarette smoking and music listening co-occur because of nicotine’s ability

to intensify or enhance a smoker’s perception of music. Indeed, previous research has found

nicotine to facilitate preattentive and automatic processing of sound and

electroencephalogram (EEG) studies have shown nicotine to increase alertness to sound

and sustained attention to auditory stimuli. We therefore conducted an event related

potential (ERP) investigation into the effects of nicotine on auditory stimulus registration in

order to examine nicotine’s ability to encourage music listening. We administered either a

placebo (chewing gum) or a 4 mg piece of nicotine gum to nonsmokers and asked them to

engage in an auditory-based computer task. More specifically, participants were presented

with either a high-pitched or low-pitched sound and then responded to images based on

which pitch they heard. Data collection is still in progress, but results are hypothesized to

show a shorter latency period in auditory registration for those receiving 4 mg of nicotine

gum compared to those receiving placebo. In behavioral terms this means that those

participants receiving nicotine gum are predicted to have a faster registration time for the

sound stimuli compared to those receiving placebo.

Demand Side Management and Disempowerment

Colin Whittle: Year 3

Dr. Christopher Jones, Aidan While (TRP)

The United Kingdom’s energy network is moving towards smarter electricity grids which can utilise real-time consumption information to more effectively and efficiently regulate the grid load. DECC’s vision paper “Smarter Grids: The Opportunity” highlights how development of smart grid technologies will be integral to the transition to a low carbon economy. Equally, DECC and Ofgem’s “Smarter Market Project” has focused on “Creating the Right Environment for Demand Side Response”. The development of smart grids and smart grid technologies and the increasing interest demand-side management means that householders will be expected to adopt and utilise energy management technologies in their home. For example, Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) are intended to facilitate the home owner in either using less energy and/or shifting their energy use to off-peak times. Whilst there is a growing number of academic studies that have investigated home owners’ behavioural responses to such technologies, few studies have explored how such technologies may be perceived by the homeowner, particularly in terms shifting their behaviours. The present study argues that if an energy management system is perceived by the home owner as reducing their control (disempowering them) then they will have a more negative perception of the technology. Such a negative perception may hinder adoption and effective utilisation of such demand-side management technologies. In the present study, participants were given information on a number of smart, demand-side technologies (including HEMS, smart appliances and ambient interfaces). Their attitudes towards the technologies were measured as well as their perceived control, environmental attitudes and technology attitudes. The results of a regression analysis testing the relationships between the constructs and the participants’ attitudes towards and intention to use the technologies will be presented. Results will be discussed in terms of the implications for the design and implementation of demand-side management technology in the UK.

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Themes: Energy Technologies, Sustainable Cities, Environmental Behaviour

Adapting to Culturally Diverse Environments: Diversity Exposure and Self-Regulation

Marcel Wiechmann: Year 2

Prof. Richard Crisp

Thanks to increasing global interconnectedness, cultural exchange is taking place at an

unprecedented level. Dealing with the resulting cultural diversity represents a major

psychological challenge, and might require cognitive adaptation on a range of domains.

However, through repeated diversity exposure individuals might acquire the cognitive skills

necessary to efficiently process cultural diversity.

It has been argued that one of these skills is the ability to inhibit stereotypical knowledge,

and that repeated diversity experiences might make this process less effortful. This might

lead to general improvements in self-control, because stereotype inhibition relies on effortful

cognitive control.

We conducted two studies to investigate how diversity exposure affects self-regulation. We

measured participants’ objective and subjective exposure to ethnic diversity, as well as their

self-reported impulsivity and ability to delay gratification.

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

exposure if diversity had been made salient previously. These finding indicate that

participants with a lot of diversity experience might under certain conditions activate a

temporary mindset that down-regulates cognitive control. Implications of these results for

understanding the impact of cultural diversity as well as avenues for future research will be

discussed.

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The Paro robot seal as a social mediator for healthy users

Natalie Wood: Year 2

Dr. Abigail Millings, Dr. Amanda Sharkey (Computer Science), Prof. Gail Mountain

(ScHARR)

Over the last decade robots have been developed as an alternative to companion animals for people with dementia in care homes. However, these robots have raised some concerns that they could lead to a reduction in human contact for vulnerable populations. In contrast some recent field data suggests that the Paro, a robot which resembles a seal pup, has a social mediation effect in human-human interactions. This study examined social mediation effects of the Paro in a controlled laboratory setting. In this study 114 unacquainted female volunteers were put in pairs and randomised to interact together for the first time with an active Paro, an inactive Paro, or a dinosaur toy robot. Each pair was invited to evaluate and interact with the robot together during a ten minute session. Post-interaction questionnaires measured the quality of dyadic interaction between participants during the session. Results show that that the interaction was perceived to be most positive with the active Paro. Perceived similarity was higher in both Paro conditions. Participants interacting with an active Paro had a higher rating of enjoying interacting with their partner than those with the dinosaur robot. These findings indicate that the strongest social mediation effect was from the active Paro.