13 November 2024
- Speaker: Dr Elida Cena, Queens University Belfast
- Title: Exploring academic practices and international student experiences: Fostering inclusivity and addressing microaggressions in higher education
This seminar presents findings from two studies on the academic and cultural aspects of teaching and learning in higher education. Internationalising education is a key priority for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide, as it prepares graduates to live and work in a globally connected world. Dr Cena will share data from academic staff teaching international students, focusing on the barriers and strategies used to promote international perspectives and inclusivity in diverse classroom settings.
While universities in the UK have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and racism, the daily experiences of international students often suggest otherwise. The second study explores international students' encounters with microaggressions both on campus and beyond, offering insights into the forms and impacts of such behaviours, and how they shape student well-being and educational experiences.
20 November 2024
- Speaker: Sam Taylor, University of Bath
- Title: Social Psychology: Shared values
In this seminar, Sam Taylor will talk about research into how shared values with 'ingroup others' are important to feeling socially connected. Previous research suggests that people broadly agree on which values are the most important in their lives, but mounting evidence shows that people do not recognise the extent to which ingroup others share their values. Five studies (total n>4000) – two cross-sectional, one daily-diary study and two experimental studies – demonstrate that shared values predict measures of social connectedness, including belongingness and group identity. Participants also consistently underestimated value similarity with others, fueled by a tendency to see others as prioritizing self-promoting over self-transcendent values. Finally, experimental studies show that these misperceptions of shared values can be corrected (e.g., through textual and graphical descriptions). Target ingroups included fellow students, neighbors, UK citizens, and people interacted with day-to-day, with similar effects across samples, measures (e.g., subjective ratings), and analyses (e.g., simple regression of direct measures, polynomial regression of indirect measures, multilevel models and cross lags). Taken together, our results suggest that people share values more with close others than they think, and that these underestimations can be corrected, with profound consequences for social connectedness and wellbeing.
27 November 2024
- Speaker: Tabea Schoeler, University of Lausanne
- Title: Addiction: Genetics of mental health outcomes in the context of substance use
Inferring causality regarding human behaviour and mental health is challenging given the complex interplay between risk factors, confounders and the outcome. In this seminar, Tabea Schoeler will first illustrate the application of a number of inference methods used in classical epidemiology (e.g., quasi-experimental designs) and genetic epidemiology (genome-wide approaches, Mendelian Randomization) when studying behaviour and mental health outcomes. In the second part of the talk, she will further discuss how certain study design choices can impact the findings obtained from large-scale population-based samples, by drawing attention to two often overlooked sources of bias in epidemiological research.
4 December 2024
- Speaker: Dr Roxanna Dehaghani, University of Cardiff
- Title: Defining and identifying autism: Criminal defence perceptions
Interest in neurodivergent conditions, particularly autism, and their impact on suspects’ and defendants’ in the criminal justice system has witnessed a significant growth in recent years. The contributions in developmental and forensic psychology have been considerable, yet there remain notable gaps in knowledge and evidence particularly within (socio)-legal studies. One of these is the role and effectiveness of defence lawyers - a vital safeguard in the criminal process, particularly for vulnerable individuals accused of crime. In this seminar, drawing from semi-structured interviews undertaken with 25 defence lawyers, Dr Dehagani will examine how defence lawyers understood, defined, and identified autism. Within this paper, we outline the project before examining defence lawyer perceptions. We offer some critique of their conceptualisations and welcome critical reflections and insights on our data.
Dr Dehaghani is a socio-legal researcher who works at the intersections of criminal justice, human rights, and legal psychology. Her research focuses on understanding and improving the vulnerable position of the accused, particularly pre-trial. In 2024 she was awarded the Dillwyn Medal by the Learned Society of Wales for her research on safeguards for vulnerable people in the criminal justice process.
11 December 2024
- Speaker: Professor Jonathan Roiser, University College London
- Title: A computational approach to understanding motivational symptoms in depression
Motivational symptoms of depression are debilitating and associated with poor clinical outcome, but the mechanisms underlying them are poorly understood. This talk will present data examining how cognitive processes related to effort-based decision making for reward are associated with depressive symptoms, using a computational approach.