Psychology and history: CuSP viewpoints

In recent meetings, the Culture and Social Psychology group have been revisiting some of the ‘big debates’ within the psychology discipline. In December 2020, at the invitation of Sebastian Bartos, members discussed the relevance of history to psychology.  Psychology and history have an awkward relationship. Most students will be taught about the history of the…

Nonverbal coordination increases with lie difficulty

The Times and the New Scientist have recently published articles about a research paper entitled 'A liar and a copycat', co-authored by Professor John Dixon of the Open University School of Psychology and Counselling. In this paper, the authors demonstrate in two experiments that lying affects the interactional dynamics and non-verbal behaviour between two people.…

Prenatal mental health during COVID-19; the importance of social support, thinking style, and countering loneliness

Dr Gini Harrison discusses her new research on how COVID-19 impacts on pregnant women, and the steps they can take to counter some of the negative effects. There is no doubt that COVID-19 has placed a significant strain on people’s mental health. And this may be amplified for pregnant women (who are classed as a…

A PhD at the Open University?

At the start of a new year, you may be thinking about future projects and study plans. This article provides information about studying for a PhD at the Open University. https://thehootstudents.com/applying-to-do-a-phd-in-psychology-at-the-ou-is-it-for-me/

We wish you a happy festive season and holiday, and all good fortune for 2021.

As the calendar year ends, the academic year continues - but there is a breathing space! Open University modules pause for two weeks, tutors finally turn away from their computer screens, and in the School the emails and meetings STOP. It's wonderful, though the break is never long enough.  We send this message to all…