Feb 2012 PsychSoc Newsletter by Brunel Psychology Society

February 2012

Contents 1.& 2. Meet the PsychSoc team 3. Diagnosing Depression 4. Seasonal Affective Disorder 5.& 6. First Year Presentations 7.& 8. Bipolar Interview 9.& 10. 2nd Year research 11. Personal Experiences of Depression. 12. AGM 13. Upcoming events & student rep feedback 14. Logic Puzzle

Contact us at bpsbrunel@gmail.com for more information about PsychSoc, the newsletter, or for information about writing for the next issue.

EMILY YATES

JAKE CAMP

GABS FERRUFINO

JEMMA GILES

As President of the Psychology Society I do a lot of and organising in regards to events and running things. I also socialize a lot; you’ll most likely find me in the Crown and Treaty pub! I love what I do and Psychology, although I’m still not 100% sure what I want to do when I graduate. I also read, mostly psychological things, and I own lots of pets. I’m a zombie film fanatic and my time outside lectures is mostly spent on my Xbox or watching Doctor Who box sets. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a geek, but well, that’s the best way to be!

I’m currently working as Vice president for the PsychSociety. I am confident, cheerful and bright. I would hope to think I’m likeable and very easily approachable. I’m the sort of person who always likes to keep busy. Working hard and being involved is what I do best! I am also the student representative for Psychology Level 1, so there’s not a dull moment for me. In case you didn’t notice from the photo, I have white hair so am easily recognisable. I enjoy trampolining as a competitive sport and have worked in numerous areas, including mental health & the NHS.

Hi I’m the Events Officer for PsychSoc and a second year Psychology student. So far this year we've been to a spooky fright night at Thorpe Park, held a BBQ at Fresher’s Fayre and had a yummy Xmas meal at Tai Pan. There’s more awesomeness coming up like going bowling and to the science museum! Find out about it on our Facebook page. See you at out next event!

Hi from the Newsletter editor. I’m the one responsible for producing what you’re reading now. I like being creative so this role on the committee appealed. My creativity follows on into my hobbies which include arts and crafts, as well as swimming. My favourite part of psychology is doing research; I think you can find out so much that way! I want to take this opportunity to say a big Thank you! To all the people that contributed to this issue of the Newsletter, without you it wouldn’t be here. If you have any suggestions or would like to write an article for the next issue please email me at bpsbrunel@gmail.com, or join the facebook group, search for ‘Brunel PsychSoc Newsletter.’

BEN OLBYCLEMENTS

ADELE DANIELS

KEIR JACKSON

Hi, I’m Ben, it’s not abbreviated, so just Ben. I’ve always been interested in Psychology, wondering how the brain works and the reason behind behaviour. Everyone’s different; analysing people shows the extent of this, and exposes the impact of life events and people’s reactions. I ran for the position of Secretary because I wanted to help PsychSoc members benefit, by organising study groups for revision help, and events that are both educational and fun. I’d most like to work towards a career in forensic psychology. Working at the heart of crime in a setting like a prison, and reforming criminals would be really rewarding. I also want to research the reasons for crime to help prevention. My hobbies include playing football and tennis, as well as a good Fifa tournament! I come from South East Kent, but decided to come to London to live University life to the full and experience all life has to offer.

I’m in my fourth year of Psychology and finding it pretty scary! I first got into Psychology when I was deciding on A Level subjects. The idea of learning about how other people think and being able to analyse myself appealed. Once I start Uni I soon realised there was a lot more to it than that. The work placements really helped me decide on future career aspirations. After a lot of changing my mind, I’m now thinking about a PhD and a career in research. I ran for treasurer of PsychSoc because I was keen to help behind the scenes as much as I could. I originally come from a village near Bournemouth so moving to Brunel was a big change but I’m enjoying Uni and hope to make the most of my final year!

I’m the web officer for PsychSoc. I am currently in my second year of Psychology. As well as being part of the PsychSoc committee, I am actively involved in many other societies - mainly film-oriented ones, and am also a committee member of two other. My interests in psychology greatly centre on the cognitive processes of individuals involving identity, such as that of the self and social identity. I’m also interested in the emotional effects on cognition. After graduating, I hope to enter medical school and eventually become a psychiatrist; so have high ambitions.

So depression, what exactly is it? The DSM says to have it you need a lowered mood state that lasts for at least two weeks. Depressive episodes may be isolated or reoccur and can be categorized under mild, moderate or severe. Day to day “depression” is recognized as a general low mood amongst people, however is this actually true? Or is it simply a selfdiagnosed exaggeration? The DM-IV-TR excludes depression as a disorder being caused by bereavement, although if this is the case you can still be treated using medicine for depression. What then causes depression to occur, if not from life experiences? This is where the DSM-IVTR has come under attack; it doesn’t take into account the social and personal contexts in which depression can occur. Depression is probably more common than you think, affecting about 1 in 10 people at some point in their lives, and both sexes at any ages. It has also been shown that around 4% of children aged 5-16 in the UK are affected by depression.

Depression is a broad term and can cover many behavioural characteristics such as: long-lasting feelings of sadness, tearfulness or anxiety, loss of interest in activities, and depleting social interactions. Any positive emotions are felt less strongly and diminished. There are also physical characteristics of depression such as feeling constantly tired, sleep disturbances, changes in appetite and sex drive.

There are several different types and subtypes of depression, from Dysthymia, a chronic, milder form of depression, to Bipolar Disorder; depressive phases alternate with periods of mania or hypomania. Major atypical depression includes mood reactivity and social impairment; catatonic depression involves disturbances in motor activity; postpartum depression wherein symptoms appear after giving birth, and seasonal affective disorder for which depressive episodes appear in autumn or winter.

Depressive Disorder is a category so broad it further divides into five subtypes: melancholic depression is characterized by a loss of pleasure in most or all activities; When an individual seeks a diagnosis for depression from a GP or a therapist they will be checked against the characteristics in the DSMIV-TR, wherein depression is organized under Axis I, alongside anxiety disorders, eating disorders and schizophrenia. If the criteria are met they are then given a full diagnosis and treatment is sought through therapy or medication. Treatment may depend on the type of depression and some receive a combination of both. There are also many “self-help” measures that specialists recommend, lifestyle changes such as getting more exercise, cutting down on alcohol and eating more healthily are thought to help improve the effects of depression on a person’s life.

Although depression is a widely used term, it is a disorder and if diagnosed should be taken just as seriously as any other. By Emily Yates

4 between low levels of vitamin D in the blood and occurrence of SAD. A definite cause has not yet been established nor a diagnostic system to identify SAD, but it is an issue many experience and has distinct symptoms and effects.

Seasonal Affective Disorder After the summer has gone and gloomy weather starts kicking in, the nights start getting longer and days shorter, it’s not unusual for many of us to get the “winter blues”. It might feel we have less energy for usual activities; things might annoy us more than usual or perhaps have difficulty sleeping.

In recent years the “winter blues” has been identified as a distinct disorder known as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Although there has not been the development of a legitimate diagnostic test, it is widely understood that some symptoms are similar to those of depression, as well as symptoms including fatigue, lack of sleep, lack of motivation, loss of sex drive and irritability. Only in extreme cases are there more severe symptoms such as thoughts of suicide. Symptoms tend to be more intense throughout the darkest months but onset of the disorder is typically when summer months draw to a close lasting until the next spring. Therefore, it could be speculated onset and severity varies by part of the world.

What is the cause of this disorder that only surfaces at a certain time of year? And why does it cause this reaction? It has been found levels of light affect certain chemicals in the brain and inadequate light can contribute to onset of symptoms. A link has also been made

In terms of treatment, phototherapy or light treatment achieves the most effective results. It can come in the form of light boxes around 25 times as bright as normal light used for about thirty minutes daily. It seems quantity of light is most important in SAD. However, obvious side effects can result including headaches, eye strain and insomnia. Antidepressant medication can also treat depressive symptoms associated with SAD.

Although most SAD patients do not have symptoms severe enough to warrant intervention, around 88% of sufferers report they have experienced difficulties in the workplace as a result of extreme drowsiness, lack of concentration, and problems with interacting with other people. On the basis of this, it would perhaps be useful to monitor these problems on a seasonal basis to develop a more long term solution. By Adele Daniels.

An example of Light Therapy Treatment

I’m sure all Psychology students remember the gut wrenching feeling of being told we were to Psychology module. Here three students relive the experience for our amusement.

Clinical Psychology Get a group of fresh-faced Psychology fresher’s together and ask them to give a presentation on a suitable graduate career in front of their new peers you’ll will probably hear cries of ‘But I’ve only just started studying psychology’ or ‘I’m not sure I even want to work in psychology.’ As one of these students, not 4 months ago, it was somewhat of a shock when we were given this challenge our first applied psychology lecture. Actually, the assignment proved fascinating and informative; if anything it gave us all an excuse to talk to the other new people on our course. Luckily my group were all very friendly, and just as eager to do well as I was. After choosing Clinical Psychology as the career to present, we set to work researching our specific area.

Another interesting find was Psychology training has not always been as we know it today. Formerly, there were 2 courses; one based on research and one on application. The British Psychological Society combined the two to make the one single honours course that we know and study today. Also, the demand for psychologists in the NHS is expected to rise 12% in the next 8 years; but the job market remains very competitive due to the number of Psychology students. Certainly an incentive for us all to work hard in the next 3-4 years! By Gemma Sear

This included entry requirements, working environment and salary; we were both pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised by what we found. One particularly interesting fact was working as Head of Psychological Services in a hospital could earn you up to £80,000 a year; sounds good, right? However, we also found that just getting onto a postgraduate course would require excellent work experience and a good degree from a reputable university, of which Brunel, of course, is one.

Jake’s Experience I, like all level 1 Psychology students at Brunel, last term, completed an oral presentation in front of my peers and two too challenging. Regardless of this pre-confidence, I was surprised to fall straight into the traps and habits we were think about my eye contact with the audience. Other than these small aspects which interfered with my ability to speak time we were given and answered the challenging questions at the end well. Regardless of the fire alarm going off just of comedy at the beginning. Next time I do a presentation, I’d like to practice more to improve the nerves which contact with the audience. I learnt that I wasn’t a bad speaker and could improvise when needed. I encourage the practical level. By Jake Camp

give a presentation. The topic was ‘a suitable career for a Psychology graduate’ for the Applied

Mental Health Nursing Every first year Psychology student recovering from Fresher’s Week at Brunel wonders how their course will start; a nice, light introduction into the topics they’ll be studying, some lectures here and there and maybe time to settle in. Well no, that would have been normal. So, whilst trying to get into a routine, order books and starting to take notes, we were thrown in at the deep end and told we would doing a group presentation. We’d be presenting in front of specialists in these topics, as well as fellow students, so there was no pressure!

At first, many were apprehensive; we didn’t know the other group members or much about the research topic we were presenting. In actual fact, this was a perfect way for us all to get acquainted and amount of work we’d need to do so we didn’t let the group down. The topic we chose was Mental Health Nursing, with the view that many people wouldn’t know much about it, so it would be an insight for both the audience and us as a group. To research this, each member decided on the specific area they wanted to explore and individually went away to gather information from career advisors and the internet. Then we came back as a group to share the research. From this, we decided on the most important information and went about refining each area and to put it into the presentation. When the dreaded presentation day came everyone was anxious, but knew it was good enough to be a success. Our presentation went well, as had the preparation and group work. The worry felt at the beginning of term faded away quickly. My group was friendly and hard working, and the experience was valuable, it highlighted our ability to work individually, as a group and deliver presentations to a high standard. Overall it was a great confidence booster for the beginning of our time at Brunel! By Ben Olby-Clements.

examiners. I already felt a bit of confidence in talking in front of others, so I didn’t think the experience would be warned about. For example, my speech didn’t flow as well as it would have in a one-to-one engagement and I didn’t the presentation went rather well. Our group managed to get all the information into the very small amount of I was about to speak, an assessor advised me to re-engage my audience, therefore I employed a small amount unexpectedly hit in such situations and try to concentrate on where my eyes were going at all times so I make more eye learning style of a presentation as an assessment so one’s ability is not just assessed on academic work but also some

A friend who’s diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, aka SF, kindly agreed to be interviewed for the Newsletter. Here are the results.

At like +4 and dip as low as -10 at the end of the day.

Tell me about when you were diagnosed.

Do you recognise experiencing a manic episode at the time?

when you’re or depressive

I was diagnosed with it 6 years ago, but one of my social workers a few years ago thought I’d had it since 14. My life has definitely been a series of highs and lows. I’ve read bipolar usually follows a tragic event and this happened to me. 6 years ago there was a house fire destroying my house and possessions, but everyone managed to get out safely. I was ill for 6 months afterwards, very depressed. I was almost diagnosed with fibromyalgia, because depression caused physical aches and pains. When it was noticed the depression alternated with mania I was diagnosed with Bipolar.

Sometimes. When I’m depressed I can’t do anything but cry, be moody and withdrawn, but I know I’m doing something wrong because people are concerned. I know I’m having a depressive episode more because of the way other people act towards me. But, I recognize the feelings too, I need constant reassurance and suffer low self esteem, constantly criticising myself. I don’t recognise mania, because of high self esteem I can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to go along with me, I feel like I’m normal and that others are like this normally too. What treatment do you receive? For bipolar I take Trifluoperazine, it helps stop aggression and anger in particular. Zopiclone helps me sleep at night. I also take Diazepam as a sleeping tablet and for when I’m too hyper or depressed. I take drugs for epilepsy too, which can be difficult as many medications interact with them and give me fits.

What symptoms experience?

bipolar

you

Personally I range between hypomania and severe depression. Hypomania ranges from feelings of grandeur, total overconfidence, thinking I’m ‘all that’, rushing round, cleaning constantly and feeling like a super mum. A lot of people who experience mania have problems with 3 things – alcohol & drugs, gambling or sexual problems. Depression for me is thinking about taking my life, some people cut themselves or take an overdose. I get feelings of being desolate and very barren, I get so wound up with being upset I can’t explain the feeling to others. In a normal day, on a scale of -10 to +10, your mood can start

Do you get any professional help? I see a psychiatrist, a social worker from Hewitt house and someone trained in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The CBT is every 2 weeks, the psychiatrist about every 2 months and I can phone the social worker every time I feel I can’t control my mood, or anytime I need

. her The main people who help me control it [bipolar] are the cognitive behavioural therapist, my social worker and my carer, who’s my husband Graham. It’s his job to dish out medication and make sure I don’t harm myself during periods of mania, or depression.

So you can see some progress? I’ve had CBT before. Right after the house fire I couldn’t bear for Graham to be out of my sight, I had to be with him constantly. I would ring him constantly and couldn’t let him go out in the evening. I would pace the floor and catastrophize, imagining the worst. Once I went into a psychotic rage and didn’t remember anything. Since the CBT Graham can go out for a couple of hours and I’m okay. As long as I know how long he’s going to be; if he’s late I’ll still catastrophize, but I’ll be okay and can deal with it. There’s been long term progress but I’m working on it again this time.

How does CBT help? It should help me recognise the symptoms of my mood swings and stop me wallowing or getting manic. I saw a therapist for 6 months, but she was doing the social workers job, not her own. I don’t know why, but she wasn’t helping too much so they switched me to someone else. The new woman’s helping a lot more; she’s certainly delving into my background more. Where she’s asking a lot more questions, she’s going to come up with more answers. For example, when I used to try to explain to others about my mood changes during the day they got rather confused. But she put in words what I was experiencing whereas I couldn’t before. Before, I denied I had bipolar and thought I was just incredibly moody person. She helped me realise I had a disorder and that my behaviour was normal for a person with bipolar. The CBT process is a long one, it takes about 2 years to identify the issue and work on it. You have to do homework every week. At the moment I have to do a mood chart. I review my mood for the day at bedtime and rate it on the scale. I’ll probably have to do this for the rest of my life to identify patterns. We’ve already noticed my mood changes from winter to summer.

Is there anything you’ve missed out on because of having bipolar? I’m not allowed to work at the moment. And, of course I’d like to work. I like working and having my own independence. At the moment I rely on everyone else to make sure I’m okay. CBT helps me control it [bipolar] so when I have ups and downs they’re not as bad as they could be and I learn to control the impulses I get. Part of bipolar is extreme anxiety and paranoia and I want Graham to have a life as well, so I’m working to control the disorder so I can go back to work. By Jemma Giles with thanks to SF

Emotional Images and Recall Somehow, among a seemingly unending vortex of possible areas of research, our group managed to design a never-seen-before experiment for our 2nd year quantitative project. We’d all read an article in ‘The Psychologist’ magazine about an experiment looking at post-retrieval emotive content improving later recall. In other words, after correctly remembering something, does seeing something emotive make it more memorable? By Finn and Roediger (2011), it was the first study of its kind. Previous research found remembering items correctly, in itself, improved later recall. The original research looked at the effect of negative emotional images. It found they significantly improved later recall compared to neutral images. We decided to replicate their study and added a 4th variable; positive images. Then we faced the arduous task of experimental design, running it and analysing the results – this didn’t go as smoothly as we’d hoped! Our first hurdle involved finding the images. The images in the original study would not be available for at least a month, which didn’t give us enough time to get everything done. Our second hurdle involved working with the infamous e-Prime software to design information presented to participants. That was only perfected an hour before our first participant! Our final hurdle involved motivating the 36 participants to actually finish the 40-60! minute, mentally taxing task without giving up. BUT – somehow – we managed everything, and had a huge pile of data ready to analyse and interpret. To our slight surprise, results weren’t what we anticipated. We predicted both negative and positive images would significantly improve recall compared to neutral and blank images. We actually found none of the images produced better recall than blank images. Personally I think we needed more participants to improve our statistics. Nevertheless, there are only two studies looking into this phenomenon – ours and the original study. Our findings completely contradict the original, so further study needs to be done to determine the real effect if there is one! By Rania Tuckey

Contagious yawning In the second year we were allowed to choose the group we worked with on a research project, part of our assessment for Advanced Research Methods. I was glad that someone I worked with last year asked me if I wanted to be in a group with her. Our first task was to identify a general area within which to research. One of the members of our group noticed herself yawning one evening and suggested it to us. We went away to research it and found a surprising number of studies about yawning. We found studies about how people catch others’ yawns particularly engaging. We decided to add a cognitive task to previous research which observed if participants yawned after being presented with images of others’ yawning. Deciding on a task that had two difficulty levels was hard and we took some time over it. Fortunately, our supervisor suggested the Stroop task, and this met the criteria. Our research design forced us into a 2 by 2 mixed factor design, which was endlessly confusing. The participants were split into 2 groups to be presented with yawning or neutral pictures (between subjects) then all took the Stroop test (repeated measures). In fact the first few participants were tested wrongly due to this confusion and we had to recruit more. Despite further difficulties with running repeated measures ANOVA on SPSS, we got there eventually. Our end result was that participants

who saw pictures of yawning faces yawned significantly more frequently than those who saw neutral faces. However, images presented had no effect on performance of the Stroop task. By Jemma Giles Bilinguals and emotion of words Research topic –Emotional effects of first and second language words for bilinguals’. Previous Research - Ayçiçeği & Harris (2008) reported that bilinguals experience more emotion when discussing their past life experiences or sensitive topic in their first language. They also showed that bilinguals have greater physiological arousal when exposed to words and phrases in their first language. The same researchers also found that taboo words in both languages were more emotionally laden than those neutral or positive. Eilola et al (2007) used an emotional word Stroop task and found there was no significant difference in emotional response to first and second languages. However, emotional response was measured by time taken to respond and a potential confound could be not recognizing words of the second language. Research Design – Mixed, Native or non-native English speakers was between subjects and word type was within subjects. Method – 39 total participants, split between native and non-native English speakers, were recruited. A Stroop task using 60 coloured neutral, taboo and non-words was presented on a computer and participants had to identify the colour of the word as quickly as possible. Emotional response was measured by reaction time to the word colour. Results - There was no significant difference for word type in reaction time. However, participants took significantly longer to react to words not from their native language. No interaction was found between word type and native/non-native language. We found that the language used was more important than word type; reaction times were longer for all non-native words than native. Taboo words

were processed no faster than non-words, which support Eilola and Havelka’s (2010) assertion participants may take longer with taboo words because they are not known or less known than others. Limitations – Background noise could not be controlled because of a public area outside of the research cubicles, although this area was outside the building some participants were subject to much more background noise than others. On scrutinizing the word list, we may have used neutral words that were too complex causing longer reaction times and the non-significant result for word type. By Artur Rahunoks

Beautiful Derful Hapilled Harmful Contented Bondage Example of an emotional Stroop

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF DEPRESSION Whilst a person is suffering depression they often struggle to explain how they are feeling and what may have caused their reaction. Here we are given an insight Into life with depression from two people who have experience of the disorder. Like many other people I didn’t have the easiest time growing up and felt things didn’t come easily as I felt I wasn’t clever enough. At school, I was never “popular”, but not a “geek” or “loner” either. I hung around with a small group of friends. This seemed to bother some people and I got picked on a lot. I also put on some weight when I hit puberty, so endured choruses of “Beep, beep, vehicle reversing” and nicknames like “Cadillac”. Kids can be so cruel. I tried put a brave face on it telling myself to ‘think of something else’, but I cried every day. Depression is a horrible dark place that seems to overtake your whole being; it’s like being unable to find the light at the end of a long dark tunnel to escape. You don’t want any help and at times you feel you should just stay there because no-one understands how you’re feeling. My first depressive episode occurred as a delayed response to major life events such as imprisonment of a parent; break up of their marriage and a dysfunctional romantic relationship. I blamed myself for the events in my family and internalised this as self hatred, as a consequence I started self harming as a destructive mechanism. My partner had jealous and overprotective tendencies manifesting in verbal abuse towards me. After moving into the new family home I. felt worthless returning to dependent living and extremely lonely in the new area. Periods of depression would alternate with manic behaviour such as spending sprees, fast paced thinking resulting in lack of sleep. On more than one occasion I was prescribed Diazepamwhich I used recreationally, and Prozac, which I refused. Over time support from family and making positive life decisions such as starting college, meant that symptoms subsided and

I guess what helped was chatting with my mum when she noticed a change and writing poetry. Expressing my emotions rather than turning to reckless behaviour really helped. I started to believe I could make something of myself through hard work when I studied at college, whilst holding down a full time job At 23; I applied for university to get better qualifications and jobs. I learnt a lot about myself and am now in my final year heading for a high 2:1. So, I guess I’m not so stupid after all. Since leaving school, those who bullied me have apologised. They were jealous because I wasn’t judgemental, could easily talk to boys and both popular and unpopular people. They couldn’t understand how I maintained these relationships so easily. Girls were jealous that I developed early in adolescence, and thought this unfair I still need to work on my confidence though, and try to have belief in myself everyday. If you’ve had an experience like mine, remember if people have harsh words for you it’s usually because of a fault with them, not you. Hold your head high and be proud you’ve achieved. By ND

was able to continue with my life Eventually I talked to my doctor about the situation and received excellent; counselling however this was stopped after four sessions when I was deemed ‘healthy.’ Next time a depressive response was due to the break up of the above relationship, death of a family member and moving house. Prior to moving, I experienced symptoms such as nervousness, anxiety, social withdrawal and crippling uncertainty; responses associated with a so called ‘nervous breakdown’. I still experience depression and become overly stressed and anxious about university work. My previous experiences mean the situation doesn’t become serious as I know the positive steps to take to avoid this. I’d recommend seeking counselling, discussing problems with friends and making positive life changes to anyone who thinks they may be depressed. By DR

The date has yet to be set, but at the end of February or beginning of March PsychSoc will be holding elections. Successful candidates will be running PsychSoc from September 2012; the current team will be in place until then to answer any questions. At the last election some roles were uncontested, so if you want to be a part of PsychSoc’s committee just drop us an email at bpsbrunel@gmail.com and let us know which position you’ll be going for at elections. On election night you will need to say a few words in front of the voters, but after your presentations in the first year this should be a walk in the park! Here are the different roles you could be doing next year! President - currently Emily Yates – The big cheese!

Vice President - currently James Camp – Second in command

You need to be a point of liaison between administrative staff, speakers, academic staff, and anyone else who contacts the society. You need to be highly organised, preferably with constant internet access to deal with queries quickly. You must be an excellent leader and proactive as you will be steering the HMS PsychSoc, mapping the course and keeping us lot in order! Previous experience of a leadership role is useful as you will be responsible for delegation of work and other leadership duties such as being the chair of meetings. You will be responsible for how we are seen as a society, the happiness of our members and the democratic process. Responsibilities aplenty!

You’ll often be asked to fulfil roles when the president cannot do them. For example you will chair a meeting if the president is unavailable. You must also be very proactive. You will be at the president's side in meetings to help them co-ordinate the society.

Events Officer - currently Gabriella Ferrufino – The Fun V.I.P! You will be organising events and coming up with ideas for them. More difficult than you might imagine, but if you are a creative person this could be great fun! We aim to hold events each week, so organisation is a must as well as multitasking abilities. You will be emailing and creating events on facebook, liaising with the union, keeping up to date with events (on or off campus) that may interest our members. This role is really what you make of it! Treasurer - currently Adele Daniels – The Money V.I.P. You will keep a record of the budget and present a report at meetings, maintain cost-effectiveness in all we do - we don't want to blow our budget in the first half of term! Budget requests and reports will need to be submitted to the union for every event when we spend money so you will be liaising with the union as needs must. You must be on the ball for this role as you will be expected to answer questions at to when we can and can't use our budget!

Secretary - currently Ben Olby-Clements – The Typist V.I.P. You will be responsible for organising meetings with the committee, taking minutes, sending them out, and making sure people do what they are asked! You must also maintain the list of members for the society and take over other people's actions when others have items to delegate. This role is more difficult than it looks; it needs a lot of organisation and chasing up over meetings! Web Officer - currently Keir Jackson – The Tech V.I.P. You need to make our minisite look fabulous and update it as much as possible! You will be responsible for maintaining facebook, googledocs, and gmail accounts. Newsletter Editor - currently Jemma Giles – The Creative V.I.P. The main responsibility is ensuring out newsletter is sent out online, we aim to do this. Some experience using a publishing programme (like Microsoft publisher) is essential as you'll be using it a lot! Finding people to write articles is a must; variety is the essence of a newsletter! You also need to make sure nothings breaks copyright so will need to make yourself familiar with restrictions. You will work with other members to ensure the letter is promoted and articles are found.

So far this term, we’ve already had two film screenings, ‘Girl, Interrupted’ and ‘Shutter Island’, gone bowling and had a games night. Luckily, we have plenty more planned, details of the AGM are on the next page and info on other events is right here! Also, if you’re a member of the society join the facebook group by searching for Brunel PsychSoc and you’ll be invited online. Trip to the Science Museum on 22nd February. We’re planning to cook pancakes for you at the Meeting We’re providing transport to PsychSoc house soon, lucky things. Check our facebook group for members and there’s free entry. So the best more details coming soon. things in life are free!

Jake Camp is organising revision Study Groups for level 1. This will be on a Wednesday in the lecture centre. Check facebook for more info. Level 1 student’s have their own facebook group, search for ‘Brunel Psychology level 1’.

Level 2 revision Study Groups will be on a Thursday afternoon. Again details will be updated on the specific facebook group, search for ‘Brunel Psychology level 2’.

See the next page for details of the elections for next years PsychSoc Team.

Level 1

As the first year is not yet complete I cannot yet give you a full update. However, Camilla and I have been working hard, attending meetings and answering all your questions along with the Brunel PsychSoc. Issues we’ve addressed so far have been: the Library, lectures and their locations, electronic issue and so forth. We have successfully influenced a change in a lecture held in the Antonio Artaud building, for the benefit of our studies. We will be attending the Student Rep forum on the 8th of February. An issue to bring up in the next Staffstudent liaison meeting will be the length of time for results to get back. I will also communicate anything else the students would like us to contribute. If there’s anything you would like to add, contact us, either via the Facebook pages or our email address. Jake, hs11jac@brunel.ac.uk, Camilla, hs11ceb@brunel.ac.uk)

Level 2 Hi Gabs here! I was thrown into the deep end with the L2 timetabling problem. The outcome was the lecture stays on Thursday 5-8pm. I hope the majority is happy with this. There's a Student/ Staff Liaison meeting coming up soon so if you have any issues, please email me at hs10ggf@brunel.ac.uk.

Facebook Links Brunel PsychSoc: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1135 27538751683/ Level 1 Psychology: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1074 17389345792/ Level 2 Psychology: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1837 45488326164/ Level 3 Psychology: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brun el.psych.lv2/

Five friends are studying different modules for their Psychology degree. For each person, determine the module studied, assessment type and the name of the lecturer. 1) Clare studies Statistics. 2) The girl who’s doing a presentation didn’t study Statistics or have Dr Perkin’s (which wasn’t Nabil’s) 3) Lisa is lectured by Dr Wright, but doesn’t study Autism or Social Psychology. 4) Neither the student lectured by Prof Savin or the one taking an unseen exam studies Social Psychology. 5) Michael, who studies under Dr Clark, isn’t doing a presentation. 6) Nabil isn’t taking a seen exam. 7) One student is doing a lab report for their lecturer Prof Goodwin.

Presentation

Seen Exam

Essay

Lab report

Unseen Exam

Assessment Type

Prof Savin

Dr Wright

Prof Goodwin

Dr Perkins

Dr Clark

Child Psychology

Lecturer Study of autism

Research Methods

Statistics

Social Psychology

Module

Clare Lisa Nabil Petra Michael Unseen Exam Lab Report Essay Seen Exam Presentation Dr Clark Dr Perkins Prof Goodwin Dr Wright Prof Savin To join Brunel PsychSoc go to www.brunelstudents.com log in or register with your student details and join our group. Contact us at bpsbrunel@gmail.com for more information about PsychSoc, the newsletter, or for information about writing for the next issue.