The Psychologist June 2021 by The Psychologist

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psychologist june 2021

A decade of ‘power posing’ Tom Loncar asks, where do we stand?

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psychologist june 2021

contact The British Psychological Society 48 Princess Road East Leicester LE1 7DR 0116 254 9568 info@bps.org.uk www.bps.org.uk the psychologist and research digest www.thepsychologist.org.uk www.bps.org.uk/digest www.jobsinpsychology.co.uk psychologist@bps.org.uk

A decade of ‘power posing’ Tom Loncar asks, where do we stand?

www.thepsychologist.org.uk www.thepsychologist.org.uk

The Psychologist is the magazine of

Twitter: @psychmag Download our iOS/Android apps advertising Reach 50,000+ psychologists at very reasonable rates. CPL, 1 Cambridge Technopark Newmarket Road Cambridge CB5 8PB contact Krishan Parmar 01223 378051 krishan.parmar@cpl.co.uk may 2021 issue 54,713 dispatched cover Nick Oliver www.nickoliverillustration.com environment Printed by PCPLtd

issn 0952-8229 (print) 2398-1598 (online) © Copyright for all published material is held by the British Psychological Society unless speciﬁcally stated otherwise. As the Society is a party to the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) agreement, articles in The Psychologist may be copied by libraries and other organisations under the terms of their own CLA licences (www.cla.co.uk). Permission must be obtained for any other use beyond fair dealing authorised by copyright legislation. For further information about copyright and obtaining permissions, e-mail permissions@bps.org.uk.

The British Psychological Society It provides a forum for communication, discussion and controversy among all members of the Society, and aims to fulﬁl the main object of the Royal Charter, ‘to promote the advancement and diffusion of a knowledge of psychology pure and applied’

The Psychologist needs you! We rely on your submissions throughout the publication, and in return we help you to get your message across to a large and diverse audience. For details of all the available options, plus our policies and what to do if you feel these have not been followed, see www.thepsychologist.org.uk/contribute The main message, though, is simply to engage with us. Contact the editor Dr Jon Sutton on jon.sutton@bps.org.uk, or tweet us on @psychmag.

Managing Editor Jon Sutton Deputy Editor Annie Brookman-Byrne Production Mike Thompson Journalist Ella Rhodes Editorial Assistant Debbie Gordon Research Digest Matthew Warren (Editor), Emily Reynolds, Emma Young

Associate Editors Articles Paul Curran, Michelle Hunter, Rebecca Knibb, Adrian Needs, Paul Redford, Sophie Scott, Mark Wetherell, Jill Wilkinson History of Psychology Alison Torn Culture Kate Johnstone, Chrissie Fitch Books Emily Hutchinson Voices in Psychology Madeleine Pownall Psychologist and Digest Editorial Advisory Committee Richard Stephens (Chair), Emma Beard, Kimberley Hill, Sue Holttum, Deborah Husbands, Peter Olusoga, Miles Thomas, Layne Whittaker

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psychologist june 2021

How can we understand the suicidal mind in the moment of crisis? Ella Rhodes hears from Brianna Banks, Evan Kleiman, and Karen Wetherall; and Jon Sutton talks with Rory O’Connor

The psychological impact of a lifelong illness Louise Foster has a conversation with her mother about Multiple Sclerosis

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Letters Climate emotion, the society stands at a crossroads, Zangwill and more

Obituaries

News BPS 2021; awards; President vote; and much more

Digest Mindfully prosocial, and more research…

A decade of ‘power posing’: where do we stand? Tom Loncar on credibility and challenges The other side of the story Sophy Irwin works for NIACRO in Belfast, to reduce crime and its impact

Jobs in psychology Featured job, latest vacancies

Books Hope and the climate crisis; what do you ﬁnd energising at work?; and more

Culture Kimberley Wilson on the body; ‘Home’, from the Abbey Theatre in Ireland; Adam Curtis; and more

Looking back Merchants of light: Richard Brown looks to lessons from the history of open science in order to move beyond ideals and technology

Some time ago, exhausted and nearing the end of my tether, I sent Rory O’Connor a WhatsApp. He immediately replied and called on his twin brother Daryl, and they reminded me of shared better days past and future, staying with me in that moment of crisis and checking in on me regularly after. I thought about that night as I spoke to Rory to accompany Ella’s feature on suicide (p, 28), and as I read his new book. I thought about the burden Rory must feel, being ‘the suicide guy’. He assures me that ‘writing the book was cathartic’. But imagine being a ﬁgurehead for what Rory calls the ‘everydayness’ of suicide: ‘…what leads someone to become suicidal is very often about what happens every day: everyday failures, everyday crises and everyday losses. Too often people think that suicide is about the out-ofthe-ordinary…’ Rory adds that ‘suicide is never inevitable. It is preventable right up until the ﬁnal moment.’ His book, and we hope this issue, give practical advice on how we can all do that.

One on one Ameera Zumla

Dr Jon Sutton Managing Editor @psychmag

‘We’re moving around the garden to get different viewpoints’ Ian Florance meets recent Society award winner Mark Fox

‘Embracing the challenge of the moment’ T

he BPS 2021 conference will consider psychology’s role in helping us face adversity – with a focus on positive adaptations, psychological strengths, supporting resilience and compassion in psychological professions and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in society. Ella Rhodes spoke to some of this year’s keynote speakers about their talks and the impact Covid has had on their professional lives and areas of expertise. Compering the conference for the second year running will be Claudia Hammond, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s All in the Mind, visiting professor (University of Sussex) and author of The Art of Rest. She said that, when speaking about the past year, we constantly hear the words unprecedented and extraordinary. ‘What I’m looking forward to at the conference is hearing what Claudia Hammond – psychologists who have been conducting author of The Art of Rest research during the pandemic can tell us. What are the positive lessons we can take forward from a time that’s been so hard for so many?’ Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Loss, Trauma, and Emotion Lab George Bonanno (Columbia University) has been working to understand resilience and the impact of traumatic events for the past 30 years. He told me that, following an aversive event – including anything from terrorist attacks to major health emergencies and assaults – a majority of people continue to function and cope. At the conference Bonanno will discuss what he calls the resilience paradox. He said that we often hear about the ‘ﬁve traits of resilient people’ – but that this was an inaccurate way to view our ability to cope after difﬁcult situations. ‘There Professor are things that we know that predict resilience, but every of Clinical event is new, every event is constantly changing, and so Psychology and we always have to work, adapt, and think on our feet. In a Director of the sense resilience is a matter of embracing the challenge of Loss, Trauma, the moment.’ and Emotion Lab Bonanno warns that ‘there are no magic bullets George Bonanno and it’s always an active process. I think for years we’ve focused on PTSD and negative outcomes. Those are real and people do suffer, but that’s a very small minority of

people. Instead of focusing on that and what goes wrong, I’ve been trying to understand what goes right – why is it that we’re able to be so resilient?’ Given the findings from his work Bonanno said he is hopeful that the looming mental health emergency following Covid, which many have predicted, may not come about. ‘I think people can handle this, and people already have handled it remarkably well. Of course there’s lots of variability, and there will be a period of adjustment, but I think for many Covid has been a mild to moderate stressor and we will get over that.’ Research Fellow Dr Amy Orben’s (University of Cambridge) talk will discuss the ways psychology needs to change to adapt to us living lives which are both online and offline, and in which the online is as important as the offline. ‘For many years, psychology has treated the online as largely separate, and the technologies as developments that need to be understood in very specific ways, i.e. how much does X use of technology Y affect my outcome? ‘However, especially in light of the pandemic and how it has accelerated societal changes, the online world has largely merged with the offline. This means we need to think of different ways to understand and study the processes we are interested in as psychologists.’ Looking back over the past year Orben, who was a guest on our PsychCrunch podcast episode ‘Should we worry about screen time?’, said the pandemic had accelerated technological change, and had also changed the questions people ask about the ways technology impacts our lives. ‘We all now understand the utility and positive benefit of technologies, e.g. video calling family. This has really made me rethink what questions my research should answer. Further, I think the pandemic has really shown me how much I get out of informal conversations with colleagues: I desperately miss those

Research Fellow Dr Amy Orben

the psychologist june 2021 news

Presidential vote The time has come for members of the British Psychological Society to cast a vote in the presidential election. The candidates this year are Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes, Nicky Hayes, Alan Kessedjian and Peter Mitchell. The successful candidate will become President-Elect and then President from 2022 to 2023, and Vice President the following year. Clinical and health psychologist Professor Dominic Murphy morning cups of tea with people in my department or the occasional trip to the pub during a workshop or conference. I don’t think we can ever replicate those.’ Clinical and health psychologist Professor Dominic Murphy works with veteran mental health charity Combat Stress where he established the Combat Stress Research Department, co-located within the King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London. Murphy, also President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society, will discuss some of his ongoing research into female veterans at this year’s conference. He told me there has been little research in the UK with this population, despite women veterans often having very different experiences during their time in the military and potentially suffering different types of trauma during their service. Working with the Women’s Royal Army Corps and collaborators from other universities, he has collected survey data from 750 women veterans with an aim to create a mental health proﬁle of female veterans as well as comparing female veterans’ experiences with the general population. When asked about his experiences during the pandemic, Murphy said that veterans had shown resilience during the past year – as revealed by longitudinal survey data. He said those veterans with mental health problems largely showed a slight improvement in their symptoms or remained stable. ‘Part of this, I think, might be due to the lockdown and social restrictions – it has helped people have more control over their environment, also a lot of deployment experiences build resilience into veterans… What’s going to be more worrying is when things open up and people start interacting with the world again.’ Murphy has also been carrying out work with the NHS and UCL in a number of NHS trusts (with the Covid Trauma Response Working Group; www.traumagroup.org) which has revealed the impact of the pandemic on frontline staff. He said he and his colleagues had found very high rates of moral injury, PTSD and complex PTSD in frontline workers. For more information on the 2021 conference and to register see www.delegate-reg.co.uk/bpsconf2021.

Fellow of the society Jamie Hacker Hughes was BPS president from 2015 to 2016, during which time he launched the society’s first taskforce on refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. He led work on the structural review during his time as president elect, president and vice president. Hacker Hughes has worked as a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist, with a particular interest in psychological trauma, within the NHS, government, academia and independent practice. Following work with the MoD, he founded the Veterans and Families Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University. Hacker Hughes also has a number of visiting professorships at other universities and has worked as trustee for several charities. ‘The role of the President is, I believe, to be the ambassador of the society to, and where appropriate, outside the society, to provide visible leadership and, most importantly, through chairing the Board of Trustees, to ensure effective governance of the society, its senior management team, all our members and our staff.’ Fellow of the society Nicky Hayes is chair of the BPS Committee on Test Standards, sits on the Editorial Committee of Assessment & Development Matters, and is Member of Council for the International Test Commission. Hayes has previously worked to promote public exams in psychology at various qualification levels, has written more than 30 books on psychology, has worked in applied psychology focusing on psychological processes in organisations and has also worked in science communication. ‘I feel strongly that the challenges thrown up by the recent pandemic have shown how much we need psychology… My life experience has repeatedly convinced me that we can contribute positively to virtually all aspects of everyday life. Psychologists everywhere are working to identify and repair the damage caused by the pandemic, but I feel that our public presence, and the influence of the society in public life, is currently less than it has been in the past.’ Alan Kessedjian, Associate Fellow of the society, is the current co-chair of the Division of Clinical Psychology’s (DCP) Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Task and Finish Group. He is also co-opted member of the BPS Presidential Taskforce and Diversity and Inclusion, and co-opted member of the DCP Executive Committee. Kessedjian is a consultant clinical psychologist with more than 33 years’ experience and a BABCP-accredited CBT Therapist, supervisor and trainer and a former elected Board Trustee/Director of the BABCP.

Kessedjian has worked with NGOs in the West Bank and co-developed and delivered culturally-adapted mental health training programmes with Dr Samah Jabr. ‘I am standing for the position of President with dedicated time set aside and a commitment to ensuring momentum is not lost with the society’s EDI agenda. A BPS that is more representative of all of our communities can only ensure greater relevance and clinical utility for the populations we seek to serve.’

Psychology and as editor in chief of the British Journal of Psychology. ‘I fully appreciate the value and importance of the international reach of the BPS. Connections and partnerships with other societies on an international stage is surely a big priority. Having served two key journals… I’m also extremely interested in the work done by the BPS in promoting scientiﬁc excellence through its publications, its conferences and its various awards.’ •

BPS Fellow Peter Mitchell is a member of the Developmental Section Committee and has been a BPS member since 1984. Mitchell was head of the University of Nottingham’s School of Psychology and was later Head of School and Dean of Science at the University of Nottingham’s Malaysia Campus – establishing the ﬁrst BPS accredited psychology course outside the UK. He currently works as Head of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Bradford and has served on the editorial board of the British Journal of Developmental

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Voting will close at 12 noon on Monday 14 June and the results will be announced at the Annual General Meeting at 5pm on Monday 26 July. For more information on how to vote, and the candidates please see: www.bps.org.uk/presidential-election If you haven’t received your ballot paper, please contact governance@bps.org.uk The society has announced the process for electing the President for 2021. See www.bps.org.uk/ president-2021

Lacking CRED The ﬁndings of a recent government report into inequality and disparities among people from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds were a missed opportunity, the British Psychological Society has said. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) report was heavily criticised by academics, MPs, campaign groups and unions after its publication. The commission, set up by prime minister Boris Johnson following the 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests, examined disparities in a number of areas, including education and health, and made 24 recommendations grouped into four themes – build trust, promote fairness, create agency,

achieve inclusivity. Many groups and individuals criticised the commission’s ﬁndings for not acknowledging institutional and structural racism and cherry-picking statistics. BPS Deputy Chief Executive Diane Ashby said the report failed NEW CHAIR FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING BOARD to identify disparities in society and systemic racism, and said the BPS was particularly concerned that where she researches Professor Niamh Stack denying the lived experience of Black, effective pedagogy, graduate has been named as the Asian and minority ethnic people skills and curriculum new chair of the British could be retraumatising and have an enhancement. She is also Psychological Society’s adverse psychological impact. Research Director for Education and Training ‘As stated previously we the Scottish Network for Board. The board works recognise that institutional racism Able Pupils where she to support the society in exists and as an organisation we researches and publishes Stack is Deputy Head developing its strategy in will tackle it. We stand shoulder to in the area of high ability and Director of Teaching delivering education and shoulder with our allies in striving and giftedness as well as and Learning at the continuing professional for anti-racist practice and are development, difference and University of Glasgow’s development for committed to tackling racism within diversity. School of Psychology psychologists. our profession. We will not be complacent.’ ER

the psychologist june 2021 news

Award for interoception researcher A researcher who has been unravelling some of the mysteries of interoception – or our awareness and perception of our body’s inner states – has won the 2020 BPS Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research. Dr Jennifer Murphy’s (Royal Holloway, University of London) thesis encompassed 11 peer-reviewed articles which explored the relationship between interoception, mental health, and higher order cognition, as well as the measurement, developmental trajectory and genetic underpinnings of interoception. Murphy said there were still many outstanding questions in this area which she took the ﬁrst step to answering through her work – for example the ways interoception may vary across development, how different aspects of interoception relate to each other, and how best to measure interoception. ‘Whilst the term has been around for over 100 years, it is only recently that there has been a huge uptick of interest in interoception. ‘Such interest has arguably

been driven by observations that interoception impacts fundamental cognitive domains associated with psychiatric risk and that atypical interoception is observed across multiple physical and mental health conditions, where it is thought to play a role in both disorder speciﬁc (e.g., atypical eating in eating disorders) and transdiagnostic (e.g., emotion regulation) symptoms.’ In her future research Murphy said she hoped to explore sex differences in interoception – women are less accurate at perceiving interoceptive signals but report paying more attention to them –

Dr Jennifer Murphy

and there has been little work to understand the causes of these sex differences. ‘During my doctoral studies, I wrote a paper proposing that sex differences in interoception may arise from the increased amount of physical and hormonal change women experience across typical development (for example, during menstruation, pregnancy and the menopause) and that (given links between interoception and mental health) these sex differences may also contribute towards known sex differences in mental health. I hope that I will have the opportunity to test this theory in the future!’ Murphy said it was an honour to have received the doctoral award. ‘Looking through the list of previous winners it is hard to believe that my name belongs alongside these exceptional scientists! Whilst it is wonderful to receive such recognition, science is a team effort and I have been so lucky to have worked with amazing advisors, mentors and collaborators who made this work possible.’ ER

News online: Find much more news at www.thepsychologist.org.uk/reports, including: UK Trauma Council (UKTC) and three child bereavement charities have appealed for more awareness of traumatic bereavement, particularly in the context of the coronavirus pandemic ‘Private money will really push the ﬁeld forward’ – Neuralink Monkey MindPong, deconstructed A binaural audio odyssey – Anne McNaught, a graduate member of the British Psychological Society and a radio/audio producer with many years at the BBC, shares a new way to explore the inner workings of your brain… A binaural audio odyssey

Brain Story for the next chapter – Dr Katy Smart on a community initiative led by the University of Oxford to help protect our longterm mental health. For much more of the latest peer-reviewed research, digested, see www.bps.org.uk/digest Got news? Email psychologist@bps.org.uk or tweet @psychmag.

Changes in the wider workforce Getty Images

Psychological professions in the four nations are set to change immeasurably over the coming years as plans to increase access to mental health support for children, adults and young people come into effect. A recent webinar covered some of the work the society has been doing to prepare for new roles within psychology – looking at ways to recognise these new professions, as well as giving people in newer roles a home within the BPS. Laura Smith, BPS Workforce Development Manager, and Claire Tilley, Head of Workforce Education, Training and Standards, said that the BPS had been looking into ways to support the recognition of wider psychological professions, or those which do not have a protected title and are not regulated by law. These newer roles include Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWPs), Education and Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), Clinical Associates in Applied Psychology (CAAPs) in Scotland, and Clinical Associates in Psychology (CAPs) in England – some of which have The BPS had been looking into ways to support the recognition been developed following the NHS Long Term Plan and of wider psychological professions Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. Tilley explained that the BPS had been involved with developing these wider psychological professions and CAP roles to ensure they are accessible to as diverse and had been working on apprenticeship routes into PWP a range of people as possible. The BPS is involved with the training accreditation for PWPs, CAPs and CAAPs and is awaiting approval for accreditation standards for Educational and Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) and Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP) training. Tilley and Smith said there was a real gap in careers advice for these new roles and that the BPS had launched a new virtual learning environment called BPS Learn to provide CPD and other resources alongside recruiting a dedicated careers manager, due to start in early July. The BPS has also been working on a review of its membership grades to give people in these new roles options for membership – consultation on these proposed changes is now open for comments. The BPS and the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP) are both also set to launch voluntary registers for some of the newer psychological professions. Tilley said that those signing up to the register would commit to continued professional development, agree to a professional code of conduct Register for aviation psychologists and maintain their skills and competencies. She said the register would also give patients and the public more confidence in these newer and unfamiliar roles. The British Psychological Society has launched a new directory to allow At first the BPS and BABCP will be registering PWPs the aviation industry to find psychologists with expertise in the area. In and will later also register CWPs and EMHPs, with the the UK and Europe it is a legal requirement for an aviation psychologist to BPS also registering CAPs and CAAPs. Both organisations oversee the psychological assessment of pilots. should be ready to launch their registers this summer. The Civil Aviation Authority has determined that HCPC-registered Those who would like to join the BPS register need to be chartered psychologists with experience working in the aviation industry a member of the BPS, have completed a BPS-accredited can carry out the assessment of pilots in the UK – psychologists may also training programme, have confirmation of employment in be involved in areas including peer support. See tinyurl.com/jecr6nc2 for a specified system of care and agree to abide by a fitness more information and to apply to join the directory. ER to practice framework. ER Getty Images

the psychologist june 2021 news

Practice Board award winners The winners of the BPS Practice Board 2020 awards for lifetime achievement, distinguished contribution to practice and innovation in practice have been announced. Among the winners are an MP, an expert in supporting refugees, and specialists in autism and eating disorders. The board has awarded two lifetime achievement awards for 2020. Visiting Professor Tommy MacKay (University of Strathclyde), an educational psychologist and Director of Psychology Consultancy Services, led the 10-year West Dunbartonshire Literacy Initiative that eradicated illiteracy in one of the UK’s poorest education authorities. Also the Clinical Director of the National Diagnostic and Assessment Service at Scottish Autism and a former BPS president, Mackay’s work has addressed service provision, public policy and legislation, with a focus on diversity and social justice. He said ‘I am honoured and humbled to have received the Lifetime Achievement Award and I see it as a welcome stepping stone as I pursue new ventures in my career.’ The second lifetime achievement award winner was Dr Adrian Needs (University of Portsmouth) who worked as a psychologist in the prison service for 14 years. He left in 1997 to start the first MSc in forensic psychology in Scotland and joined the University of Portsmouth as a Principal Lecturer in 2000. His current research has considered the role of life events as precursors to homicide, and he has supervised MSc projects in a women’s prison which have explored attachment, instability, the sense of self and perceptions of the interpersonal environment. He said ‘To receive Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the British Psychological Society’s Practice Board and its Division of Forensic Psychology is a huge honour. My work has been quite an odyssey!’ Three psychologists have been honoured with a Distinguished Contribution to Practice award. Dee Anand, former chair of the BPS Division of Forensic Psychology, has had a varied career working with the NHS, students, and numerous BPS and government committees. Anand has helped to develop expert witness guidelines, reform MSc standards, redesign trainee qualifications and provide evidence to select committees. He said he was humbled to accept the award, ‘I… thank the incredible people in our incredible profession who believe in change, understanding people’s stories and who continually strive to improve our communities.’ Dr Lisa Cameron, Scottish National Party MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow previously worked in the NHS as a clinical psychologist and is currently Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Mental Health in the House of Commons. In Parliament, in partnership with the BPS, Cameron founded Parliament’s first All-Party Parliamentary Group for Psychology. Professor of Psychology in Eating Disorders, Kate Tchanturia (King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust), moved to the UK from

Dr Adrian Needs (above) and Dr Lisa Cameron MP (right) were among the award winners

Georgia in 1997 after receiving a Royal Society award to conduct research into the neuropsychology of eating disorders in London. Among many other achievements her research on the link between eating disorders and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) resulted in changes to inpatient services which made them more inclusive and easier for people with ASD to access mainstream care. Tchanturia said it was a great honour and privilege to receive recognition. ‘I am delighted and I would like to say a big thank you to my family, my wonderful clinical and research teams and colleagues.’ Finally Dr Najwan Saaed Al-Roubaiy, head of the psychology department at the American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology, won the 2020 Award for Innovation in Practice. Al-Roubaiy began his career in 2007 as a clinical psychologist working with refugees in Sweden, during this time he realised that there was a gap in literature and practice for psychotherapy with refugees, many of whom were struggling with mental health issues as a result of their experiences in exile. As a result Al-Roubaiy published a mixed model for psychotherapy with refugees and later moved to the United Arab Emirates and wrote and published the ﬁrst professional CBT self-help and therapy aid in Arabic. He said, ‘I am very happy and honoured to be receiving this award. Recognition and validation are wonderful to experience after years of hard work, especially when they come from one’s peers.’ ER

New groups on climate change Getty Images

Dr Tony Wainwright

Two new BPS ‘task and finish’ groups are looking for members to examine the impact of climate change on health, and psychology’s role in social, organisational and individual change in the face of the climate crisis. Chaired by Dr Tony Wainwright (University of Exeter) the Climate and Environmental Crisis workstream of the BPS Ethics Committee will have a social, organisational and individual change group to explore and coordinate the contributions that psychology and psychologists can make to increasing the understanding of psychological aspects of change, and look to increase the application of this knowledge. They will examine the relationship between the individual and the collective and the individual and the state, the role of public consultation, activism and collective action from a psychological perspective, how to communicate with different groups, and levers for change in organisations and individuals. The health task and finish group will work to identify and develop the contribution that psychology and psychologists can make to increasing the understanding of the climate crisis on health as well as the psychological impact of physical health problems. Specifically it will look at the psychological and health impacts of climate change, extreme weather events, climate anxiety, protection against burnout for those working to tackle the climate crisis, the relationship between the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, and the vulnerabilities of different groups and communities both in the UK and internationally.

Both groups will explore the existing literature, produce brieﬁng papers and host webinars on related topics. The BPS has encouraged people from all backgrounds to apply and particularly those from underrepresented groups – including those who have a disability, people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and LGBT+ people. For more information on how to get involved see the adverts on pages 20-21 or email carl.bourton@bps.org.uk ER

More guidance on drugs

Therapists would like to see professional guidance on working with people taking prescribed psychiatric drugs, according to a recent survey. The study of more than 1200 therapists, published in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, found complexity in working with clients who were taking these drugs or withdrawing for them. The study’s authors included three members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence – counselling psychologist Lewis Blair and psychotherapists James Davies and Anne Guy – along with researcher Gabriel Davies and counsellor Victoria Heydon-Hatchett. They explored the challenges for therapists in helping clients ﬁnd good information on their medication while also not offering medical advice –

which is outside of a therapist’s usual remit. Just over 88 per cent of the therapists surveyed, all members of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the British Psychological

Society (BPS), agreed that speciﬁc professional guidance on the issue would be useful or very useful in helping them work competently with clients using or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence has led the development of guidance for therapists working with clients taking these drugs, Guidance for Psychological Therapists Enabling conversations with clients taking or withdrawing from prescribed psychiatric drugs. This guidance has been endorsed by the BPS, BACP, and UKCP and others and can be accessed via prescribeddrug.info along with other resources. ER To read the full research report see: tinyurl.com/3w52fdrd

Influence our policy direction Your idea could be developed into a national campaign to inﬂuence public policy The global pandemic has highlighted the important role psychology and psychologists play in 21st century Britain. Over the past year we have seen some of the most serious societal issues exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19 and a decline in many people’s mental health and wellbeing. What do you think we should be addressing in public policy?

SUBM YOURIT PROPO SAL DEADL INE 9 JULY

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SEN AT E PROP O SA L S

the psychologist june 2021 multiple sclerosis

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Mindful of others? Get stuffed Emily Reynolds digests the latest research

Find our Research Digest at www.bps. org.uk/ digest Editor: Dr Matthew Warren Writers: Emily Reynolds and Emma Young Reports, links and more on the Digest website

Mindfulness – in basic terms, the practice of being ‘present’ in the moment and paying attention to one’s own thoughts and feelings – has seen something of a boom over the last few years. In the United States, the mindfulness business is set to reach a value of $2 billion by next year, while in the United Kingdom, lockdown saw a spike in downloads for digital meditation offerings such as Headspace and Calm. But is mindfulness all it’s cracked up to be? While it certainly has its benefits, some argue that it encourages blind acceptance of the status quo, taking us so far into ourselves that we forget the rest of the world. In a new preprint on PsyArxiv, Michael Poulin and colleagues from New York’s University at Buffalo also find that mindfulness can decrease prosocial behaviours – at least for those who see themselves as independent from others. The first study was designed to look at the impact of mindfulness on prosocial activity, and in particular whether this depends on a person’s ‘self-construal’. In short, if someone has an independent self-construal they see the self as separate from others, rather than thinking more collectively and conceptualising themselves as part of a wider group. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, one oriented around mindfulness meditation, and the other focusing on a control meditation in the form of mind wandering. Those in the mindfulness condition listened to a tape designed to induce mindfulness through mindful breathing, while those in the mind wandering condition were instructed to ‘let your mind wander and think freely without needing to focus hard on anything in particular’. After listening to the tapes, participants read about a local poverty and homelessness charity, before being asked whether or not they wanted to stuff envelopes in support of the organisation. Participants who decided to take part were left to do so for as long as they wanted. The team also measured participants’ self-construal by asking them to indicate how much they identified with friends, family, and wider groups compared to how much they thought of themselves as independent. Most participants (84 per cent) stuffed at least some envelopes after the task, though the number varied

significantly – some stuffed up to 158, while others did just one. People who participated in the mindfulness meditation stuffed 15 per cent more envelopes than those who did the control mediation – if they had an interdependent self-construal. But for those with independent self-construals, mindfulness decreased the number of envelopes stuffed by 15 per cent. The second study replicated the first: this time, however, the team attempted to manipulate participants’ self-construal. Participants were asked to go through a paragraph selecting all of the pronouns. In the independent condition, participants selected singular pronouns (‘I went to the city’) and in the interdependent condition, they selected plural pronouns (‘we went to the city’). As the second study took place online, participants were not asked to stuff envelopes, but instead to sign up (or not) for time slots to chat online with alumni donors to request financial support for the same charity. And similar to the results of the first study, those primed with independent self-construal were less likely to volunteer after listening to the mindfulness exercise, while those in the interdependent condition saw an increased likelihood of volunteering after the mindfulness task. Other research has found similar results; one 2017 study, for example, found that mindfulness did not have the empathy-boosting benefits that many of its adherents had claimed, at least in those high in narcissistic traits. This latter finding seems key: as in this study, it may not be that mindfulness decreases empathy or prosocial behaviours across the board, but only in combination with particular personality types. After all, interdependent participants saw an increase in prosocial behaviours, not a decrease. Developing a more nuanced view of the benefits of mindfulness, then, might be one way of dealing with this issue. Following its meteoric rise, mindfulness has often been positioned as a panacea, not only for anxiety or other mental health conditions but in other areas, too: productivity, creativity, personal relationships, and particular traits or habits. Rather than treating it as a wholesale good, however, it may be better to understand when mindfulness might be truly beneficial – and, importantly, for whom.

the psychologist june 2021 digest

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When we talk to children about the characteristics of boys and girls, our word choice and syntax can profoundly shape what they take away from the conversation. Even attempts to dispel stereotypes can backfire: as we recently reported, telling kids that girls are ‘as good as’ boys at maths can actually leave them believing that boys are naturally better at the subject and that girls have to work harder. Other work has shown that ‘generic’ language can also perpetuate stereotypes: saying that boys ‘like to play football’, for instance, can make children believe that all boys like to play football, or that liking football is a fundamental part of being a boy. Now a study in Psychological Science shows that when kids hear this kind of generic language, they don’t just make assumptions about the group that is mentioned – they also make inferences about unmentioned groups. That is, if children hear that boys like to play football, they might deduce that girls do not. To examine these kinds of inferences, Kelsey Moty and Marjorie Rhodes from New York University first asked 287 kids aged 4 to 6 to watch a video about a town that is home to two groups of people: ‘zarpies’ and ‘gorps’. First, a narrator introduced these groups, outlining a few of their characteristics (zarpies, for instance, ‘like to climb tall fences’, while gorps ‘like to draw stars on their knees’). The kids then saw more zarpies and gorps, while hearing either generic or specific statements about them. A generic statement, for instance, would be ‘zarpies are good at baking pizza’, while a specific statement would be ‘this zarpie is good at baking pizza’. Finally, the participants saw another zarpie and another gorp, and were asked whether each of these were good at baking pizza (or whatever activity the statement had been about). Consistent with past work, kids who had heard the generic statement were more likely than those who had heard the specific statement to infer that the new zarpie was good at baking pizza. But these participants were also more likely to infer that the new gorp was not good at baking pizza. That is, generic language seemed to lead the children to make assumptions even about members of the unmentioned group. Interestingly, these inferences were made by kids as young as 4-and-a-half. And as the children got older, the more likely they were to make them: almost all 7-yearolds who had heard the generic statement said that the new zarpie was good at baking pizza and that the new gorp was not good at baking pizza (a group of adults also made near unanimous judgements along these lines). Could it simply be that the children had been shown two apparently contrasting groups, so just assume that a gorp must be the opposite of a zarpie in all ways? A later study suggests that this isn’t the case. In this experiment, the video was presented either by a knowledgeable narrator who lived in the neighbourhood,

or an unknowledgeable one who was visiting for the first time. The children again made inferences about the unmentioned group based on generic statements – but only when the speaker was knowledgeable. This suggests that children actually reason about what a speaker knows and what information they intend to convey, in order to make their inferences. Overall, then the work suggests that children (like adults) do make inferences about unmentioned categories when they hear generic statements – particularly if they think that the speaker knows what they’re talking about. So it’s easy to see how generic language could inadvertently perpetuate gender stereotypes. Of course, the researchers didn’t explicitly test the kids’ beliefs about boys and girls: they used the fictional groups of zarpies and gorps instead, precisely so the kids wouldn’t be influenced by existing stereotypes. But it would still be interesting to know whether children make similar inferences about boys and girls – perhaps researchers could try and minimise the influence of existing stereotypes by using fictional activities instead (for instance, if kids were told that girls were good at ‘plarping’, what would they think about a boy’s plarping skills?). Still, the study provides yet another striking example of how the way we speak to children shapes their beliefs about social groups. MATTHEW WARREN

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Employers or admission ofﬁcers often assume that ‘passionate’ candidates will be the highest achievers. But though passion is somewhat linked to academic achievement, it matters less in collectivistic cultures than individualistic ones. That’s according to a study looking at the link between passion and achievement among 1.2 million people across nearly 60 countries. (PNAS)

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Strategies to encourage people to exercise have underestimated the importance of in-the-moment motivational states, a new study argues. The team have created a new scale to measure people’s motivation to exercise ‘right now’, and ultimately hope to see interventions that trigger or enhance these immediate, ﬂeeting desires. (Frontiers in Psychology)

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Time management and wellbeing As our lives have become busier, the desire to do things quickly and efficiently has grown, and good time management skills are now highly prized both at work and at home. But do such techniques actually work? In a meta-analysis in PLOS One, Brad Aeon from Concordia University and colleagues find that while time management skills have become more important in evaluations of job performance, their biggest impact actually lies in personal wellbeing. To explore the efficacy of time management, the team collated 158 papers from the mid-1980s to 2019, including studies on time management in academia and the workplace, individual differences in time management, and its impact on wellbeing factors such as life satisfaction and anxiety. The team found that, overall, time management has a moderate, positive impact on work performance, both in terms of performance appraisal by managers and factors like motivation and involvement with work. The relationship between time management and job performance became stronger over the years the studies were published, suggesting that time management has become a more important factor in people’s lives.

But despite narratives that time management is primarily a work or career-based skill, the strongest link was between good time management and wellbeing: the effect of time management on life satisfaction was 72 per cent stronger than on job satisfaction. Overall the ﬁndings suggest that time management does work – though contrary to popular belief, it is wellbeing that is most positively affected. Work and wellbeing are clearly linked, but the results imply that wellbeing is not simply a byproduct of a successfully managed work life, but can be a direct result of good time management. However, being good at time management, the team argues, is often a function of privilege. They use the meme-iﬁed phrase that ‘you have as many hours in the day as Beyoncé’ to illustrate their point: while technically true, Beyoncé has a full team of nannies, drivers, chefs, personal trainers and more to manage her time and thus has the hours of their day as well as hers. Those without such resources are unlikely to achieve as much as someone who does, and shaming them for lack of attainment is unhelpful. EMILY REYNOLDS

Digest digested… Emotional states can be ﬂeeting and somewhat inexplicable – you can feel great one minute and down in the dumps the next. So it’s a surprise to learn that attitudes based in emotion are actually more stable. Across a series of studies, researchers found that opinions about gifts, restaurants, and even ﬁctional animals were less liable to change when they were rooted in emotion. (Psychological Science) We hold pretty negative views about those who belief life is meaningless, according to a recent study. People rated nihilists as having a less desirable personality and worse social skills than those with a more meaningful outlook. In fact, there was not a single trait or ability in which participants gave nihilists a better score. (The Journal of Social Psychology)

Check out https://digest.bps.org.uk/podcast for episode 24 of our PsychCrunch podcast. In the episode, we examine the role of play in child development. Presenter Ginny Smith talks to some top play researchers to ﬁnd out how children learn new skills and concepts through play, and explores what teachers and parents can do to encourage this kind of learning. Ginny also discovers how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way kids play and learn.

Ella Rhodes spoke to three psychologists working to understand and prevent suicide, posing them the same question…

How can we understand the suicidal mind in the moment of crisis? Dr Breanna Banks, Director of Clinical Education – Centerstone Research Institute About nine years ago I experienced some very intense suicidal ideation and a very intense desire to die. Oddly enough, very serendipitously, many things came together and I was able to take much of what I was learning in order to be a clinician and use it for myself. I was very fortunate and managed to pull myself out of a really, really hard and dark time – so there’s some intersectionality there that informs my lens. I’ve been doing suicide prevention research for about 10 years and I’ve spent a lot of my life teaching and training around how to work and research with suicidal people. Within the Centerstone Research Institute a big focus of ours is translational science and

Dr Breanna Banks

how we reduce the science to service gap. The question you ask, how to understand the suicidal mind in the moment of crisis, is one that scientists, clinicians, and people with experience of suicide have been exploring for a long time. We don’t know yet, as a science, but there are a handful of theories and some bodies of research that are leading us to an answer. The first thing that comes to mind in finding that answer is the recent debate over the lack of a diagnosis for suicidality or suicide attempt within the DSM 5. There are two main camps around that conversation which aren’t mutually exclusive. One is the notion that suicidality can occur during a crisis – those feelings can come on in a very sudden moment and in that moment risk of death or a suicide attempt is very, very high. The other camp treats suicidality more like a developmental issue or a thing that can evolve and change over the lifespan. I think there’s truth to both. But I do think that suicidality, or moving from a place of having an initial desire to die to actually taking the behavioural steps to end your life, takes time and exposure. I am inclined to believe, from what the science says and from what I’ve learned from working with suicidal clients and in my own experience, that it’s more of a process that can be exacerbated in the moment or within a particular moment to lead someone to try to die. When I first started my training to be a clinician and a provider back in 2003 the approach – and I still see it in some training – is a warning-signs or riskfactors model. If we take a look at what the science says there have been about 4000 risk factors associated with suicide in some way. One of the issues that we see in this model, and within that body of research, is that there’s not really been any conclusive evidence that says that this risk factor is more connected or more predictive of an attempt than this other factor.

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Much of the content of this model is valuable and can point us in the right direction… but through my translational science lens, I want to know how I can give this information to a clinician in a way they can actually use. Fortunately, Dr Thomas Joiner, a Clinical Psychologist at Florida State University, developed the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide and that model is, to date, the theory that’s been able to actually predict, or be tied to prediction, of high lethality suicide attempts in death or suicide attempts. Thomas’s research landed on three core things that are most predictive of suicide attempts and death – perceived burdensomeness, lost belongingness and acquired capability. Perceived burdensomeness is a person’s belief that their death is worth more than their life. It’s like a mathematical equation – if I die I’ll have more benefit than if I live. Lost belongingness is a sense of lost connectedness. Think about the very high level of risk among the military – when these folks were in the military there was a very strong sense of camaraderie, brotherhood and kinship that was tested and solidified through very harsh experiences, but when they come back from deployment that has gone. The third factor, acquired capability, is the one I think is most novel. When I’ve used it clinically it helps me to identify the folks that I need to hospitalise right now and the people I think are safe to go home. Acquired capability is the notion that dying by suicide is hard and takes two core things – physical pain tolerance and a prepared and practiced fearlessness about death. That fearlessness usually happens through repeated exposure to things that we can link to death in one way or another. So, again, if I’m in the military I’ve seen death, or I’ve at least been trained to confront it, and I also know a whole lot about firearms – I’ve come into contact with death in a way that’s psychologically familiar. The publication of that theory really turned the corner for suicide prevention research. When I’m doing suicide risk assessment screening I use a psychometrically-validated measure called the interpersonal needs questionnaire that Thomas created. It tells me where my client falls on burdensomeness and belongingness. Then I can have a conversation with my client about how burdensomeness manifests for them, what it looks like in their life, how belongingness manifests for them, and talk about the acquired capability component. It’s been revolutionary for me personally. I can create interventions that directly target the core predictors of suicidality. If belonging is an issue, how can I create interventions that increase connectedness? Or, if burdensomeness is a core issue for my client, how can I create interventions to build a sense of contribution to the world or a sense of contribution to those around them? And we create treatment interventions that can start with an antidote to those drivers of suicide.

Evan Kleiman, Assistant Professor (Rutgers University) and Director of the Kleiman Lab The primary thing I’ve been studying over the past six or seven years is what suicidal thoughts and behaviours look like in everyday life. About four years ago we measured suicidal thinking every couple of hours. What we found is that suicidal thinking, suicidal behaviours and risk for suicide isn’t a slow increase to a peak and then a slow decrease; over just a matter of hours we see a very fast movement between high suicidal thinking and low suicidal thinking. Of course sometimes people stay very high for a while or very low for a while, but the period of time over which suicidal thinking escalates is pretty fast – a magnitude of hours rather than days or weeks. The reason why that’s interesting to us is it means we have a very short period of time to do interventions and it helps us understand what this period of time looks like. The primary method that we use to assess suicidal thoughts and behaviours is ecological momentary assessment. We install an app on people’s phones and throughout the day they’ll get a set of questions asking them how they’re feeling right now at that very moment. We get to explore suicidal thinking as those thoughts occur. That’s important because if something ﬂuctuates so incredibly quickly it’s hard to ask people to reﬂect on that period and accurately recall how they were feeling. The other methodology we use is wearable monitoring, which lets us assess things like physiological distress. Across two different studies we found there were distinct groups of people. There were people who had a low average of suicidal thinking and stayed there, people who had a low average but whose scores moved around, people in the middle, people who had a high average and whose scores move around a lot, and people who had a high average and whose scores didn’t move at all. Those people who had a high average and didn’t move much from that average were the people who had more recently attempted suicide. What it told us was perhaps it’s not different groups of people

but rather people exist in different phases – as you get farther away from an attempt you still might have high levels of suicidal thinking but there are more occasions when you don’t, and this might increase over time. That’s more of a preliminary ﬁnding which we’re looking to validate. Other research we’ve done shows that when people are considering acting on their suicidal thoughts it’s a really distressing time period. A person in the midst of a suicidal crisis is likely very agitated, distressed, and in a position where their mental ability to stop and think through different solutions, and see the future in a different way, is pretty compromised. This is something that isn’t unique to people who are suicidal: when any of us get really distressed or agitated we are less able to stop and think calmly and clearly and slowly. The newer research we’re doing now is developing interventions that work with someone who’s feeling that way. There are a lot of interventions that work really well up until a point, but it hasn’t been clear why. One reason may be that these treatments work really well if you’re, just for example, a seven on a 10-point scale of agitation… but when people are above that level, they need something else. At that point you need a way to get through that crisis and that’s a lot of what we’ve been doing – taking treatments and boiling them down and making them as effective as possible in that really high-risk period. Then once people are calmer, reverting back to other treatments that work but that aren’t particularly useful when you’re really agitated. One of the interventions that we’re doing right now is to speak to people while they’re on the

inpatient unit. People who are on the inpatient unit are at the highest risk for suicide once they leave – that’s a paradoxical and scary finding. So while they are there we give them three short therapy sessions where we teach them skills like mindfulness, how to get themselves out of a crisis state, and we show them how to use an app. Once people leave the hospital they have the app which pings them three times per day with a survey and three times per day with a chance to practice these skills… if they want to use the skill they just go on their phone and press a button. We’re finding that these skills are helpful in getting people through these crises. One metaphor that’s used by Urusla Whiteside, who does a lot of this kind of work, is that if someone is on fire you have to put out that fire before you can do anything else. Putting out the fire involves helping people tolerate their distress, and helping them reduce it, helping them to recognise that they feel very distressed right now but that may not last. One module from the intervention uses a list, which people create while they’re calm, of things they like doing which are easy to do when they’re distressed like running, walking, reading, watching TV. Later a reminder pops up on their phone and suggests they try to do some of those things. I ran some analyses for a conference a couple of weeks ago and it actually looks like it works well. Not for everyone and not all the time, which is what we expected, but it works for most people at least a decent amount of the time. Our goal is to refine the treatment, learn from it, and figure out when it works and when it doesn’t work… but for an initial attempt at this it’s very promising.

Dr Karen Wetherall – Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab (SBRL), Institute of Health and Wellbeing (University of Glasgow) Myriad factors can trigger and reinforce the development of suicidal thinking in individuals, but arguably, at its core, suicide is a psychological phenomenon. That is certainly not to depreciate the huge inﬂuence of social and environmental factors such as social disadvantage, prejudice, trauma and other life stressors, but to say that these adverse events and processes work together to culminate in a psychological state whereby an individual believes that suicide is their best, if not only, option. I believe that ‘options’ is a critical notion when it comes to understanding the suicidal mind

in crisis – as viable options are often the very thing that suicidal people feel they do not have. When options to deal with a crisis, whether psychological or otherwise, are limited then people can feel trapped by their own thoughts and life circumstances. Indeed, many people who are suicidal report feeling entrapment or that there is no way out from their situation, and that is when suicide become a salient option. Suicidal people often feel this is their only means of escape, overriding other protective aspects of their life, such as the love of family and friends. Feelings of entrapment have been measured within psychological research to better understand the nature of why some mental health states are so overwhelming and damaging. A scale to measure entrapment was developed by Gilbert and Allan (1998), and this scale recognises that feeling trapped may be due to external factors, such as losing a job or domestic abuse, or internal factors that originate in our own minds, for example being very self-critical and ruminating over past failures. This feeling of entrapment may even have its roots in evolutionary psychology, as there is evidence that in the animal kingdom high levels of

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stress and social withdrawal can occur when an animal is defeated and their escape is blocked (Dixon et al., 1989). Feelings of entrapment are evident in a number of different mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and posttraumatic stress disorder (Taylor et al., 2011). Indeed, entrapment is a key tenet of the integrated motivational-volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behaviour (O’Connor & Kirtley, 2018), which proposes that feelings of entrapment are the proximal predictor of suicidal thinking and intent. This idea is increasingly backed by the evidence (O’Connor & Portzky, 2018). Internal entrapment seems to be particularly damaging for people (e.g. Owen et al., 2018), which may be reﬂected in the levels of negative thinking and rumination that are integral to many mental health conditions. How suicidal individuals get to the point that they feel trapped understandably varies between people – and there will rarely be only one thing that leads to entrapment, and the subsequent perception of a lack of options. Commonly though, as proposed by the IMV model, feeling defeated by life will be a key factor in the development of feelings of entrapment (O’Connor, Cleare, Eschle, Wetherall & Kirtley, 2016). There may be some people who are more vulnerable to feelings of defeat, and as a consequence are more likely to feel trapped and develop suicidal thinking. This could include, for example, those who have experienced trauma, have genetic vulnerability to mental health conditions or have personality traits that may make them more sensitive to experiencing feelings of defeat or humiliation in their lives. In particular, people high on perfectionism, particularly when perceived from others, are more vulnerable (Smith et al., 2018), and those that are low on resilient traits, such as problemsolving, may be less buffered against suicidal thinking (Johnson et al., 2011).

An important question is how do we help people who experience a suicidal crisis, without being able to inﬂuence the environmental and societal forces that can place vulnerable people in the situations that increase the risk of suicidal thinking? Knowing how best to help protect people is challenging, but increasing the options that people in a crisis feel they have could be effective in reducing the likelihood that an individual experiencing suicidal thinking will make a suicide attempt. This could include anything that increases a person’s ability to see a way out, for example developing skills to better cope with life events or to manage their distress when traumatic events happen. Ideally theses preventive capabilities would be taught and developed when young, such as an understanding of emotions and how to regulate them (Domínguez-García & Fernández-Berrocal, 2018), or affective problem-solving (Pollock & Williams, 2018). For a person in a moment of crisis, considering such protective factors may be useful, and there has been evidence that safety planning in advance can assist a suicidal individual through their moment of suicidal crisis (Stanley et al., 2018). The safety plan incorporates a recognition of triggers for suicidal crisis, and importantly options for regulating emotions and dealing with triggers in the moment of crisis. Ultimately, there is often no way of knowing exactly what a suicidal person is thinking, and what has led them to that moment of crisis. Indeed, that is often what makes it so hard for family and friends to comprehend and process a death by suicide. It is clear that in the moment of a suicide attempt, their feelings of pain overwhelm everything else, and no other option for escape from the pain is evident to that person. Helping those in crisis see that there are other options available could reduce feelings of entrapment and the likelihood that suicide becomes the most salient option.

‘Even the bleakest moments are not permanent’ Professor Rory O’Connor is Director of the Suicidal Behaviour Research lab at the University of Glasgow, and President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (the ﬁrst person from the UK in almost 50 years). Our editor Jon Sutton caught up with him. The title of your book is When It Is Darkest: explain that one to me. Well, the full title is When It Is Darkest: Why people die by suicide and what we can do to prevent it. It’s trying to

help people recognise what it feels like to be suicidal and understand the darkness that people who are suicidal often feel. We all have our own experiences: either having suicidal thoughts ourselves, or people we know have been suicidal or died by suicide. I am hoping that the book will help people understand this really complex phenomenon, but also what we can do to help; the evidence for what every one of us can do, not just clinicians. For example, if you’re concerned about somebody, then ask them directly whether they’re suicidal or not

and try to engage them in a conversation. Of course this is a scary thing to do. But what I try to do with the book is to talk people through the complex set of factors that lead to suicide, as well as helping people to ask those difficult questions. I also provide some guidance on how we can keep people safe in terms of safety planning, as well as other interventions and supports. Is that quite a new evidence-based bit of advice, to directly engage with people and to say to them, ‘Are you feeling suicidal?’ And I know from talking to you before, actually, to go further and say, ‘Have you planned how you would do it?’ I’ve been working in this area for 25 years, and definitely when I started out people were so frightened to engage with the topic… there was that fear, that myth that if you ask the question, you’re planting it into somebody’s head. And I would say in the last 10 or 15 years, the field has demonstrated not only that asking those questions does not cause harm, but actually there’s evidence that they can get people the help they require. They start the conversation which will hopefully then lead to support. To me, your book title conjures up images of ‘the night is darkest before the dawn’. Yes. When the person is in that depth of despair, they can’t see the light. They’re often so constricted in their thinking. It’s trying to help people remember that the despair is not static. The dawn does and will come, the brightness does and will come. Even the bleakest moments are not permanent. Even if someone has been through the worst of circumstances, things can improve; it is so important to hold on to that sense of hope.

But is there always light on the horizon? It might be that there are people in exceptionally bad circumstances that don’t actually show that much sign of improving. What is it that you try to emphasise, that you try to ﬁnd even in those circumstances? Of course, nobody really knows in that moment what’s in the mind of that

individual. But the message I’ve heard from so many people over the years is that when somebody has intervened or asked them about suicide, it’s given them space. It may act as catalyst to reconsider life. What you’re trying to do is to create distance between a person’s thoughts of suicide and any potential selfdestructive actions. We know from a range of psychological research that when you are in an acute crisis, you can’t process information in an even-handed way. Whatever judgement you come to is likely biased. We know that in a depressive episode, negative thoughts are more likely to be over-general, and you’re more likely to think of things as stable, that they will never change – and that things won’t get better. You’re not giving yourself a fair chance. Creating space for the person to breathe and to think, ‘actually, there may be another way’, that’s what’s so important. I have literally lost count of the number of people who have been acutely suicidal or have attempted suicide, and thankfully, they’re still here, and they’re so grateful that they’re still alive despite being so determined to die when they were in acute distress. I’ve reached out to you a few times myself in dark moments, and something that you’ve done with me is reminders of connection and adding things into my life or my vision of the future that I can aim towards. What I found interesting about that, is that it stands in contrast to how I tend to live my life. I once interviewed the author, Matt Haig, and he said ‘it’s about editing your life until it makes sense again’. As a natural editor, that always appealed to me, but potentially it takes me down quite a solitary path where I withdraw from people and from activities, because that’s the way I can control things, I can make them perfect, I can protect myself, I can perhaps protect others. But that’s quite a nihilistic, dark road to be on. Whereas what you tend to do is more about adding things in. I think, in the short term, ‘editing’ probably works. But you need different strategies for different times. Anything which promotes your sense of control is a positive. But we still need to be careful because over time the editing approach could become problematic. Perhaps you are thinking ‘I’m trying to edit my life, but it’s not getting to the perfect place I want to be’, then this could contribute to your sense of entrapment, which may not be very protective for your mental health. However, in the moment of crisis, you’re trying to do whatever you can to rescue the person, or to promote connection, to help them to hold on. So I think it’s doing both of those things, but the line from John Donne – ‘No man is an island’ – rings so true. But in that moment when someone is at their darkest and they think that they’re a burden on others, it can be difﬁcult to do things that will promote connectedness. If in the short term, editing your life

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helps to focus your mind, that’s great… but what happens when the editing stops working? That makes sense. I think you’re right that longer term, shrinking things down is only going to end up in an isolated place. We touched there on perfectionism. Is that a personality trait you can address in the moment of crisis? We’ve done work over many years on this idea of socially prescribed perfectionism or social perfectionism, and its association with suicide risk. It’s not necessarily you setting standards for yourself, that’s potentially risky, rather it’s what you think others expect of you. If you think that you have failed to meet their expectations, you may internalise this as self-critical rumination, and for some, they get into a self-critical cycle of failure and despair. We have data that shows that people who are high on social perfectionism are much more likely to feel defeated, much more likely to feel ashamed and much more likely to experience a sense of loss and rejection. My fear is when we get into this cycle of perfectionism, increasing feelings of defeat and humiliation and then when defeat leads to entrapment it can be a cause for concern. In the book, people talk about their own social perfectionism, and I mention my own. Of course, perfectionism in and of itself is not a bad thing, but it becomes problematic under periods of stress or distress or negative life events. Recognising that it can give rise to a pattern of negative thought helps to promote a sense of control. ‘I know I’m doing that, so let’s do a bit of hypothesis testing, or formulation about what’s going on, why do I feel the way I do?’ Then it might be a case of checking out with other people that they don’t actually think that you’re a failure! But social perfectionism is really pervasive, it can affect all aspects of your life. It can drive us forward on one level. It’s part of a fundamental process of social comparison. No matter what we say, we’re all somewhere on this continuum of comparing ourselves to other people in our lives. For some of us, we place too much weight on that social comparison, and it gets out of control. Not only do you think that compared to others you’re not doing very well, but then you think you’re letting others down. It can be dangerous because it’s a meta-cognition, it’s not the reality. Usually, it does not reﬂect what a loved one or a friend thinks, it’s what you think they think. But as it is going on in your head it feels like it is outside your control. So talk me through safety planning, the practical steps involved in it. One of the biggest questions I’ve seen in the ﬁeld of suicide prevention is, how do we better understand those people who are more likely to act on their thoughts of suicide? We want to better identify what we estimate is a third of people who think seriously about suicide and make the transition to a suicide attempt. Safety planning is derived from evidence-

based strategies, which we know work in the regulation of mood and help us to monitor escalating risk. As an intervention it’s relatively straightforward. There are six steps. First one is to help an individual to identify warning signs that they may be becoming suicidal. So it could be things like you get agitated, or your sleep is disrupted, or you drink too much, or you feel really trapped… it’s getting a sense of what those triggers are for you. If you identify these triggers, safety planning then focuses on what you can do to help yourself respond or cope so that a crisis does not escalate. So then steps two and three are to do with internal coping strategies and people and settings that provide distraction. These can include things like mindfulness or going for a walk or run, some activity that’s within your control, to help you distract and get through those critical moments of crisis. We know suicidal thoughts wax and wane, they come and go, so with safety planning we’re trying to get people to keep themselves safe when they’re in a window of real acute risk when suicidal thoughts are present. Steps four and ﬁve shift the focus away from the internal to reaching out to others for help. Is there somebody you can phone or contact in a moment of crisis? It doesn’t matter who that person is, it could be a friend or family member. It also includes identifying professionals or agencies who you can contact during a crisis: a GP, a mental health professional, adding in their details so you have them to hand. And then we move on to the sixth step, which is such a crucial one: making the environment safe. Working collaboratively with an individual to agree together to restrict access to a particular method, situation or location which they may have thought of as a way of ending their life. Is it about literally ﬁlling in a form? And so much more than that. There’s a whole chapter

Professor Rory O’Connor

on safety planning in my book. To complete a safety plan effectively, it is vital to establish a relationship with somebody and pretty quickly too. It’s that trust, that collaboration, that sense of compassion, that you recognise and validate the pain that they’re experiencing. That’s so powerful. Also the collaboration sends out the message that they do matter. This is important as they often deal with a sense of worthlessness, believing that ‘the world would be a better place if I wasn’t in it’. And when you say the person working with them, are you saying that doesn’t have to be a mental health professional, the idea is that friends, colleagues, could know and understand about safety plans to the extent that they could do this work? Usually it’s a trained mental health professional who is co-developing the safety plan with the person in distress. However, safety plans are widely available online, and lots of people use them. But there is a move to train more and more non-mental health professionals and volunteers in safety planning. Sometimes when people present to clinical services they’re given a safety plan to complete themselves. So my message is, we all have a role to play in safety planning, in keeping each other safe. And part of that might be talking through a safety plan with someone you’re concerned about and supporting them in doing so. But the message always has to be, if you’re really concerned for a loved one or a friend and you fear that they’re at imminent risk of suicide, seek emergency support. Another thing to remember about safety planning is that you’re trying to help a person talk through the pros and cons of, for example, the different steps. So if somebody says, ‘next time you’re feeling suicidal, how do you think you might respond to help you manage that acute crisis?’. They might say ‘I’ll go for a run’, but it is important to check whether this is sensible, perhaps by asking ‘when do you tend to get suicidal?’. If it’s the middle of the night, you don’t want to be recommending they go for a run then. So even if you are not trained in safety planning, any one of us could talk through all the pros and cons at each of the relevant steps as well as checking that they will actually use a strategy when in crisis. Overall, though, I believe that any one of us can have conversations about keeping somebody close to us safe, and the safety plan is a tool to structure that conversation. However, the key message has to be if you’re really concerned that a loved one is at imminent risk of harm, don’t delay, seek help immediately.

Three quarters of all suicides in the UK are by men. Why is that, and what do we understand about male suicide? This is such an important question. Although there has been a welcome growth in suicide research in recent

years, surprisingly few studies have focused on male suicide risk speciﬁcally. Indeed, we highlight this is in a new systematic review led by Cara Richardson. In terms of what we know, there is no simple explanation for such a large gender difference… but it is explained, in part, by men using more violent methods of suicide. It also relates to issues around masculinity and helpseeking, the male relationship with alcohol and the impact of relationship breakdown especially in mid-life. Moving forward, we really need to prioritise male suicide in terms of research. Are we experiencing an epidemic of suicide? I dislike the word ‘epidemic’ in the context of suicide; it isn’t helpful. In the last couple of years, across the UK, the suicide rates have started to increase. And that was before the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, my concern was that increases in suicides among young people including among young women were stark. I think we don’t understand enough yet about why that is. Sadly now though, with the pandemic, we suddenly have this perfect storm. Although the data from the start of the pandemic were broadly reassuring, as they showed no marked increase in suicide in the UK, I am concerned about the longer-term impact. As we navigate 2021 and beyond, the economic consequences, the social consequences, the isolation, effect of home-schooling, the lack of access to mental health services, increases in domestic violence, all these factors and many more will adversely impact on our mental health. In the UK Covid-19 Mental Health & Wellbeing study we have already seen increases in suicidal thoughts especially among young people, those who are socially disadvantaged and those with pre-existing mental health problems. Also, there are data from Japan in the autumn which point to an increase in suicides after an initial decrease when the pandemic hit. We need to be really vigilant and put measures in place now to keep the most vulnerable safe. What one thing do you think needs to change in terms of the public policy response to suicide and the involvement of psychologists in that? Every suicide is a tragedy, but with this increase in suicide among young people I’m really concerned about young people because they are not getting access to child and adolescent mental health support in a timely fashion. The waiting lists are too long, and I don’t think the treatments are tailored to young people sufﬁciently. If I was to prioritise one thing, it would be to lobby all of local and national political representatives to properly fund mental health services especially child and adolescent mental health services. We need to do everything possible to mitigate the damage of Covid on young people. If you are affected by suicide or you are worried about someone, Samaritans is available 24/7 on 116 123 or via email jo@samaritans.org.

the psychologist june 2021 restorative interventions

what to seek out on the

psychologist website this month

Nature and psychology Archive content reflecting the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week Unmasking Myanmar Chris Mabey seeks to understand the situation and discern some signs of hope for this war-torn land Burnout and remote working An exclusive chapter from Anti-burnout: How to Create a Psychologically Safe and High-performance Organisation by Michael Drayton, published by Routledge ‘The answers lay in applying Psychology to the workforce’ Mya Kirkwood on discovering Occupational Psychology and developing that interest through internships ‘This hid my shadow, my own uncertainty’ Counselling Psychologist Dr Sharon O’Driscoll on feeling pressure to ‘make the known unknown’ in therapy Find all this and so much more via

thepsychologist.bps.org.uk

A decade of ‘power posing’: Where do we stand? Tom Loncar on credibility and challenges Could a small postural adjustment make us feel more powerful when facing stressful situations? The ‘power pose’ has instilled conﬁdence for many who have tried it since its introduction in 2010. Yet its credibility continues to be questioned by researchers. Here, we examine power posing’s 10-year journey to date, and the challenges that still remain.

n 2010, researchers from Columbia and Harvard Universities examined whether brief postural adjustments – ‘power poses’ – could produce positive psychological, behavioural and hormonal outcomes. Their experiment revealed an emphatic ‘yes’ on all three questions, with the everyday implications clearly apparent. Stressful interpersonal contexts, such as job interviews, presentations and important meetings, could be helped through preparatory postural adjustment. As the decade progressed, power posing became an idea whose time had come; a hugely successful TED Talk, widespread organisational acceptance and a number of eye-catching interpretations by leading politicians. Despite this widening embrace, deeper academic questions emerged. Replication attempts did not reproduce the complete breadth of original results, and by 2016 power posing was firmly embroiled in the ‘replication crisis’ affecting social psychology. But power posing would not go away. Larger quantitative examinations of its evidentiary credentials have suggested that significant benefits do remain… though with some caveats. With a recent systematic review and meta-analysis shedding further light on how postures can affect our emotions and behaviours, it is time to reflect on power posing’s chequered first decade. Where it came from, where it now stands … and where to next? Origins Within social psychology, research into embodiment and embodied cognition explores how our postures and bodily movements can influence our emotional states (Veenstra et al., 2017). Its lineage can be traced back to the ideomotor action ideas of 19th century philosopher and psychologist William James, who asserted that emotions arise from physiology, so that bodily expressions contributed to the consequent feeling of emotions (James, 1950). In more recent times, embodiment has provided a rich terrain for exploration. The manipulation of facial expressions, voice management, breathing and posture can induce diverse emotional feelings, including happiness, sadness, anger and fear (Laird & Lacasse, 2013). Physical posture has provided a particularly insightful lens for examining feelings of power – and powerlessness – across both human and animal studies (Ellyson & Dovidio, 1985; Huang et al., 2011). And referencing the gamut of postural research literature, three researchers from Columbia and Harvard Universities – Dana Carney, Amy Cuddy and Andy Yap – put forward an elegantly simple question in the September 2010 issue of Psychological Science: Can posed displays cause a person to feel more powerful?

the psychologist june 2021 power posing Nick Oliver www.nickoliverillustration.com

Power posing is born The researchers identiﬁed two distinct nonverbal dimensions universally associated with demonstration – and absence – of power, with high-power postures based on expansiveness and openness (e.g. leaning back on a chair with arms behind the head), and low-power poses based on contractive and closed positions (e.g. sitting tensely in chair with hands held tightly in lap). (You can see the poses in the ﬁgures at tinyurl.com/dcarnpower). Their hypotheses were ambitious; they put forward that high-power poses would lead to positive results across three measures. • Psychological changes (through participants feeling more ‘powerful’ and ‘in charge’, subjectively assessed on a 4-point scale).

• Neuroendocrinal changes in dominance and stress hormones (with dominance hormone testosterone increasing and stress hormone cortisol decreasing, measured via saliva samples pre and post pose). • Adaptive behavioural changes through increased risk-tolerance (measured through a gambling task). In their experiment, 42 participants (26 females/16 males) were randomly assigned to each condition, and then held two postures for one minute each. The participants weren’t wise to the researchers’ true purpose; an elaborate cover story was used in setting up the poses in order to facilitate the ecological validity of the experiment. All participants were told the study was about the science of physiological recordings and electrode placements, with their bodies then positioned

by an experimenter into high-power or low-power poses. Statistically signiﬁcant outcomes emerged across each of the hypotheses. Hormonally, testosterone went up over baseline for the high-power group, and down for the low-power group, with cortisol going the opposite way. Behaviourally, there was a higher rewardfocus in the high-power group, while psychologically, the high-power group felt more powerful and in control than their low-power counterparts. While consideration of experimental limitations was discussed, other areas for methodological circumspection were not covered at all (for example, the fact that all participants were Columbia University students was not mentioned). There was an exciting message to share: ‘That a person can, by assuming two simple 1-minute poses, embody power and instantly become more powerful has real-world, actionable implications’ (Carney et al., 2010, p.1363). 2012-2015: Power posing stands up and gets noticed Power posing’s breakthrough into wider awareness occurred at the TEDGlobal conference in June 2012, when Amy Cuddy branched off from Key sources her collaborators with her talk ‘Your body language may shape Carney, D.R., Cuddy, A.J.C. & Yap, A.J. who you are’. Her presentation (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal offered compelling evidence along displays affect neuroendocrine levels with a moving personal narrative; and risk tolerance. Psychological a brilliant student, who had a Science, 21(10), 1363-1368. very bad car accident resulting Carney, D.R., Cuddy, A.J.C. & Yap, A.J. in signiﬁcant brain injury, who (2015). Review and summary of research on the embodied effects of expansive then had to relearn everything in (vs. contractive) nonverbal displays. re-orienting herself in her academic Psychological Science, 26(5), 657-663. world. With support from her Cuddy, A.J.C., Schultz, S.J. & Fosse, doctoral advisor Susan Fiske, N.E. (2018). P-curving a more Cuddy learned to fake it till she comprehensive body of research became it, with postural awareness on postural feedback reveals clear evidential value for power-posing a key part of her success. Her effects: Reply to Simmons and talk resonated and remains the Simonsohn (2017). Psychological Science, second-most watched TED Talk of 29(4), 656-666. all time (behind only the late Sir Cesario, J., Jonas, K.J. & Carney, D.R. Ken Robinson’s iconic ‘Do schools (2017). CRSP special issue on power kill creativity?’). By 2015, power poses: What was the point and what did we learn? Taylor & Francis. posing’s reach was successfully Elkjær, E., Mikkelsen, M.B., Michalak, making inroads across society, J. et al. (2020). Expansive and including some awkwardly fulsome contractive postures and movement: A interpretations by politicians at the systematic review and meta-analysis 2015 Conservative Party conference. of the effect of motor displays on With Amy Cuddy’s book Presence affective and behavioral responses. Perspectives on Psychological Science. also released that year, 2015 was the doi:10.1177/1745691620919358 year where everything seemed to be Simmons, J.P. & Simonsohn, U. (2017). coming together for power posing. Power posing: P-curving the evidence. Yet a starkly contrasting Psychological Science, 28(5), 687-693. narrative was also emerging… Full list available in online/app version.

2015: Replication issues emerge Beneath the public embrace, serious academic questions also began to emerge. In March 2015, the first notable question was raised in Psychological Science by the University of Zurich’s Eva Ranehill and colleagues. Their ‘conceptual replication’ – while successfully replicating self-reported feelings of power – failed to produce significant results for the behavioural and hormonal measures. Their study featured more participants (N = 200), and provided a more even gender mix than the original study (98 females/102 males) (Ranehill et al., 2015). The original authors were quick to respond. The very next month in the same journal they listed the numerous methodological departures made by Ranehill and colleagues, including a longer posture duration (six minutes), the extent of participant briefing, the nature of behavioural tasks and timing of saliva measurement (Carney et al., 2015). They also provided a narrative review of 33 studies which featured experiments examining nonverbal expansive postures more broadly, with a total of over 2500 participants and with statistically significant results across a range of dependent variables (in addition to feelings of power, these also included pain tolerance, feelings of pride, self-esteem and action orientation). They emphasised the need for future replication efforts to be as direct as possible and, in the spirit of openness, lead author Dana Carney made original research materials available on her academic web portal. The researchers urged this review to serve as a springboard to ‘moving forward the study of nonverbal expansiveness’ (Carney et al., 2015, p.662). Embroiled within the replication crisis Despite this transparency, a broader replication crisis was brewing across social psychology, where established domains of evidence that had been held in high regard were simply failing to replicate. A central reference point was The Reproducibility Project led by Brian Nosek and the Center for Open Science, a crowdsourced collaboration of 270 researchers seeking to replicate 100 published psychological studies (Nosek et al., 2015). The project, which commenced in 2011, was ready to report in August 2015. It found that only 36 per cent of these apparently rigorous studies could replicate. With further replication questions emerging in 2016 (Deuter et al., 2016; Garrison et al., 2016), power posing’s original lead author Dana Carney announced a stark personal turnaround in September of that year: ‘I do not believe that “power pose” effects are real’ (Carney, 2016). 2017: Social psychology draws a line Amidst the discord, the journal Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology (CRSP) sought to draw a definitive line on the topic through a special issue

the psychologist june 2021 power posing

support across their analyses, devoted entirely to power posing, including those studies specifically comprising seven pre-registered examining feelings of power. They studies (Cesario et al., 2017). suggested these findings annulled Dana Carney herself reviewed all Simmons and Simonsohn’s (2017) submissions and provided feedback conclusions and that researchers to the researchers who submitted. should be encouraged to continue Each study offered distinct investigations. examinations of behavioural So, by 2018, a clearer and and hormonal outcomes, with Tom Loncar is an executive quantitatively-backed narrative was the aggregated evidence strongly coach, writer and researcher appearing for power posing. Large indicating there was ‘virtually zero on leadership psychology, and analyses seemed to be indicating effect’ on these two measures (Jonas founder of Grow GravitasTM. that while original neuroendocrinal et al., 2017, p.140). He examined power posing’s and behavioural claims could However, this was not the foundations in his MSc not be supported, some promise case for subjective feelings of (Psychology and Neuroscience of still remained in the subjective power (referred to as ‘felt power’ Mental Health) dissertation with domain… with power posing throughout the issue). Here, an King’s College London. capable of facilitating significant aggregated Bayesian meta-analysis tom@tomloncar.com and potentially beneficial feelings applied to all observations (N = of power in individuals. 1071) by Gronau et al. (2017) revealed significant results for the overall sample, as well as for sub-sample breakdowns based on prior 2019: An elephant in the room power posing awareness (for example, knowledge of Despite all the attention placed upon power posing’s Cuddy’s TED Talk). In summarising CRSP’s special evidentiary credibility, a crucial elephant in the room issue, 28 co-authors indicated that ‘it is clear that was largely ignored until September 2019 when Iowa an effect on felt power was observed’ (Jonas et al., State University’s Marcus Credé made an important 2017, p.139), with future research best directed observation in the journal Meta-Psychology (Credé, at disentangling what this means (for example, in 2019). He noted that an overwhelming number of research designs that account for gender, degree of studies included by Cuddy et al. (2018) excluded a extraversion and cognitive flexibility). control or ‘neutral pose’ condition. In other words, this evidentiary base was largely comprised of experiments located at lower levels of the hierarchy The p-curving wars of 2017-2018 of scientific evidence. Despite this emergent cordiality in 2017, another The implication is that significant results could quantitative war was also transpiring. Parallel to have been driven by a positive effect of an expansive CRSP’s examination, Simmons and Simonsohn pose, or a negative effect of a contractive pose… (2017) submitted Carney et al.’s (2015) 33 studies or a combination of both! The absence of a neutral to a p-curve analysis. P-curving is useful within reference point means we cannot truly know. In replication contexts through showing the distribution delving further into the few studies – four in all – that of statistically significant p-values within a body actually included a control or neutral pose, Credé of research. Examining the shape of p-values can observed overall effects predominantly driven by a inform whether selective publication, p-hacking and/ negative effect from a contractive pose, rather than a or data-mining is present (Simonsohn et al., 2014). positive effect emanating from an expansive pose. The p-curve for these studies was flat and therefore lacking in empirical support (Simmons & Simonsohn, 2017). A major caveat to this conclusion, however, And in 2020… became apparent; the main analysis excluded p-values This theme was more recently expanded in June associated with subjective feelings of power, which the 2020 through a systematic review and meta-analysis authors described as manipulation-checks rather than conducted by Emma Elkjær with colleagues from dependent variables. Aarhus, Witten/Herdecke and Columbia Universities, A p-curving response from Amy Cuddy with published in Perspectives on Psychological Science colleagues from Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative (Elkjær et al., 2020). Their search identified Social Science soon followed (Cuddy et al., 2018). randomised experimental studies examining whole They argued that subjective experience is a central body motor displays in healthy adults, with the aim of tenet of social psychology, and worthy of treatment as inducing an expansive or contractive posture (which an equally weighted dependent variable. Further to Carney et al. (2010) referred to as the ‘cardinal study’ the 33 studies, 21 additional studies were identified for their paper). Their search process identified 73 through a systematic literature search for what they studies (underpinned by 7038 participants), of which termed postural-feedback literature. Their p-curving 48 were appropriate for inclusion in their statistical analyses revealed ‘very strong’ and ‘strong’ evidentiary

Nick Oliver www.nickoliverillustration.com

meta-analysis, with the remainder examined through narrative synthesis. Four moderating factors were explicitly taken into account: (i) the comparison conditions, including whether a neutral condition was present; (ii) the nature of experimental manipulation of bodily displays; (iii) the type of outcome assessment (e.g. affective and/or behavioural – with hormonal outcomes also included in the latter); and (iv) the contextual conditions, namely the intra and interpersonal environment of the experiment. Pooling the data together, their meta-analysis showed two significant comparison outcomes: expansive versus contractive and contractive versus neutral, with the latter comparison more positive. The expansive versus neutral comparison, however, was not significant. The authors concluded that experimental effects are more influenced by the absence of contractive rather than the presence of expansive displays. As Credé observed earlier, the Puffed up or deflated? Posture may matter when it comes to authors did note the paucity of studies with a neutral subjectively experienced feelings of power control (they identified 14 through their search). They made the following preliminary conclusion: ‘Together, these results can be taken as preliminary evidence of the impact of contractive displays on affective and 2020, she indicated: ‘At this point, anyone who claims behavioral responses’ (Elkjær et al., 2020, p.22). these effects are not real cannot support that claim In addition to advocating for future designs with science. These findings are vindicating’. With to include neutral controls, two other interesting Cuddy’s next book Bullies, Bystanders, and Bravehearts recommendations emerged from their analyses. scheduled for publication in 2021, Firstly, cortisol was included as a positive and forward-looking an outcome measure within four “Future experiments new chapter for the power posing of the included studies, with their narrative has potentially emerged net inference distilling an effect need to be mindful of (TED Talk Books, 2019). size ‘trending toward significance’ the interpersonal and (Elkjær et al., 2020, p.23). While personal contexts that this contrasts with the CRSP analyses, it may indeed be too early participants are placed in” Where next? Ten years on, power posing has to entirely dismiss cortisol as an possibly – and belatedly – arrived outcome of relevance. Given its measurement challenges and complexities, the need for at the future research springboard that had been hoped for in the narrative review of 2015 (Carney et improved protocols (such as collecting blood samples al., 2015). The more nuanced springboard of 2020 as opposed to saliva, and more carefully sequenced has been made possible by more recent large-scale assessment points) was strongly endorsed. quantitative scrutiny which has suggested that posture Secondly, contextual factors emerged as a does matter when it comes to subjectively experienced potentially problematic area in studies to date. For feelings of power… but it may be a question of mindful example, five of their included studies indicated that avoidance of any contractive postural tendencies, incongruent conditions, such as adopting expansive rather than forced expansion. Adding neutral posture postures when experiencing personal failure, had the controls into future research designs will elucidate potential to cause quite distressing outcomes. Future this important evidentiary – and practical – question. experiments need to be mindful of the interpersonal Intra and interpersonal contexts must be more and personal contexts that participants are placed in, carefully addressed in experimental settings, through including consideration of using personally relevant systematically addressing for who, how, and where goals (rather than experimentally induced goals). postural adjustment can be most beneficial. This will elevate power posing from a potentially misinterpreted one-size-fits-all idea, to more specific and actionable ‘These findings are vindicating’ understanding. The toll on Amy Cuddy in defending postural research While it may be through paths quite different against often vitriolic academic attack over the years to those originally envisaged by Dana Carney, has undoubtedly been heavy (Dominus, 2017). So Amy Cuddy and Andy Yap, after an eventful ten year how did this latest meta-analysis land with power journey, power posing may now be ready to expand. posing’s foremost proponent? In a tweet on 27 June

the psychologist june 2021 power posing

PsychCrunch episode number 24, on the role of play in child development

Research Digest www.bps.org.uk/digest ‘Easy to access and free, and a mine of useful information for my work: what more could I want? I only wish I’d found this years ago!’ Dr Jennifer Wild, Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Senior Lecturer, Institute of Psychiatry ‘The selection of papers suits my eclectic mind perfectly, and the quality and clarity of the synopses is uniformly excellent.’ Professor Guy Claxton, University of Bristol

‘The environmental crisis is also a crisis of hope’ Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis by Dr Elin Kelsey is published by Greystone Books. Elin introduces some key arguments from her book.

Dr Elin Kelsey is the author of Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis, Greystone Books, £14.99.

An emergency Climate change is an urgent, global-scaled problem and it’s essential to talk about the climate emergency in many speciﬁc contexts. For example, the Canadian Mental Health Association labels the climate emergency a mental health emergency. More than 1000 psychologists signed an open letter endorsed by the Association of Clinical Psychologists UK demanding immediate and effective action on climate change in light of the enormous mental health impact of the climate crisis. Tackling climate anxiety and tackling climate change are inextricably linked. Yet, when it comes to climate change media coverage we need to be mindful of the fact that we hear almost nothing about climate change solutions. Problems caused by climate change are deemed more newsworthy than solutions, and this coverage drives a sense of hopelessness according to Maxwell Boykoff at the University of Colorado Boulder. He and the team at the Media and Climate Change Observatory monitor how climate change is reported across 120 sources (newspapers, radio and TV) in 54 countries. ‘There’s still a pervasive doom and gloom’, Boykoff said in a 2018 interview. ‘When these stories just focus in on doom and gloom, they turn off those who are consuming them. Without being able to ﬁnd their own place as a reader, viewer, or listener in those stories, people feel paralyzed and they don’t feel like they can engage and have an entry point into doing something about the problem.’ This is a major concern in light of a 2018 study of 50,000 people from 48 countries, reported in the journal Climate Policy, which found that people who believe climate change is unstoppable were less likely to engage in personal behaviours or to support policies to address climate change. Record-high numbers of Americans worry about climate change, but only 5 per cent of them believe that humans can and will successfully reduce it, according to a 2017 study by researchers at Yale University and George Mason University. Indeed, Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, describes what he calls a ‘hope gap’ between people’s fear about climate change, and their feelings of powerlessness to do anything about it. The environmental crisis is also a crisis of hope.

Stories of success To counter this crisis of hope, psychologists say it’s important to see how our individual actions make a collective positive impact. Indeed, research demonstrates that when the news focuses on success stories about entrepreneurial activism and actions ordinary people are taking in local contexts we can relate to, we feel more enthusiastic and optimistic about our capacity to tackle climate change. In the burgeoning ﬁeld of solutions journalism, reporters bring the same rigorous reporting skills they

the psychologist june 2021 books apply to covering societal problems to the investigation of what’s working. Solutions journalism reveals ways people are responding to crises and focuses on effectiveness and outcomes, not just good intentions. By bringing real-world solutions into view, solutions journalism plays a key role in counteracting destructive cynicism. It also helps hold those in power accountable to make change. According to a 2014 study by leading climate change communication researchers, when someone understands that climate change is a truly dire problem and they have a sense of the effectiveness and feasibility of the ways people are collectively acting to solve it, then they are more likely to take action themselves. Recognising both the threat and the potential solvability of the climate crisis is paramount to mobilising action. Covering Climate Now is an initiative to create more and better coverage of climate change issues and solutions, at local to international scales and across a broad range of media. Launched in April 2019, it has rapidly grown to include hundreds of media outlets from around the world, reaching a combined audience of more than 2 billion people. It’s the single largest media project ever organised around a single topic.

Why hope matters Hope is not about turning our back on the facts. It’s precisely because we do know how much trouble we are facing that millions of people all over the globe participated in climate protests. Protests are inherently hopeful acts. Researchers who study social movements tell us that hope plays a crucial role in mobilising individuals to take part in collective action, just as participating in collective action fuels feelings of hope. Research shared by the American Psychological Association demonstrates that hope helps us to stay engaged with stressful situations, promotes coping skills, and reduces denial – three important qualities given the misinformed concern that hope might breed complacency or foster climate change denial. Hope is also not about feeling cheerful. When you love something and it’s being destroyed, it’s extremely difficult not to give up. Trying to move in a positive direction in the midst of a terrible situation takes fortitude. Being hopeful is, in many ways, the more difficult path than despair and cynicism. Hope doesn’t protect you from feeling disheartened. Feeling furious and upset at deforestation, coal-fired power plants, and politicians who fail to lead urgently needed climate reforms, or angry that you’ve inherited a screwed-up situation from previous generations, is justified. Outrage shows you know what’s going on and you know what absolutely must change. Reaching the point of ‘enough is enough’ spurs us to protest, boycott, and stand up for the things we love and believe in. Anger and hope are not opposites. They have a symbiotic relationship. Both anger and hope are mobilising emotions. The 2019 climate strikes that drew millions of people around the world to demonstrate demand for change represent a mass social movement fuelled by both anger at the injustice of what is and hope

for what should be. Hope is what sustains us to keep ﬁghting for social and ecological justice.

A hopeful future Hope for the environment is essential to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and the full suite of environmental crises we face. By focusing so heavily on what’s broken, we are reinforcing a starting-line fallacy that makes it feel as if nothing useful has ever been accomplished and that all the hard work lies ahead. We need to pry ourselves free from this disempowering rhetoric and situate ourselves within the positive environmental trends that are already well established and yielding the successful results we need to grow. For example, half of the world’s population is under 30 years old. Youth represent the largest demographic of people on Earth. They are the first generation to grow up with an awareness of climate change, and they are committed to tackling the climate crisis. It’s a concern that crosses all socioeconomic sectors and national boundaries. A 2019 survey of Gen Z across every continent included 20 countries, classified by their level of economic development: either developed, emerging, or frontier. Young people in frontier countries, including Jordan, Kenya, and Nigeria, expressed the most concern about climate change and the highest commitment to creating a sustainable future, followed closely by those in emerging economies. An astonishing surge of ‘climate emergency’ declarations happened in synergy with the 2019 climate marches. By November 2020, more than 1840 jurisdictions in 32 countries had signed on. Cities, associations of scientists, religious groups, major companies, whole countries, the EU – one in ten people on the planet now live in a place that has declared a climate emergency. While it might seem counterintuitive to see these declarations as a positive trend, they represent a staggering show of global support for tackling the climate crisis. Cities, especially, are using that momentum to drive change. That’s important because more than half of the world’s population lives in urban and suburban areas. Cities are where emissions are the largest: they account for about 70 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, according to a 2018 report released at the IPCC Cities and Climate Change Science Conference. In September 2020, more than 71 countries pledged to protect 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030 and to put biodiversity, climate, and the environment at the heart of Covid-19 recovery strategies and investments. Solutions are not final, perfect endpoints. They’re ongoing processes that require monitoring and adjustment to achieve meaningful results. Solutions are directions that require constant vigilance. But the need for vigilance shouldn’t prevent forward action. Emotions are contagious. The more you engage with trends that are achieving meaningful results, the more hopeful you feel and the more you spread those feelings to others who will, in turn, amplify transformative solutions.

Racism at school and beyond The legacy of racism for children: Psychology, law, and public policy Edited by Margaret C. Stevenson, Bette L. Bottoms & Kelly C. Burke Oxford University Press

I was the only black pupil in my year at junior school. I remember being held back in the lowest set for mathematics although my ability was years ahead of the curriculum. My father levelled a series of written objections emphasising my capabilities. His letters went unacknowledged until he reluctantly included his own academic credentials. My own story panned out much lighter than other black pupils’ might have. I was reminded of my experiences when reading this book. Boasting thorough original research, this book pioneers an interdisciplinary exploration of the legal structures and social policy under which young African Americans suffer frequent injustice. A wealth of current empirical data is presented alongside informative legal and psychological case studies. It is thus not only relevant for anyone who works on the ‘front-line’ in education, psychology, policy, law, health but also those who are ready to address these blind spots in academia. I was unsurprised to read about

the racial disparity in the US ‘schoolto-prison pipeline’. For some black pupils, attending school can increase the likelihood of encounter with the criminal justice system. Schools can end up diverting many black children from successful adulthood. Among the underpinning factors is removal

from the educational environment, which is one of the most common forms of discipline in state schools. This can begin as early as preschool, and there is a disproportionate exclusion of black children ‘at all grades and ages’. The behavioural and mental health impacts are inevitable. These children inherit the structures which condemn them simply because they do not appear to be like their white counterparts – whether they are at school, in court or at the bank. This outstanding book carefully considers how such disparities have been exacerbated by US social and legal policy. It also addresses some of the empirically measurable effects of racism on children with much rippling signiﬁcance outside of the US too. For example, the racial gap in housing remains in Britain despite decades of sociological observation. The legacy of racism is ongoing. Reviewed by Philip Miti, PhD Candidate, University of Heidelberg

Reducing hate What motivates hate crime and how can it be reduced? These questions cross disciplinary boundaries in the social sciences, from criminology to sociology and psychology. So, too, does The Science of Hate, expertly weaving together perspectives from different disciplines,

to explore these questions. It covers research using brain imaging and society-level crime statistics along the way. Starting off with his own harrowing experience, and peppered with real-life examples, Williams seeks to understand international variations in deﬁning and recording hate crime. He then considers different motivations for hate crime, grounded in race, ethnicity, dis/ability or LGBTQ+ identities. What is achieved is an accessible account of different attempts to answer this question, from those grounded in individual psychopathy and criminal proﬁling, to social identitybased explanations. Moreover, each account is considered alongside its limitations. Bringing things up to date, this book also covers Williams’ own research expertise on hate crime in the wake of Brexit, and ends with recommendations for how we can all help to reduce levels of hate crime. The writing style lends itself to a non-academic audience, while the more academic reader is furnished with a well-researched reference list, offering both a way into the current state of knowledge. Reviewed by Dr Siân E. Jones, Senior Lecturer at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh

The Science of Hate: How prejudice becomes hate and what we can do to stop it Matthew Williams Faber & Faber £14.99

the psychologist june 2021 books

What do you find energising at work? The Strengths-Based Organization: How to boost inclusivity, wellbeing and performance by Emily Hutchinson and Caroline Brown is published by Practical Inspiration Publishing. Deputy Editor Annie Brookman-Byrne asks Emily about the book. Your book is a tool to help organisations implement a strengthsbased approach – to focus on developing employees’ strengths rather than on improving weaknesses. Why do organisations tend to focus on weaknesses? It is a very human thing to do, to focus on weaknesses! It is fairly well accepted that we have a natural negativity bias in the information that we notice, take in, process and retain. In the early stages of our evolution, this bias would have made perfect sense – in a survival situation, it would have been an advantage to be very alert to threats and our own weaknesses, so that we could take the right actions to stay alive. Therefore, we all have a tendency to do this, and it permeates most organisations – from the way that project reviews are conducted, to performance reviews, to investment in training and development. This bias makes less sense in non-life-threatening situations, because when we focus on the bad stuff, it really reduces our capabilities (rather than enhancing them). Even psychology has been prone to the same bias – traditionally psychology largely focused on the bad more than the good, but the positive psychology field has redressed this. And subsequent research has shown that there are many benefits of deliberately switching to focus on the positives. How does a focus on strengths improve inclusivity, wellbeing and performance? Taking a strengths approach directly boosts all of these three areas, as well as there being a multiplier effect. Strengths by their nature are unique to each individual, and so if we start to really focus on individuality, everyone becomes different (rather than just those in under-represented groups). As long as there is the organisational context to enable all those different voices to be heard (psychological safety) then this focus on the individual

naturally results in greater inclusivity. Strengths are also intimately linked to emotion – key to the definition is that they are activities that feel good to us when we do them. So, very simply, the more you use your strengths, the more positive emotions you feel. Finally, using your strengths – what you naturally enjoy, and find interesting, and get an emotional return from – leads to high performance that is sustainable. It is in the application of strengths to whatever you want to achieve, in consideration of the current context, that results in the highest performance. Are there any quick wins that employers or managers can implement straight away to introduce aspects of this approach? We suggest that the strengths approach is best introduced by small tweaks and nudges to the way that you already do business, so absolutely, yes. For instance, if you are having a weekly team meeting, just ask everyone what they have done that they have enjoyed in the last week. This will not only start your meeting in a positive way, but it will start to reveal people’s strengths rather than just competencies or deliverables and really helps to build relationships. Or in performance reviews, ask what people have found energising in the last year and what they would love to do more of to deliver this year – it’s a very different conversation to reviewing objectives! In the book we cover the broad range of areas and touchpoints where strengths can be introduced in a very easy, low investment way. Read the full Q&A, plus Emily’s reflection on writing the book at https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/what-do-you-findenergising-work. You can also watch the launch, with the authors in conversation with our editor, via https://vimeo.com/539219052

More online… Smell and memory – The Proust Phenomenon An extract from a chapter by Sebastian Groes and Tom Mercer in Smell, Memory, and Literature in the Black Country, edited by Sebastian Groes & R.M. Francis A twisty dramatic story Safe and Sound by Philippa East, reviewed by April Mangion

Grand uniﬁed theories of consciousness An extract from Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain by Grace Lindsay ‘I started living a more aware life’ An extract from The No-Nonsense Meditation Book: A Scientist’s Guide to the Power of Meditation by Steven Laureys MD

We hear from psychologist Kimberley Wilson about her radio programme / podcast with Dr Xand van Tulleken

‘The human body is the intersection between personal and population change’ radio Made of Stronger Stuff www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/ p094py21

How did you come up with the idea? Was it medically or psychologically driven? The idea come out of the question ‘Can humans change?’ especially given how much and how suddenly life across the planet has changed over the last year. As a practitioner psychologist I am inherently optimistic about our capacity to change. It’s not easy, of course, but I think it can and does happen. I was interested and a little surprised to hear that Xand, as a medical doctor, was much more pessimistic about whether humans can change. From his perspective he had advised people on the importance of, for example, smoking cessation and seen little change. We thought it would be interesting to explore the nature of change from our personal and professional positions. The human body is the intersection between personal and population change. In order for groups or systems to transform, there has to be alteration on an individual level. What could we learn about the change that might be happening inside each one of us, and what would that tell us about broader societal change? You and Dr Xand seem to get on very well; did you know each other before this or were you brought together to do it? What do you think working together on it brings to the podcast? Xand and I met working on a programme for Channel 4 at the start of lockdown (Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself).

When making TV there can be a lot of waiting around so we had a chance to talk and just got on really well. When the opportunity to work together on the podcast arose it seemed like a fun and ﬁtting project given some of the previous conversations we had had. What do you hope people will get out of the series? Lots! Foremost, I hope listeners develop a deeper knowledge and respect for their brains. It’s an enduring artifact of Cartesian thought that the physical brain is still subject to extensive neglect, even in psychology. We think about the mind and mental life as distinct from the organ that underlies those functions. It’s very strange, outmoded and unhelpful. Many of the episodes touch on the profound impact the brain has on the body such as in takotsubo cardiomyopathy in the Heart episode. We need to think about the brain and its needs much more. Relatedly, I’d like people to appreciate their bodies more. We tend to objectify the body, valuing it only for how it looks. But from deep sea divers to contortionists your body is incredible and, I think, we’d all be so much better off if we were taught how to love and care for it before media gets the chance to teach us to hate it. What’s your favourite body part, psychologically speaking? It’s the brain but I am also exceedingly fond of the vagus nerve, the main structural component of the gut-brain axis.

the psychologist june 2021 culture C. Mark Stedman

What felt the most cutting edge to discuss? Using modified HIV to reprogramme immune cells to treat cancer sounds like science-fiction. It’s just utterly incredible to think of the many decades of research in disparate fields that come together to make CAR T-Cell therapy a reality. I find it life-affirming. And the potential role of the gut, immune system and the body in general in the aetiology and progression of common mental health disorders (and neurodegeneration) promises to change everything we thought we knew about how the brain works. I just hope as a profession we’ll have sufficient humility to be able to hear it. What needs to change in this area, e.g. should psychologists know more about the biology of the body? Of course. Other than a bit of neuroanatomy at undergrad level the brain actually gets very little consideration in applied psychology, let alone the rest of the body. We continue to work under a 400-yearold philosophical proposition that the mind somehow functions independently of the rest of the organism. How could that possibly be? For starters the brain is made of nutrients that can only be attained through the diet – so diet, nutrition, digestion, absorption – and barriers to those processes – have a direct impact on the physical structure of the brain. Nutrients like calcium, iron and vitamin B6 are co-factors for serotonin synthesis. But these biological fundamentals don’t feature when we are thinking about mental illness. By leaving the body out of the conversation on mental health and illness we inevitably miss identifying important predisposing and perpetuating factors and, by extension, treatment opportunities. Should medics know more about the psychology of the mind? Is this even taught anywhere, or did you feel you were doing something that’s not been done before? Yes, they should. We need to move away from thinking and practice that considers anything that goes awry from the neck up as unrelated to anything from the neck down. We need more cross-pollination in training, research, hospitals, conferences and care teams. We need to ditch Descartes and start treating the whole person. It’s why I call it ‘Whole Body Mental Health’. Any lessons / advice for other psychologists producing podcasts? I host two different podcasts; my own one Stronger Minds, which is a one-woman project and Made of Stronger Stuff, which as a BBC Sounds/R4 programme has a much higher production value! That said I think a couple of principles do generalise: • Care about what you talk about. Audiences, in my experience, respond to the host’s own interest and enthusiasm. • Be well-researched – as health professionals using these platforms it is our responsibility to make sure the information we share is up-to-date, accurate and balanced.

‘Closed doors, closed ﬁles, hard, closed hearts’

other and Baby Homes were Catholic-run institutions in Ireland where unwed women were sent to deliver their babies. In 2015 the Irish government established the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes between 1922 (the formation of the Irish State) and 1998. play Home: Part One, a response to In January 2021, the final report the Commission of Investigation detailed that around 57,000 children were born into these institutions, 9000 into Mother and Baby Homes of whom died. (January 2021) The report has been profoundly produced by the Abbey Theatre, criticised by survivors, voluntary Ireland (March 2021) organisations, and academics (amongst others) for being much too narrow in its remit to examine only a small number of institutions involved; for not accurately recognising the duress experienced by the women and children; and for downplaying the forced nature of the adoptions which took place in these institutions without the consent of birth mothers. Silence, secrecy, and shame has kept many survivors of the Mother and Baby Homes silent for decades. Home: Part One produced by the Abbey Theatre in March 2021 creates a platform that invites a virtual audience to listen to the stories of survivors of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes. As the testimonies evidence, their stories have been suppressed by various institutional powers and their narrators obstructed from telling their stories via ‘closed doors, closed files, hard, closed hearts’ (Mary Coll, survivor) in order to maintain ‘the culture of silence in our society’ (Margaret Wouters, survivor). Described by the Abbey as ‘readings’, Home: Part One is a three-hour production that involves the reading of testimonies from survivors and witnesses by 51 actors and public figures. The excerpts are interspersed with other sources and documents. These readings are complemented by filmed portraits of five survivors, and live music by Mary Coughlan accompanied by Johnny Taylor. The concept for Home was developed by Graham McLaren and Neil Murray, Directors of the Abbey, in collaboration with artist and Mother and Baby Home survivor Noelle Brown who curated the event with support from a six-person editorial panel (including

archivist Catriona Crowe and Conall Ó Fátharta who has written about Ireland’s Institutions for over a decade) and dramaturg Louise Stephens. The minimalist production design foregrounds the words and experiences of survivors. Each reader is dressed in black everyday clothes, glancing, when necessary, to a grey page upon which each testimony is printed. The lighting is functional – readers are spotlit centre stage facing outwards towards the auditorium. The readers exit the stage after each testimony concludes. These staging choices remove any sense of illusion and allow for direct address to the audience, a crucial mode of address when orienting the audience into a different kind of listening that encourages critical, reflective thinking: ‘can you imagine how I felt?’ (Philomena Lee, survivor). In response to Philomena Lee’s question to the audience, a review of Home cannot be addressed by ‘How good is it?’, but, rather, ‘What effect does it have on you?’ Watching and listening to the survivors tell their experiences is difficult, but compelling. It is fitting that

the readings were produced by Ireland’s national theatre and ﬁrst streamed on the Abbey stage on St Patrick’s Day. Sharing testimonies on the stage of the national theatre demands the attention of the nation as listeners. In this way, Home reﬂects the symbiosis between psychology and theatre where the audience and performers attempt to delve into the ‘psychology’ of the storyteller. In a series of readings using the verbatim testimony of survivors, Home speaks truth to power, confronting existing power relations between the Irish State, Religious Orders, and our most vulnerable citizens, contesting a hidden history. Reviewed by Jennifer O’Mahoney (Lecturer in Psychology) and Kate McCarthy (Lecturer in Drama), Waterford Institute of Technology Home: Part One is available to stream for free until 17 July from www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/home-part-one/ and it is also available in Irish Sign Language signed by Amanda Coogan.

Changing senses ﬁlm Sound of Metal Director: Darius Marder

Our reviewer, Jo Atkinson, is a clinical psychologist who works with people who have experienced life-changing brain conditions, and is also a deaf person who has lost most of her sight. This is a must-see film for anyone interested in the human capacity to adapt to unwanted change. It is a painstaking study of a musician learning how to be deaf. We follow Ruben (Riz Ahmed), a heavy metal drummer with addiction issues, as he grieves the near-total loss of his hearing. The film explores his fierce resistance and the drive to keep moving forward, if only we can allow ourselves to stop looking back. It is a story about the restoration of wholeness, and not feeling broken. We see this in Joe, a deafened Vietnam veteran, who runs a retreat for deaf people with addiction, and found existential peace through embracing American Sign Language. He encourages Ruben to look for stillness among the experts, people who have always been deaf and do not see deafness as something that needs to be fixed. A deft touch is that the deaf people are also struggling with change. This film explores loss of hearing, but does not ignore the gains of deafness. It offers the restless Ruben a place to be, and powerful validation in Deaf space. It presents deafness

as an identity, a community and a rare sense of togetherness that transcends wider societal division. It intimates the joy that can be found in broader sensory awareness, and highlights a deaf superpower – the enviable ability to switch off noise. The loss of a sense encourages existential exploration, revealing hidden dimensions and possibilities. The film hints at how Ruben, who, in the opening scene, gives an intensely physical drumming performance, with every sinew an embodiment of sound, might come to embrace the physicality of sign language. A scene where he taps out vibrating rhythms to communicate with a deaf child, as he lies on a playground slide, points to an opportunity for expansion, in both music, and life. The film has a rare authenticity when it comes to its portrayal of the Deaf Community. Everything in the film rings true, from thumping the table to get visual-attention, to the shrug when a glass is knocked over by exuberant signing. We see Ruben bestowed with the sign name ‘Owl’, in a nod to his wide-eyed bewilderment. He, and the hearing audience, may not register the rite of passage, yet his potential to belong is clear. This realistic portrayal of deaf people on film, with deaf mannerisms, natural communication, and characters who

are more than totems, is a welcome relief after misrepresentation. The storytelling forces a binary medical or cultural choice on Ruben. I winced as he was asked to leave the therapeutic community after cochlear implant surgery. Implantation does not prevent cultural membership of the Deaf community, and does not cure deafness, it simply brings more change, and another whole way of being deaf, to adjust to. Nonetheless, the effective plot asks whether Ruben is being rejected or doing the rejecting. With or without medical intervention there is no going back. It is an ableist ﬁlm told wholly from the hearing audience’s viewpoint, but we do get a genuine glimpse of the deaf perspective. The open-captions describe every sound in detail, adding intensity and inclusion for both hearing and deaf audiences. Amazon Prime robs us of a deeper artistic experience by removing them. I recommend switching on the closed-captions. The opening lyrics howled, ‘Take me there!’, but only Ruben can choose the direction of travel. Some doors close and others stand ajar. Which will he push? The ﬁlm’s achievement lies in inviting us to occupy both his ears and his mind; and to ponder how we would respond to such monumental change.

the psychologist june 2021 culture

The ultimate hidden truth? From the 1990s onwards, Adam Curtis has become known as an English documentary ﬁlmmaker with a distinctive style. Dynamic collages of incongruent pieces of archival footage and music are presented, accompanied by his own brand of assertive, level-headed voiceover; narrating how psychology, sociology, philosophy and political theory feature in the history of ideas. His latest documentary, Can’t Get You Out of My Head: An Emotional History of the Modern World was released on BBC iPlayer in February 2021 as a six-part series, setting out to address political, cultural and technological links between the west and other parts of the world, such as Russia and China. The documentary series attracted mixed reviews from critics across the political spectrum – some bemused by its incoherence and taste for conspiracy, others gripped by its shocking and ambitious messages regarding political change (or lack of). In any case, there are several themes that arise in this farreaching series that might be, or perhaps should be, of further interest to psychologists. Something very relevant to psychology at the heart of the documentary concerns tensions in our cultures, politics and societies between individualism and collectivism. Curtis uses the stories of strikingly diverse individual ﬁgures such as Afeni Shakur and her son Tupac, Edward Limonov, Abu Zubaydah and Julia Grant to illustrate how individuals battle to express themselves and achieve social change in the face of uncaring societies and oppressive political systems. In some cases, individuals are both victims and proponents of new forms of psychological thinking, and both individual and

collective forms of psychology can be shown as bound up with forms of scientific and technological power and control. The documentary also shows how the psychological effects of forms of political and corporate organisation and leadership can give rise to a sense of absurdity, where a false sense of stability and control gives a temporary illusion of normality and reality that can be ruptured (a theme also touched upon in a previous Curtis documentary from 2016, HyperNormalisation). Figures like Dominic Cummings and BF Skinner believe they have new ways of running, controlling and predicting the world through altered systems of meaning and ideologies, often including and accompanied by psychological paradigms, experiments, worldviews and theories. The ongoing existential and absurdist struggle to make sense of a confusing and complex world where things seem like they could be handled differently and can be shockingly reversed and upended is a profoundly psychological one. Besides the psychological content of the documentary, its form or medium is also of psychological interest in its own right. Curtis’ refined film-making and narrative methods involving pastiche, montage, collage, cut-up, and juxtaposition of diverse archival images and sounds can serve to create a psychological spectacle intended to engage and shock viewers. The transitions between footage of violence, political protest, people dancing and other scenes of everyday life and events around the world can be disorienting, but also prompt us to think about surprising connections and associations in our shared psychological worlds. These types of technique surely have implications for psychological research methods and public engagement. Watching Curtis’ latest documentary is itself a psychological experience; sometimes erratic, incoherent, intellectually reductive and disorienting. Yet at the same time, the loose connections, associations and overarching ideas are provocative and imaginative food for thought for many viewers. The documentary points to shared forms of struggle across different countries, timeframes, stories and experiences. The series also starts and finishes with a captioned quote from the late anthropologist David Graeber - ‘The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make and could just as easily make differently’. I suggest psychologists would do well to play their part in uncovering, and not further concealing, this hidden truth. Reviewed by Thomas Calvard, University of Edinburgh

tv Can’t Get You Out of My Head Dir: Adam Curtis

also online… Promising Young Woman Innocence …and more

Key sources Bacon, F. (1608). Redargutio Philosophiarum. Reale, Giovanny, 283-304. Bartling, S. & Friesike, S. (2014). Towards another scientific revolution. In Opening science (pp. 3-15). Springer, Cham. Cammack, D.L. (2013). Rethinking Athenian Democracy. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University., David, P.A. (2004). Understanding the emergence of ‘open science’institutions: functionalist economics in historical context. Industrial and corporate change, 13(4), 571-589. Delfanti, A. & Pitrelli, N. (2015). Open science: revolution or continuity? Open Science, Open Issues. Rio de Janeiro: IBICT. Epstein, J. (2008). The end of the Gutenberg era. Library Trends, 57(1), 8-16. Kenny, A. (2005). Breve historia de la filosofía occidental (Vol. 50): Grupo Planeta (GBS). Lahti, L., da Silva, F., Laine, M.P. et al. (2017). Alchemy & algorithms: perspectives on the philosophy and history of open science. Research Ideas and Outcomes, 3, e13593. Maciel, M.L., Abdo, A.H. & Albagli, S. (2015). Open Science, open issues. Manzo, S. (2006). Francis Bacon: Freedom, authority and science. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 14(2), 245-273. McClellan, J.E. (1985). Science reorganized: Scientific societies in the eighteenth century. Columbia University Press. Mirowski, P. (2018). The future(s) of open science. Social studies of science, 48(2), 171-203. Peters, M.A. (2012). Openness and the global knowledge commons: An emerging mode of social production for education and science. Educating for the Knowledge Economy? Critical Perspectives, 66-76. Peters, M.A. (2014). Open Science, Philosophy and Peer Review. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46(3), 215-219. Peters, M.A. & Besley, T. (2019). The Royal Society, the making of ‘science’ and the social history of truth. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 51(3), 227-232. Sarton, G. (2012). Ancient science through the golden age of Greece. Courier Corporation. Triggle, C.R. & Triggle, D.J. (2017). From Gutenberg to open science: An unfulfilled odyssey. Drug development research, 78(1), 3-23. Tyfield, D. (2013). Transition to science 2.0:“remoralizing” the economy of science. Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, 7(1), 29-48.

the psychologist june 2021 looking back

Merchants of light Richard Brown looks to lessons from the history of open science in order to move beyond ideals and technology

he open science movement has gained momentum in recent years. With fresh appeals to the virtues of openness and transparency and an arsenal of emerging digital platforms, many ‘open science enthusiasts’ describe the potential for change as being analogous to the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries. Physicist and writer Michael Nielsen has said, ‘The openness I am advocating would be a giant cultural shift in how science is done, a second open science revolution extending and completing the first open science revolution’ (Bartling & Friesike, 2014). A closer inspection of the history of the scientific revolution that led to the Age of Enlightenment shows that, although scientific virtue and the availability of emerging technologies were important ingredients, societal structures and personal motivations were central to enacting significant change. For those eager to usher in a second revolution of open science, a deeper understanding of the lessons of history from the first is essential. Furthermore, Psychology as a discipline may be uniquely positioned to not only benefit from emerging open science practices but also to play a key role in understanding what is required to motivate the acceptance of methodological change. From Athens to Wittenberg The typical portrayal of ancient Greece celebrates a vision of vibrant, open public debate championed by the assembly of Athenian democracy (Cammack, 2013). However, to assume that the openness of political discourse translated into the free-flowing exchange of philosophical and ‘scientific’ knowledge would be a mistake. For example, despite the countless discoveries made by Pythagoras (570-495 BC), his disciples were bound to secrecy. Plato (428-348 BC) banned the disclosure of his most closely guarded ideas. The fierce and competitive nature of public debate led to the formation of distinct, competing and uncooperative schools of thought, often thwarting the potential for collaborative efforts (David, 2004). This culture of secrecy contributed to the burying of scientific gems like Democritus’ (460-370 BC) views on atomism, only to be unearthed and developed centuries later (Sarton, 2012).

As the centuries proceeded, the ideas of Plato and Aristotle (384-322 BC) and their early attempts at natural philosophy found new backing in the form of the European scholars of the Catholic Church. Plato’s ideas, once filtered through the works of Saint Augustine (354-430), flourished thanks to the support of Bonaventure (1221-1274). Much of Aristotle’s works were rediscovered by medieval scholars and, despite an initial period of rejection, Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was ultimately able to encourage their acceptance by the Church (Kenny, 2005). The Church’s new scholastic approach sought to reconcile its own traditions with the unearthed authority of ancient Greece. However, this emerging medieval ‘science’ intentionally withheld knowledge from the ‘vulgar multitude’ and was actively opposed to notions of scientific openness (David, 2004). The culture of secrecy of the Church received increasing criticism from bold scholars such as John Wycliffe (1330-1384), who advocated for the translation of the Bible into the common vernacular (Kenny, 2005). Mounting pressure ultimately led to Martin Luther (1483-1546) famously nailing his 95 Theses in 1517 to the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This initiated a theological revolution that would rock Europe to its foundations. Central to this was Johannes Gutenberg’s (c1400-1468) invention of the printing press in 1440, which allowed Luther to make multiple copies of his ideas available for open dissemination (Triggle & Triggle, 2017). Gutenberg revolutionised the possibilities for the scholarly dissemination of ideas – not only the fuse that lit the Protestant Reformation, but also the means for the early beginnings of modern science (Epstein, 2008). The ideals of Francis Bacon The late 16th and early 17th centuries saw a break from the culture of secrecy in questions of natural science towards an ‘open science’ committed to the disclosure of new knowledge. Alongside the role of new technology, the ideals of Francis Bacon (15611626) would have a significant influence. Bacon mounted a fierce challenge to the authority that had been granted to the works of Aristotle with respect to questions of natural science, labelling Aristotle as ‘the highest impostor’, comparable with the Antichrist (Manzo, 2006). Bacon argued that instead

of being a real seeker of truth, Aristotle presented his theories as if revealing eternal truths, and was motivated by his own glory. Bacon suggested that, just as his pupil Alexander the Great had sought to conquer all nations, Aristotle had sought to conquer all opinions (Bacon, 1608). Instead, Bacon proposed a collaborative vision of open science through the organising of scientific communities to allow for the flourishing of knowledge in an era of enhanced communication. Bacon’s utopian views on collaborative science are most vividly expressed in his posthumously published novel, The New Atlantis (1627). The narrative describes the account of a group of sailors shipwrecked off the Pacific Ocean who are embraced by the advanced and welcoming society of Bensalem. Bacon outlines the traditions and scientific practices of this utopian nation, describing a society that gathers and records data for public use, where collectors of knowledge are known as ‘merchants of light’. Bensalem’s own scientific institution, the ‘House of Salomon’, follows a collaborative and inductive process flowing from the compilation of experiments to the discovery and dissemination of the laws of nature (Manzo, 2006). Bacon devotes much of The New Atlantis to detailing the precise operations of the ‘House of Salomon’, outlining his envisaged structure for an advanced and cooperative society of open science. Though the practices of the House of Salomon were confined to a mythical land, scientific societies took a significant step towards becoming a reality in the decades that followed Bacon’s death. The establishing of reputable scientific societies was pivotal in ushering in more collaborative scientific practices in the centuries to come. The Royal Society of London received its first charter from Charles II in 1662. Shortly after, the Académie Royale des Sciences was founded by Louis XIV in 1666. During the period of 1660-1793, governments officially recognised 70 other scientific institutions modelled after these initial two academies (McClellan, 1985). The Royal Society in London was founded to espouse the ‘improvements of natural knowledge’ (Peters, 2012) and was heavily influenced by the ideas and scientific culture of Baconism (Manzo, 2006; Peters & Besley, 2019).

Scientific revolution: old and new For some, there are parallels to be drawn between the scientific revolution of the 17th century and the anticipated transition towards a new scientific era through the emergence of a fresh ‘open science’ (Maciel et al., 2015). The current use of the term ‘open science’ depicts a system based on principles of open access, open archiving and open publishing which promotes scientific collaboration and communication (Peters, 2014). Many argue that digitally networked open science has the potential to transform scientific culture in a similar way to the invention of the printing press (Delfanti & Pitrelli, 2015). Just as

medieval scholars couldn’t have begun to contemplate the effects that Gutenberg’s invention would have on the flow of knowledge in the centuries to come, scientists today may struggle to grasp the potential for scientific revolution that may arise from the increasing digitalisation of knowledge (Epstein, 2008). Armed with the technological advances of the digital era, the open science movement calls for increased openness in data collection, analysis, collaboration and publishing, justified by appeals to scientific virtue, akin to the ideals of Baconism (Lahti et al., 2017). However, some activists for open science appear perplexed by the apparent reluctance to adopt new practices, assuming that ‘science wants to be open’ (Delfanti & Pitrelli, 2015). A recent portrayal of the history of open science argued that, ‘since the early modern period, scientific endeavour has been motivated by a desire for knowledge driven by ideas, not authorship, with the result that texts have often been anonymous’ (Lahti et al., 2017). On this understanding, one might assume that a virtuous depiction of science as the noble and open search for truth, coupled with new technologies, provide the complete recipe for scientific revolution, analogous to that of the 17th century. This would be a mistake. A more nuanced depiction of history leads us to believe that the dissemination of scientific information in the 16th and 17th centuries was not simply born of the combination of the idealistic pursuit of knowledge and emerging printing technologies (though these were key protagonists). This scientific revolution was further influenced by the complex legacy of European feudalism, as well as the personal incentives of both the scholars and patrons at the centre of emerging scientific movements. To understand the ushering in of a new era of ‘open science’ we must step beyond ideals and technology to consider a close examination of individual motivations. Thus, studying the lessons of history is essential homework for those who wish to navigate the choppy waters of scientific revolution. An unguided charter may lead science to shipwreck, and today’s scientists are unlikely to experience the fortuitous fate experienced by the sailors of The New Atlantis. The legacy of European feudalism In his essay regarding the emergence of ‘open science’ institutions in the 17th century, Peter David highlights the significance of European feudalism in bringing about cultural change. The aristocratic patronage of artists, musicians and scholars was commonplace in Western Europe during the late Renaissance. Reputational competition among noble patrons motivated much of their efforts to attract the most prestigious minds in Europe to their courts. Those in positions of power sought to surround themselves with unparalleled talent, skill and depth of knowledge in order to provide a display of magnificence and grandeur to confirm and enhance their status as

the psychologist june 2021 looking back

elites. The widespread disclosure and dissemination of discoveries, theories and knowledge of those scholars under the service of high society was done in order to bolster the fame of both the patron and the scholar. For those under the employment of such patrons, noble houses provided financial support which allowed them to pursue their scholarly interests, as well as offering the possibility for fame and further riches. However, the increasing sophistication of mathematics and natural philosophy in the 16th and 17th centuries posed a problem for patrons of the sciences (Delfanti & Pitrelli, 2015). The heads of noble houses were no longer able to accurately assess the validity and quality of the work of those advanced scholars under their employment (particularly in mathematics). This created the risk to patrons of surrounding themselves with second-rate scholars or charlatans which, if discovered, would prove very embarrassing and damaging to their reputation. To address this informational asymmetry, public boasting, reputational trials and mathematical contests provided an external means by which patrons could assess the calibre of Renaissance mathematicians. Such competition led to greater open discussion of ideas amongst scholars through correspondence boasting of new claims, results and techniques. To bolster their reputation, scholars needed to adopt new practices of knowledge exchange, circulating their own theories and challenging others to demonstrate that the ideas they were espousing were verifiable. Much of this was aided by the emerging print system. Patrons openly endorsed the outsourcing of this screening process as it offered a more informed testament to the expertise of their chosen scholars. The broader the validation the better, which created a need for trusted collective judgment by expert communities (Delfanti & Pitrelli, 2015). The demand for such a scientific community led to informal gatherings and assemblies, which, with the support of patrons and states that stood to benefit from the ornamental benefits of regal patronage, led to the establishing of the early scientific institutions. Therefore, in addition to the ideals of Baconism and the technological advances of Gutenberg, the emerging scientific culture can be seen in part as a legacy of European feudalism, as well as a product of the personal motivations for fame and honour of both patrons and scholars. Despite Bacon’s emphasis of the importance of scientific virtue and open ideals, even his utopian society of Bensalem stressed the value of personal reward in the pursuit of science by highlighting the honours bestowed upon those ‘merchants of light’ that bring forth new knowledge. ‘For upon every invention of value, we erect a statue to the inventor, and give him a liberal and honourable reward. These statues are some of brass; some of marble and touch-stone; some of cedar and other

Richard Brown is at the University of Northumbria. Richard6. brown@ northumbria. ac.uk

special woods gilt and adorned; some of iron; some of silver; some of gold.’

Looking forward While many scientists today would be in support of the potential positive repercussions of a more open science, greater emphasis should be placed on understanding both the institutional and individual motivations for adopting new practices (Delfanti & Pitrelli, 2015). For example, some individuals may fear the possibility for the ‘free-riding’ of others, or the negative consequences of disclosing null results, or simply not feel sufficiently motivated to invest the required effort to embrace methodological change. Psychology may arguably be one of the disciplines that stands to gain most from embracing more open scientific practices, given the unwanted attention it received in the wake of the replication crisis. The ubiquitous nature of digital technology, the emergence of ‘open science’ platforms, and fresh appeals to the importance of transparency and the virtues of open collaboration and communication, may be seen as sufficient for instilling cultural change. However, a criticism of open science enthusiasts may be that their emphasis of the virtue of more open and collective practices, and their highlighting increased digitalisation as their means to do it, may lead them to undersell the importance of a closer consideration of the institutional economic logics involved (Tyfield, 2013). As seen by the legacy of European feudalism, such logics are fundamental to cultural change. Though the form of the institutional and financial structures of open science will be debated by the economists (Mirowski, 2018), psychology is conveniently poised to play a different role in addressing an important ingredient necessary for scientific revolution. History has also taught us that the personal motivations of the patrons of the sciences, as well as the egotism and vanity of the scientists themselves, were central in fuelling the scientific revolution of the 17th century. Those within our discipline who wish to usher in the further opening of scientific practice may be uniquely positioned to examine the motivations of both institutional benefactors and individual scientists, and to understand behaviours and mechanisms relevant to the compliance with emerging open science practices. We are reminded by the previous scientific revolution that the presence of technology and appeal to scientific virtue are not all that is required to enact change. We must continue to go beyond ideals and technology to strengthen our understanding of the human motivations involved in scientific practice. This may well involve an uncomfortable, but necessary, reflection upon our own weaknesses, vanity and egoism… as well as exploring and embracing the role of the ambitions of those who seek to benefit from the sciences.

We dip into the society member database and pick out… Dr Ameera Zumla, Clinical Psychologist at Spire Leicester Hospital One inspiration This has got to be my uncle, Professor Sir Alimuddin Zumla. Having contracted Tuberculosis (TB) as a junior doctor in London, which nearly killed him, he then spent his adult life helping eradicate the disease. Sir Alimuddin’s research and development over 30 years has allowed for breakthroughs in TB, HIV, co-infections and infectious diseases with epidemic potential, as well as improving health of disadvantaged people. He currently works for University College London and Hospital. He received the Mahathir science award in 2020, the most prestigious international science award, and was knighted in 2017 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Well done Kaka, may you continue to inspire others! One alternative career path I love football, so it would have to be a footballer. One nugget of advice for aspiring psychologists The same piece of advice my Headteacher Mr Honeyboarn at college told me: ‘always try, try and try again…’. This stuck with me, resonating during every step of entering into the career of Clinical Psychology and beyond.

One thing Psychologists could do better Contribute to more evidence-based practice, and practice-based evidence, in the areas of faith, disadvantaged individuals, and BAME populations. This would further facilitate equitable and accessible services, and high quality effective treatments and packages of care for these individuals. I hope we continue to recruit and promote more individuals from BAME populations, representative of the growing diverse

one on one

communities. I am incredibly passionate about supporting the Doctoral programme at the University of Leicester in terms of the selection process, the diversity strategy reference group and diversity teaching, and supervising Doctoral trainee BAME research projects. I have also started mentoring students from faith based studies such as the Aalimiyah course at Darul Arqam Leicester.

One proud moment As I have four beautiful children, it would be four immensely proud moments of returning home each time after giving birth. My children continue to make me smile every day and I look forward to them continuing to blossom into their unique personalities and characters. One favourite psychological model Having trained at the University of Manchester, my core is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. However, I recognise the limits of this approach across cultures, ages and cognitive abilities. I take a holistic approach to my work and draw upon other models and principles, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness, Health Psychology, and Systemic principles. When working with families, I particularly value Triple-P principles and I have been able to grow in my skills and knowledge in this area especially after becoming a parent myself.

coming soon… our special summer edition, around the theme of ‘from poverty to ﬂourishing’ contribute… reach 50,000 colleagues, with something to suit all. See www.thepsychologist.org.uk/ contribute or talk to the editor, Dr Jon Sutton, jon.sutton@bps.org.uk, +44 116 252 9573 comment… email the editor, the Leicester ofﬁce, or tweet @psychmag to advertise… reach a large and professional audience at bargain rates: see details on inside front cover maybe you missed… …June 2015, ‘Better not look down’: neurosurgeon Henry Marsh on mistakes, mysteries and the mind …Search it and so much more via www.bps.org.uk/thepsychologist the

One quotation ‘There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.’ Nelson Mandela.

psychologist vol 28 no 6

june 2015 www.thepsychologist.org.uk

One great thing about my job Being able to support others to take positive steps in achieving their goals. I love the variety in my role and working across varying settings, contexts, and meeting great people along the journey.

Better not look down… Leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on mistakes, mystery and the mind

One thing the pandemic has taught me The importance of accepting and tolerating uncertainty, living mindfully each day, and maximising the time we have with our loved ones.

letters 430 news 438 careers 492 reviews 502

opening up to disclosure 458 youth unemployment 462 methods: confidence intervals 476 does psychology have a gender? 508

Society Trustees www.bps.org.uk/about-us/ who-we-are

Find out more online at www.bps.org.uk

President Vacant President Elect Vacant Honorary General Secretary Dr Carole Allan Honorary Treasurer Dr Roxane Gervais Chair, Education and Training Board Professor Niamh Stack Chair, Practice Board Alison Clarke Chair, Membership Board Professor Carol McGuinness Chair, Research Board Professor Daryl O’Connor Trustees Dr Esther Cohen-Tovee, Christina Buxton, Dr Adam Jowett

Chief Executive Sarb Bajwa Change Programme Director and Deputy CEO Diane Ashby

society notices

Director of Communications and Engagement Rachel Dufton Director of IT Mike Laffan

Elections for President-Elect See p.10 BPS conferences and events See p.26

society vacancies Climate and Environmental Crises Steering Group – Members See p.20 Climate and Environmental Crises: Health Impact Task and Finish Group – Members See p.20 Climate and Environmental Crises: Drivers of Social Organisational and Individual Change (SOI) Task and Finish Group – Members See p.21 Human Rights Steering Group – Members See p.21 Conferences and Events Committe – Chair and Members See p.26

Director of Knowledge and Insight Dr Debra Malpass Director of Membership, Professional Development and Standards Karen Beamish Head of Legal and Governance Christine Attﬁeld

The Society has ofﬁces in Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and London, as well as the main ofﬁce in Leicester (St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR).