Applied, Social and Health Psychology

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PhD, MPhil

The Applied, Social and Health Psychology research group contains leading researchers in several areas of applied psychology, including health, emotion, developmental disorders, psychoneuroimmunology, consumer psychology, sexual health, and social psychology. Some of our research in these areas was recently rated as world-leading by the Research Assessment Exercise 2008, and we have published widely in high impact journals such as Psychological Review, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Emotion, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Consciousness and Cognition.

Charlotte Smith

PhD Supervisors: Dr Poul Rohleder and Dr Rachel Cook

“I began studying at Anglia Ruskin in 2008, where I did a BSc in Psychology. I knew from attending the open day that I would thrive in the learning environment that the department provides. The lecturers I met were incredibly personable, and it was clear that they are really invested in your academic performance as an individual. I was also keen to take the opportunity to study in such a beautiful and academic city.

I graduated in 2011 with a first class honours degree. The close-knit department, small student to staff ratio, and passionate delivery of lectures by leaders in their fields really inspired me to delve into a career in psychology. Considering the high standard of supervision I received in my undergraduate project by Dr Rohleder, and the subsequent mark I was awarded, I was keen to stay at Anglia for further study. A few months later, when a funded PhD in the department came up I jumped at the chance to apply for it.

Here I am, 7 months into my PhD at Anglia, where I am investigating how women disclose a HIV positive status within an intimate partner relationship in the UK. I absolutely love my area of research. Continuing my path in academia in Anglia's Psychology Department has been the best decision I have ever made. My supervisors, Dr Poul Rohleder, and Dr Rachel Cook are not only well-established health psychology researchers that are familiar with up-to-date health research methods, but are really committed to my progress. They are always available to give input into the project, and we have frequent supervisions that are filled with challenging, critical discussions of my area.

I have a dual role as a graduate teaching assistant; this means that I lead psychology first year seminars, whilst studying for my PhD. As doctorate study can sometimes be rather solitary I find it incredibly satisfying to share research skills that I have learned with students who are just starting out. As well as being immediately rewarding, this role has also really enabled me to develop my teaching and presentation skills; skills that are essential to being a successful University lecturer.

Although I have over two years left I'm already looking at post doc positions in the psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS in both the UK and US! I will be incredibly sad to leave the department, however I feel certain that studying at Anglia has given me a very strong basis of research knowledge that will lead me into asuccessful research career. This is a big step from entering the University in 2008, with no confidence, and having no clear career path in mind.

”

Supervision and support

There are currently seven senior researchers in the Applied, Social and Health Psychology group, all of whom have supervisory experience. Full-time, dedicated technical and computing support is also available to our research students.

Facilities

Psychological research encompasses a wide range of techniques and this is reflected in our commitment to developing an extensive range of research tools and facilities. We have, on-site Electroencephalograph (EEG) and eyetracking facilities, a Psychoneuroimmunology lab for salivary analysis and a suite of experimental laboratories for data acquisition and analysis.

Funding

Aside from self-funding or funding by your employer, charities and trusts (competitively sought after, as are Research Council Awards), career, graduate, and professional study loans may be available. Visit: www.family-action.org.uk for information on educational trusts, or www.direct.gov.uk for bank loans at competitive rates. Alternatively, visit your local high-street bank for more information.

Career development and training

In addition to the outstanding career development and research training opportunities available at the university level, our Psychology Department has a dedicated careers tutor and runs a comprehensive Personal Development Planning scheme.

- Dr Fiona Ashworth (Senior Lecturer) - emotional and cognitive consequences of acquired brain injury and interventions to alleviate these problems. Compassion-focused therapy. Biological and neural substrates of psychological processes in brain injury.
- Dr Matt Bristow (Senior Lecturer) - psycho-neuro-immunology. The relationship between psychosocial factors, mucosal immunity and health; the temporal relationship between acute stress and secretory immunoglobulin A secretion; the validity of sIgA as an immune measure for use in psychoimmunology. Advancing methodology in the psychophysiology of stress: capturing the complexity of immunity.
- Dr. Rachel Cook (Principal Lecturer) - psychological implications of reproduction, infertility and medical technologies; stress and health.
- Dr Mick Finlay (Reader) - social psychological aspects of intellectual disabilities: identity, stigma, interaction, communication. Social interaction and communication: conversation analysis, institutional interaction, relationships between institutional goals and interpersonal practice. Conflict between and within groups: loyalty, identity, discourse and propaganda.
- Dr. Cathrine Jansson-Boyd (Senior Lecturer) - tactile influences on consumer evaluation and decision making. Aesthetic concepts and their applicability to consumer evaluations of products and consumer environments. Interrelationship between happiness, consumption and self-esteem.
- Dr John Lambie (Reader) - consciousness and emotional experience; the role of emotional awareness in rational action; the role of self-awareness in mental health and moral action; the development of emotional awareness.
- Dr Russell Luyt (Senior Lecturer) - the social psychology of gender, men and masculinities are related to identity, self and attitudes; aggressino and conflict; media; mixed method research; research philosophy.
- Dr Rachel Manning (Senior Lecturer) - prosocial behaviour; antisocial behaviour; space and social psychology; collective identities and intergroup relations; mixed methodologies and interdisciplinary methods.
- Dr Daragh McDermott (Lecturer) - prejudice towards sexual minorities; implicit/explicit attitudes; methods of attitude change and prejudice reduction; sexual behaviour and sexual minority body image.
- Dr Poul Rohleder (Senior Lecturer) - psychosocial and public health aspects of HIV/AIDS and sexual health; disease, ill-health and stigma; marginalised identities; critical health psychology; mental health; qualitative research.
- Dr Steven Stagg (Lecturer) - social perception and autism spectrum disorders
- Dr Theodora Zarkadi (Lecturer) - forensic psychology, eyewitness identification, face recognition, jury decision-making; embodied cognition, morality, judgement and decision making; positive emotions, awe

Candidates seeking admission to the degree of MPhil or MPhil with possibility of transfer to PhD will normally be required to hold a first or upper second class honours degree of a university, or any other institution of higher education in the UK with degree-awarding powers or a qualification which is regarded by Anglia Ruskin as equivalent to a first or upper second class honours degree.