PSYS 3012Applied Psychology Dissertation

Module Leader: Dr Daniel Smith

What is the dissertation?

• In-depth empirical study• Requires students to

– Locate, read and review research evidence

– Evaluate different theoretical perspectives

– Formulate clear research questions

– Conduct experiment(s) to answer those questions– Select and conduct appropriate analyses– Critically discuss your results with reference to the

scientific literature

How is it assessed?

• Interim Report (formative feedback)– Compulsory: make sure progress is OK– End of November

• Dissertation Submission– Supervisors can comment on one draft, excluding the

discussion– Deadline is Mid March

• Length– Maximum 10,000 words – Excessive length will be penalised– Most dissertation are ~7000 words

How do I sign up?

• Sign up in pairs• List 3 preferences for supervisors

– Give some indication of your own interests (it makes it easier for me to match students to supervisors)

– Pick supervisors from either campus

• Forms will be available on DUO– Level 2 Methods course – Submit forms to Applied Psychology Office– Deadline is 16th March

• You are not guaranteed to get your 1st choice!

• Applied Psychology students who want a supervisor who is based in Durham should submit a form to Durham reception

• e-mail or fax is suitable

• Make it clear you are an Applied Psychology student on the form

• Deadline is the 4th March .

Who are the supervisors and what do they do?

(you should look at staff webpages too)

Cognitive / Sports psychologyDan Smith

• Attention, eye-movements, mental imagery, motivation, visual working memory

• Past dissertations have explored:– Can attention go where the eyes cannot?– Inhibition of Return– Social attention & gaze cueing– Role of mental practice in sports performance– Motivational climate in sport

Educational or Biological Psychology Bob Williams

• Past dissertations have explored:– The thin ideal and its negative psychological

outcomes on males– How parent’s marriage relationship affects

their children’s attitude towards marriage.– A psychometric analysis of racism across

cultures and ages.

Judgement & Decision MakingJudith Covey

• The roles of information presentation and/or individual differences on judgment and decision making

Past dissertations have explored• The impact of headline health claims on food on consumer choice• The effects of celebrity endorsement and media presentation on

consumers’ purchasing preferences• The impact of ‘Audio’ and ‘Audio-Visual’ presentation modalities on

intentions to follow a dentist’s preventative recommendations• Individual differences (in need for cognition, motivational orientation,

risk perceptions) and message framing on attitudes and intentions towards Chlamydia testing/ condom use/ binge drinking

• The relationship between mood, defensive pessimism, motivational orientation, and risk taking

Evolutionary PsychologyLynda Boothroyd

• Development of attraction to faces/bodies– Comparing children and adults– ‘Imprinting’: links between own facial preferences and parents’

facial features– Cross cultural studies

• The meaning of masculinity– Face structure and behavioural/fitness correlates– Intercorrelations between masculinity preferences and

preferences for other facial traits–

• Consider taking the Evolution module (Durham)• Email Lynda with project ideas

Learning and MemoryAlex Easton (D)

• Past dissertations have explored:– the effects of the emotional novelty of items

on memory– the interaction of context dependent memory

effects with semantic priming.

• Students could develop these areas, or approach me with related ideas

Social Cognitive NeuroscienceAnthony Atkinson (2)

• Visual perception of social information from the face and/or body, e.g. – Emotional expressions– Identity– personality characteristics

• This work could involve measures such as – Reaction time or Judgement accuracy– Rating scales – The recording of skin conductance – facial electromyographic responses

• (although such measures can only be taken in my lab at Durham, as this is where the equipment is installed).

Biological PsychologyAmanda Ellison

• Research Interests – Attention– How do we select targets from a visual

scene?– How does attention modulate our perception? – What is the effect of perception on the body?– Visuomotor processing

Cognition and EmotionAlex Schaefer

1) The effects of emotion on episodic and autobiographical memory

2) The effects of emotion on working memory performance

3) The relationship between personality differences and patterns of online behaviour.

NeuropsychologyAlison Lane

• The use of modern technology in therapy (Wii-habilitation), particularly with older adults

• Rehabilitation – How can we maximise the efficacy of training procedures?

• Visual perception and visual cognition• Visuospatial attention

– How do we decide where to attend? – How can we learn and improve our attention?

Development & Individual DifferencesJohn Adams

• Cognitive development (individual differences) and its relation to educational attainment.

• Projects in applied areas (either children or adults) – working memory– mathematical cognition– developmental/educational research

Forensic PsychologyLuna Munoz

• My main field of research is the development of aggression and violence.

• Recently, I have also been investigating risk taking

• My other line of research looks at personality traits and particular relationships in women