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Previous research indicates that imagining contact with someone who is an immigrant can reduce prejudice and promote positive friendship intentions. Much less is known about the optimal ways of effecting imagined contact. The reported research used an experimental design, where the status of a target-child toy puppet (immigrant versus refugee versus control) and the type of imagined contact (2D or 3D figures) was changed. Children aged 4–10 years, were tested for their responses towards immigrants and refugees, before and after a three-minute interactive play session with 2D or 3D toy puppet figures. Children were asked to show in the session how they would ‘have a really good time’ with the target-child toy puppet. Measures of children’s direct contact with immigrants were also taken. The results suggest that 3D figures have a similar positive impact as 2-D figures on friendship intentions following imagined play. It was in the 2D experimental conditions only that children’s friendship intentions were more positive with greater anxiety reduction.

There is considerable evidence that nicotine can add to and increase the reward value of neutral stimuli, as well as evidence that exposure to nicotine-paired stimuli increases nicotine self-administration. With electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), given that nicotine may add reward value to e-liquid flavours and that the flavours are already designed to be ‘liked’, they are likely to become particularly rewarding, adding to satisfaction and withdrawal-mitigating effects of use. Similarly, co-exposure of the flavour combined with nicotine may increase nicotine self-administration. These flavours may therefore be a vital component in e-cigarette dependency, actually increasing nicotine addiction.

As the world’s population grows, so too does the number of surgeries and need for capable surgeons. Fortunately, technology is progressing fast enough to solve many problems surfacing from increasing healthcare demands, but how can low cost technology be further utilised to increase both quality of surgical skills and quantity of future surgeons? This article provides a brief discussion of the use of virtual reality technology combined with an applied cognitive approach called human factors. It asserts how this synergy may be the key to improved surgical performance via cognitive acceleration and can appeal to a new generation of trainees.

In line with popular gender stereotypes, empirical research suggests that men are significantly worse at identifying, understanding, and expressing their own emotional states compared to women. This article proposes that these difficulties are driven by socialisation and gender roles rather than biology. Understanding how sociocultural factors influence emotional development may illuminate methods for improving emotional skills and mental health outcomes in men. Researching emotional abilities in men from marginalised backgrounds, particularly LGBT men, may be a promising avenue of future research to better understand this relationship.

AimsThis position paper illustrates how Educational Psychological Services (EPSs) have been instrumental through ever more systemic and universal ways of working to identify links between the needs within Scottish schools and targeted and universal nurturing approaches.MethodThis paper will initially demonstrate the appropriateness of a nurturing approach within a Scottish context, as a response to issues related both to mental health and to poverty. It will then continue by exploring how at both local and national levels, nurture-based practices have been embedded into policies and practice due to the influence of EPSs. It will demonstrate this through reference to the national context and the local authority (LA) level, using North Ayrshire Council (NAC) as an exemplar of how this can be achieved.FindingsThis paper will state that, while national and local policy have influenced the focus of EPSs’ priorities, so too has EPSs’ knowledge of psychology influenced national and local policy regarding nurturing approaches.LimitationsThis position paper is drawn from the Scottish education system and may not be fully representative of other contexts.ConclusionThere is an ongoing cycle of mutual influence, enabling the continual development of good practice within schools. This can offer a template of systemic working for the future development of the profession of the educational or ‘school psychologist’ on a wider scale.

Checklists and guidelines can improve clinical practice, but require time and effort to access, read and implement. We have developed ‘Smart Papers’to provide decision support in a user-friendly format – hints and tips in the margins ofA4 ruled-paper. Here we outline six freely available Smart Papers addressing specific areas – clinical interview, distinguishing psychological from organic aetiologies, Alzheimer’s and related dementias, movement disorders dementias, epilepsy, and transient amnesia – and discuss their use in neuropsychological practice.

AimIn this paper I start with the premise that democratic education (as a service to the future) is under threat. For educational psychologists to consider where they might stand in relation to their professional future, therefore, I set out to provide indications of psychological factors implicated in answering the question ‘Can education in a troubled world help us become human and more inclusive?’ContextIn the current socio-economic and political climate and the increasing commercialisation of schools, educationalists can find it hard to sustain a positive role and purpose. As teachers’ identities and sense of efficacy are eroded, the recruitment of teachers is becoming increasingly problematic and attrition rates are rising. Simultaneously the rate of exclusion of young people from mainstream education is not decreasing and several subgroups are over-represented amongst those excluded. I argue that this has major implications for educational psychologists.MethodTo provide a basis for a reformulation of psychologists’ work I examine the philosophical and psychological basis of the professional identity of teachers and the effects of misunderstanding and mistreating teachers’ beliefs in themselves. This requires consideration of inter- and intra-personal dialogues and, particularly for psychologists in their work with teachers, the nature of relationships with others.FindingsI argue that only by reaffirming teachers’ sense of creativity, autonomy and agency can education cease to be a mechanistic exercise in social engineering with no fixed goals and rediscover the simpler and more profound purpose of helping people to be human. I conclude that there are ways that educational psychologists might seek to change in order to challenge the dehumanisation of education.

The focus of this paper is the prevention of anxiety disorders in at risk children and how programmes might be made more effective and accessible to these children and their families. Child anxiety disorders are common, cause significant distress and predict the onset of other psychiatric disorders as well as educational under-attainment. Although effective treatments exist, barriers mean they are accessed by few and, for over 40 per cent of those who do access them, are ineffective. Anxiety disorders can be prevented, particularly when children at risk are targeted, but prevention science is less well developed than treatment science, and barriers to prevention programmes have received almost no scientific attention. We are conducting a prospective natural history study of adolescents who, in infancy, were at risk of anxiety disorders, and a qualitative study to identify barriers to anxiety disorder prevention programmes and how to make them accessible to those at greatest risk.

Sport and exercise psychology offers a number of theories, methods and approaches of how one’s performance could be enhanced following evidence-based processes and practices. A number of scholars, athletes and performers have recognised the parallels between sport and other domains of performance such as business, academia, theatre or military. Therefore, this paper aims at explaining the four stages of performance (i.e. preparation, provision, practice and performance; Collins, 2011a) and how each stage applies to sportsmen and women as well as any other type of performers among us.

The population sex ratio (the number of males for every female) can have far-reaching effects on our conscious and unconscious behaviour. When one sex is scarce, they can use their rarity to better achieve their mating goals, while the other sex must compete more fiercely to obtain them. There are correlations between sex ratio and many variables, including violence, crime, depression, promiscuity, fashion and career aspirations. Recently methods have been developed to move beyond correlational studies, allowing for greater causal inference by changing participant’s perceptions of the sex ratio in the lab. Here I review the varied and surprising findings.

Cognitive science has traditionally championed the separation of processing into the constituent domains of perception, action, and higher cognition, with very little crosstalk either amongst scientists researching different domains or conceptually, between nodes in the network. Cognitive reasoning, for example, is widely considered to occur in segregation to motor processing. However, increasingly, evidence is suggesting that this artificial separation of function may not be reflected in the computational organisation of the brain. Theories of embodied cognition argue that sensorimotor cues from the body are fundamental to higher cognitive functions. In this light, understanding the nature of crosstalk between perception, action and cognition may be integral for understanding the human mind. Indeed, disorders that are characterised by abnormalities in multiple domains, for example in both motor and cognitive functions, may only be understood by employing this method. Studying these disorders may also prove informative as to the nature of domain crosstalk during typical development. Autism spectrum disorders, which are associated with both sensorimotor and cognitive abnormalities, may be one such example. As such, research that emphasises domain crosstalk may both shed light on a disorder that has so far eluded the application of a unifying theory, and inform our understanding of the neurotypical organization of the human brain.

Attribute framing presents information about an object’s characteristic either positively or negatively. People tend to prefer objects described in a positive than a negative frame. Empirical research has demonstrated robust attribute framing effects in many different domains (e.g. consumer behaviour, health, and finance). Explanations have been sought for the effect and how it may be attenuated in certain cases. These explanations include intuitive biases in judgement and pragmatic understandings of framing language. This article gives a brief overview of the theory informing attribute framing and how it can be integrated and leveraged to explain moderating conditions for the framing effect.

The independent roles of social influence and alcohol consumption on risk-taking behaviour have been well researched within the psychological literature. However, the investigation of how all three of these variables interact is both diminutive and inconsistent. That is, there is no general consensus as to whether groups are beneficial or detrimental to alcohol-induced risk-taking. A review of the literature suggests that the relationship between these variables may not be straightforward, and thus a multifaceted approach with consideration of both individual differences and group characteristics may shed light on the complex relationship between social influence and alcohol-induced risk-taking. Subsequently, investigations could potentially identify effective strategies towards targeting sensible drinking in light of social contexts.

This paper seeks to reconfigure female (a)sexualities, beyond the current definition of asexuality as a ‘lack’ of sexual attraction, drawing on empirical work with five women, who experienced sexual fluidity in their trajectories. The paper has two parts. The first explores the constraining nature of sexual orientation labels. I draw on Diamond’s (2009) work on female sexual fluidity and the accounts of two queer/asexual-identified women, arguing that female (a)sexualities cannot be fitted neatly into a box. The second examines the accounts of three other women, who asserted that there is a need for a new term to hold a broader range of female subjectivities. I draw on Braidotti’s (2006) theory of nomadic subjectivity to work towards a conception, which goes beyond the commodification of female desire under capitalism. Ultimately, the aim is to begin thinking beyond labels, which are themselves products of patriarchy and capitalism, to create a more ethical society for all.

Applied psychology has a complex relationship with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) matters. As part of the religious, legal, and scientific triumvirate, we played a central part in developing discriminatory, biased, and stereotypic perspectives castigating LGBT individuals as immoral, deviant, disordered, and even dangerous. Such perspectives not only begot and reinforced legal and social oppression, but also fuelled the creation of LGBT psychological theories and malevolent treatments – since discredited. In a historic and perhaps even redemptive reversal, professional psychological bodies now reject the notion that being LGBT is representative of a mental disorder, immorality, or social deviancy and affirm that LGBT people have a sexual orientation or gender identity that is normal, healthy, and legitimate. In fact, applied psychologists have become ardent advocates for LGBT human rights. In our post-triumvirate role, we might reason that our LGBT work is done or nearing completion with the proffering of LGBT-affirmative professional ethics, public policies, standards, and treatment guidelines. Yet LGBT individuals on both sides of the Atlantic continue to be negatively affected by alarming and disproportionate rates of serious mental health and psychosocial problems. These disparities are compounded by practitioner and trainee concerns regarding their competence with LGBT clients. Moreover, complex issues arise when applied psychologists’ personal beliefs run contrary to our professional LGBT standards of care. Based on a keynote address (Bidell, 2015) and research paper presentation (Bidell, Milton, Chang, Watterson, & Deschler, 2015) - both given at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society Division of Counselling Psychology - this paper juxtaposes our troubled past with current LGBT psychosocial issues. It weaves past with present as well as personal with professional to underscore the continued need to advance LGBT-affirmative psychological services.

BackgroundFocus groups are a widely utilised research method in an array of disciplines including the social sciences and, more specifically, in counselling and psychotherapy. They can be effective in assessing attitudes, opinions and experiences relative to a specific context and are relatively time and cost efficient. However, there are also potential limitations with this method, such as a reduced opportunity to participate for individuals and an increased likelihood of conformity in the group setting.AimsThis paper explores methodological issues in conducting and interpreting focus groups, illustrated with data from our own study on couple counsellors’ experiences of working with same-sex couples.MethodData was collected via three focus groups with 11 Relate counsellors and analysed using thematic analysis. The research process was used to reflect upon the experience of conducting and interpreting focus group data.Results/DiscussionThe advantages and disadvantages of using focus groups are exemplified in various ways, including evaluating benefits and shortcomings in a different light by considering them as situation specific methodological issues of group interaction and group dynamics. Issues in data analysis are demonstrated by stressing the importance of appraising the content, interaction, and the socio-cultural and biographical contexts of the focus group, participants, and the moderator.ImplicationsThe paper concludes with implications for future research employing focus group methodology.

Places on clinical psychology doctorates in the UK are known for their intense competition. Academic excellencen typically constitutes an important prerequisite for clinical training. This paper profiles academic entry requirements outlined by 30 UK universities offering the professional doctorate in clinical psychology (DClinPsy) for 2016 entry. Findings indicated that a high proportion of universities emphasised undergraduate academic excellence, whereas others outlined more diverse academic eligibility criteria for clinical training. This paper includes reflections underpinning applicants’ academic background and recommendations for aspiring clinical trainees and the psychology profession.