School of Psychological Science Seminar Series

Title: The Remembering and Forgetting of Complex Episodic Events

Abstract: Episodic events are thought to be represented in a coherent manner, allowing for the holistic retrieval of all event elements. The forgetting of events is also thought to be holistic – when we forget an event, we forget it in its entirety. I will present behavioural, computational modelling, and fMRI research that provides evidence that events are both retrieved and forgotten holistically, in both younger and older adults and in developmental populations. I will also present data suggesting this holistic retrieval is specific to events, and may not always apply to the forgetting of other representations – such as the forgetting of object representations. I will then discuss how complex events are retrieved over time and whether changes occur as a function of systems consolidation. I will use this body of research to provide a theoretical framework that makes predictions about the underlying neural mechanisms that support retrieval and forgetting across a hierarchy of representations: from low-level object representations, to event representations, to higher-order episodic narratives.

Location:  Lecture Theatre 3 (G86), Arts Complex, 17 Woodland Road

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Location:  Lecture Theatre 3 (G86), Arts Complex, 17 Woodland Road

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Location: TBC

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: How to Make Trump More/Less Likable: Manipulating Preferences, Choices, and Decision-Making with Visuo-Motor Inhibition  

Abstract: Visual cognition phenomena are typically revealed via the measurement of reaction time, accuracy rates, and thresholds for detection. However, the mechanisms that generate such phenomena may also influence choices and preferences. A number of experiments will be described showing how preference for items is influenced by the motor actions made immediately before a preference decision. Specifically, objects are preferred less if, in order to indicate a choice, the repetition of an action is required. A large range of preferences and choices can be influenced including those for artwork, faces, and even political candidates. Memory and simple perceptual decisions can also be influenced. Further experiments rule out the possibility that the phenomenon is driven by attentional, as opposed to motor, processes. Overall, these experiments show that everyday human decision-making can be nudged by requiring a person to make a simple movement before the decision is indicated. 

Location: Lecture Theatre 3 (G86), Arts Complex, 17 Woodland Road

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: The (Neuro-)Anatomy of Friendship 

Abstract: Friendships are a primate speciality, and have evolved to buffer us against the stresses of living in large social groups. They have a bigger effect on our psychological health and wellbeing, as well as our physical health and wellbeing, than anything else. Friendships are, however, extremely expensive to create and to maintain, both in terms of their time cost and in terms of their underpinning neurobiology. The basis of this lies in the dual process mechanism that allows primates to manage their relationships. One arm of this forms the Social Brain Hypothesis that sets a cognitive limit on the number of relationships we can have; the other is formed by the endorphin system and the way this is triggered by physical touch acting through the afferent C-tactile neural system. In this lecture, I’ll explore the behavioural, cognitive and neurobiological bases of friendships in comparative perspective, and show how we use these as a basis for forming communities. 

Location:  Priory Road Lecture Theatre, D Block Priory Road Complex

Time: 16:00 - 18:30 (drinks reception included)

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Location: TBC

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Location: Lecture Theatre 3 (G86), Arts Complex, 17 Woodland Road

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: Exploring the rise in mental health problems among young people

Abstract: Over the past four decades, rates of emotional problems in adolescents have increased in many countries, and outcomes for those with mental health problems have worsened. In this talk, I will address what we know so far about the rise in youth mental health problems, including evidence from population-based studies, cross-country comparisons, and consideration of possible explanatory factors.

Location: Lecture Theatre 3 (G86), Arts Complex, 17 Woodland Road

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC 

Location: Lecture Theatre 3 (G86), Arts Complex, 17 Woodland Road

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Location: TBC

Time: 13:00 - 14:00

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Location: Lecture Theatre 3 (G86), Arts Complex, 17 Woodland Road

Time: 13:00 - 14:00