Exploring How Waking Life Experiences Relate to Different Dream Stages

Written by Ruby Kemp

Each day we experience a tremendous number of emotions and engage in a variety of activities ranging from working, reading, watching TV, to interacting with others. So, it seems reasonable to question how on earth our minds cope with processing this immense amount of information. In answer to this, a lot of our experiences are processed while we are asleep and therefore in our dreams (Walker & Helm, 2009). I’m sure plenty of people recall dreams that they could immediately connect to past experiences or current worries; for instance, dreaming that you’ve turned up to your new job stark naked in anticipation of starting in a new workplace. Sleep is important in a number of ways for us to function psychologically; I am someone who has certainly felt the strain of running on minimal sleep. Interestingly, different stages of sleep have been found to contribute to different processes relating to our waking lives.

Psychedelic Drugs – The Future of Therapy?

Written by Kayleigh Herbert


When I think about the sixties, a few things spring to mind: The Beatles, ‘flower power’, protests, and, of course, the summer of love with a multitude of hippies sauntering about with flowers in their hair, half-naked and looking pleasantly confused. Sunstroke, perhaps? Or could it have been the unprecedented rise in recreational LSD use that took the sixties by storm?    

How much merit does criminal profiling actually hold?

Written by Samantha Kitt

There’s very little skepticism offered about criminal profiling within hit TV programs like Criminal Minds and Mindhunter – which, by the way, are both 100% worth a watch – however this has led to major public misconceptions about the (lack of) accuracy of criminal profilers. For those of you unfamiliar with this practice, criminal profilers are special investigators that infer an unsub’s (unknown subjects) personality, behavioural, physical and demographic characteristics based on crime scene data and evidence (Douglas, Ressler, Burgess, & Hartman, 1986).

Can Laughter Improve the Quality of Life in Cancer Patients?

Written by Rebecca Bowles

Has anyone close to you ever had cancer? You’re not alone if you’ve answered ‘yes’: cancer is the fastest growing disease worldwide (Popat et al., 2013). Whilst cancer is scary, it’s comforting to know that cancer patients are living longer than they used to (Allemani et al., 2018). However, they typically experience a lower quality of life than the rest of us (Jansen, 2010). Low quality of life is characterised by various secondary health problems, such as impaired cognitive function, pain, anxiety, and depression (Morisima et al., 2019). Therefore, the silver lining that cancer patients live longer is clouded by these symptoms. Keeping this in mind, you can understand the importance behind improving the quality of life in cancer patients, especially when the cancer patient is someone you care about.

Blinded by beauty? Is the halo effect shaping your judgments?

Written by Haafizah Bibi


Many of us know the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, and while it is considered morally wrong to base your opinions about someone on something as superficial as attractiveness, you could be doing exactly that! In social psychology, ‘the halo effect’ is a type of cognitive bias whereby attractiveness influences our impression of a person and the way we think or feel about them.

Measuring Cat Personalities? Yes Please!

Written by Rita Kiraly

Cats are the 2nd most popular companion animals. Millions, including myself, willingly subject ourselves to their rule, and diligently cater to their every need in exchange for the privilege of being allowed to pet, cuddle, and love them. But are cats always the adorable furry overloads they are portrayed to be? Or is there variability in cat personality?

Why Language Matters: The Impact of Classroom Diversity Philosophies on Students of Colour

Written By Gemma Cunnington

 

Have you seen the monumental growth of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020? Left wondering how psychological research can play its part in addressing inequality for People of Colour (POC)? Good, Bourne and Drake (2020) investigated how the language used in classroom diversity philosophies in online STEM classes can affect the performance of students, particularly students of colour. If you aren’t sure what a classroom diversity philosophy is, it is essentially a statement about the expectations the professor has regarding diversity in the classroom. This research is extremely relevant because as of 2012, 65% of educational institutions have a diversity philosophy! (Wilson, Meyer & McNeal, 2012)

Our school years are the most important years of our lives… or are they?

Written by Elizabeth Sanderson

For some of us, school was fun, a time to be mischievous, mess about, and misbehave. For others, school was miserable, and some may even say, trivial and pointless. But do our school experiences define us? And does how we behave in school impact the chances of success in later life? A recent study by Rodica Ioana Damian, Marion Spengler and Brent W. Roberts (2018) aimed to investigate just this.

Prime Minister Personality Traits and Their Biggest Cockups

 

Written by Zoe Phelps-Coles

After enduring almost a quarter of my life with Brexit dominating the news, after political debate and family arguments, and after waking up three days into a new decade where World War Three is trending on Twitter, it seems timely to write a blog about whether a Prime Ministers’ personality traits are related to the fiascos they inspire.

The Influential Relationship Between Sleep and Stress During the Exam Period

Written by Jessica Howes





Well, here we are again. With Christmas behind us and another year over (Good Riddance, 2020!), university students across the country are now gearing up for exams, myself included. Now, forgive me for stating the obvious but… exams are stressful, right? And I don’t know about you but the more I stress about upcoming exams, the worse I sleep, and the worse I sleep, the more stressed I feel. It’s a vicious cycle and one that many of us know all too well. The question is: what toll is this lack of sleep and associated stress having on our basic psychological needs? Well, wonder no more as a 2018 study by Rachel Campbell, Bart Soenens, Wim Beyers & Maarten Vansteenkiste (2018) investigated precisely this.