December 2022
Last month, A level Psychology students attended the ‘Psychology in Action’ event at the University of Warwick – a series of lectures that enabled students to hear from working professionals and learn from their experiences. Emma (U6D) tells us more.
Our trip to ‘Psychology in Action’ was extremely fun, engaging, and thought-provoking. The first lecture by Kimberly Wade talked about memory distortion – something relevant to our A level curriculum and furthered our understanding of how false memories can occur so easily and frequently.
We then moved onto Dr Daniel Jolley’s talk on conspiracy theories. This was particularly relevant to our current society having just experienced the Covid pandemic and its influence in the media.
Next was Jonathan Smith’s sports psychology talk, which many people found extremely engaging as sports psychology is a popular choice for many students in our year group. He tested our reaction times, demonstrated the role of adrenaline, and showed us how to optimise it when in high-stakes situations. The interaction with the audience in this talk and its relatability to those who play any kind of sport or high-adrenaline activities made it one of people's favourites to attend.
Last, but certainly not least, we had a talk from Dr Peter Lovatt – a psychologist who has studied dance and how it can affect mood, concentration and mental health. For me, this was the highlight of the day, with Peter’s radiating warmth and non-judgemental attitude towards our attempt at dance moves creating an inclusive and fun environment. This reinforced to us the importance of moving our bodies, specifically through dance, and I know we all left the lecture buzzing with joy!
Overall, it was a really informative day, with a variety of topics covered to interest anyone interested in psychology.
Emma (U6D)
