Psychology Department, University of ��ɫ��Ƶ » Psychology News

The Transformation of ��ɫ��Ƶ Psychology

Fri, 08 May 2026 12:54:00 GMT

The retrofit of the Psychology Building within the University of ��ɫ��Ƶ campus marks a significant milestone in the broader development of the campus, while simultaneously supporting the continued growth and success of the Department of Psychology.

This transformative project will enhance the university’s infrastructure by providing state-of-the-art teaching spaces, collaborative areas, and the opportunity to showcase key lab spaces to the public.

These upgraded facilities will not only accommodate a variety of teaching methods but also foster an environment that encourages innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, ensuring the department remains one of the UK's leading research hubs.

Prof Robin Goodwin, along with researcher Olena Orlova and doctoral student Tarandeep Kang, held a Parliamentary Roundtable on Supporting Disabled Ukrainians in the UK

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:44:00 GMT

On 29th June Prof Robin Goodwin, along with researcher Olena Orlova and doctoral student Tarandeep Kang, held a Parliamentary Roundtable on Supporting Disabled Ukrainians in the UK, sponsored by Matt Western MP and held at the Palace of Westminster. This meeting brought together Parliamentarians, civil servants from the Home Office, DHSC, MHCLG and DWP, leading NGOs, academics, UK-based support organisations and members of the Ukrainian disabled community to discuss key issues including housing, welfare and employment, mental health, visa and settlement uncertainty and the wider situation for disabled people in Ukraine.

PR: What’s so funny?! Apes and humans have been sharing a laugh for 15 million years

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:59:50 GMT

Great apes may have been laughing with a similar rhythm to modern humans for over 15 million years, a University of ��ɫ��Ƶ study reveals, providing an unexpected clue to how human speech evolved.

Dr Chiara De Gregorio, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of ��ɫ��Ƶ said: “How did humans evolve the remarkable ability to speak? Speech leaves no fossils, and complex language exists only in our own species. But we've found a 15-million-year-old clue in an unexpected place: our laughter.

Dr Adriano Lameria, Associate Professor, ApeTank, Department of Psychology, University of ��ɫ��Ƶ concluded: “It is impossible to assess the precursor forms of language directly from our extinct ancestors. Laughter, being evolutionarily older and having remained shared between all living great apes, provides a rare evolutionary window into the vocal transformations that unfolded across hominid evolution until the first humans appeared on scene.

Prof. Dieter Wolke Featured on The Baby Fact Check: Why Does My Baby Cry So Much?

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:33:00 GMT

We're pleased to highlight The Baby Fact Check, a new podcast hosted by science communicator Greg Foot (BBC's Sliced Bread), which examines common claims about babies and parenting using the best available evidence.
Designed to be accessible, engaging and informative, the series brings together researchers, clinicians and other experts to explore questions that many parents encounter online.

The podcast features Prof Dieter Wolke, talking about crying in babies and how to soothe them.

We encourage parents, practitioners and anyone interested in child development to take a listen.

Trailer and episodes:

Post | LinkedIn

Why does my baby cry so much? Understanding the newborn "Crying Peak"

WATE PGR winner is Lauren Wilkinson from Psychology. Congratulations!

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:51:00 GMT

Lauren Wilkinson has been awarded the SEM Faculty ��ɫ��Ƶ Award for Teaching Excellence for Postgraduate Researchers Who Teach - a truly fantastic achievement. Read about it here: /fac/cross_fac/academic-development/wate/wate-2026-shortlisted/wate-2026-pgr-copy/

Congratulations Lauren!

Sleep videos and posters created by PS362 students

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:30:00 GMT

Students on the PS362 Sleep and Health module have created an impressive range of videos and infographic posters showcasing their knowledge of sleep science and their ability to communicate it to wider audiences. The overall quality of the work was outstanding, making it difficult to select just a couple examples to highlight.

Title: Weekend Catch-up Sleep [video linkLink opens in a new window] [posterLink opens in a new window]
Students: Flora Barros Azevedo, Ella Browne, Matilda Cutting, Edie Mellor, Ida Slavina

These outstanding submissions were selected for their depth of content, clarity of communication, high production quality, and their success in translating psychological research into engaging, accessible formats for wider audiences.

We warmly congratulate all of the students recognised here and extend our thanks to everyone who contributed such thoughtful and high-quality work.

PR Release: Mental defeat: the hidden experience fuelling daily suffering in chronic pain

Tue, 12 May 2026 11:47:39 GMT

In this study, researchers used an innovative real-time sampling method to capture these fluctuations, analysing data from 137 adults living with chronic non-cancer pain. Participants reported their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours three times a day over two separate weeks.

Professor Nicole Tang, Department of Psychology, University of ��ɫ��Ƶ and first author, said: “Pain is not something that can simply be taken away, it is someone’s reality. But how people relate to their pain, and the meaning they attach to it, can add an extra layer of distress that we might be able target with the right interventions.”

Prof Robin Goodwin and Olena Orlova (Research Assistant) met with Lord David Hanson (Home Office Minister) at the Home Office to discuss settlement arrangement for disabled Ukrainian refugees.

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:46:56 GMT

Two pieces of evidence they submitted were recently published in support of this: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/148542/pdf/ and https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/154425/pdf/"

Psychology Students empowers local pupils to become Mental Health Champions

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:41:19 GMT

Psychology students from the University of ��ɫ��Ƶ also participated, helping to lead activities and share insights into mental health awareness and the importance of looking out for others. The full-day interactive campus events, along with pre- and post-event sessions, featured workshops, group discussions, and activities designed to help pupils recognise and respond to mental health needs in themselves and others, and to explore how small, everyday actions can make a real difference to young people’s wellbeing.

Professor Dieter Wolke and Dr Tanya Lereya's paper on bullying features as the most cited paper of the 2010s in Archives of Disease and Childhood 100th Anniversary list of most influential papers

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 09:50:00 GMT

The Archives of Disease in Childhood (ADC), the leading publication in Child Health in the UK by the British Medical Association celebrates the 100^th Anniversary. As of 2025, ADC has published over 38000 documents. Celebrating this anniversary - they have looked back at the most influential papers over the decades by pointing out the most cited articles of the main ADC edition in every decade. First century: Most cited papers in Archives of Disease in Childhood | Archives of Disease in Childhood

Dieter Wolke is pleased that the ADC paper, co-authored with then postdoc Dr Tanya Lereya was the most cited in the 2010s. The paper focussed on the long term effects of bullying and the implications for public health. Doctors need to ask about bullying and consider it in their practice!

The full citation is: Long-term effects of bullying | Archives of Disease in Childhood. the paper is open access!

Furthermore, another research paper with Dieter's collaborators then in Basel made it in the top 5 most cited by ADC in the 2010s: Associations between problems with crying, sleeping and/or feeding in infancy and long-term behavioural outcomes in childhood: a meta-analysis | Archives of Disease in Childhood. Since completing his PhD thesis Dieter has been researching and lecturing on the long term effects of crying, feeding and sleeping problems in infancy and toddlerhood and their treatment.