How to Help Someone with Postpartum Depression
Depression after childbirth can be overwhelming and isolating. In the midst of becoming a mother, new moms are exposed to many new challenges. In addition to...
How to be a Good Internal Consultant
As an internal consultant and a member of an internal consulting team (although “internal consultant” or “internal consulting” is not in our “official” job titles), my...
The active essay writing initiative
Earlier this summer, Dr Wendy Garnham was one of the “torch-bearer” in the virtual torch relay event organised by AdvanceHE.
In the spirit of the Olympic Games,...
Meet Professor Nicola Yuill | School of Psychology blog
Prof Nicola Yuill personifies the interdisciplinary spirit that has always been at the core of Sussex. Whether as a student or as a lecturer, she has...
Small Acts of Kindness Can Matter So Much
Kindness From a Stranger
This is the first time I’ve shared this story. It’s not earth-shattering, traumatic, or dramatic, just a small act of kindness that meant...
Primary school attendance problems in the context of Covid-19
By Brontë McDonald
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the educational lives of children across the world. In the UK, the government attempted to curb the spread...
August 31 is Launch Day for The Business of Race – Positive Psychology News
Kathryn Britton, MAPP '06, former software engineer, is a coach working with professionals to increase well-being, energy, and meaning in their work lives
(Theano Coaching LLC).
She...
Book Review — Influence and Impact: Discover and Excel at What Your Organization Needs...
“What we have found, again and again, is that people tend to underperform because they do what is comfortable, what is familiar, or what they desire,...
New MAPP Magazine on Positive Humanities – Positive Psychology News
The latest issue of MAPP Magazine, published by graduates of the MAPP Program at the University...
Running cognitive tasks online, for free
By Max Lovell
Note: This is an abridged version of an article that can be found on my personal webspace – see that version for more details,...
How to Balance Living and Working From Home
More and more companies are embracing remote work in recent years and work-life balance is more important than ever. Remote work has many benefits, but it...
The Importance of Alone Time For Mental Health
Social connections are vital for our physical and emotional wellbeing as humans are social creatures by nature. Yet, alone time is also crucial to mental health.
There...
Second Wave of Positive Psychology – Positive Psychology News
Marta Velázquez Gil is a psychologist and researcher. She has published research in scientific journals and both national and
international congresses. Her biggest interest is research...
How Important is Skin Colour to First Generation South Asian Women
By Jamie Chan
If we asked ourselves which part(s) of our body we are less happy about, the chances are that our answer would revolve around weight,...
Registered Reports free for authors and readers
By Prof Zoltan Dienes
In April we launched Peer Community In Registered Reports (PCI RR), where a Registered Report in any discipline can be submitted (by linking...
Working as a Research Fellow in Parliament
Our PhD student Alison Lacey was on a 13-week placement at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). POST offers Research Fellowships to approximately 30 PhD students...
Greener conferences | School of Psychology blog
By Dr Charlotte Rae
Conference season is upon us, and this year lots of us will be attending virtual meetings instead of travelling to conferences in person.
Although...
Sussex Education Awards 2021 | School of Psychology blog
The Sussex Education Awards recognise faculty and professional services whose work had / is having a positive impact on the Sussex community....
Virtual group music-making during lockdowns
By Maruša Levstek
When the pandemic hit in late 2019 and the whole world had to practically retract to their homes, everyone was talking about furlough, lockdown,...
World Refugee Day 2021: Together we heal, learn and shine
By Dr Varuni Wimalasiri
The significance of World Refugee Day
World refugee day is on the 20th of June every year and is a day designated by the...
Autistic Pride Day | School of Psychology blog
by Prof Nicola Yuill
It sometimes seems there is an awareness day, week or month for every possible cause – June sees Loneliness Awareness, Men’s Health, National...
Who helps the helpers? 8 tips for voluntary groups
Local voluntary mutual aid groups have been critically important for many people during Covid. But keeping the momentum going is difficult even when the need for...
Book Summary & Review — Anxiety at Work: 8 Strategies to Help Teams Build...
According to Adrian Gostick, one of the main reasons for writing the book had to do with his (now) 25-year-old son, Anthony (Tony) Gostick, who had...
What Burnout Is and Why It Isn’t Confined To The Occupational Sphere
What Is Burnout?
Burnout isn’t just being tired or “fed up” with work. “Burnout is far more than feeling blue or having a bad day. It is...
“You’re on mute!” On Having High-Quality (Zoom) Connections – Positive Psychology News
Dr. Nico Rose (MAPP '14) is a professor for organizational psychology at International School of Management (ISM) in Dortmund, Germany. He worked for Bertelsmann, Europe's largest...
Read the Latest MAPP Magazine Articles on Positive Psychology Applications – Positive Psychology News
Graduates of the MAPP Program at Penn have published a new issue of the MAPP Magazine...
Remembering Ed Diener – Positive Psychology News
Kathryn Britton, MAPP '06, former software engineer, is a coach working with professionals to increase well-being, energy, and meaning in their work lives
(Theano Coaching LLC).
She...
Self-Insight Is Sparked by “Crystallization of Discontent” Moments
“The twists and turns of your life can be so unexpected, and that’s a good thing to learn.” -Christina Baker Kline (American novelist)
In The Power of...
Spirit of Sussex Award -Psychology Nominees: Bushra Farooq
The Spirit of Sussex Award (SoSA) Connector team has been in contact with Psychology students to highlight their impressive extra-curricular activities. Log onto the Spirit of Sussex Award website to...
ToyBox: a mental health start-up founded by students
Théoni Fernando is one of our students in the Occupational and Organisational Psychology MSc that we run in collaboration with the University of Sussex Business School....
A Guide to Overcoming Codependency in Relationships
The term codependent is traditionally used to describe the loved ones of someone suffering from addiction. However, psychology studies show that codependence is often considered to...
Creating a society that works for autistic people: The ACoRNS Health webinar
By Ethan Lam and Prof Nicola Yuill
The Autism Community Research Network Sussex was launched last year as a collaboration between Psychology and Education researchers at the...
Spirit of Sussex Award -Psychology Nominees: Shannon Plant
The Spirit of Sussex Award (SoSA) Connector team has been in contact with Psychology students to highlight their impressive extra-curricular activities. This month the SOSA Connector team...
World Sleep Day 2021: 4 top tips for a good night’s sleep
Today is World Sleep Day, and this year’s focus is ‘Regular Sleep, Healthy Future’.
Most of us have experienced the consequences of a bad night’s sleep at...
New Articles in Online Magazine on Positive Psychology Applications – Positive Psychology News
The latest edition of the MAPP Magazine was published this week. The mission of the...
Evidence in Action Conference coming soon – Positive Psychology News
Beginning March 18, the International Positive Psychology Association is kicking off the first Evidence in Action...
The Role of Collective Psychological Empowerment in the Capitol Insurrection
By Carina Hoerst
On January 6 this year, Trump supporters gather in front of the White House to attend Donald Trump’s rally to “Stop the Steal”. Confederate...
How to Give Direct and Clear Feedback
From front-line leaders all the way up to C-suite leaders, I have seen, time and time again, how managers have made a mess in delivering feedback...
6 Frequently Asked Questions about Recycling
As part of our green commitment, every week we publish a series of sustainability tips on our staff newsletter. These are some of the most common...
The Effects of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Toddlers (PCIT-T) on Child Functioning and Parental...
Many are often surprised when they hear that I work with children as young as 12-months-old. “Why would a 12-month-old ever need therapy?” they often ask....
The American Psychiatric Association’s apology to ‘Black, Indigenous, and People of Color’: Performative Action...
By Alexandra Taylor
On January 18th, 2021, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released the ‘APA’s Apology to Black, Indigenous and People of Color for Its Support of...
Finding a Balance between Optimism and Pessimism – Positive Psychology News
Darlene Marshall, MAPP '20, is a personal trainer, wellness coach, speaker, writer, and workshop facilitator. She is a thought leader and expert at the intersection...
I Felt the Fear and Did It Anyway – The Risk I Took to...
“And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” -Anaïs Nin
Today...
Mitigating the new variant SARS-CoV-2 virus: How to support public adherence to physical distancing
By John Drury
Journalists often ask me how the public will behave when the next set of Covid-19 restrictions begins. Will they accept the rules or ignore...
Alcohol Addiction Research | School of Psychology blog
By Dr Bryan Singer
The Sussex Addiction Research and Intervention Centre (SARIC) is made up of a collection of investigators who are dedicated to understanding the biopsychosocial...
The Privacy Mismatch: Evolved Intuitions in a Digital World
By Joe Green
Imagine you’re on a busy train texting a friend when you notice a stranger sneakily reading your texts from over your shoulder. Your natural...
Resilience Is Adapting Successfully to Adversity, Hardship, and Tragedy
“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” -Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven
Looking Back at 2020
As 2020...
A Case Presentation using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with a 12 year old girl
Last updated on December 24, 2020 By MPGteam
I look at my schedule and see I have a new patient intake this week. I...
The Parenting Tool that Helps Kids Learn Emotion Regulation Skills
Validation is one of the most powerful parenting tools, and yet it is often left out of traditional behavioral parent training programs. In general, behavioral parent...
What to Look For and How You Can Help Your Child Grow
Last updated on December 18, 2020 By MPGteam
Learning about early developmental milestones for babies and toddlers is one of the most important things...
Understanding collective fear responses to perceived terrorist threats
By Dr Dermot Barr
The UK national threat level was raised to ‘Severe’, the second highest level, on the 3rd November 2020 after a series of terrorist...
Ho, ho, ho… it’s beginning to look a lot like (a Green) Christmas
By Maruša Levstek
With Christmas songs on repeat, a tree in the corner waiting to be decorated and an apple pie in the oven, I still...
Helping parents improve their children’s behaviors
This pandemic has been hard on families in a lot of ways. Being an employee, a chef, a maid, a home repair expert, a teacher and...
Reducing patterns of brain hyperactivity in individuals at genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease: an...
By Dr Claire Lancaster
Fifty million people live with dementia worldwide, the most common cause of which is Alzheimer’s – a progressive, neurodegenerative disease. Although the past...
Baking, Mindfulness, and Permaculture – Positive Psychology News
Elaine O'Brien, PhD, MAPP '08, is a positive psychology, fitness leadership, positive health promotion,
movement science, aging, and well-being speaker, author, trainer, thought leader, people/project manager,...
Alzheimer type dementia | School of Psychology blog
by Prof Jennifer Rusted
Age is not synonymous with poor health, but Alzheimer type dementia (AD) is a disease of the brain for which age is the...
Grid cells come into play when the imagination runs away | Science
Brain cells involved in spatial navigation and mapping the environment also fire when we merely imagine moving through familiar surroundings, according to a new study by...
A neural pathway that erases memories | Science
In order to remember, we must forget. Recent research shows that when your brain retrieves newly encoded information, it suppresses older related information so that it...
Enhancing Essay Feedback | School of Psychology blog
By Dr Dave Smalley
The topic of student perceptions of written feedback is an under-researched area which is surprising given that universities typically...
Genetically engineered ‘Magneto’ protein remotely controls brain and behaviour | Science
Researchers in the United States have developed a new method for controlling the brain circuits associated with complex animal behaviours, using genetic engineering to create a...
Nerve terminal nanofilaments control brain signalling | Science
This spectacular image – which took the best part of a year to create – shows the fine structure of a nerve terminal at high resolution,...
Gut bacteria regulate nerve fibre insulation | Science
Far from being silent partners that merely help to digest food, the bacteria in your gut may also be exerting subtle influences on your thoughts, moods,...
Coaching vs. Therapy – Referring Coaching Clients with Mental Illness
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, titled “Executive Coach or Therapist? It’s Getting Harder to Tell the Difference” (Bindley, 2019) again renews the debate...
Do Changes in Emotion Regulation Affect Decision-Making in People with Alzheimer’s Disease?
by Dr Rotem Perach, Prof Jennifer Rusted, Prof Pete Harris, Dr Eleanor Miles
Ever felt so excited that you found yourself telling your life story to a...
How the Zika virus causes birth defects | Science
“I lifted up my T-shirt to check on what I thought had just been a small heat rash,” writes BuzzFeed correspondent Ali Watkins. “It had shown...
Many Pediatric Heart Nurses Struggle With Emotional Exhaustion
A survey of nurses caring for children with heart issues reveals that more than half are emotionally exhausted. The findings, recently presented at The European Society...
Pygmalion Effect – A Leader’s Attitude and Expectation Set the Tone
In the book, Extreme Ownership, Leif Babin (a U.S. Navy SEAL officer who was a SEAL instructor overseeing the Junior Officer Training Course in the Naval...
Bumblebee’s electric field sensor identified | Science
Bumblebees use the fine hairs covering their bodies to detect electrical fields produced by the flowers they feed on and pollinate, according to a new study...
Boosting Ability to Be Playful May Enhance Satisfaction With Life
A new study finds that simple exercises can help make people more playful, which helps them feel more satisfied with their lives.
The new study from psychologists...
Book Review – An Introduction to Management Consultancy
An Introduction to Management Consultancy by Marc Baaij is a book that really pulls back the curtains and reveals the inner workings of management consultancies. I...
Tarantula toxin untangles pain pathways | Science
With their large, hairy bodies and long legs, tarantulas are an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare. For pain researchers, however, these outsized spiders are a dream come true:...
Kids Notice Racial Differences Long Before Adults Want to Talk About It
A new study reveals that very young children, even infants, are aware of racial differences, but many adults believe children should be almost 5 years old before...
People with Secure High Self-Esteem Don’t Need or Seek External Validation
The older I get, the more reflective and observant I become. It might be because I’m older and a bit wiser, but I think it’s more...
The Daily Better Interview Part 2 – Positive Psychology News
Kathryn Britton, MAPP '06, former software engineer, is a coach working with professionals to increase well-being, energy, and meaning in their work lives
(Theano Coaching LLC).
She...
Birds pack more cells into their brains than mammals | Science
Calling someone “bird brain” used to be considered as an insult. Birds’ brains are very small compared to those of mammals, and what’s more, they lack...
New Brain Scan Study Could Help Find Best Therapy for OCD
New research has found key differences in the brains of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder who respond to one form of therapy over another.
The findings could improve...
Steve Jobs Had Moderately Low Emotional Intelligence
I thought this might be an interesting case study. I’ve come across many articles where writers (both lay and scholars) have stated that they believe Steve...
Creativity and the Natural Outdoors – Positive Psychology News
Cordele Glass, M.A. 2018 holds a graduate degree in Positive Developmental Psychology and Evaluation from Claremont Graduate University. He works as an outdoor adventure guide, teambuilding...
Do bad blood vessels trigger dementia?
By Dr Catherine Hall
Dementia affects increasing numbers of people as they age (one in 14 people over the age of 65 suffer from dementia). It changes how...
Barack Obama Blindness: Failing to see the unexpected | Science
There’s much more to visual perception than meets the eye. What we see is not merely a matter of patterns of light falling on the retina,...
New AI Tool Promises Faster, More Accurate Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence algorithm that can accurately diagnose Alzheimer’s by detecting subtle differences in language.
According to researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology...
When You are Isolated and Alone, Follow Your True North
When the ocean is calm and you can see land, it is easy to navigate true north; you can see the way forward with your own...
Book Review: The Self-Evolved Leader
“The Self-Evolved Leader was written to take you on a journey, from making the critical shift in perspective needed to break the cycle of mediocre leadership,...
Positive Medicine – Positive Psychology News
Dr. Kathi Norman, MAPP '17, is a physician assistant, international speaker, and founder of Positive Medicine. Her passion is the marriage of medicine and positive health...
Looking Back: The Role of the General Election in Satisfaction with UK Response to...
By Carina Hoerst
Recently, a group of people with controversial stances protested against lockdown restrictions in the US – a particularly concerning move since the protest action was...
Frigatebirds sleep in mid-flight | Science
When Charles Darwin arrived at the Galápagos Islands in 1839, he had the opportunity to observe the habits of frigatebirds, and marvelled at their graceful flight...
Effectiveness of Virtual Communities Hinge on Trust
In a new study, researchers based in Italy propose that development of trust among all participants is a key objective metric when assessing the effectiveness of...
Alcohol and Self-Isolation – Strategic Psychology Canberra
During self isolation you may find you have more time on your hands than normal. Although studies suggest people actually work more when they are at...
Tools to Help Address Minimal to Major Changes in Routines in the Lives of...
Last updated on March 24, 2020 By MPGteam
Under the diagnostic criteria of Restricted and repetitive Patterns of Behavior of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),...
Can video conferencing apps mimic or replace human-to-human connection?
I was contacted by a journalist writing a story about workplace communication, why human beings need human-to-human connection in the office, and whether technology can mimic...
Taking Positive Action in the Midst of Negativity – Positive Psychology News
Sydney Kastner, MAPP '19 is the Director of Well-Being and growth at 4.0 Schools and a consultant, facilitator, and coach. You can follow her on instagram...
Be kind to your mind
By Pattie Gonsalves
“Be kind to your mind and your body, especially during these times.” This is one of the encouraging things my yoga teacher says every...
UCAS Personal Statements Tips – University of Leicester
Posted by Enna in Psychology on September 18, 2018
I know, I know…personal statements can be daunting.
It took me around 5 different drafts, 3 different teachers...
Live imaging of synapse density in the human brain | Science
The human brain is often said to be the most complex object in the known universe, and there’s good reason to believe that it is. That...
Feeling Panicked Without Phone Tied to Worse OCD, Poor Sleep Quality
A new study finds a link between feelings of panic when a person is away from their smartphone and increased anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behavior. A related...
Tips for Talking with Children about the Coronavirus Pandemic
It can be tricky as a parent to know how much to tell your kids about what’s going on in the world. It’s also normal to...
School Closings Due To COVID-19 Present Potential For Increased Risk Of Child Exploitation
Last updated on June 9, 2020 By MPGteam
SUMMARYDue to school closings as a result of COVID-19, children will potentially have an increased online...
Overcoming Obstacles: Attitude and Approach Are Answers to Pains and Problems
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”―William Shakespear
In his book, The Obstacle Is the Way, Ryan Holiday (2014) shares the wisdom...
Character Strengths in Difficult Times – Positive Psychology News
The global COVID-19 pandemic, the fight for racial justice, and a divisive American election have left...
“They don’t know we’ve got legs”: meeting online and in-person
By Prof Nicola Yuill
Covid-19 restrictions haven’t just stopped us meeting in person – instead, they have nudged us into new ways of connecting. Humans are the...
