PSYCHnews - Bangor University · Have a go: Picture an enormous white polarbear, then try not to think about it. This is precisely what psychologist Dan Wegner asked a group of people

PSYCHnewsSEMESTER 2 2016

Aimèe Oz, Azara Ingram, Alice Fiol Sibley, Katie Riddoch, Ben Joseph Govier, and Caspar Wynne

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Cessation of hostilities in Syria, An insightful account on the Syrian civil war and what you can do about it. Page 2

I know a thought that will get on your nerves… Ever had a thought that just wouldn’t go away? Well here's why! Page 3

Unicorns, strip searches and dyslexia. A brief gander at dyslexia, discussing the issues and possible causes. Page 6

Welcome to the world of Flux, Caspar’s experience at the infamous business competition Flux500 Page 7

RS Thomas – No Truce with his Furies, Ben discusses the life and work of a former alumnus, RS Thomas. Page 10

Freakshakes Curious Katie tries Bangor's latest, most decadent, dessert emporium! You’ll find them next door to the Greek! Page 12

Volunteering Azara and Alice shed some light on the great work done by the Hergestunit volunteers group at Ysbyty Gwynedd, the Hergest walking group, and Connect. Page 15

Pontio! Like it, love it, hate it, Pontio is finally here, and Aimèehad the pleasure in joining Tracey and the first years for the first ever lecture in it. Here are her thoughts. Page 13

CrimiknowledgeDispelling the myths of crime and forensics, Azarajoined a cohort of Bangor Uni students in Manchester to hear all about it! Page 17

Fancy a tart? Caspar cooks up a welsh classic for St. David’s Day, and a cheeky, lactose friendly, vegetarian goat's cheese tart. Page 21

Lecturer Bios We thought it’d be grand to meet some of the staff! Check out these mini bios! Page 24

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The Syrian flag was first adopted in 1958, but was replaced in the 60s only to be readopted in the 80s once again. The flag initially symbolised Syria’s joining the United Arab Republic, although not part of any union now, the flag is intended to show the country’s commitment to Arab unity.

Recently, the world’s leading countriesmet in Munich with the United Nations(UN) to attempt a nationwide cessationof hostilities in Syria. The halt,however, will not be in relation to thebattle against the Islamic State(Daesh), al-Nusra Front and other UN-designated terrorist groups. More than250,000 people have been killed inSyria since the civil war began and 13.5million people have been displaced inthe 5 years of fighting.

The UK government has stated that they will accept 20,000 refugees into thecountry until 2020. That means that the UK will take in 0.6% of the refugees thatare currently displaced and this does not take into account the refugees that aresoon to be fleeing Syria. The US Secretary of State, John Kerry has said that theattempted ceasefire in Syria was ambitious and that the real test will be to see ifall the countries involved can be true to their word and respect the negotiation.British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond has said that the cessation in Syriawould only work if Russia stopped its bombing and halted its raids. However, thebombing of the major city of Aleppo by Russia is not included in the peacenegotiations which has been suggested is strengthening Syrian governmentforces.The situation in Syria started as a civil war but has now escalated into a stalemate with the Assad-led government, Islamic State, a number of Syrian rebel groups and Kurdish fighters all trying to gain and hold territory. The situation in Syria is complicated, with the world’s biggest powers fighting on both sides. It is stated that there are nine major players involved in the conflict in Syria. Iran, Russia and Lebanon’s Hezbolla movement are supporting the Assad-led government, while Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UK, France andthe US are backing the Sunni-dominated opposition. Hopefully this ceasefire will prevent people from being displaced out of their homes but this negotiation does

Cessation of hostilities in Syria By Alice Fiol Sibley

not mean that Syria is and will be a safe place to live in the near future.

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Cessation of hostilities in Syria By Alice Fiol Sibley

x Set up a scholarship at Bangor University in your subject department fordisplaced refugees

x Spread awareness throughout the University about the current climate inSyria

Ways to help the current situation in Syria and refugees fleeing the violence:

x Give food, clothes and bedding through the organisations below: TheWorldwide Tribe in Calais, Glasgow Solidarity with Calais Migrants, NorthEast Solidarity with Calais Refugees, Side by Side, Association Salam andCoach and Horses Soho.

x Volunteer: Doctors of the World, Music Against Borders, The JungleLibrary, Folkestone United, Azaaz.org and Calais Migrant Solidarity

x Write to the government to let in more refugees into the UKx Write your name on a online petition to encourage more refugees to be

allowed into the UK

Leaning in to kiss my girlfriend, an image entered my mind.An image of my uncle’s face. Accompanying the image, wasa thought: What if every time I close my eyes to kiss mygirlfriend, my uncle’s face appears in my mind? Disturbedat the prospect, I had to take a few minutes to composemyself*.

I know a thought that will get on your nerves…By Ben Josef Govier

x Make a donation to a non-government organisation, a human rights orhumanitarian charity group: Save the Children, Red Cross Europe, MigrantOffshore Aid Station, International Rescue Committee, The UN RefugeeAgency and Refugee Action.

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I know a thought that will get on your nerves…By Ben Josef Govier"Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a

polar bear, and you will see that the cursed thingwill come to mind every minute." –

DostoevskyHave a go: Picture an enormous white polar bear,then try not to think about it. This is preciselywhat psychologist Dan Wegner asked a group ofpeople to do in his classic experiment in 1987.His book, ‘White Bears and Other UnwantedThoughts: Suppression, Obsession, and thePsychology of Mental Control’, describes theexperiment.

Individual participants were isolated in a lab room and seated at a desk with amicrophone and a bell similar to the service bells you find in the reception of ahotel. Wegner asked the participants to say – into the microphone - everythingthat came to their mind over a five minute period. A minority reported thatnothing in particular came to mind. Most talked about things like their families,jobs, future goals and lunch! Following this task, Wegner asked the participantsto do the same again, but this time, not to think about a white bear. If they didthink of a white bear, they were to ring the bell, and then continue with the task.Wenger reported that, on average, people thought of a white bear over 6 timesthroughout the five minute period. They also said ‘white bear’ out loud, too. Oneperson, finding it particularly difficult to suppress thoughts of white bears, rangthe bell 15 times.Finally, Wegner selected participants – who had been involved in the initialexperiments - for a further experiment. The task, this time, was to think of awhite bear. These people displayed an unusual preoccupation with white bears.They rang the bell 16 times and mentioned ‘white bear’ 14 times. A separategroup - not subjected to prior experiments - reported thinking about it less (12bell rings, 11 mentions). So, the participants who tried thinking about a whitebear, after prior attempts at suppressing white bear thoughts, displayed anincrease in white bear associated thoughts, over time.

* Fortunately, it only happened once. Now, in a similarsituation, I see an image of my deceased childhood hamster.

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I know a thought that will get on your nerves…By Ben Josef Govier

The irony – and I think it is beautiful, and elegant – is that not only are attempts atthought suppression difficult, if not impossible (to not think of something, youneed to think of what it is you are trying to not think about), such attemptsactually lead to an increase in preoccupation with the suppressed thought later on.Thought suppression is counter-productive.

Most of us, at some point, will have thoughts that we would prefer not to. It could be an annoying song you can’t get out of your head, perpetual self-criticism, painful memories, or even a thought to cause harm to yourself, or someone else. Wegner suggests that worries or difficulties underlie attempts of mental control. Attempts usually begin when we perceive a thought, or a feeling, to be unpleasant in some way. It could be something we don’t want to say, do, or feel. However, as Wegner states, if we imprison our thoughts, via suppression, we should not be surprised if they do not go away.

Are we responsible for the thoughts we have? Neuroscientist Sam Harris asks us to try and predict the next thought that will arise in our mind. Of course, he asks this knowing that it is impossible for us to do. We can’t choose what thoughts to have and we don’t know what we will think about next. Thoughts simply arise into our conscious awareness. Nevertheless, we do have some flexibility in how we respond to our thoughts. We can simply let our thoughts be, and be mindful of them.

Mindfulness involves being curious and non-judgmental towards your experience,from moment to moment. Difficult and unpleasant thoughts and feelings cansimply be held in awareness and observed. We can be interested in, and acceptingof thoughts – they are just thoughts. This can be difficult, and it may seem counter-intuitive - we want to get away from unpleasant things. However, we cannot live asfugitives from ourselves. Indeed, when we learn to turn towards, and tolerate,unpleasant thoughts, we may learn some important lessons.

As pioneer in mindfulness based cognitive therapy Jon Kabat-Zinn states: “It isremarkable how liberating it feels to be able to see that your thoughts are justthoughts and that they are not ‘you’ or ‘reality’.”

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Interested in learning more about mindfulness? Why not check out Bangor University’s

Mindfulness centre:www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness


Unicorns, strip searches, and DyslexiaBy Caspar Wynne

It was a grim spring morning many years ago. I awoke to the horrible realisationthat it was a Wednesday, and therefore a school day, and in my school,Wednesday’s meant physical education! So imagine my gleeful surprise, whenrather than turning right out of our driveway, my father took a left, heading nottowards school but somewhere else! Some two hours later, I found myself here inBangor, sat in the waiting room of what I believe was the Miles Centre. It turnedout, I am Dyslexic.But what is dyslexia? It’s a word that is often bandied about, yet when I ask sucha pertinent question, I am usually greeted with the same blank looks. It can’t justbe, as some would put it, difficulty learning, as that definition seems frighteninglyambiguous. We dyslexics can count amongst our numbers such visionaries asEinstein, Edison, and Picasso, and so it’s fair to say dyslexia does not cap anindividual’s intellectual capability. Perplexed, curious and somewhat surprised atmyself for never having done this before, I decided to do a little bit of research.Dyslexia, it turns out, comes from a fundamental difficulty with reading, but theprecise causal factors are still debated. The most commonly accepted theoryhowever, is that dyslexia is caused by a phonological deficit.You may know, that one of the most important defining aspects of humanity isour ability to converse. Listening and talking are natural skills developed duringchildhood. Reading and writing however, are not. It must be taught, and for wedyslexics, some 10% of the UK’s population, this is quite a challenge. Linguistsconceptualise our language system as a hierarchy, with the higher levelsresponsible for processing such things as meaning, debate, and syntax. Thelowest system, called the phonological module, processes the small distinctivesounds that make up a word. These sound snippets are called phonemes. It ishere where the dyslexic leviathan supposedly lurks.Take for example the word: bat. Saying “bat” requires the speaker to retrieve fromtheir internal lexicon (a personal mental dictionary) the word and its associatedphonemes: buh, ah, t. The speaker puts these phonemes together and says theword out loud. Similarly, when reading the word bat, the reader must

decipher the separate phonemes and then pass them on tothe higher levels for further processing. This processbecomes natural and instinctive to the unimpaired, but forthose of us with dyslexia, phonemes escape us, and thiscauses the phonological deficit. 6


Unicorns, strip searches, and DyslexiaBy Caspar Wynne

The impact of the deficit typically manifests as a much slower reading speed. Theassumption is, that until a word’s phonemes have been decoded, higher tierprocesses cannot take place, therefore slowing the entire reading process down.Imagine the deficit if you will, as a linguistic checkpoint, garrisoned with an overlyzealous guard with a penchant for strip searches.

In the past it was thought possible to “outgrow” dyslexia; that it was in some way a“developmental lag”. This is not the case. It is entirely possible, however, forsomeone with dyslexia to become particularly proficient with specific sets of wordsor a writing style, for example: story genres, a particular newspaper, orsubject/work specific terminology. Having learned these words, the individual’sreading speed of such literature is dramatically improved, however ask theindividual to read something they are unfamiliar with, their speed would reduce.

This is not to say however, that the phonological deficit is the only explanation ofdyslexia, there are numerous more, each as compelling. Nor is slow reading the onlysymptom. I know from my own experience I had terrible spelling, still dooccasionally. Grammar eludes me to this day, like a fantastical unicorn wandering aforest of words, occasionally showing up, typically for all the wrong reasons. As forcomprehension, it takes a while for things to sink in and make sense, but once it’s inmy head it’s there to stay. But that’s all for now, I hope you’ve enjoyed this briefsashay into the fascinating world of dyslexia, all that’s left for me to say is that if youthink you may be dyslexic don’t be shy or scared, go see someone at the Accesscentre. They are amazingly helpful and will get you all the support you need!www.bangor.ac.uk/studentservices/disability/

Welcome to the world of Flux By Caspar Wynne

It was early on the 6th of January, six intrepid students gathered in Asda car parkwith overnight bags, a printer and whole lot of determination. Their mission: toget to Lancaster University by midday. Their purpose: Flux500, an intense,gruelling competition. For the last three years Bangor University has sent a teamof students to Flux, and this year I had the opportunity to join them.

Flux is a national, twenty four hour competition that takes place over two days in two stages. It attracts numerous universities, such as Manchester Metropolitan, University of Hereford and of course Bangor University. This year twelve universities took part. 7


Each stream was judged separately by representatives of such international corporations as IBM, BAE Systems, and Deloitte. Whilst the results of our first pitches were tabulated we were then given a second brief in which we had forty-five minutes to come up with a solution. This second brief was based on the first but with a twist. Once those precious few minutes were up we were told the winners of the first phase. Sadly this year Bangor didn’t get so far but we did lose out to the overall winner and had we succeeded in the first phase we would have won, or so I like to think! Go TEAM! The winners of the first phase then went on to pitch their new idea to everyone. We were all then invited to vote for the winning university.


So what was our brief? Well we were asked to operate as a consultancy firm for a struggling department store, LHS. We were challenged to change their 10 quarters of downward sales by utilising the latest technology. As Team Bangor, we took to the internet in a desperate search for some ideas. We settled, after numerous debates, on a two pronged attack, targeting staff training and inciting loyalty by producing a loyalty card that would offer immediate instore rewards and a customised shopping experience.

Upon arriving we were put into three groups (or streams) of four universities and we competed against our stream buddies in the first stage of the competition. At 1pm, we were given a brief outline of the challenge and we had until 1pm the following day to conceive, research, and pitch our plan to a panel of judges.

Sound familiar, well it should. Such cards have been around for decades, but most recently such a scheme was employed by Waitrose, and it has worked wonders for their sales. We flew with it, and after some late night brainstorms and a few bottles of wine we produced the Calm Card, to take the stress out of shopping.

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I would like to take this opportunity though to acknowledge and thank all thosefantastic people who helped and supported us through what was a particularlygruelling yet exciting experience.So thank you:Lowri Owens, James Intriligator, Gareth Harvey, Kate Isherwood, Chris Walker,and anyone else I failed to mention, your help was invaluable and I hope you willoffer your assistance to future Flux goers!


RS Thomas – No Truce with his Furies By Ben Josef Govier

To the left of the entrance to the Normal Site library, a plaque rests on the wallin memory of a former student of Bangor University. In his lifetime, he wouldbe described as the ‘ogre of Wales’, the ‘Solzhenitsyn of Wales‘, and as a‘troubler of the Welsh conscience’. He would also be regarded as a pre-eminentEnglish language poet of the 20th century.

R.S. Thomas was born in Cardiff in 1913and raised in Holyhead, Anglesey.Educated at local schools, he eventuallystudied Classics at Bangor - under apseudonym, he contributed some of hispoetry to the college magazine. His mother,a domineering personality in his early life,pointed him in the direction of the church,and being a shy young man, he acquiesced.

But it was all a tremendous experience, and I for one would do it all again, butthen again I am a bit of a masochist.

The idea was strong, and marketing great, sadly our numbers didn’t add up (a learning opportunity guys! Check your numbers over and over!). When it came to judge’s questions we struggled to answer clearly and precisely, but as I said we had a strong idea, we just ran out of time!

Following theological training in Llandaff, he was ordained as a priest in theAnglican church of Wales. His first curacy was in Chirk, where he met a youngEnglish woman, Mildred Eldridge, an accomplished and respected artist, whom

he would marry. Later, R.S. served in Manafon,Montgomereyshire (1942-54), Eglwys Fach, Cardiganshire(1954-67) and finally, until his retirement, in Aberdaron,on the Llyn Peninsula (1967-78).

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Though he was a priest, he was not a saint. A deeply private man, he did notsuffer fools gladly. He could be awkward, cold, and offensive. Qualities such asthese – along with an unfortunate photograph published in a newspaper - ledhim to being caricatured by the media as the ‘ogre of Wales’. To a certain extent,R.S. roguishly played upon this caricature for self-amusement. Those who knewhim well described him as playful, kind, and possessing an extremely dry wit.Indeed, his poetry has been likened to “one long chuckle”. R.S. was liable topreach sermons on the evils of modern appliances such as fridges, televisionsand washing machines. He once experimented with having a vacuum cleaner inthe house; the noise emanating from the machine ensured it was swiftlydisposed of.


A favourite moment of mine is taken froma documentary, aired shortly after he wasnominated for the Nobel Prize forLiterature. R.S. talks of a birdwatchingexpedition, and compares it to waiting forGod. With a mischievous smile, he reports:"I had to wait three hours before this birdshowed itself, and it was an albinodunnock... You'd think a bird would pop upafter sort of ten minutes... I don't think Iwould wait three hours for God." In truth,R.S. was asking deeper, profoundquestions, on materialism, consumerism,authenticity, the nature of existence andhow one should live one’s life.A political campaigner, ardent Welsh nationalist and defender of the Welshlanguage and culture, his refusal to condemn the burnings of English holidayhomes in Wales in the 1960s – a time when increasing amounts of Englishpeople were relocating or purchasing houses in Wales – was interpreted as tacitapproval. R.S. held disdain for the – in his word - ‘elsan’ culture, which he saw as

posing a threat to the “Wales of his imagination” (elsan, achemical invention, is used to break down human waste inportable toilets like those used by campers). His contemptalso pointed inwards, and towards his fellow countrymen,decrying them for their own role in the decline of their 10


language and culture. Ironically, R.S. wrote his poetry in English, and learnedWelsh in his late twenties. His accent, too, was hardly that of a Welshman. Thesewere just some of the contradictions present in the man.

His poetry may be divided into two distinct periods. The first, between 1946 and1968, focused on a fictional Welsh farmer of his creation, Iago Prytherch - anamalgamation of the hill farmers he encountered living in Manafon. R.S. sawsomething “frightening in the vacancy of their minds, but also somethingprototypical and heroic”. R.S. wrote vividly about Wales, Welsh culture, thelandscape, its people, and his distaste for what he called the ‘machine’.


The second period, between 1972 and 1995, is largely, in his own words, “basedon the question: how can we come to terms, modern philosophical, linguistic,technological, and so on, terms, with a God who has been presented to us in thetraditional way as a God of love, an omnipotent God, an omniscient God…?” Thetitle of a collection of poetry from this period, ‘No Truce with the Furies’, reflectsthe discord and tempestuousness of his mind. His poetry provides no answers.

R.S. Thomas died in 2000, age 87. He is buried in St. John’s Church, Porthmadog.His death, in the words of M. Wynn Thomas, “affected the very weather of theWelsh mind”.

Recommended poems: A Marriage, Reflections, Reservoirs, A Peasant, andCynddylan on a Tractor.I encountered the poetry of R.S. Thomas during my GCSE studies at Ysgol GyfunGwŷr. Later, I was reintroduced through my affection – if that’s the right word - forthe Welsh musicians, fluent in literature, The Manic Street Preachers. The poet’sassociation with Bangor, and surrounding areas, played a crucial role in mychoosing to study Psychology at Bangor University. In a world where the inane,boring and banal are frequently placed on a pedestal, R.S. Thomas, a man ofsubstance and intelligence, along with his poetry, provides a welcome solace.

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As a “thank you!” for reading this issue of PsychNews Iwant to give you the greatest gift of all… the gift of whereto find an amazing dessert. While walking home one day Ispotted a new shop next door to the Greek. Upon closerinspection I noticed that just behind the window therewere large jars full of creamy treats. I grabbed my friends,and fast as I could, we ventured into Freak Shakes. Uponopening the door we were greeted by colourful bunting,comfy sofas and a cheery owner.After dribbling all over the menus, we made our orders, and watched as the ownergot to work. In view of our table he assembled our mammoth milkshakes with greatcare and attention - adding cream, chocolate, cakes and more cream!

Get your Freakshakes on! By Katie Riddoch

They have a selection of warm chocolatey milkshakes, however, I went for the French Mistress – a cool vanilla milkshake with vanilla bean cream and whipped cream on top. Before you say anything, NOPE, it wasn’t sickly! Oh… and there was a yummy little pastry on top!

After enjoying our milkshakes, and chilled chatter, we got talking to the owner. He was telling us how he spends his spare time baking, trying new recipes, and thinking of ways to get people excited about Milkshakes. It was clear that he loves what he does.

Yes, it is £5 for a dessert… but I hope I have convinced you that a visit is well worththe price. As well as being a way to enjoy a tasty treat, FreakShakes is also a way totake a well-deserved break from studying and support a passionate localbusinessman.

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Pontio By Aimèe OzAfter many postponed openings and thousands ofmemes speculating that pontio would never in factopen, Monday 25th January saw the doors finally open tohundreds of students for its first day of lectures. Assomeone has studied here for years and finally in myfinal year, it was somewhat of a let-down to

know I would never be in a lecture big enough to award the opportunity ofhaving a lecture in Pontio, so I was delighted when I was invited to witness thevery first lecture in Pontio – taught by our very own Tracey Lloyd.The lecture room PL5 was difficult to find. Having been in Pontio several timesfor recreational purposes, I realised I actually had no idea of my way aroundthe building. Signs directing people around to eateries and the newly brandedstudents union ‘Undeb’ neglected to direct students to any lecture theatres,although temporary signs were put in place and our fantastic Students Unionstaff were on hand marshalling hordes of students up what can only bedescribe as a maze of stairs. What seems like a particularly spaciousenvironment seems considerably less so when attempting to move students inall directions!The lecture room itself is really quite lovely. Seating over 350 students in light blue, attractive. comfortable seating. There are doors on both sides of the room allowing accessibility. There is tiered seating so you can see over the head of the extraordinarily tall person who always seems to sit in front of you and a good amount of seating for disabled students as well. There are two aisles down the centre of the seating, allowing easier access to scramble and find a seat and ample opportunity for Tracey to engage with students around the room. A huge projector screen and speakers around the room mean there’s no hiding the fact you are going to learn in that room! To accommodate such a large room though, the screen is placed quite high – making it quite hard to see when you sit on the front row. If you’re looking for plug sockets – they’re there! Burrowed under silver rimmed squares in the floor which you can lift up,

revealing cleverly hidden power!After an audience participation fuelled sing along of the muppets ‘Muhnu muhnu’ Tracey proceeded to gallivant around the room – although as the lecture continued, it was noticed that windy Bangor is capable of pushing Tracey’s 13


buttons by randomly opening and closing the lecture theatre doors. It was also bought to everyone’s attention –there is no clock! We either need the addition of a huge clock as the room is so massive, or students with a rainbow of cue cards, just like in POPPS – we can signal one every 10 minutes :p Luckily, the lecture didn’t over run and there was still time to jam to ‘The Time Warp,’ which, once

Pontio By Aimèe Oz

The further up you move around Pontio, the more you can see the building has considered students. With the Students Union recently being decorated and with more student flow around the area, it’s feeling a bit more comfortable to move around and personally, I feel less out of place in such aswanky looking building. Pontiois a convenient place to take a pit stop with many areas dedicated to student study – meaning I no longer have to trek home, all the way back up St Mary’s hill to get a big of space and do some work! The discovery of the kiosk on the top floor selling

Do I like pontio? I didn’t. I didn’t think it was student friendly or practical. It’s growing on me and the more I see students using the space and the more students use it and see it as something they need, rather than seeing it as an addition that is nice to have, the more I think I will grow to like it. So use it

guys! It’s there for the taking, make the most of it andremember the cohorts of Bangor Students past whoonly had a glorified duck pond to admire! -

again, I had the pleasure of having a mid-morning boogie alongside Tracey for! – If you haven’t had a dance with Tracey yet, it is seriously a Bangor Bucket List item and a very liberating experience!

sandwiches, snacks and pastries you can grab on the go also feels more aimed at a student audience – though by 3pm there was only 3 sandwiches left!

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Hergest Volunteer Group

Hergest is a psychiatric hospital in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. Bangor University has connections with the Hergest unit and a group of volunteers offer weekly sessions for the service users. The activities that are offered include table tennis, pool, wii, arts and crafts, games, and cooking. The volunteers aim to provide a change in scenery and some light relief in contrast to the intensity of the ward for the service users. Two groups of 13/14 volunteers volunteer every Monday and Wednesday. The session lasts for 2 ½ hours in total, including driving to the ward. The volunteers come from a range of degrees including Psychology, History, and English. Being a volunteer at Hergest is enjoyable, interesting, enlightening and it is great to be surrounded by like-minded people. It is also fantastic to put on your CV . We have a great little team that all thrive off each other’s enthusiasm and interest. For any student that is looking to pursue a career in clinical psychology or in a relating field, experience at Hergest is valuable.

By Alice Fiol Sibley

Connect

Connect is a new SVB Project, only in its second year of service and it is made up of a group of volunteer students at the University. Connect is abefriending service, here for any student at any time throughout the year. We have supported students that have needed that extra bit of confidence and reassurance of having a volunteer with them to participate in a more active life within the university. We have already supported students at the gym, and in many clubs and societies and will continue doing so. If you think our service may be beneficial for you, then please get in contact:

[email protected]

By Azara Ingram

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Hergest Walking group

I would like to inform or remind you of a brilliant psychology relatedvolunteer opportunity that you can be involved in via our brilliant StudentVolunteering Service at Bangor University (SVB).Every Tuesday a group of students drive the SVB minibus to the Hergest Unit(a psychiatric hospital in Ysbyty Gwynedd) to collect staff members andservice users to go for a local walk. We choose a different destination inNorth Wales each week, we are lucky in having many beautiful locations withsome outstanding views. This sounds simple and yet is so beneficial foreveryone involved.The service users may be at the HergestUnit with any mental health condition; depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia and addiction are more common, but are just a few. This opportunity allows the service users to get out of the psychiatric hospital into the

fresh air, helping to bring a positive atmosphere and some peace of mind. Thisalso gives them an opportunity to engage in general, friendly and non-judgemental conversations, bringing some normality to their lives andhopefully where they can just enjoy themselves.Many research papers have shown evidence that long walks in thecountryside can reduce depression and anxiety and have positive effects onpeople’s health and wellbeing. From experience, seeing

making a difference tosomeone’s life for the betterand wanting to increasetheir health and wellbeingat the same time, I wouldhighly recommend thisopportunity.

By Azara Ingram

these service users on a weekly basis and beforethen after the walks, I could not agree more. Forany student interested in

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Crimiknowledge By Azara Ingram

The Manchester Criminology Conference Series - CRIMIKNOWLEDGE - Nature Vs Nurture explored one of the beigest questions in Criminology: What causes a person to commit crimes?

Professor David Wilson is one of the UK’s most influential public criminologists, well known as a star of ITV’s Bring Back Borstal and presenter of Channel 5’s Killer Psychopaths. Professor Wilson explained the realistic perspective of being a criminologist, unlike in the films, he has only done offender profiling 4 times in his long career, so although very interesting, it is also very different from the movies!An interesting quote he presented was ‘‘Crime is not a ‘thing’. Crime is a concept applicable in certain social situations where it is possible and in the interests of one or several parties to apply it’’ (Christie 1982:74)Although this maybe surprising to some, you will be glad to know that 9 out of 10 murder cases get resolved by the police. The majority of these cases are towards the more vulnerable people in society, therefore the majority of murder victims are unfortunately children under the ages of 2 years. Does this surprise you, and if so why? Professor Wilson wanted us to think about how the media or other factors may have influenced us to think differently to the facts. For example, the gun fights you see in the movies are more ‘interesting and exciting’ to watch than reality.

Argument escalation, 17

To inform/annouce

publicly, 23

Support their fantasy , 13

Predator establishing a

relationship, 12

Impersonate another/the

victim, 8

Anger at the Content, 27

THE MURDERER’S REASONS FOR USING FACEBOOKDr Elizabeth Yardley is the

Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University, with current research interests in how and why murderers have used Social Media (particularly Facebook) in their crimes.

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Crimiknowledge By Azara Ingram

Professor Graham Pike is a Professor of Forensic Cognition at the Open University and gave us a brief insight into the forensic evidence and aspect to crimes, in both real and under controlled cases. Only 2% of cases are solved with forensic evidence! The only reliable forensic analysis is DNA analysis! All other analyses (such as blood analysis, tyre imprints, comparisons of hair and soil) are unreliable and limited. For example, blood analysis only gives us a blood type, but people share blood types so it is very difficult to narrow down.Eyewitnesses are highly unreliable sources and have been known to accidently give false information. But these unreliable sources of evidence have led to innocent people going to prison; currently 337 wrongful convictions have been overturned, and this continues to increase.

Donal MacIntyre is an Investigative journalist, specialising in investigations, undercover operations and television exposés. He gave us an insight into what being undercover and therefore interacting and collaborating with criminals on a direct level, is like. He has been in undercover roles from the modelling industry to football hooliganism. MacIntyre told us he had a £50,000 killing contract issued on him and both he and his wife have been beaten due to him exposing these dangerous powerful people.

Noel ‘Razor’ Smith is one of the UK’s most prolific ex-bank robbers. Noel discussed in detail, his life story exploring the choices he made that led to him spending over 30 years in prison. He discussed his upbringing, how his father who was a violent drinker affected him. He also spoke about the authority system, how it has changed over the years and how it still needs improvement. Noel discussed how the death of his 19 year old son, and the inability to be allowed to go to his funeral changed him, he applied to go to a prison which gives therapy. This changed him for the better, and he gives credit to this therapy.

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Careers Extravaganza By Amièe Oz

Friday 22nd January saw the day that all 3rd year students were invited to thefirst ever School of Psychology careers extravaganza.Dr Helen Morgan, the employability tutor within the department commentedthat many past third years said they wanted employability experience and shereally wanted to open our eyes to the many opportunities on offer for GraduatePsychology students. And that’s exactly what she did! Before the programmecame out, I was expecting a range of tutors from the psychology department,telling us about their chosen field of study persuading us to take their course fora masters – there was a bit of that, and of course, no psychology careersextravaganza would be complete without a talk about a DClin Programme. Butwhat the extravaganza did, probably for the first time, was bring to life the fact,that all these fascinating people working in all these fascinating fields are alsoworking with people (all the time) and they too are clinical populations. Forexample, Elizabeth Sharp who works in ABA, has the opportunity of workingwith people with an autistic spectrum disorder and adults living with dementia.Whilst some tutors were very honest about the lack of jobs within their chosenfield, many areas did seem very optimistic. (I feel there is now a glimmer of hopeto actually getting a psychology – related job at some point in my life – where Imight make some money! :0)The bits I wasn’t expecting though were probably the best bits (Okay, well, apartfrom the free Subway lunch!). There were loads of speakers, only a few yearsolder than myself – or younger even, giving talks from TeachFirst, Santander andEnterprise Rent – A – Car and in really good graduate jobs. Take for instance,Bangor Psychology Students, Katie Riddoch and someone who’s name I don’tremember, who are working as ambassadors for TeachFirst, who recruitstudents like yourselves, to give them the chance to gain real paid experience inschools as well as working their way through a two year paid salary to earn aPGCE. (See our article about TeachFirst in our last issue for more information!)Santander had a stall and it wasn’t all just about opening a graduate account. Notonly do they have graduate opportunities within their own business, they alsooffer students the opportunity to gain a three month internship with a small or

medium sized local business and pay between 50% and100% of your wages for that period. Students gain muchneeded experience in today’s economic climate, and localbusinesses get some extra help whilst Santander cover thecosts. 19


Finally, Bangor Criminology Student Gemma Wrench, representing Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, informed us the business isn’t only hire vehicles. Graduatestudents can enrol themselves into a management training programme, wherethey will be based at one of the company branches and learn how to run andmanage their own branch. Graduates get the opportunity to learn everythingabout the business from the ground up, including management skills,marketing, sales and fleet control – handling repairs and accumulatingvehicles for your cohort, and get the chance to progress up to managementassistant, assistant manager, and branch assistant. With pay being directlyrelated to your performance and coming out of your branch profits, there is alot of motivation to work for this industry.

Careers Extravaganza By Amièe Oz

Psychology graduates are a precious commodity in the job market. We haveheaps of transferable skills gained at university, which means we are suitablefor almost any job! It also means that if you have enjoyed your degree, butdon’t particularly want a job within psychology when you graduate (let’s faceit, who really knows what they want to do when they are 17 and submittingtheir UCAS application?!) then you are in a fantastic position to get stuck into adifferent career pathway. There are so many out there! Applications arealready open for many opportunities, so get applying now!

Remember to check out the online CV writing workshop onthe BEA tool on MyBangor and if you are struggling toidentify some of your strengths and skills you have gained atuniversity, why not make an appointment withemployability tutor Helen Morgan? 20


Welsh Cakes: By Caspar WynneWelsh Cakes traditionally cooked on a maen, or bakestone (a sort of iron griddle), were originally a form of flatbread. But in the late 19th century, fat (lard), sugar, spices and currents were added to the bread and hay presto we have the Welsh Cake. They’re kind of like a dropped scone, and typically served sprinkled with sugar, but some go wild and add cream and jam to them, the lunatics!Ingredients:

250g plain flour,90g Caster Sugar,50g diced softened Welsh butter ,50g Lard (or vegetarian substitute, plus extra for frying),50g Currants,1 Egg (replace with dash of milk for vegetarian option),½ teaspoon of baking powder,½ teaspoon Mixed Spice,

Add the caster sugar, plain flour, mixed spice, baking powder, lard (or vegetarian substitute), and butter to a large mixing bowl and rub together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Then add the egg (or milk) and the currants and bring together to make a thick dough. If it looks dry add a touch of milk. Roll out on a floured surface to about 5mms. Then use a small pastry cutter (or an upside down glass) to cut out your Welsh Cakes. Heat some lard (or vegetarian substitute) in a frying pan careful not to burn the cooking medium and then cook your cakes in batches flipping occasionally. I find it best to keep removing the pan from the heat occasionally to prevent it from over heating. When they are golden on both sides they are done. After each batch clean the frying pan. Set aside on a plate or cooling rack and sprinkle with caster sugar. Voila you have yourself some Welsh Cakes! Enjoy warm with a cup of hot tea. Perfect!

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Touch of Welsh trivia:The Welsh flag, officially adopted in 1959, incorporates the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd, and the Tudor colours green and white.


Goat's cheese and leek tart: By Caspar WynneA really simple easy lactose intolerant friendly tart, it can easily be made vegetarian by replacing the pancetta with mushrooms, or if you don’t like mushrooms nothing! Ingredients:1 log of goat's cheese, 2 big leeks, pre-rolled puff pastry, 1 medium sized red onion,1 pack of pancetta OR for the vegetarians amongst us, some chestnut mushrooms,Olive oil.OK. I admit it. I cheat. I don’t make my own puff pastry. Wow that’s a weight off. Why? I simply can’t be bothered with all that rolling, and the store bought stuff is cheap and does the job brilliantly! An added bonus to the readymade stuff, is a lot of it doesn’t use butter! Manufacturers opt for shortening or margarine instead (to keep the costs down) but this also means store bought puff pastry is suitable for those cursed with lactose intolerance, but always check the packaging or contact the manufacturer before consuming. Now I’ve got goat's cheese on my tart, and how is that still OK for lactose intolerant people? Well lactose intolerance is an interesting beast. Without getting too technical, in milk (goat's as well as cow’s) there is lactose, and some people can’t digest it. The fermentation process in cheese-making reduces the lactose content in cheese, this is about equal across cow

3. Once the pastry is puffed up and golden and the goat's cheese has gone to that amazing point of gooey take the tart out of the oven and leave to cool. Enjoy it with your favourite beverage either hot or cold, its honesty amazing!

1. Prep: Roll out pastry. Dice your onion, slice your leeks and if you’re using them, cut your mushrooms. Slice the goat's’ cheese log into sixths.

2. Cook: Preheat oven to 190°c. Cook off your pancetta until crispy (if you’re using it) and set aside on kitchen roll to cool and drain. Then on a medium heat begin to fry your onion, once soft add your leeks, then your mushrooms. Once cooked set aside to cool. Once cooled spoon the leeks, onion, and mushrooms onto the puff pastry leaving a 1.5” margin. Sprinkle over the pancetta and place the goat’s cheese evenly across the tart. Brush the margin of puff either with milk or olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes.

and goat's milk, but goat’s milk has much shorter fatty molecules than a cow’s milk and this apparently makes it easier to digest. Disclaimer: As with everything dietary, people differ, so always check what the eater is OK with beforehand!

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British Psychological SocietyExternal Talks By Alice Fiol SibleyThe British Psychological Society (BPS) recently held a talk about understanding self-harm. Dr Michaela A. Swales is a well-known, local consultant Clinical Psychologist and a clinical lecturer at Bangor University. Michaela specializes in dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and working with young people who are vulnerable to committing suicide. The talk, which took place on the 4th of February, was very well received with a turn out of over 60 students and external members of the public. The talk was highly insightful in relation to understanding why some individuals self-harm, some of the models involved in understanding self-harm, and how to teach individuals an alternative to self-harm. The BPS Wales subcommittee are setting up monthly external lectures that are open to both students and the public. The topic matter will range from understanding self-harm, to the positive and negative symptoms of psychosis and forensic psychology. The BPS subcommittee are looking to invite speakers specializing in Health Psychology, the Psychology of Climbing, the Psychology of Religion, and Forensic Psychology among other topics. The main focus of the talks is to introduce students at Bangor to less exposed topics during their academic career and incite interest within the public. The APA states that there are 56 main divisions in Psychology and it is the prime objective of the BPS subcommittee to introduce some of the other 55 divisions. If you would like to get involved in the BPS subcommittee then please contact one of the BPS committee members below. If you want to learn about a specific area of Psychology that is not fully covered in the modules and you have a specific lecturer or speaker in mind, please get in contact with us:

Alice Sibley: [email protected] Lee: [email protected]

PsychSoc – AGM Results

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On April 13th The Psych Society held their annual general meeting and a new committee was elected. Caspar Wynne was elected chair, Victoria Clauderay: Vice Chair, LyceeRuparrel: Secretary, Tomos Farrington: Treasurer, Anna Preece: Social Coordinator, Sean Cain: Academic Coordinator, Andy Cheuh: International Ambassador, and Rajalakshmi Madhavanas 2nd Year Ambassador.


Dr Carolien LamersI am from the Netherlands, where I trained at the Radboud University in Nijmegen as a social gerontologist. My first post in the Netherlands involved working with a sociologist and GP on a project to support informal caregivers of people with dementia. I also worked as a trainer and provided organisational consultancy to care homes. So from very early on in my career, I have been interested in the impact of the local and wider social environment on older people’s wellbeing. I moved to the UK in 1990, when it was really easy to ‘walk’ into a job. However, I had to retrain in order to practise as a clinical psychologist. I initially worked in older people clinical psychology services in Sheffield, with people who had mental health challenges or organic difficulties, in the community, care homes and hospital wards. In 2002, I moved to Bangor, to take up a three-day post at the North Wales Clinical Psychology programme at Bangor University and the further two days I spend in the older adult clinical psychology service in Betsi Cadawaladr University Health Board, in North Wales.Dr Rebecca SharpDr Rebecca Sharp is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and New Zealand Registered Psychologist. She received her training and PhD from the University of Auckland Applied Behaviour Analysis Programme. Rebecca is a Lecturer and the Director of the Applied Behaviour Analysis Programme at Bangor University, where her students nominated her for a student-led teaching award in her first semester. She has been an invited speaker in research and clinical settings around the world, and has published articles on behaviour analytic approaches to challenging behaviour and measurement. Rebecca’s research interests include behaviour analytic approaches to working with people with dementia and traumatic brain injury. As a clinician, Rebecca has worked with recidivist youth offenders, children with brain injury, and adults and children with learning disabilities.Dr Helen MorganI originally came to Bangor University as a student in 1999, having a made a last-minute decision to study psychology because it looked interesting. I quickly became fascinated by the study of the mind, and realised how much there was to learn. This sparked my interest in research, so after completing my degree I went on to do a PhD in cognitive psychology, which I finished in 2005. I then worked for several years on different research projects at Bangor, using brain imaging and brain stimulation techniques to understand cognitive functions like working memory. I subsequently moved to Liverpool John MooresUniversity, where I lectured on the applied psychology degree programme. Eventually, I decided to return to Bangor University to join the psychology teaching team. I am currently teaching research methods and biological psychology, and I am developing a new module

Lecturer Bios

in applied psychology. As employability tutor, I am also hoping to develop new ways to enhance students’ employability by enabling them to gain professional experience. Outside of work, my favourite things are running, swimming, and walking in the mountains. 24


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PSYCHnews - Bangor University · Have a go: Picture an enormous white polarbear, then try not to think about it. This is precisely what psychologist Dan Wegner asked a group of people