About the School of Psychology

Psychology was first taught at Keele in 1953 and a psychology department created in 1963. Over the years we have grown into a School and now have approximately 600 undergraduates spread over three years, reading psychology as a principal subject of their dual honours degree. Keele is almost unique in offering psychology within a dual honours degree while retaining accreditation from the British Psychological Society.

The School has approximately 20 full time academic staff who undertake teaching and research, 12 part time specialist staff and tutors and 10 support staff.

Laboratory and computing facilities

The Psychology Department, now a school moved into a newly renovated building in 2002. The School has laboratory space for experimental research in the areas of cognition, perception, health, social and developmental psychology. Eye-movement tracking and EEG facilities are available and there is an observation room suite with advanced video recording and editing facilities. Every research student has access to departmental and university computing facilities for word-processing, statistical analysis, on-line control of experiments and access to the internet.

In addition the School has access to facilities in local settings arising from many active links and collaborations, especially in social, health, clinical and educational psychology

Current Research

Research is organised through the Centre for Psychological Research which is part of the Keele Research Institute for Life Course Studies.
The Centre has three main research groupings:  Social and developmental; Cognition and Neuropsychology; and Applied Psychology. These groups meet together on a regular basis and act as foci for research activity and planning, seminars, etc. All staff and postgraduate students belong to one or more of these groupings.

Social and Developmental
Pure and applied research in Social Development. Peer relationships among children, bullying, aggression, social exclusion, friendship, gender relationships, benefits of social play; loneliness and interpersonal trust. Social psychological aspects of language and communication; persuasion. Development and maintenance of social identity, particularly during adolescence. Causal explanation, perceptions of change, and unrealistic optimism.

Cognitive and Neuropsychology
Pure and applied research in cognitive psychology. Time perception, Computational modelling and mental representations in memory, Cognitive consequences of head injury. Neuropsychological impairments from sports injuries, Children's and adults' conception of knowledge.

Applied psychology
Applied social: Ageing; Community development; Urban regeneration.
Health psychology: Arts and health; Chronic illness; Disability; injury; Health promotion; Children and health.
Music psychology: Perception and cognition of music; Development of musical skills and understanding; Social psychology of music; Emotional responses to music; Music teaching and learning.
Ecopsychology: Relationship with the environment; Green care.
Counselling psychology: Play therapy; Narrative therapy
Critical and societal psychology: Critical discursive work; Narrative and social representation research; Psychology and social justice.

In the UK Government Research Assessment Exercise, 2008, 75% of the Psychology research output at Keele was rated as being of international standard.