A Level Psychology Conference

After a two hour coach journey Sixth Form Psychology students emerged in sunny central London where we joined the A level psychology conference.

The conference started with a fascinating talk from Phil Banyard entitled ‘who am I.’ In this talk Dr Banyard considered many different factors that contribute to our sense of being human. For example, how the Phantom limb syndrome impacts on our ability to reliably perceive our own bodies and how as a species we are becoming digital natives and that this has the potential to change who we are and who we become.

The next talk that followed was delivered by the author of the students' A level psychology textbook: Cara Flanagan on the theme of the psychology of success. They learnt how our brains are constantly growing new connections all the time and one motto we might all choose to adopt is ‘at any one time all I need to do is get a little bit better’. When it comes to succeeding in exams Cara talked about the need to effectively shape and apply our knowledge in different ways and make good use of key terms to form effective recall cues. Ultimately, Cara finished by debunking ‘the talent myth’ and stressed that without the fear of failure we can all choose to do anything we want to so long as we are prepared to put in the effort needed to succeed. As their stomachs began to rumble and the smell of fried food wafted into the auditorium they came to the final talk of the morning. Professor Chris French spoke about the importance of scientific methods for testing the apparent existence of paranormal phenomena. Replication is the cornerstone in science and so Professor French asked questions of what can we really prove without replication.

After a walk in the sunshine the students returned with stomachs full to a talk from Mike Cardwell about the psychology of peace and the powerful role of women in conflict situations. And finally we reached the much anticipated talk from Elizabeth Loftus who spoke about her research in false memory and eye witness testimony and how many sources of new information can interfere with an existing memory. The afternoon was brought to a close with a stimulating question and answer session and discussion around the ethical implications of when psychology meets legal practice.

It was an interesting and stimulating series of relatable talks finished with an afternoon of somewhat controversial Q&A with Professor Elizabeth Loftus 

(Hettie, Lower 6 - Year 12)

We learned a lot about how psychologists use their work and apply it other things such as the legal system

(Louisa, Lower 6 - Year 12)