An evening of Psychology

Event details

Science Week lectures

Organised by PsychSoc, doors open at 6.30pm

An evening of Psychology will feature several talks from prominent Psychologists from York. Along with the talks there will be a room set up filled with demonstrations to try and plenty of opportunities to ask questions.

Dr Gary Lewis - Getting personal with DNA
The causes of human personality differences have been of enduring interest, both to scientists and the general public. This talk will introduce how psychological scientists study personality, explore some of the common myths surrounding personality research, and provide some contemporary insights concerning whether or not genetics play a role in determining our personality.

Professor Gareth Gaskell – Why do we sleep?
This talk will discuss the various theories about why we need to sleep, and consider how sleep might help us to form robust memories.

Professor Beth Jefferies - Semantic Dementia
Dr Jefferies has spent much of her career investigating the way we understand words and how the meaning of words can impact on other aspects of language. This talk will discuss some of the ways in which we can understand language from the language difficulties of patients with semantic dementia.

Professor Peter Thompson - Visual Trickery
Dr Thompson specialises in visual perception, more specifically the way we see motion in the early part of the visual pathway. He also discovered the Thatcher Illusion (although, as his faculty profile states, “I am not, nor ever have been, involved in serious research into face perception”)

Other Science Week lectures include:

Sunday 16 November - Geometry: A secret weapon in the fight against viruses
Tuesday 18 November - Our dynamic oceans
Wednesday 19 November - Biology Bites: The best Biology snippets
Thursday 20 November - What's the problem with planets?
Friday 21 November - Meet the Chemistry department
Saturday 22 November - York Physics Society Colloquium