Maurice Waddle
Lecturer

Profile

Biography

The Open University (2009 - 2010)
BSc Psychology, University of York (2010 - 2013)
PhD Psychology, University of York (2013 - 2018)

Career

2023-present: Lecturer, University of York
2018-2023: Associate Lecturer, University of York
2018-2019: Associate Lecturer, The Open University
2016-2017: Visiting Lecturer, York St John University
2015-2019: Tutor, Centre for Lifelong Learning (University of York)

Research

Overview

I am interested in interpersonal communication behaviour – particularly of politicians (in political interviews, speeches and parliamentary debates). This includes investigations into how politicians deal with challenging questions and the consequences of evasive responses, how political speakers and audiences interact, and the form and function of adversarial opposition at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Projects

I use qualitative and quantitative methods to study political discourse and have a particular interest in personalised exchanges (“playing the man, not the ball”) – for example, personalised evasive responses to interviewers’ questions and personal antagonism at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Collaborators

Professor Peter Bull (University of York)
Dr Jan Boehnke (University of Dundee)
Professor Anita Fetzer (University of Augsburg)

Teaching

Undergraduate

Microanalysis of Communication (Advanced module – BSc / MSci)
Social Psychology
Qualitative Research in Psychology
Academic Skills

Publications

Selected publications

Image of a book. The Psychology of Political Communication by Peter Bull and Maurice Waddle.

Books

Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2023). The Psychology of Political Communication: Politicians Under the Microscope. Routledge.

Book chapters

Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2022). Under the microscope: Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK Parliament. In A. Weinberg (Ed.), The Psychology of Democracy, (pp. 84-101). Cambridge University Press.

Journal articles

Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2023). Adversarial interaction in Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 11(2), 623-639.
Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2021). Speaker-audience intercommunication in political speeches: A contrast of cultures. Journal of Pragmatics, 186, 167-178.
Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2021). Stirring it up! Emotionality in audience responses to political speeches. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 25(3), 611-627.
Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2020). Curbing their antagonism: Topics associated with a reduction in personal attacks at Prime Minister’s Questions. Parliamentary Affairs, 73(3), 543-564.
Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2020). “You’re important, Jeremy, but not that important”: Personalised responses and equivocation in political interviews. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 8(2), 560-581.
Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2020). "Of course I'm going to ask about that": The politics of opposition during a national crisis. British Psychological Society Political Psychology Bulletin (Summer 2020).
Waddle, M., Bull, P., & Böhnke, J. R. (2019). “He is just the nowhere man of British politics”: Personal attacks in Prime Minister’s Questions. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 38(1), 61-84.
Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2019). “Let me now answer, very directly, Marie’s question”: The impact of quoting members of the public in Prime Minister’s Questions. Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 7(1), 56-78.
Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2016). Playing the man, not the ball: Personalisation in political interviews. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 35(4), 412-434.

External activities

Memberships

Political Studies Association (PSA)
European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)

Invited talks and conferences

Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2023, May). The Westminster Punch & Judy show? Leaders’ exchanges at Prime Minister’s Questions. Psychology of Democracy Conference, Salford, England.
Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2020, June). The politics of opposition in a time of national crisis. First webinar of the British Psychological Society Political Psychology Section.
Bull, P., & Waddle, M. (2019, July). “Let me now answer, very directly, Marie’s question”: The impact of quoting members of the public in Prime Minister’s Questions. 12th International Conference on (Im)politeness, Cambridge, England.
Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2019, May). Curbing their antagonism: Topics associated with a reduction in personal attacks at PMQs. Psychology of Democracy Conference, Salford, England.
Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2017, September). Playing the man, not the ball: Personalisation in political interviews. British Psychological Society Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, Cardiff, Wales.
Waddle, M., Bull, P., & Böhnke, J. R. (2017, May). "He is just the nowhere man of British politics": Personal attacks in PMQs. Psychology of Democracy Conference, Salford, England.
Bull, P., Fetzer, A., & Waddle, M. (2016, April). “I quote and I am not making this up”: The role of quotations in the adversarial discourse of Prime Minister’s Questions. Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, Nottingham, England.
Waddle, M., & Bull, P. (2014, July). Playing the man, not the ball: Personalization in the British political arena. 37th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Rome, Italy.

Maurice Waddle Lecturer