the psychologist vol 29 no 8 august 2016 www.thepsychologist.org.uk Behind the masks William Todd Schultz offers a psychobiography primer Brexit poll 590 heroes and villains 610 news 598 off the beaten track 620 interview 632 poetry competition 630 careers 638 a door to minds and emotions 652 Contact The British Psychological Society the psychologist... St Andrews House 48 Princess Road East ...features Leicester LE1 7DR 0116 254 9568 [email protected] www.bps.org.uk Behind the masks 614 William Todd Schultz offers The Psychologist a psychobiography primer www.thepsychologist.org.uk www.psychapp.co.uk [email protected] @psychmag Heroes and villains 610 COM . Drama hinges on the characters we love, or love Advertising to hate. What’s their secret? asks David Robson Reach 50,000+ psychologists ROCKARCHIVE at very reasonable rates. / CPL, 1 Cambridge Technopark, Off the beaten track 620 CEVES Cambridge, CB5 8PB A Ron Roberts argues for a critical take on Recruitment Matt Styrka modernity, through the work of Svetlana Boym 01223 378 005 ERNANDO [email protected] © F 614 ‘You must be joking’ – 007 in the lab and Display Michael Niskin academia 628 01223 378 045 With a proper psychologist making an appearance [email protected] in the latest film, Neil Martin looks at how and why scientists have studied the secret agent July issue 49,615 dispatched ‘I do not know you but we are intimate, Printed by you and I’ 630 Warners Midlands plc Katina Offord wins our second annual poetry on 100 per cent recycled competition, with Paul Camic in second and paper. Re-use or recycle. Christina Richards third ISSN 0952-8229 628 ...reports Cover: David Bowie at Frida psychology in the honours; innovation in Kahlo’s house with one of her psychology teaching; Pint of Science; child sexual masks. Mexico City, 1997. To buy abuse; Cheltenham Science Festival; All in the a limited edition fine-art print Mind awards; and more 596 signed by Fernando Aceves go to http://www.rockarchive.com © Copyright for all published material is held by the British Psychological Society unless specifically stated otherwise. As the Society is a party to the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) agreement, articles in The The Psychologist is the monthly publication of The British Psychological Society. It provides a forum for Psychologist may be copied by libraries and other organisations under the communication, discussion and controversy among all members of the Society, and aims to fulfil the main object terms of their own CLA licences of the Royal Charter, ‘to promote the advancement and diffusion of a knowledge of psychology pure and applied’. (www.cla.co.uk). Permission must be obtained from the British Psychological Society for any other use beyond fair dealing authorised by copyright legislation. For further information Managing Editor Jon Sutton Journalist Ella Rhodes about copyright and obtaining Assistant Editor Peter Dillon-Hooper Editorial Assistant Debbie Gordon permissions, e-mail Production Mike Thompson Research Digest Christian Jarrett (editor), Alex Fradera [email protected]. The publishers have endeavoured to Associate Editors Articles Michael Burnett, Paul Curran, Harriet Gross, Rebecca Knibb, trace the copyright holders of all Adrian Needs, Paul Redford, Sophie Scott, Mark Wetherell, Jill Wilkinson Books Emily Hutchinson, illustrations. If we have unwittingly Rebecca Stack Conferences Alana James History of Psychology Matt Connolly, Alison Torn infringed copyright, we will be pleased, on being satisfied as to the owner’s Interviews Gail Kinman Reviews Kate Johnstone Viewpoints Catherine Loveday title, to pay an appropriate fee. International panel Vaughan Bell, Uta Frith, Alex Haslam, Elizabeth Loftus, Asifa Majid the psychologist vol 29 no 8 august 2016 the issue ...debates There’s a strong theme of ‘the arts’ this month, from the main articles letters 582 to our ‘Big picture’, ‘Careers’ and revolution in the air?; Orlando and ‘othering’ discourses; school skirt bans; ‘Looking back’ pieces. On p.630 socialising with work colleagues; President’s Letter; and more you’ll find the top three in our poetry competition, which attracted more Brexit poll 590 than 50 entries. And on our website we sought your psychologically informed opinion on the EU referendum result; you can read a book extract from you responded in droves (more on our website) Charles Fernyhough, on inner voices opinion 624 and the creative muse. Stacey A. Bedwell on why research using animals is important in psychology In my mind, the arts have always sat well alongside science in psychology and in The Psychologist. ...digests I think one of the most gratifying aspects of our development in parental beliefs about failure; pedestrian behaviour; ‘10,000 hours’ debunked recent years has been increasing again?; what makes our work meaningful?; and more, in the latest from our coverage of psychology in its many free Research Digest (see www.bps.org.uk/digest) 606 cultural overlaps: plays, films, novels, music and more. ...meets Much of this is collected at www.thepsychologist.org.uk/reviews interview 632 and you can find regular the co-founder of acceptance and commitment therapy, Kirk Strosahl, talks to opportunities to contribute by Kal Kseib about his approach following us on Twitter @psychmag. careers 638 We are currently planning a we talk to Naomi Hynd, about psychology and acting; and Lucia Giombini on major overhaul of our ‘Reviews’ the quest for identity in recovery from eating disorders coverage, alongside a wider redesign. We will need your views one on one 656 and your contributions more than with Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science at LSE ever. Do get in touch to help us write the story of our next decade. ...reviews Dr Jon Sutton, Managing Editor [email protected] Lose Weight for Love; Freud; the Musical Mental Health Cabaret; and more 646 ...looks back A door to minds and emotions 652 Derek Collett looks at the life and psychological novels of Nigel Balchin 652 …more Go to www.thepsychologist.org.uk The Psychologist and Digest and our free iOS/Android app for Editorial Advisory Committee exclusives and our archive. Big picture centre-page pull-out Catherine Loveday (Chair), Emma Beard, ‘Art is the process of memory’: Phil Banyard, Olivia Craig, Helen Galliard, Nicky Clayton and Clive Wilkins on Harriet Gross, Rowena Hill, Stephen their collaboration as Professor of McGlynn, Peter Olusoga, Peter Wright Comparative Cognition and University of Cambridge ‘artist-in-residence’ respectively read discuss contribute at www.thepsychologist.org.uk Revolution in the air? LETTERS I was really heartbroken to read the letters in the June issue discussing Peter Kinderman’s new position as a BPS President and some of the comments he has recently made. Aurora Dunn questioned where the boundaries lie around psychologists’ role in social issues and policy. As correctly articulated context underpins everything we do as psychologists, it seems nonsensical to ignore it for fear of unfortunate consequences or misuse in the future. I find it difficult to see how targeting inequality and creating a fairer society could be detrimental at any point in time, in light of recent research into inequality’s correlation with people’s distress (Pickett & Wilkinson, 2010). Psychologists have moral accountability and a unique understanding of the role of reflexivity, and are therefore in a position to help people not just on an idiosyncratic level. David Harper’s article (‘Beyond individual therapy’, June, 2016) was inspiring, and as a trainee clinical psychologist I find the BPS’s coverage and support of such a movement is helping to keep me engaged during a time of disillusionment and frustration about many psychologists’ fear of questioning the status quo. Mike Davis’s letter refers to this movement as ‘creep’, and this is a creep I very much intend to be part of. I am not part of the ‘opinionated elite’ to which he refers. At the DCP Pre-Qualification Group Conference in March, the future of the profession were encouraged by Dr Masuma Rahim to be the ‘the grit in the oyster’, and Ella Rhodes, reporting the event for The Psychologist (May 216), described ’a hint of revolution in the air’. I don’t think this is a movement that can or will be stopped. I am also keen to see the development of the Political Psychology I am Director of the Division of Clinical Psychology’s Professional Section in an attempt to bring psychology into the real world, Standards Unit, Editor of Clinical Psychology Forum, and a Clinical which I think Professor Kinderman is well and truly grounded Tutor with the Lancaster DClinPsy programme. However, I write within. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the BPS to you not in any of these official roles, but simply as a person for covering such views and supporting those who hold them. who was deeply saddened to see The Psychologist publish a letter Sarah Rose in June’s issue that included the line ‘the lunatics have taken over Teesside University the asylum’. Sometimes people write letters quickly without thinking Reference through the full impact of their words. Therefore it is the Pickett, K. & Wilkinson, R. (2010). The spirit level: Why equality is better for everyone. responsibility of the publication to ensure comments are respectful Harmondsworth: Penguin. and any offensive language is removed. One can express a point THE PSYCHOLOGIST NEEDS YOU! …and much more We rely on your submissions throughout the publication, and in return we help you to get your message across to a large and Letters contribute diverse audience. 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