WARP is a research group dedicated to the investigation of psychology and its application. Psychology can be applied in almost any area of life, and our aim is to use psychology to improve people’s lives, both on an individual level and at a policy and practice level. We are a diverse group, with interests in a wide range of topics such as education, mental health, games, sports, Virtual Reality, ergonomics, pets, children, witness memory and more! If you are interested in collaborating with any of us, please do get in touch.
Projects
As a group we are involved in many different projects, so if you want to collaborate with any of our members please do get in touch. Current projects we are developing include:
Undergraduate learning
This project is focused on how undergraduates learn, to try and improve student outcomes. This includes the use of positive psychology to help improve student decision making, ways to improve motivation, and how to help students make better decisions about revision.
Recycling
In this project, we are looking at people’s behaviours around recycling, with the hope of improving recycling rates with some simple and easy to implement interventions.
Wellbeing and trauma
In this project, we look at ways to help those who are suffering from trauma, and to find ways to help sufferers improve their wellbeing.
Landscapes and nature
Many factors can affect people’s day to day well-being, and this project focuses on nature and landscapes. In what ways does nature help us to feel better day-to-day, and how can we harness that to improve personal well-being?
Pets
Many people like keeping pets, and the well-being of these companions is important too. Often, people find it hard to keep to treatment programmes for pets, often due to the uncooperative nature of pets, but also because of life pressures. This project looks at what can be done to improve adherence to pet treatment programs.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality can be a powerful tool to immerse people in an all-encompassing experience. In turn, this can be useful in a therapeutic context. This project aims to look at ways we can use Virtual Reality to improve people’s lives, especially those with mental health difficulties or treatment requirements.
Bridge design
Many working spaces are not always designed with psychology in mind, but psychology can be a powerful tool in helping to boost both safety and productivity. Thus, this project aims to look at ways that bridge design can be improved on sea-faring vessels.
Online learning
This project is focused on how undergraduates interact with and use online learning environments. It is particularly focused on how Solent's response to Covid-19 is serving students' learning needs.
People
Dr Craig Allison is primarily interested in behavioural change and the extent to which technological design can promote safer and more sustainable behaviours. He has previously looked at both driving and the aviation industries and hopes to move on to bridge design.
Dr Darren Britton is a lecturer in sport psychology. His PhD research focussed on the role of the stress reactivity in adolescent athletes' performance, wellbeing, and development. He is currently involved in various projects focussing on the role of stress, emotions and coping in applied sport performance settings.
Dr Karen Burnell is an expert in qualitative methods, and is particularly interested in experiences that interrupt the imagined self or future self, particularly the experience of trauma. Her current research explores how involvement with heritage can help wellbeing and support mental health with a particular focus on veteran health and wellbeing.
Dr Rhodri Davies is an expert in statistics. His research interests include the views of students on assessment and feedback and statistical anxiety.
Dr Jenny Josephs is a cognitive psychologist with a passion for outreach and insects. Her research interests include attitudes towards novel foods and meat consumption, escape rooms for learning in higher education, statistics anxiety, and growth mindset.
Mei Mason-Li is primarily interested in the application of behaviour analysis to children, the impact of having a Theory of Mind, and the development of empathy in children. Mei's current research area includes an ongoing cross-cultural study exploring parenting styles and their relationship to the wellbeing of adolescents.
Dr Greg Neil specialises in researching memory and learning, and how people make decisions about their own memory and learning, particularly in the areas of education and the justice system. His recent research has focused on the effects of misleading subtitles and how they can influence jury decision-making.
Lara Webber is a cognitive psychologist, primarily interested in graphical reasoning, problem solving, and factors that influence people’s well-being. Her current interests are in wellbeing, mindfulness and yoga, positive psychology, and children’s wellbeing.
Dr Zoe Wimshurst is a sports psychologist who focuses primarily on vision and eye-tracking in athletes and on how that can help to improve performance. Her recent research has investigated how field of view can vary between sports and non-sports players, and she has developed an interest in how character strengths can influence everyday life.
Get in touch
If you want to get in touch, please email the research group lead, Dr Greg Neil at greg.neil@solent.ac.uk.
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