Interview with Christmas 2013 Dr Fay Short · o A review of Psych Societys Winter Ball 4 o The Psychology behind the festive period 5 o Social Psych Movie Nights 6 o Mental Health

Contributors

Emma Acford Rhea Asfaw Elvis Balabka

Jakeyy Sallaway-Costello Tracey Lloyd Ruby Noble

Yasmin Smurfa Ruddick Adam Smits Wiwie Tietj

. Christmas 2013

Festive Reading

o A review of Psych Society’s Winter Ball 4

o The Psychology behind the

festive period 5

o Social Psych Movie Nights 6

o Mental Health and Christmas 7

o Book reviews – snuggle down with one of these during the cold winter months 10

o The Great Christmas Bake Off – recipes to warm yourselves up this Christmas 11

o All you need to know about student housing – a must read! 12

Interview with

Dr Fay Short

Dr. Fay Short is arguably one of the best and

most inspiring lecturers at Bangor University.

She not only teaches, but also helps other

lecturers develop their teaching, showing that

she is a true source of inspiration for many

people.

Dr Short recently received the National

Teaching Award, which is the most prestigious

award an educator can be honoured with.

Interview continued on page 2...

By Elvis Balabka

1

Interview with Dr. Fay Short

Can you tell us a bit more about

yourself in an academic sense?

I’m a senior lecturer in the

School of Psychology and

Deputy Head of School for

Teaching. I also teach 2nd year

Social Psychology and 3rd year

Counselling and Psychotherapy.

My research areas mainly focus

on counselling, psychotherapy

and education and most

effective ways to engage with

education. I am also about to

have a textbook published in

counselling and psychotherapy.

How did you start as a lecturer

and why teach?

Because teaching is the very best

job in the world. There is nothing as

amazing as that moment when you

explain something to someone and

they go: “Wow, that’s fantastic”. I

did my undergrad, my masters and

my PhD here at Bangor. Then I

went away for a little bit, did some

teaching at A-Level and Access

courses. Then I also taught kids

who had been excluded from

secondary school because of their

behaviour and lastly before coming

back to Bangor I did some youth

work. Then I came back to do some

part-time teaching after which

eventually I got a senior lectureship

here.

Was the HEA National Teaching Fellowship

Award something you expected and

worked towards?

Both. The University nominates up to three

people and even being nominated by the

University is a huge honour because that

means that the University regards me as one

of their best teachers. Once they had

nominated me, I had to fill in this mammoth

piece of work about what I do. So it wasn’t

like they called me up one day and said

you’d won this thing. But on the other hand I

didn’t really expect to get it because it’s such

a big award and even though I knew I put all

this work into applying, I didn’t actually

expect to win.

Now that you have the HEA NTFS, what’s the

grand plan?

Well, in the end I would like to take over the

world and eventually the universe. However,

in the shorter term I’m planning to go to

New York next summer for a short period of

time to do rational emotive behaviour

therapy course at the Albert Ellis Institute

because I think a lot of that theory used in

REBT can be applied in education to support

learning.

What’s your top tip for students?

Question everything. It’s the first thing I tell

students when they arrive here at Bangor. I

give a welcome week talk where I basically

tell them to not to trust me. If you are not

questioning everything all the time then you

can’t learn so question everything.

2

We must know – why the no shoes

policy?

I just don’t like wearing shoes, I

don’t feel very comfortable in

them. I just like to be connected to

the ground. Also you never know

when you might have to run and

stupid heels mean that you can’t

run. No shoes means that I can run.

Tell me something we don’t know

about you?

That’s hard because I think my

students know everything about

me. Do you know that I got married

in Cyprus? You know I have a dog

called Austin? Do you know that I

drove Route 66 in two weeks from

Chicago to Los Angeles in a

Cadillac? Also I’m an obsessive list

maker! That’s probably the most

interesting thing. I have a website

and I obsessively list everything I

have done in my life on that

website to a ridiculous extent.

If I went to visit your house right

now, what would be the weirdest

thing I could find?

I assume you mean other than me

and my husband? My house is

incredibly neat and tidy except my

office, which is filled with lots of

stuff I have gathered while I’ve

been traveling. It would probably

have to be a Freddy Krueger glove

from the film “A Nightmare on Elm

Street”. It was used as a prop in

the 4th film and I always think if I

ever get burgled it will scare the

life out of them if I’m in my office

wearing it.

If you could have asked yourself

any question during this interview,

what would it be?

These are very good questions. I

would probably have asked why I

have a “One Direction” poster up in

my office and I shall tell you why. For

one day over the summer, I was

working at home and I needed a

piece of information that was on my

desk. So I called Caroline Bowman

and I said to her: “Can you please go

in my office and can you read me

this thing off my desk?” and then I

stupidly said: “And please don’t

redecorate my office in some stupid

thing like “One Direction” while I’m

not there!” Of course, when I came

in the next day, there was “One

Direction” everywhere. The guy’s

head off One Direction was cut out

and put over my husband’s face on

our wedding photos, which was bad,

but not as bad as the one they put

over the Doctor’s face which made

me really cross. So I have left that

one up there to never, ever trust

anybody with the keys to my office

ever again.

3

Psych Soc Winter Ball 2013

Winter ball

During the evening there was a very nice

atmosphere, as they switched between

classical music and dance music when

there wasn’t a live band playing; this

meant that there was a good progression

and something for people of all tastes to

listen to. The music also helped set the

mood at different stages of the evening,

which had a knock on effect as people

would either be dancing or have time to

stand around and socialise with each

other, which was nice to see. Battle of the

bands also featured on the night (coverage

of this on page 12)

It was very nice to see that all the guys

dressed either in suits or smart attire,

meaning that they all looked stunning. I

even saw some people in full three

piece suits, which was good to see. In

addition the ladies… well, there was a

mixture between ball gowns, skirts and

also some in suits. No matter what they

were wearing they all looked beautiful -

this also helped with the atmosphere of

the night because it meant that

everyone kept to the formal attire.

On the evening of the 10th December, Psych Society held their winter ball. As you entered

the room through the front door at Main Arts, you could look through the doors into PJ

Hall and see the superbly set up stage where live bands would be playing throughout the

night. The room was set out with food to one side and a huge dance floor in the centre.

The bar placed in the corner was packed for most of the night with people buying drinks. A

great highlight of the night was seeing the photo booth being used by people getting

group pictures.

In the other hall there was a string quartet which induced the inclination to have a nice

ballroom dance with your friends or partner; I saw a lot of this on the night and it was

great to see people dancing in this way. I have to say I really enjoyed dancing and

listening to this type of music for a good couple of hours. The quartet was excellent;

performing many amazing songs throughout the night and enjoying a standing ovation

when they left. Other highlights of the evening included the crowning of the ball’s king

and queen, feeding the reindeer outside and a lovely meal. Lastly, a big thank you to the

stage crew who set the stage & organised the lighting. Their matching of the light with

the type of music really helped to set the stage for the atmosphere during the evening.

And a huge thank you to Psych Society for organising the whole event!

By Adam Smits

4

The

Psychology of Christmas

The Psychology of Christmas

As Psychologists, it’s our job to investigate, test and unravel the mysteries of human

behaviour. In recent years however, we have taken this perhaps a bit too far by exploring things

that are maybe just too nice to need understanding. We’ve ruined love by finding out what makes

us attractive, destroyed happiness by the discovery of endorphins, and there’s not much about

charitable behaviour that we don’t know. So now it’s my turn to take something we all love and

over-analyse it till it’s no longer fun… Christmas.

Christmas is something rarely studied from a behavioural perspective. However, of the little

research that has been done, it’s clear to see that the festive season is treated no different to any

other day. Kasser (2002), states that Christmas can be explained by little more than locus of control

– his festive research found that those with higher internal control are generally more content and

pleased over Christmas, whereas the “cold hearted” external controllers tend to be more

miserable and stressed. Interestingly however, a long thought myth regarding Christmas blues was

recently busted when the World Health Organisation found that suicide rates were far lower over

winter than in other seasons, despite the common urban legend that Christmas is rife with

“seasonal suicide”. It’s always nice to hear research with a positive outcome!

Kasser and Sheldon (2002), the famous (and probably only) Christmas Psychologists, also explored

the cognitive side of the season. They suggest that due to Christmas getting a little bigger each

year, you don’t have a single Christmas schema – you have loads! As the holiday became bigger

and more important throughout the 20th century, with Christmas dinners, presents and

decorations becoming more elaborate, so did our minds. They argue that compartmentalising

Christmas is most likely the reason that despite the holiday growing each year, we don’t have a

complete breakdown. Separating up all the information is what is getting us through those

stressful arguments about how to cook the turkey or who was meant to mail the presents.

Finally, they also explored what we get up to on the big day, and of course, playing games was a

big hit. So the festive academics began to look at what makes a good game. They found that our

favourite Christmas games all have something in common – they’re really simple. Think about it,

we love playing charades, wink murder or 20Q on Christmas Day, but who really sits down for a

nice game of Rummikub? The answer is simple – the secret to perfect Christmas entertainment is

to dumb down a game to the extent that it can’t possibly produce any sore-losers or crying

children.

As interesting as this is, please don’t over think Christmas in the way that you as a Psychologist

naturally will. Enjoy the holidays and try to put all that Psychology to the back of your mind… until

January exams, at least.

By Jakeyy Sallaway-Costello

5

Social Psychology Film Nights

During the last three weeks, Psych Society ran a weekly movie night. Every Thursday students were

welcomed to come to Wheldon Lecture Theatre 1, watch movies with a social psychological

background and enjoy some free refreshments. The movie nights began at 6:15pm and usually

finished roundabout 8pm.

The first movie night was on the

21st of November and started with

the movie “Obedience”, which was

about the Milgram experiment.

After this, the first movie “The

Heist” by Derren Brown was

shown. “The Heist” is a television

special which was based on the

Milgram experiment and gives

proof that Derren Brown is able to

turn people, who have never done

anything illegal, into people who

would rob a security guard.

The second movie night took place on the 28th

of November. The movie “Quiet Range” was

aired, which was about the Stanford Prison

experiment that was conducted by Philip

Zimbardo in 1971. This experiment was

conducted to show how role identity can

change human behaviour. The second movie

was “The Experiment” produced by the BBC,

which is a modified remake of the “Quiet

Range”. The interesting thing about this

replication was that it showed completely

different outcomes from the original Zimbardo

experiment.

The last movie night was on the 5th of December and finished the series with a speech

by Zimbardo, in which he explains the Lucifer Effect; how this affected his Stanford

Prison experiment and how it compares to other real word examples such as the

incidents at Abu-Ghraib.

The movie nights were really thought-provoking, especially if one was interested in social

psychology. The movies “Obedience”, “The Heist” and “Quiet Range” are quite famous and

present basic knowledge about social psychology, which is interesting not only for the

second year students who covered the Milgram experiment and the Zimbardo study in their

social psychology lectures, but anybody interested in social behaviour.

By Wiwi Tietje

6

Mental Health and Christmas By Rhea Asfaw

The happiest time of year…

Christmas traditions vary from person to person, family to family, country to country. Some

people have turkey, some people play charades and some try to avoid the Christmas ‘clichés’

altogether. But all in all, most of us will spend time with our friends and family, revel in the run

up to the big day and enjoy presenting our loved ones with gifts.

However, for some people, Christmas can be the hardest time of the year. Christmas can bring

back saddening memories of the loss of a loved one, stress about who to buy a present for and

what to get them and money worries may seem overwhelming. Christmas can also and often

does exacerbate symptoms of mental illness. For many people, Christmas may mean family

conflict, alcohol misuse, loneliness and increased stress.

Imagine that you were experiencing depression around the Christmas period. You may be

feeling unhappy, not wanting to socialise and in turn may feel under pressure to be as excited as

everyone else is about the upcoming festive period or even guilty for feeling the way you feel at

what is meant to be a joyous time of year. The difficulties those with mental illnesses feel may

be heightened and can have a bigger impact during the holiday season. Some people who

experience depression are often unable to experience pleasure and often struggle to find

anything interesting and so the thought of the New Year approaching can also be the absolute

last thing on their minds when they are struggling to feel any optimism.

If there is a person within your family or friendship group that is having any kind of problem

whether it is stress, loneliness or a mental health issue, you should make the effort to

understand this. Just having somebody to speak to and voice your thoughts and feelings to can

have an impact on the way you feel. So be there for these people, don’t shun them or try and

‘get them in the Christmas spirit’. Their feelings should be respected and it would be

unnecessary to make them feel guilty just because it’s Christmas.

There are so many charities looking for volunteers around the festive period, to help with

activities, Christmas dinners or being at the end of the phone ready to speak to and comfort

somebody in distress. Imagine if it was you or somebody you knew, who was alone, upset or

distressed at Christmas. Helplines such as Samaritans can be inundated at Christmas, so get

involved! Many organisations such as Age UK hold Christmas day dinners for elderly people,

around the UK, who may be alone at Christmas and want to enjoy the company of others.

If you’re experiencing any difficulties over the Christmas period, get in touch with any of these

organisations for a friendly ear to speak to.

Samaritans – 0845 790 9090 Rethink - 0845 456 0455 Mind - 0845 766 0163

7

Nightline is a confidential listening, emotional support, and information run by students for

students - so you can guarantee that the voice at the end of the phone will be a fellow

student.

As fellow students we understand that University is a time of many changes and challenges

and being able to talk to someone, especially a fellow student who will actively listen and

provide all the right information, can and does make a difference.

We won’t judge and we won’t tell you what to do, but no matter what you need to talk about

we are always here to listen and provide information if required. Nightline is confidential and

completely anonymous so you don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to, and we would

never ask you to.

For more information on these services please visit their websites:

www.mind.org.uk www.rethink.org www.bangor.nightline.ac.uk

Support group

Contact L-J on 07514400213

between 7pm and 9pm

Email:

8

The University’s peer guiding scheme is still recruiting! A great way to give something

back to your fellow students, being a peer guide is a fun, exciting role and a great way to

make new friends. Volunteers are eligible for BEA points and it’s something extra to add

to your CV. Anybody interested in representing the School of Psychology as a Peer Guide

in 2014 should contact [email protected].

Calling All Psychologists!

The Bangor Employability Award (BEA) scheme was designed to enhance the

immediate and longer-term career prospects of Bangor University students. The

scheme works alongside the University’s academic schools and Bangor Students’ Union,

and also with private, public and voluntary sector organisations. It offers accreditation

for co-curricular and extra-curricular activities (e.g. volunteering, clubs & societies,

work experiences, part-time work, learning a new language, etc.) which may not be

formally recognised within your academic degree programme, but which are valuable in

the graduate jobs market.

The Bangor Employability Award essentially provides a structure to enable

you to build your transferable skills through the recognition of activities you

become involved with during your university life.

The scheme is designed to encourage your understanding of the long term potential

available from your activities during your life at Bangor University, and to remind you

of the need to take advantage of each and every opportunity that comes your way in

order to develop both your employability and yourself. Fully participating in this

scheme could make a major difference in your performance in the graduate jobs

market of the future.

If you have any questions about the Bangor Employability Award, get in touch with Tracey

Lloyd – our Employability Tutor for Psychology.

9

Ψ-Book Nerd… By Yasmin Smurfa Ruddick

Dammed - Chuck Palahniuk (writer of Fight Club)

This book pretty much had me bedridden for most of the summer. The book explores

a life of a teenage girl who goes by the name Madison. Yes she definitely has issues:

she’s overweight, ignored by her movie star parents, and in love with her adopted

brother.

Oh yes, and to make it more interesting she’s also dead. But not just dead. Poor old

Madison finds herself in Hell. She takes us through her journey through Hell, as she

directs us through the Hillocks of Discarded Nail Pairings and the River of Vomit,

meeting everyone from Charles Darwin to Marilyn Monroe. How did she end up

here? Will she be damned for eternity in depths of bloody Hell?

Madison explains that yes - Hell does exist, expect to have to go to work too and no

you don’t get to become a movie star or a nurse. Your career is chosen. In Madison’s

case she becomes a telemarketer, the currency is Halloween candy. This dark

comedic novel is sure to be graded among his best. I suppose everyone has his or her

own idea of Hell but Chunk Palahniuk has not left an idea untouched in his

interpretation.

In conclusion, you’d be missing out big time if you don’t give it a chance. Also see

Survivor if you like this book.

Apple a Day: A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia, by Emma Woolf

Emma writes about her experience of Anorexia with astuteness and insight into

this often thought to be a vanity disease. This is a brave and moving account,

intelligently written.

Do you recall when Kate Moss said, 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'? She's

rather mistaken. Chocolate does! Emma, aged 32, has had a long hard battle of 10

years of anorexia under her belt. Emma finally decided to beat it. She was

addicted to the feeling of emptiness and hunger, exercise and control; she was

managing a full-blown eating disorder plus a successful career and all this

functioning on just one measly apple a day. In this book Emma explains how she

meets the man of her dreams. She must eat to beat anorexia once and for all in

order to have a baby and live happier ever after with her new man.

My one critical comment of this book would be if taken the wrong way could be

triggering. The book has given me more of an insight in to what the illness actually

is and how it actually affects the sufferer, family and friends. This compelling, life-

affirming true story is essential reading for anyone affected by eating disorders,

anyone interested in health issues and for medical and health professionals or any

psychology student interested.

10 11

The Great Christmas Bake-Off!

Reindeer Cupcakes

By Rhea Asfaw

Ingredients for the cupcake mix 125g butter, softened 175g caster sugar 2 free-range eggs 200g self-raising flour 1tsp vanilla essence Zest of one orange 100ml milk 100g dark chocolate, melted 2 tbsp Irish liquer (optional) Ingredients for the icing 50g dark chocolate, chopped 3tbsp double cream Ingredients for the decoration giant chocolate buttons red smarties or M&Ms mini plain pretzels black writing icing mini marshmallows, sliced

Method 1. 1. Preheat your oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line a 12-hole muffin

tray with Christmassy paper cases. 2. 2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.

Gradually beat in the eggs until well combined. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix until combined, along with the orange zest. Fold in the milk, vanilla essence, melted chocolate & Irish cream liqueur, if using.

3. 3. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake for 20-25 minutes, Remove the cakes from the tin and set aside to cool on a cooling rack.

4. 4. For the icing, heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over a low heat until the chocolate has melted. Whisk the mixture until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.

5. 5. To decorate the cupcakes, spread the icing over the top of the cupcakes. Press a chocolate button onto the cake as a nose, then stick a crisp-coated chocolate on top using a little icing. Stick on two slices of marshmallows as the eyes, and use the black writing icing for the pupils. Stick on the pretzels as the ears.

German Christollen By Wiwi Tietje

Ingredients

Yeast

1kg plain flour

170ml milk

750g butter

400g sugar

750g dried fruits (sultanas, raisins etc)

100g chopped almonds

120ml rum

dried cinnamon & vanilla essence

icing sugar

Tip: You should bake the Stollen 3

weeks in advance

Method

The evening before:

Soak the dried fruits in the rum and cover it with

kitchen foil over night.

Day of Baking:

1. Make a yeast dough and let it rest for half an hour.

After that you add the dried fruits, the cinnamon and

the vanilla and let it rest again for half an hour.

2. Then knead the dough, make it look like a loaf and

put it onto a baking tray. Bake the loaf at 220°C for

45-60 minutes.

3. As soon as the Stollen is ready take it out and cover

it with melted butter and sugar.

4. When it is cool, cover the Stollen with the Icing

sugar.

Ingredients for the cupcake mix 125g butter, softened 175g caster sugar 2 free-range eggs 200g self-raising flour 1tsp vanilla essence Zest of one orange 100ml milk 100g dark chocolate, melted 2 tbsp Irish liqueur (optional) Ingredients for the icing 50g dark chocolate, chopped 3tbsp double cream Ingredients for the decoration giant chocolate buttons red Smarties or M&Ms mini plain pretzels black writing icing mini marshmallows, sliced

11

It’s that time of year when housing for the next academic year needs to be thought about. At

first the thoughts of living with whoever you want and having your own pad seem like a fun

and grown up thing but after living just 3 months in rented student housing I’m ready to curl

up in a bush and stay there.

The most important advice I can give:

Sm

At the end of the day we’d all love to live in the biggest, and best house in Bangor but the key is

to be realistic! If the house doesn’t have a lounge - chill in someone’s room!

If there is no parking – ask yourself, do you really need a car?

Aside from the bills, the inevitable mould and the fact that you will always be cold; living with

friends is pretty great!

Good luck house hunting!

Student Housing Horrors

Choose who you live

. with carefully!

People may seem great

when you first meet them

but as soon as the work hits

in year 2, and you’re

stressed and busy busy busy

the last thing you want

adding to it is an annoying

housemate!

Do they leave rubbish

everywhere? Do they use all your things

and never own up to it?

Do they make snide

comments?

If any of these things are a

‘yes’ then go with your gut

and live with different

people! (Just remember to

give them enough notice to

sort their own

accommodation out!)

View the houses!

I definitely recommend

looking at a few houses

before making your

decision. Consider the

location, landlords, and

condition of the house.

Talk to the current students

living in the houses you

view, they’ll be able to

honestly tell you whether it

is worth living there!

Just because we’re students,

it doesn’t mean we should

have to live in squalor.

Be sure to look for mould,

damp areas and the

condition of the furniture

(you’ll want to check what

furniture is actually

included of course!).

Know what you’re getting!

Read the contract!

Read a long boring

document? No thanks. But

seriously – read it!

You’ll need to know exactly

where you stand and more

importantly where the landlords stand if there is a

problem.

The University is very

helpful and provides help

with searching for houses;

any problems and they’re

more than happy to go over

your contract with you!

You can find the Student

Housing Office on the first

floor of Neuadd Rathbone

Building on College Road!

By Emma Acford

12

urfa Ruddick

Battle of the bands By Adam Smits

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Battle of the bands was held at Bar Uno on the 28th November, there were five acts across the

night each doing between three and six songs in there set, the whole event was sponsored by

Storm.fm and PSYCH (the Psychology Society). The winner of the competition would be

decided by people texting in the name of the band they wanted to win to Storm.fm. So what

would they win? Well the winner would have the pleasure of performing at the psychology

winter ball on the 10th December, along with a prize of £100.

So who performed on the night?

The night began with a solo artist called Sam Darson, who played a range of his own songs

with confidence, a great way to kick off the evening! Next we had Moonlight Thieves, the first

of the bands to play on the night, playing five indie rock / pop songs. They got the crowd going

and had the crowd clapping along to their songs.

Next came Beyond the State who right from their first song had amazing energy and the crowd

going nuts for them! They interacted with the crowd by talking about each song before they

played them and talked about what was to come. They mostly played rock music with their

independent songs, and had the crowd singing along to their cover of a Foo Fighter’s classic.

After that Leap came onto the stage doing a great job following the performance from Beyond

the State. Leap played all their own material and performed like a true band!

The final act of the night was Lucy Was a Decoy who worked very well together with a great

combination of the voices. Their songs were easy to listen and get in to, and they had some

real energy which was great to see from all the bands and artists involved.

It then came to the end of the night where the voting could begin. It was time to make that

one vote count.

Suspense was high with all artists waiting to hear whether they would be crowned winners!

Votes all counted, in third place was Lucy Was a Decoy, coming second was Moonlight thieves

and in first place winning £100 and getting to play at the winter ball was Beyond The State!

A huge well done to all the talented artists who made the evening spectacular! And a big

congratulations to the winners: Beyond the State

13