Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit
Invited Speaker Series

Previous lectures

Spring term 2011

18 Jan
Dr Nathalia Gjersoe
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol
Totems, Temples and Teddies: The Cognitive Science of Why we Revere Special Objects

1 Feb
Dr Paul Rogers
School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire
Paranormal Belief and the Misperception of Coincidental Events

15 Feb
Dr David Colquhoun, FRS
Honarary Fellow, University College London
How Quackery Corrupts Real Science

22 Feb
Dr Melvyn Willin
Paramusicologist and psychical researcher
Music and the Paranormal

1 Mar
Prof Erlendur Haraldsson
Department of Psychology, University of Iceland
Hallucinations, Grief Reactions and Alleged Glimpses of the Departed

15 Mar
Dr David Clarke
Sheffield Hallam University
The Angel of Mons and Other Wartime Legends
Autumn term 2010

12 Oct	Jon Ronson Writer and documentary filmmaker The Men Who Stare at Goats and Other True Tales of Craziness at the Heart of Power
26 Oct	Deborah Hyde Writer and blogger Demons and nightmares: Why do People Believe in the Malign Supernatural?
9 Nov	Gustav Kuhn Department of Psychology, Brunel University The Science of Magic: How Magic changes our Expectations About Autism
16 Nov	Dr Simon Dein Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Medicine, UCL A Messiah from the Dead: What Really Happens When Prophecy Fails
23 Nov	Daniela Rudloff Department of Psychology, University of Leicester Mental 'Short-Cuts'- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
7 Dec	Andy Lewis * CANCELLED * Blogger and Developer of the Quackometer website The Persistence of Delusion: Why do Some Alternative Medicines Thrive and Others Die?

Autumn term 2009

6 Oct	Dr Cara Laney Department of Psychology, University of Leicester True vs. False Memories: Is There a Definitive Difference?
27 Oct	Anonymous Writer The Good Daughter: When an Adult Recovers “Memories” of Parental Child Sexual Abuse, How can the Rest of the Family Assess the Charge?
10 Nov	Professor Chris French Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths Something Wicked This Way Comes: Causes and Interpretations of Sleep Paralysis
24 Nov	Dr Mark Vernon Writer, broadcaster and journalist Happiness: The Failure of a New Science
8 Dec	Professor Bruce Hood Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol Supernatural Belief: Me or Memes?

Spring term 2010

2 Feb	Dr Emmanuelle Peters Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London Understanding Delusional Thinking: A Scientist-Practitioner Perspective
9 Feb	Nick Campion Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales, Lampeter How Many People Really Believe in Astrology?
23 Feb	Dr Stephen Law Department of Philosophy, Heythrop College, University of London Intellectual Black Holes
2 Mar	Dr Miguel Farias Goldsmiths, Oxford and Cambridge Universities Believing in the Da Vinci Code: Social-Cognitive Predictors and Correlates
9 Mar	Dr Gustav Kuhn * CANCELLED * Department of Psychology, Brunel University The Science of Magic: How Magic Changes our Expectations About Autism
16 Mar	Professor Richard Wiseman Department of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose”: How Parapsychologists Nullify Null Results
23 Mar	Dr Sam Parnia University of Cornell and University of Southampton Near Death Experiences During Cardiac Arrest

Summer term 2010

18 May	Peter Brookesmith * CANCELLED * Writer and Publisher The Unextraordinary Oddity of Alan Godfrey’s ‘Alien Abduction’
15 June	Professor Erlendur Haraldsson University of Iceland in Reykjavik Empirical Enquiry into Cases of Children who Claim to Remember a Past Life

Summer term 2009

12 May

Dr Simon Singh
Writer, lecturer and broadcaster
Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine (and the Media) on Trial

The revised 2008-09 schedule can also be downloaded as a PDF (size: 13.5kb).

Spring term 2009

20 Jan	Dr Rupert Sheldrake Perrott-Warrick Scholar and Fellow of the Institute of Noetic Studies Morphic Resonance, Collective Memory and the Habits of Nature
3 Mar	Abstract and biography Writer, broadcaster and founder of The Philosopher’s Magazine Do Psychology and Philosophy Need Each Other?
10 Mar	(NB: This event was postponed from 3 Feb) Nick Pope Writer, lecturer and broadcaster The Real X Files
24 Mar	Professor Bernard Carr Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy, Queen Mary, University of London Can Science Accommodate Psychic Experience?

Autumn term 2008

7 Oct	Dr Susan Blackmore Writer, lecturer and broadcaster Is God a Dangerous Meme?
21 Oct	Dr Karen Douglas Department of Psychology, University of Kent Conspiracy Beliefs: A Social Psychological Perspective
11 Nov	Dr Kimberley A. Wade Department of Psychology, University of Warwick Time to Rewrite Your Autobiography?
18 Nov	Dr David Luke Writer, lecturer and researcher Psychoactive Plants and Psychic People: Does Psilocybin Really Cause Psi?
9 Dec	Dr Christine Mohr Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol Magical Beliefs and the Two Cerebral Hemispheres

Spring Term 2008

18 Mar	Dr Dorothy Rowe Clinical Psychologist and Writer Why is that Important to You? Abstract and biography. Venue: Ben Pimlott Lecture Theatre (BPLT).
11 Mar	Dr Ciarán O’Keeffe Research Associate, Université de Paris 8, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale The Truth About Mediums Abstract and biography.
26 Feb	Joe Banks Goldsmiths, University of London Rorschach Audio: Implications for the Electronic Voice Phenomenon and Art Abstract and biography.
19 Feb	Dr Matthew Smith Department of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University Chance, Luck and Destiny: A Psychological Perspective Abstract and biography.
29 Jan	Dr Christine Mohr * CANCELLED * Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol Magical Beliefs and the Two Cerebral Hemispheres Abstract and biography.
22 Jan	Dr Mark Blagrove Department of Psychology, University of Swansea Personality and Lucid Dreaming Abstract and biography.

The full schedule can also be downloaded as a PDF.

Autumn Term 2007

4 Dec	Gordon Smith Psychic and Writer. The View from the Other Side. Abstract and biography.
27 Nov	Dr Peter Fenwick Honorary Senior Lecturer, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College. Deathbed visions, coincidences, and intriguing tales of Grandfather’s Clock. Abstract and biography.
13 Nov	Dr Michael Heap Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, and Chairman of the Association for Skeptical Enquiry (ASKE). The Need to be Authentic and its Influence on Behaviour, Attitudes and Beliefs. Abstract and biography.
23 Oct	Professor Richard Wiseman Psychology Department, University of Hertfordshire Parapsychology: Predicting the Future. Download Richard's biography [pdf] and abstract [pdf] for his talk, or see the abstracts and biographies page.
16 Oct	Dr Brian Hughes School of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway Making Sense of Miracle Cures: How Psychology Makes Alternative Medicine 'Work' Download Brian's biography [pdf] and abstract [pdf] for his talk, or see the abstracts and biographies page.

Summer Term 2007

19 July 2007

Dr Francesca Collins
Monash University, Australia
Very superstitious: Dissociation, control and paranormal beliefs.

Autumn Term 2006

5 Dec	Dr James Ost Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth The Recovered Memory Debate: A Collective False Memory?
21 Nov	Dr Rupert Sheldrake Perrott-Warrick Scholar and Fellow of the Institute of Noetic Studies What if Telepathy Really Happens?
24 Oct	Dr Caroline Watt Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh What Parapsychology can Contribute to Psychology
10 Oct	Professor Richard Wiseman Psychology Department, University of Hertfordshire Things that go Bump in the Mind NB: This opening talk will be followed by free refreshments and mind-boggling entertainment, courtesy of Philip Escoffey (alias the grey man: www.thegreyman.com).

Spring Term 2006

6 Mar	Dr Ornella Corazza Department of Study of Religions, School of Oriental and African Studies Experiencing near-death states through the use of chemicals
20 Feb	Dr Jason Braithwaite Department of Psychology, University of Birmingham Are we the Haunters of Houses? Towards a Cognitive Neuroscience of Haunt-Type Experiences
30 Jan	Dr Peter Naish Department of Psychology, Open University Hypnosis and Psychosis: The Temporal Connection
16 Jan	Professor Irving Kirsch Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth Placebos and the Power of Belief

18 Jan	Dr Nathalia Gjersoe Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol Totems, Temples and Teddies: The Cognitive Science of Why we Revere Special Objects
1 Feb	Dr Paul Rogers School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire Paranormal Belief and the Misperception of Coincidental Events
15 Feb	Dr David Colquhoun, FRS Honarary Fellow, University College London How Quackery Corrupts Real Science
22 Feb	Dr Melvyn Willin Paramusicologist and psychical researcher Music and the Paranormal
1 Mar	Prof Erlendur Haraldsson Department of Psychology, University of Iceland Hallucinations, Grief Reactions and Alleged Glimpses of the Departed
15 Mar	Dr David Clarke Sheffield Hallam University The Angel of Mons and Other Wartime Legends

Goldsmiths - University of London

Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit Invited Speaker Series

Previous lectures

Spring term 2011

Spring term 2011

Spring term 2011

Spring term 2011

Autumn term 2009

Spring term 2010

Summer term 2010

Summer term 2009

Spring term 2009

Autumn term 2008

Spring Term 2008

Autumn Term 2007

Summer Term 2007

Autumn Term 2006

Spring Term 2006

Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit
Invited Speaker Series