The hilarity of quirkology

On Tuesday 28 March 24 of our A Level Psychology students attended a conference in London especially tailored to their syllabus. They heard Cara Flanagan, writer of the current course textbook, giving invaluable advice about revision based on cognitive principles. Criminologist Professor David Wilson, familiar to many from his television programmes, considered the questions ‘why do we punish?’, and ‘does punishment work?’. Professor Richard Wiseman, the renowned quirkologist, applied the psychology of perception to understanding magic, and other useful applications. Wiseman is professor of Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, and entered the subject through being a magician. He invented the term 'quirkology' to describe the study of unusual and curious things - the girls think this term is hilarious!

By all accounts the highlight of the day was hearing Professor Elizabeth Loftus, recognised as the most influential female Psychologist of the last century, recounting her research into leading questions and post event information in false memories. This topic is a key part of our students’ A Level syllabus, and the girls appreciated hearing about it from its pioneer and were left incredibly inspired by the professor.