On Wednesday 25 November the Year 13 Psychology pupils, accompanied by Head of Psychology Mr Richard Ebbage, headed out to Euston to attend the ‘Science and Pseudoscience’ student conference. The popular event aims to educate, entertain and enthuse Sixth Form pupils, increasing their motivation in studying the very popular A Level subject.
The day was focused around topics studied in A Level Psychology. There were talks from authors of the textbooks used in class; Cara Flanagan and Mike Cardwell. Philip Banyard also performed a live psychology experiment, demonstrating the reaction time of a brain cell, with which the Shiplake pupils enjoyed getting involved.
Professor Richard Wiseman then took to the stage. Richard is the owner of the most popular psychology YouTube channel, and author of several books, including bestseller Quirkology, The Luck Factor and 59 Seconds. He has published over forty papers in academic journals, and gained an international reputation for research into unusual areas of psychology, including deception, luck and the paranormal. With frequent appearances on television, in newspapers and magazines, and at public talks, Richard has a far-reaching following of those interested in behavioural science. The pupils found his talk on magic and luck funny, engaging and relevant.
The day finished with a hypnosis demonstration given by Andrew Newton, an internationally renowned hypnotist. Andrew has travelled the world, gaining a reputation as a highly respected hypnotist- even holding the accolade of being the first hypnotist to appear on British television! The Shiplake pupils jumped at the chance to experience hypnosis from such a respected professional, putting themselves forward for the experiment. Students from other schools also joined in, and the group fell asleep on command, had their arms ‘locked’ in place and were even convinced that there shoes were gas marks!
Mr Ebbage said of the day that ‘it was a really worthwhile trip, with topics directly related to what we study as well as giving us a fantastic opportunity to look at some very interesting off-specification content! The Sixth Formers enjoyed the day immensely and feel very motivated to come back and apply some of the out-of-the-box thinking to their own studies.’
