The idea of psychological capital is becoming an important concept in our work. Here is our first attempt at developing a reasonably comprehensible definition of the term: Psychological Capital phrase (sometimes referred to through the abbreviation PsyCap). The idea of psychological capital is a relatively new term. The term is most closely associated with the […]
Author Archives | Mark J Whitehead
Changing Behaviours @ the Sheffield Salon
On 7th November Rhys Jones participated in the Sheffield Salon debate, ‘Nanny, Nudger or Therapist.’ The debate went well, and Rhys’ powers of rhetoric were put to very good use.
Globalising Nudge
[Photograph Source: 123RF] We tend to assume that nudge, and the broader set of behaviour changing policies it is associated with, is a predominantly Western phenomena. The countries where we think the behavioural sciences have had the greatest impact on public policy constitute a familiar list: the UK, France, the USA, Australia, Denmark, Canada, the […]
S4C TV Interview on the Welsh Language and Behaviour Change
Professor Rhys Jones recently gave a TV interview to S4C Prynhawn Da show in which he discussed behaviour change and the Welsh Language.
Asking new questions with Mindfulness
By Rachel Lilley Why is there suffering? Was the question asked by Gottama the Buddha over 2500 years ago. His subject of inquiry? His own mind. His methodology? Using his mind to pay attention – to itself. The Buddha’s greatest discovery, as one of the early brain scientists, was that he could liberate himself from […]
Behaviour Change – A Wiki-Glossary
While working in the complex field of behaviour change studies we have encountered a lot of misunderstanding about apparently shared terms (including the notion of behaviour change itself). We believe that it is useful, where possible, to develop a transparent language for behaviour change studies. In this spirit we have decided to build a (wiki) […]
Deemed Consent and Organ Donation in Wales
In early July the passage of the Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill through the National Assembly made Wales the first nation in the UK to adopt a presumed (or deemed) consent system for organ donation. On September 1 First Minister Carwyn Jones performed the official sealing of the Bill, which will now come into effect on […]
Introducing the Psychological State
Mark Whitehead, Rhys Jones and Jessica Pykett. In this post we introduce the idea of the Psychological State and explore some of the implications of modern governments’ engagements with the insights of behavioural economics and psychology. This post provides some political, philosophical and historical context for our forthcoming posts on contemporary manifestations of the Psychological […]
The Psychospatial at the Royal Geographical Society
Jessica Pykett and Mark Whitehead recently presented at a special panel that was convened at the Annual International Conference of the Royal Geographical Society in London.
Success – New ESRC Seminar Series on behaviour Change and Psychological Government
We have received an award from the ESRC’s Seminar Series fund to support a six part seminar series entitled ‘Behaviour Change and Psychological Governance.’ This seminar series is being organised in collaboration between Aberystwyth, Durham, Birmingham and Bristol universities. It will bring together scholars from around the world to explore themes relating to behaviour change, […]
Changing Behaviours - An ESRC Project 