From Our Lives to Our Minds

We are living in a world with an unprecedented level of global mobility and connectedness, as propelled by travel, migration, the internet, and social media. Modern language education is a prominent place for equipping students to navigate this hybrid world. However, this path is not without its challenges. Outdated conceptions about language continue to haunt and hinder language teaching and learning. In this talk, I aim to demystify these lingering myths and clarify what language teaching should be like.

In this short, interactive talk, Tom White PhD researcher (University of Warwick), will share some of the background and current research that explores the psychology of collecting behaviour. He will share some initial findings from his exploratory work to understand how collectors and non-collectors evaluate Hedonic (pleasure seeking) and Utilitarian (purpose serving) consumer products. He will also discuss whether these findings present a potential new avenue for further research regarding whether collectors are a psychologically distinct group of consumers, and perhaps even provide some insight as to the alure of mouthwash bottles!