Mysterious Mind: Senses, Fears and Conspiracies

Join Drs Jolley and Cookson as they uncover the mysterious ways in which our "Beautiful Minds" can sometimes betray us, causing us to succumb to the allure of conspiracy theories. In this talk, Drs Jolley and Cookson will explore the intricate and often counterintuitive processes that lead us down the rabbit hole of dubious information. Gain insight into why conspiratorial narratives can be so enticing and how our Beautiful Minds unwittingly concoct a range of biases.

Anxiety disorders affect a large number of individuals worldwide, and whilst there are numerous treatment options, not everyone responds to treatment. In this talk, I will provide a brief overview of anxiety, its treatment, and what we have learned about anxiety in experimental psychology. I will finalize with some thoughts on the drivers of anxiety and what we can do to attenuate it.

It is often the case that vision can help hearing and vice versa. For example, watching someone’s lips as they talk might help you hear what they are saying. Older adults (aged 60+ in the current context) often suffer from hearing loss as well as other sensory deficits, in this project we asked: Does allowing use of multiple senses help older adults respond to tasks? We found that multisensory stimuli do help older adults, but that surprisingly they also help young adults just the same. The findings suggest we should revise some key theories of ageing, perception and sensory loss.