The month of June started with an article about Ian Hadden’s research on the Times Education Supplement: “Positive writing “boosts poorer pupils’ maths scores”. Ian and his PhD supervisor Dr Matt Easterbrook investigated whether self-affirmation writing exercises could improve the performance of low socio-economic status school students. Their study found that a series of short targeted writing exercises can reduce the attainment gap for students from low-income families by 62%.

Only five days later, on the 10th of June, the 2019 Active Learning Network conference took place on campus. The event, organised by Dr Wendy Garnham, attracted a large number of professionals interested in active learning who were able to network and discuss innovative pedagogical methods.

New research led by Dr Silvana De Pirro from the Sussex Addiction Research and Intervention Centre (SARIC) shows that drinking just one pint of beer or a large glass of wine is enough to significantly affect an individual’s sense of feeling in control of their actions. The study has significant implications for alcohol limits and safe driving. Since their research paper was published at the end of June, several national and international journals have covered this important discovery, including The Daily Mirror and The Daily Express, as well as specialised publications such as DevDiscourse, Slashgear, Medical Xpress and Scienmag.

June was also a good month for our developmental psychologists, and several of them were contacted by journalists to provide their expertise:

The Guardian interviewed Dr Jessica Horst for an article on the latest Teletubbies’ film, which came out last month. On the article Again again! Why the Teletubbies film may not be all that it seems, Jessica explains the role of contextual repetition on child development.

Max Lui interviewed Prof Alison Pike for his article in The Guardian Escaping my messy childhood: ‘There were apple cores down the sofa and slugs in the sink’, where he recounts his experience of growing up in a chaotic household.

Prof Sam Cartwright Hatton was interviewed by Claudia Hammond in an All in the Mind feature about Sam’s Flourishing Families Anxiety Clinic on 25 June. The episode is available to listen to and download on BBC Sounds.