News Public Lecture by Prof. Brian Hughes: ‘“Trust Me, I’m a Psychologist”

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Public Lecture by Prof. Brian Hughes: ‘“Trust Me, I’m a Psychologist”

Sep 08 2016 Posted: 12:25 IST

The Psi Chi Honour Society in Psychology, supported by the NUI Galway Psychological Society, invites you to a public lecture by Professor Brian Hughes titled ‘“Trust Me, I’m a Psychologist” (Said No One Ever): Distinguishing Good Behavioural Science From Bad.’ The lecture will take place on Thursday September 29^th at 7:00pm in the O’Flaherty Theatre, Arts Concourse, NUI Galway.

It is often easy to forget that psychology is a scientific discipline, and that its core activity is the production of findings that help resolve debates about human behaviour and well-being. It is so easy to forget this that sometimes psychologists themselves fail to remember it. Scientifically limited research -- in other words, bad science -- has become a significant problem in modern psychology. This lecture examines the extent to which imperfect science threatens the impact and credibility of psychology, and argues that society at large stands to gain when psychologists promote and defend scientific standards.

Brian Hughes is Professor of Psychology and Dean of International Affairs at NUI Galway. He writes widely on the psychology of empiricism and of empirically disputable claims, especially as they pertain to science, health, and medicine. His recently published book 'Rethinking Psychology: Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience' examines the relationship between psychology, science and pseudoscience, and explores the biases impeding many psychologists from being truly rigorous. Professor Hughes also maintains a successful blog, ‘The Science Bit’, which attempts to demystify science and scientists and highlight abuses of scientific jargon and attempts to exploit public confusion about science.

Queries may be directed to psichinuig@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

School of Psychology

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