Institute of Psychological Sciences

Psychology Research

Some current and recent research projects

• Identifying the Suspect: Improving Facial Composites - To help identify an offender a witness may construct a visual likeness of the offender that is released to the public via newspapers and on TV. This project will help our understanding of the circumstances under which more recognizable facial composites are made. It aims to identify techniques that can be used by police officers to improve the quality of the facial composite that the witness creates. This project is funded by an Economic and Social Research Council grant (RES-000-22-4150) awarded to Dr Charity Brown, University of Leeds and Dr Charlie Frowd, University of Central Lancashire.

• The VIVA project - V is for vegetable: applying learning theory to liking and intake of vegetables. VIVA is a research project aimed at improving acceptance and intake of vegetables in infants and children. The project is sponsored by the European Commission for Marie Curie Industry Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) 2009-2013.

• AME for Activity - Increasing Physical Activity: Designing and Testing a Workplace Intervention. This project was funded by the BUPA Foundation and was awarded to the Institute of Psychological Sciences at the University of Leeds in 2006. This important UK-first physical activity trial, led by Dr Rebecca Lawton, aimed to promote good health by making people aware of the benefits of physical activity, encouraging employers to provide an environment conducive to it and staff to practise it. The study was run in collaboration with the Centre for Workplace Health at the Health & Safety Laboratory, an agency of the Health & Safety Executive.