Students outside the University
16 of our first year psychology students recently visited Royal Holloway, University of London, to attend a series of talks on, “How the brain looks and laughs”.
The students had the opportunity to speak to current undergraduates and find out about a number of research projects that are being carried out in the psychology department of the University. These included the use of eye-tracking software to measure eye movement when making decisions about different images and research into how the brain responds to different visual illusions.
Students attended two talks - the first talk by Professor Robin Walker was on the history of studying the brain and the numerous different ways that it can be investigated. These included studies of brain-damaged participants, examination under microscopes and modern-day uses of brain scans such as MRI. The second talk by Dr Carolyn McGettigan focused on her research into the science of laughter and how the brain responds differently when hearing fake (posed) laughter compared to more natural, spontaneous laughter.
This trip was a brilliant opportunity to get a taste of the range of different research areas being explored at the University.
