National Psychology Poster Competition

On Wednesday, Lower Sixth Form psychologists Arabella H, Kate F, Romilly B and Sara F, took part in the National Psychology Competition at Royal Holloway University. In preparation for the competition, pupils were tasked with creating a two-minute video and A1 academic poster responding to the prompt ‘How can psychology help us shape healthier online behaviour?’.   

After undertaking extensive research, Caterham pupils chose to focus on a review of the link between online content and mental health, evidence which helps to explain why humans spend so much time online with a focus on addiction and the role of dopamine, social media algorithm designs and models for behaviour change. Pupils drew from a variety of academic sources to inform their recommendations for how online behaviour could be shaped and managed.  

On the day, teams presented their scientific poster and tackled challenging questions from the judges to compete against 40 other schools for the prize.  Pupils also attended several talks from senior lecturers at Royal Holloway, including Clinical Psychologist Dr Annie Bird who spoke to the pupils about her leading research into serious gaming as an intervention treatment for ADHD and mood disorders.  

Well done to the team for their excellent display of teamwork and leadership, thorough research and confident presentations applying psychological theory to real life.