Celebrating psychology in the Midlands 2024 – Poster presentations

Festival of psychology in the Midlands - Poster reflections 

The conference showcased an impressive array of poster presentations on a diverse array of topics. 

In this article there are multiple insightful reflections from presenters, offering a deeper look into their research and experience at the East and West Midlands branch joint conference.

Dr Charlotte Scott: Lead organiser for the BPS Midlands conference 2024

Charlotte is a Lecturer at the University of Derby whose research focuses on factors influencing disordered eating and compulsive exercise behaviours, with her doctoral work examining how teammates affect these issues in athlete populations. Charlotte currently explores protective and risk factors for disordered eating, such as nature connection, social influence, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Charlotte is interested in the wellbeing and help-seeking behaviours of athletes, as well as the effects of exercise on cognitive function.

As lead organiser for the BPS Midlands conference this year, I was particularly keen to showcase the recent research my colleagues and students at the University of Derby have been working on in the field of disordered eating. This included posters focusing on the 'Whoopsie Doodle little Noodle' storybook study for increasing awareness of disordered eating, the prevalence of disordered weight control content in 'The Kardashians' TV series, exploring links between ADHD traits and disordered eating and determining relationships between perseverative cognition, sleep and eating behaviours. 

My students, colleagues and I had a fantastic experience presenting our posters, with lots of helpful discussions and insightful questions that have left us feeling motivated to finalise these studies for publication! If you're on the fence about sharing your research/practice, or are keen to present for the first time but not sure where to start, I would strongly encourage delivering a poster presentation at the BPS Midlands annual conference. The atmosphere is always very welcoming and supportive, particularly for students, practitioners and early career researchers. Keep your eyes peeled for updates regarding BPS Midlands 2025! 

Dr Dominic Petronzi: Can a storybook facilitate conversations and improve poor baby image/disordered eating awareness among children? Exploring parent, educator and practitioner perspectives.

Dominic is a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Derby, specialising in maths anxiety research, particularly its impact on educational experiences and strategies to reduce it through emotion regulation. Dominic also leads a project developing research-informed children's storybooks in collaboration with experts and organisations to address complex issues in an accessible format for children and caregivers (X: DominicPetronzi). 

The children's research informed storybook work that was presented in the poster showcases a resource developed through strong collaborative relationships between academic researchers and charities/organisations as vital for effective resource development. Research can be used to develop a product that more directly impacts stakeholders and the community (e.g. parents, teachers and children). 

Take a look at our children's eating disorder/disordered eating storybook that we wrote alongside a Derby city-based charity (First Steps Ed).

John Stephens: A mixed-methods investigation into the effect of visioning ability, habit formation and satisfaction on sustained motivation in adult, self-directed learners of a heritage language.

John has made an academic transition from research chemist to psychology. In mid-lif,e he completed a BSc in Psychology, 'for the fun of it' and has recently completed an MSc in Behaviour Change Psychology with the University of Derby. Much of his working life was spent in chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing. This included periods of responsibility for change M

management, Global SHE governance and behaviour change in AstraZeneca (Linkedin: John Stephens). 

A friend asked: "What's it all about, this research you've done?" 

I replied: "Oh, persistence, motivation to stick at something, like learning Welsh."

The friend continued: "What did you conclude?"

Me: "Well the fundamental discovery was that it's very complicated."

To be honest, one of the most interesting discoveries was personal. I'm aphantasic, after 63 years who'd have known, other people see pictures in their mind!. All this talk of goal visioning and imagining brought it to a head.

Regarding motivation most researchers seemed to focus on one aspect. I like a big picture, so I drew one and had sad fun mapping countless more focused theories onto it. Within this picture I delved into a few areas trying to prize open truth with correlations, regressions and content analysis.  Individual goals were interesting; a tendency to think of future language use mattered, a bit; habit forming mattered more, but it was the joy of the journey that mattered most; so I wrote a poem:

Poem

Persistence

Besieged by busy bickering, why bother why care?

Why do some do, and some don't dare?

A choice to lie on life's rough floor,

Or keep on striving, learning more.

Objectives are fine but blur and morph through shifting time,

And habits plod to keep in line.

But it's the joys of the journey that keep us alive,

So savour each step before you arrive.

Conversations around my poster were diverse and interesting but it was the woman who really, really liked the poem whose comments I most remember (Self-serving bias?) but whose face I will never picture. What next? A PhD (again), maybe, but more poetry, definitely.  

For those chatting around the poster, the following more academic points piqued interest:

• Content analysis lead to categorisation of fundamental motivation and satisfactions gaining during the learning process.

Zofia Szaprowska: Exploring gender differences in the relationship between ADHD domains and disordered eating in a normative adult population.

Zofia Szaprowska is an undergraduate psychology student and BPS student ambassador at the University of Derby. They are currently completing a placement as an honorary research and development assistant at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Hospital, and also work as a senior support worker in a children's home (linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/zofiaszaprowska).

The aim of my research is to explore gender differences in the relationship between ADHD domains and disordered eating behaviours in a normative adult population. Although research on the link between ADHD and disordered eating is expanding, most studies focus on individuals diagnosed with at least one of these conditions.

 However, limited attention has been given to those exhibiting symptoms of both disorders without receiving a formal diagnosis. Previous research indicates that approximately 20 per cent of children with ADHD later develop an eating disorder, with binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa being the most prevalent.

While boys are more frequently diagnosed with ADHD—possibly due to differences in symptom presentation—girls with ADHD are more likely to receive a diagnosis of an eating disorder later in life. Many females with ADHD develop strategies to mask their symptoms, leading to their difficulties being overlooked during childhood.

 As a result, they may not recognise the connection between undiagnosed ADHD traits and patterns of disordered eating, increasing the risk of developing an eating disorder.

When I attended the BPS conference, my study was still in progress, but I was keen to take the opportunity to present my preliminary findings through a poster. It allowed me to reflect on the progress I had made and recruit additional participants. Presenting was an incredibly rewarding experience, marking a significant milestone for me, particularly as a Level 5 student. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing other participants' posters and voting for the best one, and I found the oral presentations particularly inspiring. These covered diverse topics and were delivered by individuals at various academic stages, from undergraduate students to PhD researchers and lecturers.

Overall, the experience was highly enjoyable and exceptionally well organised. I strongly recommend attending similar events, regardless of your stage in academia (or outside it). Engaging in such networking opportunities early can open doors to unexpected opportunities in the future.