New Research Board chair

The British Psychological Society has appointed a new Chair for its Research Board. Dr Richard Stephens, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Keele University, told us he is looking forward to his remit for the next three years, 'to lead the talented and diverse membership of Research Board in furthering the wider aims of the British Psychological Society – Building a world where psychology transforms lives – in the context of research'.

Stephens, who is also Chair of the Psychologist and Digest Editorial Advisory Committee, said: 'I recognise what a privilege it is to have been offered this important national leadership role, following a competitive application process. I plan to build on my own research experience which, having gained my PhD in the mid-1990s, I can truthfully say, spans four decades. In the early years, I researched the neuropsychological effects of pesticides, mild head injury, and alcohol (not all at the same time!). More recently I have been researching the benefits of swearing for pain tolerance and for performing physical tasks. I've recently begun researching science communication, using psychological theories of communication to understand how best to present scientific information to engage as many people, from as many diverse walks of life, as possible.'

What is your number one priority for the role, we asked? 'To ensure that respect for equality and diversity is at the heart of all we do. Other important challenges I see are to continue to promote open science, and to do what we can so that psychology research makes a positive difference to society. I'm also keen that we bolster the relevance of the BPS to academic psychologists, who often seem to go elsewhere. But we remain a broad church, and I hope we can develop initiatives so that all research-active psychologists will want to be members of the BPS because we make their lives easier.

'This is just my starter for 10,' Stephens concluded. 'The work we will do as Research Board will be shaped by its members who are, themselves, representatives of the wider BPS membership. I'm looking forward to the challenge!'