Psychology, Sociology and Education
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/14
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Item Working Memory Capacity Is Related to Eyewitness Identification Accuracy, but Selective Attention and Need for Cognition Are Not(2025-09-16) Töredi, Dilhan; Mansour, Jamal K.; Jones, Sian; Skelton, Faye; McIntyre, AlexIndividual differences in working memory capacity, selective attention, and need for cognition were investigated as postdictors—variables indicating the likelihood that an identification is accurate—using same-race and cross-race lineups. We also explored whether these variables improve predictions of identification accuracy when considering confidence and response time. White participants (N = 274) completed individual differences measures, watched four mock-crime videos (2 Asian targets, 2 White targets), made lineup decisions, and rated their confidence. Working memory capacity predicted identification accuracy and target-present accuracy but not target-absent accuracy. A regression model with confidence, response time, and working memory capacity explained more variance than a model with confidence and response time alone, indicating that working memory capacity tells us more about identification accuracy than extant reflector variables about identification accuracy.Item “It was a road to understanding that I was always different”: Experiences of receiving a neurodivergent diagnosis at university(British Psychological Society, 2025) MacLean, Stephanie; Jones, SianThis study explored how receiving a neurodivergent diagnosis at university affects undergraduates’ academic experiences. We conducted semi-structured interviews with six Scottish students (diagnosed between ages 21–37 years). Reflexive Thematic Analysis revealed three key themes: Academic Struggle, Self-Discovery, and Support. Participants reported low wellbeing prior to diagnosis, with improvements afterwards. The diagnostic journey was closely linked to their self-understanding, academic challenges, and access to helpful support. Findings highlight that university environments often overlook neurodivergent needs, influencing students’ wellbeing and access to study. This research underscores the importance of inclusive academic practices and timely recognition of neurodivergent identities.Item Learners or consumers? Exploring the grade gap between widening participation and non-widening participation students(Open Access Publishing Association, 2025-05-26) Jones, Sian; Taylor, Louise; Johnson, KarlStudents from widening participation (non-traditional) backgrounds are increasingly entering higher education, yet they are typically awarded lower grades than non-widening participation students. This gap was explored from a social identity theory perspective to examine two key student identities that impact performance: university student (positive impact), and educational consumer (negative impact). Students were studying in a mass-consumer cultural context, Scotland, United Kingdom. A moderated moderation model was used to test the hypothesis that a consumer identity would have a negative impact on the relation between university student identity and grades, and that this would be more harmful for widening participation students compared to non-widening participation students given their increased social identity conflicts. An online questionnaire was completed by 133 widening participation and 100 non-widening participation students (85% women, mean age 22.6 years). As expected, the model was significant. For widening participation students, the positive relation between university student identity and grades reduced (disappeared) when students had a stronger consumer identity. For non-widening participation students, however, there were no relations among the variables, thus the hypothesis was partly supported. These findings suggest that a consumer identity contributes to the grade gap between these student groups, and that institutions should support students to resist developing an educational consumer identity in mass-consumer cultural contexts.Item The Impact of Minority Status on the Cross-Race Effect: A Critical Review(SAGE Publications, 2025-06-30) Töredi, Dilhan; Mansour, Jamal K.; Jones, Sian; Skelton, Faye; McIntyre, AlexMeta-analyses have consistently demonstrated the robustness of the cross-race effect (CRE; i.e., better recognition of same-race faces compared to different-race faces). These analyses have unveiled variations in the dependent variables associated with the CRE across combinations of participant and target races (Lee & Penrod, 2022; Meissner & Brigham, 2001). However, the underlying factors driving these variations remain poorly understood. We posit that although the CRE is robust, its generalizability may be contingent on the specific racial groups compared, particularly when contrasting majority and minority racial groups. In this comprehensive review, we delve into the dynamics of the CRE across distinct racial groups and explore how minority status may influence research outcomes. We considered the manuscripts included in the latest meta-analyses of the CRE with a spotlight on minority status. We suggest that minority-race status may explain why many studies considering non-White participants do not show a CRE. The CRE might not be as robust as it appears to be because much of the research on the effect has focused on majority-race participants and minority-race faces. Going forward, researchers should consider incorporating measures relevant to the minority effect, fully crossing participant and target races, and studying a greater variety of races.Item Editorial(SAGE Publications, 2025-05-08) Sharp, Laura; Jones, Sian; Salh, Sukhwinder; Smith, JanItem Book review of ‘Developing Inclusive Schools: Pathways to Success’ (Ainscow 2024)(Brill, 2025) Earnshaw, Heather; Jones, Sian; Priestley, Andrea; Mouroutsou, Stella; Barrett, LouiseItem ‘Disabled Joy is Resistance’: Insights and Recommendations from Social Psychology on Reducing Ableism(Wiley, 2025-04-28) Jones, SianAbleism, encompassing discrimination and social oppression of disabled people, which results in their marginalization, persists as a significant global barrier to equity and inclusion. This paper explores how social psychological research can inform strategies to combat ableism by analyzing the social processes that underlie ableist attitudes and actions. Social Identity Theory speaks to the role of identity in countering the marginalization of disabled people, whilst the Stereotype Content Model helps us to understand the origins of the stigma often attached to ‘disability’. Research in these two fields is reviewed alongside discursive research in social psychology to determine how to work towards a more anti-ableist society. Based on my experience as a social psychologist and disabled person, and by integrating theoretical insights with practical applications, this paper advocates for a multi-level social psychological approach to building anti-ableist spaces, emphasizing educational and social policy recommendations.Item Practising What You Teach: Inclusive Approaches to Equality Diversity and Inclusion with Primary School Student Teachers(Brill, 2025) Jones, Sian; McGlynn, Louise; Taylor, Kieran; Minhas, Jasmeena; Uytman, ClareEquality, diversity and inclusion are values deeply embedded in teacher education in Scotland. For this reason, courses in teacher education provide an opportunity for students, and indeed their educators, to critically reflect upon the ways in which Education (re)produces and may break down social inequalities. Students at one Scottish university following a course to become primary school teachers engage with a module called 'Inclusive Practice: Difference and Diversity'. The module uses inclusive pedagogies to model and to explore equality, diversity and inclusion in the primary classroom, using the National Framework for Inclusion. Feedback from students indicates that they leave the module with the confidence to take helpful action regarding the inequalities and injustices they may see later in their career. This paper is intended to provide a reflection on this teacher education module with a view to encouraging readers to consider the importance and value of embedded inclusive practice within initial teacher education.Item A need to begin: Unravelling psychological knowledge to find a suitable starting point(British Psychological Society, 2025-06-19) Jones, SianItem Creating a Cross-Race Effect Inventory to Postdict Eyewitness Accuracy(American Psychological Association, 2025-07-28) Töredi, Dilhan; Mansour, Jamal K.; Jones, Sian; Skelton, Faye; McIntyre, AlexObjective: The Cross-Race Effect (CRE) is a reliable and robust phenomenon, whereby individuals better recognize faces that belong to their race compared to another race. Our goal was to develop a self-report Inventory (i.e., CRE-I) that brings together known predictors of the CRE to improve postdiction of cross-race eyewitness accuracy. Hypotheses: We expected a CRE for White and Asian participants. We anticipated that developed CRE-I subscales would correlate positively with extant (some modified) scales and predict accuracy. Method: Participants completed four trials (two White targets and two Asian targets). For each trial, they watched a mock crime video, performed a distractor task, made a sequential lineup decision (target-present or target-absent), and indicated confidence in their lineup decision. After all trials, participants completed the potential items for the CRE-I. Results: We replicated prior findings of a CRE for White participants but did not find a CRE for Asian participants. Exploratory factor analysis produced an inventory (the CRE-I) with reliable scales for White eyewitnesses: general face recognition ability, race-specific face recognition ability, racial attitudes, quantity of contact, quality of contact, motivated individuation, and cognitive disregard. Responses to several scales predicted identification accuracy. In particular, three scales of the CRE-I predicted identification accuracy beyond the predictiveness of confidence: race-specific face recognition ability, racial attitudes towards White people, and motivated individuation of White people. Conclusions: Variables suggested separately by the perceptual expertise hypothesis and the social cognitive hypothesis predicted identification accuracy, providing support for integrative models of the CRE. The CRE-I contributes to the CRE literature both in terms of theory—by showing which factors among many may best relate to recognition—and practice—by improving evaluations of eyewitness reliability.