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University of Bedfordshire
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
UK, LU1 3JU
An experienced teacher, lecturer and researcher in psychology, I specialise in the fields of Health, Coaching and Counselling Psychology. I am also an active researcher and have several years experience in consultancy work, mainly within the coaching and therapeutic fields. Additional consultancy work is in stress management and enhancing resilience in employees working in the caring professions.
Phone Behaviours: As part of ongoing research I am exploring a variety of aspects of individual differences in mobile phone behaviour. The role played by gender, personality relationship styles and in problem mobile phone behaviours has been examined. One strand of the ‘mobile’ research project investigates mobile phone behaviours that are associated with distress for both initiators and recipients of this mode of communication.
An initial study presented in 2007 that specifically explored mobile phone communication within women’s friendships and dating relationships identified some interesting issues:
This study was presented at the Psychology of Women Conference in 2007. Please click the link below for details.
Harassment and Cyber stalking: Cyber stalking describes harassment where technology is used to persistently intrude upon others where contact is known to be unwelcome. In collaboration with The Network for Surviving Stalking (www.nss.org.uk), I am currently developing an initiative called ECHO (Electronic Communication Harassment Observation), that has received attention from print media (The Times, April 19th 2009). CLICK HERE for details.
Preliminary findings identified some form of obsessive intrusive communication by phone was reported by 25% of the sample. Interestingly, when unwanted communication is received by mobile phone, it emerged that recipients were less certain of how to respond than they would be if the intrusions were more proximal. Due to the lack of social rules (is it a lack, it may be that the rules are different) it may be that higher levels of intrusion are tolerated via this medium than are generally seen as acceptable in other modes of communication.
Perceptions of obsessive intrusive mobile phone communication, both from the receiver and the initiators perspective, are currently being analysed. The role of individual differences in the incidence and perceptions of such behaviour are also being analysed. This research may go some way to providing more clarity to whether cyber stalking is a distinct social phenomenon or a prelude or adjunct to proximal stalking. It may also throw some light on the evolving social rules of ‘mobile behaviour’.
The Cognitive Processing of ‘Mistexting’:The third strand of the work concerns the prevalence of 'misfired texts' or 'mistexts' and the relationship context they typically occur in. Traditional cognitive schools of thought may provide the answer as to why such errors occur. Likely cognitive processes involved are for example 'action slips'.; specifically when a behaviour – like texting – becomes habitual, our attentional system passes control down to simpler subsystems. This allows slight distractions to cause potentially catastrophic mistakes. Early findings indicate that such mistakes commonly occur, examples include sending texts that contain information about a third party (that the sender is sending covertly) to the individual it concerns rather than the person for whom the communication is really intended.
Coaching: Coaching as psychological intervention is an emergent field within the Psychology discipline. The Psychology department at the University of Bedfordshire offers the opportunity for undergraduates to acquire and develop the skills of peer coaching and the psychological principles that underlie them. The peer coaching skill is very much part of the student experience as students engage in a supervised peer coaching practice with two other students, which is then assessed. In the process of monitoring and evaluating this as technique as a pedagogical tool, the effectiveness of the coaching intervention is also being analysed.
Results indicate a reduction in the levels of distress and interpersonal problems in the peer coached group compared to a similar group who did not receive coaching. Ongoing research is investigating several issues relating to the application and effectiveness of peer coaching techniques. For example: longitudinal research relating to the impact of peer coaching on the wellbeing of final year undergraduate students and the effectiveness of peer coaching for trainee social workers and doctors and professions aligned to medicine. Results from this work has been presented at a conference and submitted for publication.
Coaching for Healthy Eating: Network associate and member of the clinical team for the National Centre for Eating Disorders. I have been receiving referrals from them and working with individual clients using an integrative approach since November 2005.
Stress Interventions: Individual stress assessments and intervention planning for company Directors and a Primary Care Trust; Design and Delivery of a programme for stress management and dealing with difficult behaviour at work. Workshops were delivered to teams in the statutory services, including housing, employment service staff and social workers.
Assessment and Selection: Psychological testing for the selection of chief executives for SMEs and larger organisations including candidates for the MD of a newspaper.
Part of the team delivering an assessment centre to the Scottish Civil Service, who were seeking to identify potential heads of Division from a group of internal applicants and external candidates.
Assessment of Adults with Specific Learning Difficulties: Following training in the assessment and training/tutoring of adults with specific learning difficulties in from the Independent Dyslexia Consultants and several years supervised practice - I am experienced in assessments for Higher Education institutions
Television and Media Work: I appear on the BPS register of media contacts as having expertise in the areas of eating disorders, stalking and cyber-stalking, coaching, hypnotherapy, stress and anxiety, counselling, texting and mobile phone use. In the last year I have appeared on television and radio in connection with hypnotherapy and weight loss as well as mobile phone behaviour.
British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology (BPS) Full Member
Emma Short and Gail Kinman: £10,000, from CETL (University of Bedfordshire) Peer coaching Study 2008
Short E and Bawa J ‘The textbook’, Psychology and texting. Wiley, (contract agreed – in preparation)
Dr Emma Short
Department of Psychology
University of Bedfordshire
Park Square
LUTON, LU1 3JU
UNITED KINGDOM
T: +44 (0)1582489329
F:+44 (0)1582 489212
