The Psychology Zone ran from 2 to 27 November 2020. The Zone was one out of 4 Zones that ran as part of I’m a Scientist: On Demand in November 2020.
I’m a Scientist: On Demand aims to offer greater flexibility to teachers in how, and when, they can take part in I’m a Scientist. This is in response to the COVID-19 situation and greater restrictions and uncertainty in schools.
The Psychology Zone was funded by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Scientists
- 41 psychologists created profiles in the Zone.
- 27 engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions.
- Psychologists were from a broad range of fields and career stages. For example:
- Marianna Karavidas – Assistant Psychologist in the NHS
- Simon Payne – lecturer in Psychology and Behaviour Change at AberystwythUniversity
- Madeleine Steeds – cyberpsychologist at the University of Manchester
Students
- 384 students from 17 schools all over the UK logged into the Zone.
- 80% of active students were from target schools (WP and/or U).
- 39% were from widening participation (WP) schools.
- 71% were from underserved (U) schools.
Chats & Questions
- 26 live Chats took place took place during the activity.
- 36 live Chats were booked (60% of capacity), but dropout was higher than usual with10 cancellations.
- On average, 5 psychologists attended each live Chat session.
- 41 student questions were approved. Psychologists responded with 217 answers.