research questions for clinical psychology

Clinical Psychology Research Paper Topics

This page provides a comprehensive list of clinical psychology research paper topics , designed to support students navigating the complexities of mental health studies. Aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of psychological assessment, therapeutic methods, and the myriad issues faced by individuals with mental health disorders, these topics cover a broad spectrum of areas within clinical psychology. From exploring the efficacy of different therapeutic approaches to examining the impact of cultural and social factors on mental health, this list serves as a vital resource for students seeking to contribute meaningful research to the field. Whether you are interested in the latest trends in neuropsychology, the intricacies of forensic psychology, or the challenges of mental health in children and adolescents, these carefully selected topics offer a rich foundation for your academic inquiries and research endeavors.

100 Clinical Psychology Research Paper Topics

Clinical psychology plays a pivotal role in understanding, diagnosing, and treating mental health issues, standing at the forefront of efforts to improve psychological well-being and quality of life. This field combines rigorous academic research with practical therapeutic applications, making it essential for students to engage with a wide range of topics that reflect the diversity and complexity of human psychology. The topics listed here span foundational theories, cutting-edge therapeutic interventions, and the nuanced interplay between mental health and societal factors, offering students a comprehensive overview of the landscape of clinical psychology.

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• The history and evolution of clinical psychology
• Major theoretical approaches in clinical psychology
• The role of clinical psychology in integrated healthcare
• Ethics in clinical practice and research
• The impact of technology on clinical psychology
• Psychoanalytic theories and techniques
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy: Foundations and evolutions
• The scientist-practitioner model
• Measurement and evaluation in clinical psychology
• Training and professional development in clinical psychology
• Psychological testing and assessment tools
• Neuropsychological testing for cognitive disorders
• Behavioral assessment strategies
• The DSM-5 and diagnostic criteria
• Cultural competence in psychological assessment
• The role of functional assessments in clinical settings
• Innovations in diagnostic methodologies
• Assessing risk and protective factors
• Personality assessment instruments
• Challenges in diagnosing complex cases
• Comparative effectiveness of psychotherapeutic techniques
• Mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions
• The efficacy of short-term psychodynamic therapies
• Innovations in cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Group therapy dynamics and outcomes
• Teletherapy and digital interventions
• Integrative and holistic therapeutic models
• The therapeutic alliance and outcome research
• Psychotherapy for chronic illness
• Ethical considerations in therapeutic practices
• Advances in understanding and treating depression
• Anxiety disorders: Phenomenology and treatment
• Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
• Personality disorders: Challenges and therapeutic strategies
• Eating disorders: From etiology to recovery
• Bipolar disorder across the lifespan
• Substance use disorders and dual diagnoses
• Post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma-informed care
• Child and adolescent mental health disorders
• The psychology of chronic pain and its management
• Developmental psychopathology
• Behavioral interventions in schools
• Autism spectrum disorders: Diagnosis and intervention
• Adolescent mental health and identity formation
• Parent-child interactions and therapy outcomes
• The impact of technology on youth mental health
• Eating disorders in adolescents
• Childhood anxiety and depression
• ADHD: Contemporary approaches to assessment and treatment
• The role of family therapy in treating childhood disorders
• The brain-behavior relationship
• Cognitive rehabilitation strategies
• Neuroimaging techniques in clinical assessment
• Neuropsychological impacts of neurological disorders
• Aging and cognitive decline
• Pediatric neuropsychology
• Concussions and traumatic brain injury
• The neuropsychology of emotion
• Memory disorders and dementia
• Psychopharmacology for neuropsychological disorders
• The psychology of chronic illness management
• Behavioral interventions for physical health
• Psychoneuroimmunology: Stress and immunity
• Health behavior change models and strategies
• The role of psychology in pain management
• Psychological aspects of cancer care
• The impact of sleep on mental and physical health
• Eating behaviors and nutrition psychology
• The psychology of addiction and substance misuse
• Mind-body interventions in health care
• Psychological assessment in legal contexts
• Competency and insanity evaluations
• The psychology of criminal behavior
• Treatment of offenders and risk assessment
• Victimology and psychological impacts of crime
• Eyewitness testimony and memory reliability
• The role of psychology in law enforcement
• Ethical dilemmas in forensic psychology
• Child custody and family law
• Psychological interventions in correctional settings
• Cross-cultural psychology and mental health
• The impact of socioeconomic status on mental health
• Gender and sexuality issues in clinical psychology
• Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care
• The psychology of immigration and acculturation
• Indigenous mental health and healing practices
• Stigma and mental illness
• Community psychology and social change
• The role of religion and spirituality in therapy
• Cultural competence in therapeutic settings
• The future of psychotherapy: Trends and predictions
• Virtual reality and augmented reality in therapy
• The use of artificial intelligence in mental health services
• Digital phenotyping and mobile health
• Genomics and personalized medicine in mental health
• Ethical considerations in the use of technology
• The impact of social media on mental health
• Neurofeedback and biofeedback
• E-mental health interventions and apps
• Integrating technology into traditional therapeutic models

The depth and breadth of clinical psychology research paper topics reflect the field’s dynamic nature and its critical role in addressing mental health issues. These topics not only offer students a wealth of areas to explore but also the opportunity to contribute meaningful insights and advancements to the discipline. By delving into these diverse areas of clinical psychology, students can play a part in shaping the future of mental health treatment and understanding, enriching their academic journey and the field at large.

What is Clinical Psychology

Introduction to the Field of Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology merges the science of psychology with the treatment of complex human problems, making it one of the most critical areas within the realm of psychological study and application. It encompasses a wide range of practices, including assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders. Clinical psychologists employ various therapeutic approaches to treat individuals across the lifespan, dealing with everything from minor stress and life transitions to severe psychopathology.

Importance of Research in Advancing Clinical Practice and Understanding

The bedrock of clinical psychology lies in rigorous research. Research in this field serves multiple purposes: it enhances our understanding of the etiology and progression of mental disorders, evaluates the efficacy of therapeutic interventions, and tests new treatment approaches. Without research, clinical practice would lack the empirical basis necessary for effectively treating patients. Research ensures that clinical interventions are both safe and effective, thereby safeguarding the well-being of clients and advancing the field.

Exploration of Diverse Research Topics in Clinical Psychology

Research in clinical psychology is as diverse as the field itself, covering a wide array of topics that reflect the complexity of human behavior and mental health. These topics range from understanding the neurological underpinnings of mental disorders to exploring the effectiveness of new psychotherapeutic techniques. Research in this field also investigates the social, cultural, and environmental factors that influence mental health, thereby contributing to more holistic approaches to treatment and prevention. This diversity not only broadens the scope of clinical psychology but also ensures that the field remains responsive to the changing needs of society.

Recent Advancements and Innovations in Clinical Psychology Research

The field of clinical psychology has witnessed significant advancements and innovations, thanks in part to technological progress and a deeper understanding of psychological processes. Recent research has explored the potential of teletherapy, digital interventions, and mobile health applications, providing access to mental health services for individuals who might otherwise face barriers to treatment. Additionally, advances in neuroimaging and psychopharmacology have offered new insights into the biological aspects of mental disorders, leading to more targeted and effective treatments. These advancements underscore the dynamic nature of clinical psychology and its continuous evolution in response to scientific discoveries and societal changes.

Ethical Considerations in Clinical Psychology Research

Ethical considerations hold paramount importance in clinical psychology research, given the vulnerability of the populations often involved. Ethical guidelines ensure that research is conducted in a manner that respects the dignity, rights, and welfare of participants. This includes obtaining informed consent, ensuring confidentiality, and minimizing potential harm. Ethical research practices are crucial for maintaining trust between researchers and participants and for upholding the integrity of the field.

Future Directions for Research in Clinical Psychology

Looking ahead, the field of clinical psychology is poised to explore new frontiers that promise to further enhance our understanding of mental health and improve treatment outcomes. One area of future research may focus on personalized medicine, tailoring interventions to the unique genetic, biological, and environmental factors of each individual. Another promising area involves integrating clinical psychology more closely with other disciplines, such as neuroscience and public health, to develop more comprehensive and effective approaches to mental health care. Additionally, as society continues to evolve, ongoing research will be necessary to address the psychological impacts of emerging societal challenges.

The Impact of Research on the Evolution of Clinical Psychology Practices

The trajectory of clinical psychology is indelibly shaped by research. It is through the diligent efforts of researchers that the field continues to advance, offering new insights into the human psyche and more effective treatments for mental disorders. Research in clinical psychology not only enriches our understanding of mental health but also plays a critical role in shaping policies, therapeutic practices, and public perceptions of mental health issues. As we move forward, the continued emphasis on research will ensure that clinical psychology remains a vital force for good in the lives of individuals and communities worldwide, epitomizing the profound impact that research has on the evolution of clinical practices.

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Clinical Psychology Research Topics

Stumped for ideas? Start here

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Clinical psychology research is one of the most popular subfields in psychology. With such a wide range of topics to cover, figuring out clinical psychology research topics for papers, presentations, and experiments can be tricky.

Clinical Psychology Research Topic Ideas

Topic choices are only as limited as your imagination and assignment, so try narrowing the possibilities down from general questions to the specifics that apply to your area of specialization.

Here are just a few ideas to start the process:

• How does social media influence how people interact and behave?
• Compare and contrast two different types of therapy . When is each type best used? What disorders are best treated with these forms of therapy? What are the possible limitations of each type?
• Compare two psychological disorders . What are the signs and symptoms of each? How are they diagnosed and treated?
• How does "pro ana," "pro mia," " thinspo ," and similar content contribute to eating disorders? What can people do to overcome the influence of these sites?​
• Explore how aging influences mental illness. What particular challenges elderly people diagnosed with mental illness face?
• Explore factors that influence adolescent mental health. Self-esteem and peer pressure are just a couple of the topics you might explore in greater depth.
• Explore the use and effectiveness of online therapy . What are some of its advantages and disadvantages ? How do those without technical literacy navigate it?
• Investigate current research on the impact of media violence on children's behavior.
• Explore anxiety disorders and their impact on daily functioning. What new therapies are available?
• What are the risk factors for depression ? Explore the potential risks as well as any preventative strategies that can be used.
• How do political and social climates affect mental health?
• What are the long-term effects of childhood trauma? Do children continue to experience the effects later in adulthood? What treatments are available for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in childhood ?
• What impact does substance use disorder have on the family? How can family members help with treatment?
• What types of therapy are most effective for childhood behavioral issues ?

Think of books you have read, research you have studied, and even experiences and interests from your own life. If you've ever wanted to dig further into something that interested you, this is a great opportunity. The more engaged you are with the topic, the more excited you will be to put the work in for a great research paper or presentation.

Consider Scope, Difficulty, and Suitability

Picking a good research topic is one of the most important steps of the research process. A too-general topic can feel overwhelming; likewise, one that's very specific might have limited supporting information. Spend time reading online or exploring your library to make sure that plenty of sources to support your paper, presentation, or experiment are available.

If you are doing an experiment , checking with your instructor is a must. In many cases, you might have to submit a proposal to your school's human subjects committee for approval. This committee will ensure that any potential research involving human subjects is done in a safe and ethical way.

Once you have chosen a topic that interests you, run the idea past your course instructor. (In some cases, this is required.) Even if you don't need permission from the instructor, getting feedback before you delve into the research process is helpful.

Your instructor can draw from a wealth of experience to offer good suggestions and ideas for your research, including the best available resources pertaining to the topic. Your school librarian may also be able to provide assistance regarding the resources available for use at the library, including online journal databases.

Kim WO.  Institutional review board (IRB) and ethical issues in clinical research .  Korean Journal of Anesthesiology . 2012;62(1):3-12. doi:10.4097/kjae.2012.62.1.3

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

61 intriguing psychology research topics to explore

Last updated

11 January 2024

Reviewed by

Brittany Ferri, PhD, OTR/L

Psychology is an incredibly diverse, critical, and ever-changing area of study in the medical and health industries. Because of this, it’s a common area of study for students and healthcare professionals.

We’re walking you through picking the perfect topic for your upcoming paper or study. Keep reading for plenty of example topics to pique your interest and curiosity.

• How to choose a psychology research topic

Exploring a psychology-based topic for your research project? You need to pick a specific area of interest to collect compelling data. 

Use these tips to help you narrow down which psychology topics to research:

Focus on a particular area of psychology

The most effective psychological research focuses on a smaller, niche concept or disorder within the scope of a study. 

Psychology is a broad and fascinating area of science, including everything from diagnosed mental health disorders to sports performance mindset assessments. 

This gives you plenty of different avenues to explore. Having a hard time choosing? Check out our list of 61 ideas further down in this article to get started.

Read the latest clinical studies

Once you’ve picked a more niche topic to explore, you need to do your due diligence and explore other research projects on the same topic. 

This practice will help you learn more about your chosen topic, ask more specific questions, and avoid covering existing projects. 

For the best results, we recommend creating a research folder of associated published papers to reference throughout your project. This makes it much easier to cite direct references and find inspiration down the line.

Find a topic you enjoy and ask questions

Once you’ve spent time researching and collecting references for your study, you finally get to explore. 

Whether this research project is for work, school, or just for fun, having a passion for your research will make the project much more enjoyable. (Trust us, there will be times when that is the only thing that keeps you going.) 

Now you’ve decided on the topic, ask more nuanced questions you might want to explore. 

If you can, pick the direction that interests you the most to make the research process much more enjoyable.

• 61 psychology topics to research in 2024

Need some extra help starting your psychology research project on the right foot? Explore our list of 61 cutting-edge, in-demand psychology research topics to use as a starting point for your research journey.

• Psychology research topics for university students

As a university student, it can be hard to pick a research topic that fits the scope of your classes and is still compelling and unique. 

Here are a few exciting topics we recommend exploring for your next assigned research project:

Mental health in post-secondary students

Seeking post-secondary education is a stressful and overwhelming experience for most students, making this topic a great choice to explore for your in-class research paper. 

Examples of post-secondary mental health research topics include:

Student mental health status during exam season

Mental health disorder prevalence based on study major

The impact of chronic school stress on overall quality of life

The impacts of cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can occur at all ages, starting as early as elementary school and carrying through into professional workplaces. 

Examples of cyberbullying-based research topics you can study include:

The impact of cyberbullying on self-esteem

Common reasons people engage in cyberbullying 

Cyberbullying themes and commonly used terms

Cyberbullying habits in children vs. adults

The long-term effects of cyberbullying

• Clinical psychology research topics

If you’re looking to take a more clinical approach to your next project, here are a few topics that involve direct patient assessment for you to consider:

Chronic pain and mental health

Living with chronic pain dramatically impacts every aspect of a person’s life, including their mental and emotional health. 

Here are a few examples of in-demand pain-related psychology research topics:

The connection between diabetic neuropathy and depression

Neurological pain and its connection to mental health disorders

Efficacy of meditation and mindfulness for pain management

The long-term effects of insomnia

Insomnia is where you have difficulty falling or staying asleep. It’s a common health concern that impacts millions of people worldwide. 

This is an excellent topic because insomnia can have a variety of causes, offering many research possibilities. 

Here are a few compelling psychology research topics about insomnia you could investigate:

The prevalence of insomnia based on age, gender, and ethnicity

Insomnia and its impact on workplace productivity

The connection between insomnia and mental health disorders

Efficacy and use of melatonin supplements for insomnia

The risks and benefits of prescription insomnia medications

Lifestyle options for managing insomnia symptoms

The efficacy of mental health treatment options

Management and treatment of mental health conditions is an ever-changing area of study. If you can witness or participate in mental health therapies, this can make a great research project. 

Examples of mental health treatment-related psychology research topics include:

The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for patients with severe anxiety

The benefits and drawbacks of group vs. individual therapy sessions

Music therapy for mental health disorders

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for patients with depression 

• Controversial psychology research paper topics

If you are looking to explore a more cutting-edge or modern psychology topic, you can delve into a variety of controversial and topical options:

The impact of social media and digital platforms

Ever since access to internet forums and video games became more commonplace, there’s been growing concern about the impact these digital platforms have on mental health. 

Examples of social media and video game-related psychology research topics include:

The effect of edited images on self-confidence

How social media platforms impact social behavior

Video games and their impact on teenage anger and violence

Digital communication and the rapid spread of misinformation

The development of digital friendships

Psychotropic medications for mental health

In recent years, the interest in using psychoactive medications to treat and manage health conditions has increased despite their inherently controversial nature. 

Examples of psychotropic medication-related research topics include:

The risks and benefits of using psilocybin mushrooms for managing anxiety

The impact of marijuana on early-onset psychosis

Childhood marijuana use and related prevalence of mental health conditions

Ketamine and its use for complex PTSD (C-PTSD) symptom management

The effect of long-term psychedelic use and mental health conditions

• Mental health disorder research topics

As one of the most popular subsections of psychology, studying mental health disorders and how they impact quality of life is an essential and impactful area of research. 

While studies in these areas are common, there’s always room for additional exploration, including the following hot-button topics:

Anxiety and depression disorders

Anxiety and depression are well-known and heavily researched mental health disorders. 

Despite this, we still don’t know many things about these conditions, making them great candidates for psychology research projects:

Social anxiety and its connection to chronic loneliness

C-PTSD symptoms and causes

The development of phobias

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) behaviors and symptoms

Depression triggers and causes

Self-care tools and resources for depression

The prevalence of anxiety and depression in particular age groups or geographic areas

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a complex and multi-faceted area of psychology research. 

Use your research skills to learn more about this condition and its impact by choosing any of the following topics:

Early signs of bipolar disorder

The incidence of bipolar disorder in young adults

The efficacy of existing bipolar treatment options

Bipolar medication side effects

Cognitive behavioral therapy for people with bipolar 

Schizoaffective disorder

Schizoaffective disorder is often stigmatized, and less common mental health disorders are a hotbed for new and exciting research. 

Here are a few examples of interesting research topics related to this mental health disorder:

The prevalence of schizoaffective disorder by certain age groups or geographic locations

Risk factors for developing schizoaffective disorder

The prevalence and content of auditory and visual hallucinations

Alternative therapies for schizoaffective disorder

• Societal and systematic psychology research topics

Modern society’s impact is deeply enmeshed in our mental and emotional health on a personal and community level. 

Here are a few examples of societal and systemic psychology research topics to explore in more detail:

Access to mental health services

While mental health awareness has risen over the past few decades, access to quality mental health treatment and resources is still not equitable. 

This can significantly impact the severity of a person’s mental health symptoms, which can result in worse health outcomes if left untreated. 

Explore this crucial issue and provide information about the need for improved mental health resource access by studying any of the following topics:

Rural vs. urban access to mental health resources

Access to crisis lines by location

Wait times for emergency mental health services

Inequities in mental health access based on income and location

Insurance coverage for mental health services

Systemic racism and mental health

Societal systems and the prevalence of systemic racism heavily impact every aspect of a person’s overall health.

Researching these topics draws attention to existing problems and contributes valuable insights into ways to improve access to care moving forward.

Examples of systemic racism-related psychology research topics include: 

Access to mental health resources based on race

The prevalence of BIPOC mental health therapists in a chosen area

The impact of systemic racism on mental health and self-worth

Racism training for mental health workers

The prevalence of mental health disorders in discriminated groups

LGBTQIA+ mental health concerns

Research about LGBTQIA+ people and their mental health needs is a unique area of study to explore for your next research project. It’s a commonly overlooked and underserved community.

Examples of LGBTQIA+ psychology research topics to consider include:

Mental health supports for queer teens and children

The impact of queer safe spaces on mental health

The prevalence of mental health disorders in the LGBTQIA+ community

The benefits of queer mentorship and found family

Substance misuse in LQBTQIA+ youth and adults

• Collect data and identify trends with Dovetail

Psychology research is an exciting and competitive study area, making it the perfect choice for projects or papers.

Take the headache out of analyzing your data and instantly access the insights you need to complete your next psychology research project by teaming up with Dovetail today.

Get started today

Go from raw data to valuable insights with a flexible research platform

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Research Topics & Ideas: Psychology

100+ Psychology Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Research

If you’re starting out on the dissertation or thesis journey for your psychology degree, the very first challenge you’ll face is finding a solid research topic . In this post, we’ll help get the topic ideation process started by providing a meaty list of research ideas, spanning a range of psychology sub-disciplines. We’ll also look at some examples from actual theses and dissertations to give you an idea of what these look like in the real world.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps (which we’ll explain a little later). Therefore, it’s important to recognise that this post is only the first step in finding a high-quality psychology-centred research topic. To develop a research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this all sounds a bit intimidating, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course , which covers the process of writing a dissertation or thesis from A-Z. You can also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, have a look at our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Psychology-Related Topics

• How to find a research topic (video)
• Behavioural psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Educational psychology
• Forensic psychology
• Social psychology
• Sports psychology
• Examples of actual dissertation topics
• Free Webinar : Topic Ideation 101
• Where to get extra help

How To Find A Research Topic

In the video below, we explain how to find suitable research ideas (in psychology or any field), and how to then refine those into well-articulated potential topics for your dissertation or thesis. We also discuss a few important evaluation criteria to help you make the right choice for your project.

Below you’ll find a list of research ideas to get your thinking started. Please note that these research topic ideas are intentionally broad and generic, so you will need to refine them a fair deal using the techniques we discussed in the video above.

We’ve grouped the topic ideas based on a few popular areas of psychology to make it a little easier for you to find something in your particular field of interest. That said, there is naturally some overlap between topics, so keep this in mind.

Research Ideas: Behavioural Psychology

• Cultural variation in behaviour and mental health of adolescents during a disaster: a case study
• The impact of parental drug use and risky behaviour on early child development
• The effects of video game violence on aggressive behaviour among teenage boys in school
• The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and adult risk-seeking behaviour
• The impact of physical exercise on anxiety and health-harming behaviour
• The relationship between personality traits and addiction behaviour
• The effects of reinforcement schedules on decision-making and associative learning
• The effects of daily mindfulness practice on stress and anxiety in middle-aged women
• The use of behavioural interventions in the treatment of eating disorders in poorer communities
• Understanding implicit cognitive processes involved in the over-consumption of fast food
• The use of cognitive behavioural therapy for alcohol addiction treatment
• The impact of extensive technology use in children on long-term attention and focus
• The impact of social media on self-destructive behaviour and poor mental health outcomes
• Exploring the role of sleep and sleep deprivation on healthy behaviours

Research Ideas: Clinical Psychology

• The use of mindfulness-based approaches in the treatment of anxiety disorders among college students
• The use of technology in the delivery of psychological services in war-torn countries
• The effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy for borderline personality disorder
• The use of virtual reality technology in the treatment of phobias and PTSD among war veterans
• The role of childhood adversity on adult mental health in immigrant populations in the USA
• The role of genetics and epigenetics in the development of bipolar disorder in Pakistani women: an integrative review
• The effectiveness of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of social anxiety among hikikomori in Japan
• The perception of healthcare workers and patients on the use of teletherapy for the delivery of psychological services
• The impact of social support on mental health outcomes among single parents.
• The effectiveness of integrative therapeutic approaches in the treatment of schizophrenia
• The effectiveness of trauma-focused therapies on post-traumatic growth in domestic abuse survivors
• The role and use of cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression among first-generation students
• The effectiveness of family therapy in addressing childhood trauma and depression
• The impact of cultural mistrust on the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues in culturally-diverse populations
• The effectiveness of group therapy on post-traumatic stress symptoms among survivors of sexual assault

Research Ideas: Cognitive Psychology

• The impact of lifelong aerobic exercise on cognitive function in old age
• The effects of evening screen use on cognitive development in preschool children
• The impact of sleep deprivation on decision-making among graduate students
• The use of neuroimaging to understand the neural basis of memory retrieval
• The effect of conservative religious homes on social functioning in LGBT+ adolescents
• The role of positive emotions in working memory among high school learners
• The neural basis of decision-making and problem-solving during undergraduate statistic assessments
• The neural basis of language processing among adults learning English as a second language
• The role of technological tools in improving working memory in older adults
• The role of attention in emotional face processing among adult males
• The impact of depression on cognitive function during ageing The impact of daily meditation and mindfulness practice on cognitive function
• The relationship between increased protein intake and improved cognitive function
• The effects of stress on cognitive function among final-year learners

Research Ideas: Developmental Psychology

• The impact of maternal affection on cognitive, social, and emotional development
• The effects of parenting styles on children’s executive function
• The impact of late-night screen use on child development
• The role of digital play on child development outcomes
• Exploring the impact of poverty on early child development in Brazil
• The trauma-informed care as moderating the impact of trauma on child development
• Evaluating the relationship between peer relationship quality and child social development
• The impact of child-targeted media and advertising on child behavioural development
• The role of parental attachment in child resilience
• The moderating impact of culture on bullying and child social development
• The impact of single-parenting on child development in India
• The impact of early educational interventions on child socio-emotional development
• The impact of digital technology use on adolescent development and mental health
• The impact of socioeconomic status on child executive function
• The role of genetics and epigenetics on child neurodevelopmental outcomes linked to depression

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Research Ideas: Educational Psychology

• The relationship between self-regulated learning and academic performance in asynchronous versus synchronous learning environments
• Exploring effective parental involvement strategies and their impact on student achievement
• The role of intrinsic motivation in formative assessment in the classroom
• The impact of classroom management and practice on student learning and behaviour
• University students’ preference regarding online learning environments
• The effects of gentrification on student achievement in traditionally poor neighbourhoods
• The impact of teacher expectations and academic self-concept on K12 student mathematics performance
• The use and effectiveness of game-based learning in a high school biology classroom
• The impact of prejudice on the relationship between student motivation and academic performance among Black university students
• The impact of culture on second language English student learning preferences
• The effects of student self-efficacy and engagement on academic performance in secondary school mathematics
• The role of metacognition in learning musicality in hip hop
• The role of small group instruction on teacher efficacy and stress in early childhood education
• The perception and use of multimedia among high school biology teachers in France
• The use of augmented reality applications and its impact on student learning, motivation and attitude

Research Ideas: Forensic Psychology

• The impact of trauma on the psychological functioning of police officers and first responders
• Understanding cultural considerations during forensic psychological assessment and treatment of trauma
• Ethical considerations of the use of AI in forensic psychology in the legal system
• The psychological factors related to recidivism among white collar female offenders in the USA
• The psychological factors related to false confessions among juveniles
• Understanding the use of psychological assessment in the evaluation of eyewitness testimony in criminal courts in England
• The impact of trauma on the reflective functioning of adult female sexual assault victims
• The use and effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing recidivism among non-violent criminals
• The impact of domestic violence on the mental health and forensic evaluation of men
• Exploring the ethical considerations and use of behavioural analysis in the study of criminal behaviour
• The use and limitations of neuropsychological assessment in forensic evaluations
• The use of social media forensics in evaluating criminal behaviour in violent crimes
• The racialised use of psychological assessment in the evaluation of competency to stand trial in Canada
• Exploring the use and availability of virtual reality technologies in forensic psychology in Spain
• The impact of motivational interviewing-based interventions among criminalized drug users

Research Ideas: Social Psychology

• The impact of prejudice and discrimination on social behaviour among African immigrants in South Africa
• The impact of social networks on behaviour and well-being among young adult females
• The effects of social identity on non-conformity in University students
• The effects of group dynamics on risk-seeking behaviour in adult men
• The impact of social media on the quality of interpersonal relationships among high school learners
• The impact of parental emotional intelligence on pro-social behaviour in children and adolescents
• The effects of conformity and deviance on social attitudes and behaviour during a global recession
• The effects of Tik Tok on social comparison and self-esteem among teenage girls
• Understanding gendered differences in social influence and algorithms on impulsive decision-making
• The effects of social support on mental health among healthcare workers in the UK
• The effects of gender roles on social behaviour among trans teens
• The impact of perceived power and social status on the behaviour of social media influencers
• The impact of social norms on prosocial behaviour among women
• The effects of community participation on aggression and violence in middle-aged men
• The impact of culture and gender on social behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic

Research Ideas: Sports Psychology

• The moderating role of cultural factors on the relationship between mental health and sports performance in team sports
• The role of mindfulness practice in addressing stress and anxiety in young national athletes
• The relationship between team cohesion and performance in cricket teams
• The effect of transformational leadership on female sports teams in Canada
• The effect of positive self-talk on athletic performance and motivation among Olympic athletes
• The use and perception of hypnosis in New Zealand team sports Understanding stress and burnout in University team athletes
• The efficacy of personalised nutrition and diet on athletic performance among sprinters
• Exploring mental preparation techniques and their effect on athletic motivation and resilience among team-sport athletes
• Exploring the perception and understanding of goal-setting characteristics on athletic performance among team coaches
• The effects of motivational feedback on the performance of female gymnasts
• The perception and use of visualization and imagery among coaches as a means to enhance sport performance
• The impact of sports injuries on mental health and recovery in high school athletes
• The moderating role of sleep on mental toughness and sports performance in Olympic athletes
• The use and perception of technology in sports training and performance in little league softball

Psychology-Related Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic in psychology, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various psychology degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• Effects of a Patient Question Prompt List on Outpatient Palliative Care Appointments (McDarby, 2022)
• The role of affect and exercise goals in physical activity engagement in younger and older adults (Stojanovic, 2022)
• Lay Theories about Whether Emotion Helps or Hinders Reasoning and Well-being (Karnaze, 2022)
• The effects of blast-induced traumatic brain injury on two transgenic models of Alzheimer’s Disease (Gann, 2020)
• Understanding the parental mind: Examining the stability of parental reflective functioning across the birth of a child and associations with maternal mind-mindedness (Pitzen, 2021)
• An investigation of ineffective ally behaviours (Collier, 2019)
• Response Inhibition-Related Beta Power: Distinguishing Cognitively Intact Elders by Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease (Evans, 2021)
• Recognition Memory of Extremely High-Frequency Words (Miller, 2019)
• The Relationship between Dementia Caregiver Burden and Caregiver Communications in a Memory Clinic Setting (Martin, 2021)
• Examination of Maternal Versus Paternal Ratings of Child Pre-Injury Functioning in Predicting Child Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms (Sayer, 2021)
• Electromyography As A Means of Predicting The Rubber Hand Illusion (Teaford, 2021)
• Linking Diversity Climate and Feedback Seeking Through Interpersonal Processes and Race Effects (Flores, 2021)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are far more specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. This is an important thing to keep in mind as you develop your own research topic. That is to say, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Fast-Track Your Topic Ideation

Still unsure about how to find the right topic for your research project? Check out our private coaching services , where we work with psychology students on a 1:1 basis to help them find the perfect topic.

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10 Comments

Great insight

A very interesting site that offers a variety of options regarding research topics.

You’re most welcome

A good platform to get information

Amazing and interesting options 👌

Very useful but had not any field of research in health psychology

I feel honored going through this lovely stuff put together. Thank you so much

I need counseling psychology research topics

very empowering and insightful presentations. Can I be assisted in crafting a school psychology-related research topic about African context

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Psychology Dissertation Topics

Published by Carmen Troy at January 10th, 2023 , Revised On April 16, 2024

Introduction

Psychology entails the study of mental processes and behaviour. Over the last several years, the demand for psychology graduates has continuously risen due to the growing number of people with psychic problems.

As a psychology student, you can explore one of the many areas of psychology as part of your dissertation project. You can specialize in industrial physiology, mental health, behavioural psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, social psychology, biological psychology, and psychosocial psychology.

While there are many topic options for psychology students, make sure that you choose one where there is a gap in the literature and more work needs to be done.

To help you get started with brainstorming for psychology topic ideas, we have developed a list of the latest topics that can be used for writing your psychology dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the topic,  research question ,  aim and objectives ,  literature review  along with the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of  dissertation topics here.

2024 Psychology Research Topics

Impact of automation in the manufacturing sector on employee distress and happiness in the uk- an exploratory study finding the psychoeconomic factors.

Research Aim: This study intends to find the impact of automation in the manufacturing sector on employee distress and happiness in the UK. It will explore the moderating Psychoeconomic (Psychological and Economic) factors affected by the increasing automation in the manufacturing industry, affecting the employees’ distress and happiness levels. Furthermore, it will examine the strategies implemented by the manufacturing companies to prevent their employees from the anxiety and unhappiness induced by automation after the technological revolution.

Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance Among Adults Working from Home during COVID-19 in the UK

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance among adults working from home during COVID-19 in the UK. It will identify how sleep deprivation during COVID-19 affected various mental abilities of employees who were forced to work from home. It will also see how these abilities affect the employees’ productivity during COVID-19. Additionally, it will show the policies adopted by the companies to prevent their employees from working overtime to have a proper sleep. And how does it improve their cognitive performance and productivity?

Effects of Bad Incidents on the Children’s Intelligence- A Critical Assessment through a Clinical Psychology Lens

Research Aim: This research shows the effects of bad incidents on children’s intelligence. It will use a clinical psychology lens to show how clinicians see the relationship between bad incidents in childhood and their impact on children’s intelligence in later life. And in which was these incidents shape the intelligence of children while growing up. Furthermore, it will present a wide range of clinical procedures to overcome the lingering effects of bad incidents on children’s intelligence in later life.

Impact of Marriage Satisfaction on Job Performance in High-Stress Jobs- A Case of Individuals Working in Investment Firms in the UK

Research Aim: This research analyses the impact of marriage satisfaction on job performance in high-stress jobs. It will use investment firms in the UK as a case study to analyse how marriage satisfaction affects the performance of men and women working in these high-stress jobs such as trading and investments. Moreover, it will explore various psychological parts of the job affected by the problems in a marriage. Lastly, it will recommend ways to offset the bad effects of unstable marriage to improve job performance.

The Role of Educational-Psychological Counseling in Career Selection among Immigrant Children in the UK

Research Aim: This research investigates the role of educational-psychological counselling in career selection among immigrant children in the UK. It will show how educational-psychological counselling different aspects of their academic life and help them decide what to pursue in later life. It will also show how this counselling can help them believe that despite coming from outside of the UK, they still have a chance to succeed.

Covid-19 Psychology Research Topics

Topic 1: impacts of coronavirus on the mental health of various age groups.

Research Aim: This study will reveal the impacts of coronavirus on the mental health of various age groups

Topic 2: Mental health and psychological resilience during COVID-19

Research Aim: Social distancing has made people isolated and affected their mental health. This study will highlight various measures to overcome the stress and mental health of people during coronavirus.

Topic 3: The mental health of children and families during COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will address the challenging situations faced by children and families during lockdown due to COVID-19. It will also discuss various ways to overcome the fear of disease and staying positive.

Topic 4: Mental wellbeing of patients during Coronavirus pandemic

Research Aim: This study will focus on the measures taken by the hospital management, government, and families, to ensure the mental wellbeing of patients, especially COVID-19 patients.

Psychology Dissertation Topics for 2024

Topic 1: kids and their relatives with cancer: psychological challenges.

Research Aim: In cancer diagnoses and therapies, children often don’t know what happens. Many have psychosocial problems, including rage, terror, depression, disturbing their sleep, inexpiable guilt, and panic. Therefore, this study identifies and treats the child and its family members’ psychological issues.

Topic 2: Hematopoietic device reaction in ophthalmology patient’s radiation therapy

Research Aim: This research is based on the analysis of hematopoietic devices’ reactions to ophthalmology’s radiation.

Topic 3: Psychological effects of cyberbullying Vs. physical bullying: A counter study

Research Aim: This research will focus on the effects of cyberbullying and physical bullying and their consequences on the victim’s mental health. The most significant part is the counter effects on our society’s environment and human behaviour, particularly youth.

Topic 4: Whether or not predictive processing is a theory of perceptual consciousness?

Research Aim: This research aims to identify: whether or not predictive processing is a theory of perceptual consciousness?

Topic 5: Importance of communication in a relationship

Research Aim: This research aims to address the importance of communication in relationships and the communication gap consequences.

Topic 6: Eating and personality disorders

Research Aim: This research aims to focus on eating and personality disorders

Topic 7: Analysis of teaching, assessment, and evaluation of students and learning differences

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse teaching methods, assessment, and evaluation systems of students and their learning differences

Topic 8: Social and psychological effects of virtual networks

Research Aim: This research aims to study the social and psychological effects of virtual networks

Topic 9: The role of media in provoking aggression

Research Aim: This research aims to address the role of media and in provoking aggression among people

Psychology Dissertation Topics for 2023

Topic 1: assessing the advantages and disadvantages of positive reinforcement in special education.

Research Aim: The strength and importance of praise in the workplace can have a significant impact on employees and move them from apathy to more happiness and satisfaction. Positive reinforcement motivates and encourages people for their respective tasks. This research aims to assess the advantages and disadvantages of positive reinforcement in special education.

Topic 2: Assessing the relationship between depression and anxiety from the perspective of student academic performance

Research Aim: Emotional disturbance is considered to be a psychological element that can lead to the deterioration of the daily activities of students. Since academic achievements are an integral dimension of students’ lives, depression, anxiety, and other emotional disturbance might lead to poor academic performance. Therefore, this research aims to assess the relationship between depression and anxiety on student academic performance.

Topic 3: How cognitive behaviour therapy helps in dealing with depressed adolescents

Research Aim: Cognitive behavioural theory is regarded as a well-established therapy for depression and other various mental illnesses in children and adolescents. It might be because CBT can reduce suicidal behaviour and thoughts amongst adolescents. The main purpose of this research is to identify how cognitive behaviour therapy can help in dealing with depressed adolescents.

Topic 4: Analysing the psychological impact of bullying on children’s personality and development

Research Aim: Any public humiliation can result in a child’s misconceptions, confusion and misunderstanding about their own personality and the surrounding world. Public humiliation can damage the psychology of children and hinder their overall physical and mental development. The key purpose of this study is to analyse the psychological impact of bullying on children’s personalities and development.

Topic 5: Assessing the impact of psychological pricing on consumer purchase intention

Research Aim: Psychological pricing, also known as charm pricing and price ending, is a market pricing strategy in which certain prices can have a psychological impact on consumers. This strategy also includes a slightly less than a round number, e.g. 2.99, which could incline consumers to make purchase decisions in favour of the seller. Hence, this research aims to assess the impact of psychological pricing on consumer purchase intention.

Topic 6: Borderline Personality Disorder and Self-Cutting Behaviors – Are they Inter Related?

Research Aim: Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental health disorder that impacts the thinking process of an individual. This disorder impacts the way you think and feel about yourself and others. Relationships are unstable. There are extreme emotions and distorted self-image when a person is suffering from a borderline personality disorder. This research will discuss this disorder in detail and evaluate whether self-cutting behaviours are a result of this disorder or not.

Topic 7: Depression and its risk factors – How can it be prevented?

Research Aim: Depression is a psychological issue that needs immediate attention. There are a lot of factors that lead to depression. This research will talk about the various risk factors that contribute to depression in an individual. The research will also discuss ways and strategies through which depression can be managed and eliminated in some cases. Case studies will be a part of this research.

Topic 8: Childhood trauma and its long-lasting impacts on individuals in adulthood

Research Aim: This research will talk about an important issue i.e. childhood trauma. This includes emotional and physical trauma that a child had experienced in his childhood. This research will discuss whether this trauma will impact the individual further in his life or not. If an adult’s future life is likely to be affected by childhood trauma, then in what ways will it change the individual, and how will it shape his personality? All these questions will be answered with this research.

Organisational Psychology Dissertation Topics

The role of industrial psychologists, also known as organisational psychologists, is to apply the principles of psychology to marketing, sales, management, administration, and human resources problems that organizations face.

Typical tasks that organisational psychologists perform include but are not limited to organisational development and analysis, training and development, employee evaluation and selection, policymaking, and more. The following dissertation topics are developed with respect to organisational psychology:

Topic 1: Research in industrial and organisational psychology from 1980 to 2015: Changes, choices, and trends

Research Aim: This research will compare the choices, trends, and changes in industrial and organisational psychology. The years compared will be 1990-2000, 2001-2010, and 2011-2020.

Topic 2: Computerized adaptive testing in industrial and organisational psychology

Research Aim: This research will explore the advanced technique i.e. computerized adaptive testing in organisational and industrial psychology.

Topic 3: Leader-member exchange as a moderating variable in the relationship between well-being and job security

Research Aim: This research will analyse the leader-member exchange as a variable that moderates the relationship between job security and well-being.

Topic 4: Intelligent leadership and leadership competencies – Developing a leadership framework for intelligent organizations

Research Aim: This research will understand the leadership competencies and intelligent leadership by analysing a leadership framework for intelligent organisations.

Topic 5: Burnout amongst executive staff: What are the main predictors? A review of literature from the UK and Europe.

Research Aim: This research will talk about the most pressing issue at workplaces right now, i.e. burnout, The study will include predictors of burnout by analysing literature from Europe and the UK.

Topic 6: Interior design and Industrial psychology – Investigating the role of employees' reward and motivation in shaping up the look of the factory or office

Research Aim: This research will understand the role of employee reward and motivation in shaping up workplaces with a focus on how interior design can create a working environment for employees that enhance their motivation levels.

Topic 7: Investigating the impact of strategic business partnering for business organisations – A case study of any UK based company

Research Aim: This research will talk about the impact of strategic business partnering for business organisations. You can provide us with the name of the company you would want to base your research on.

Topic 8: Social science strategies for managing diversity: Industrial and organisational opportunities to enhance inclusion

Research Aim: This research will interrogate an extremely important issue of psychology, i.e., diversity and inclusion at the workplace. The study will be conducted with respect to social science strategies.

Topic 9: Studying Influencing Factors in Effective Training Programs in Organisations

Research Aim: This research will talk about the various psychological factors that influence training programs organised by companies.

Topic 10: To understand international branding in light of the concept of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions

Research Aim: This research will aim to understand international branding in light of the concept of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The research will be descriptive in nature and make use of secondary data.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Clinical Psychology Dissertation Topics

Clinical psychology can be defined as integrating clinical knowledge, theory, and science to understand and prevent psychologically based dysfunction and distress. Another aim of this branch of psychology is to promote personal development and behavioural well-being.

Clinical psychologists’ job responsibilities include conducting research, teaching, drug and alcohol treatment, assessing disorders, testifying legal settings, and creating and managing programs to prevent and treat social problems.

A well-written dissertation in this area of psychology can help students to fetch a high academic grade. Here are some interesting topics in this area:

Topic 1: Which clinical and demographic factors predict poor insight in individuals with obsessions and compulsions?

Research Aim: This research will discuss the clinical and demographic factors that predict poor insight within individuals with compulsions and obsessions.

Topic 2: Anger beliefs and behaviour; An Investigation of associations with Hypomania in a non-clinical sample

Research Aim: This research will investigate anger, behaviour, and beliefs concerning hypomania in a non-clinical sample.

Topic 3: Clinical psychologists’ experiences of accessing personal therapy during training: A narrative analysis

Research Aim: This research will discuss clinical psychologists’ experiences of accessing personal therapy during training. This will be a narrative analysis.

Topic 4: Exploring body image and identity in people who have had a heart or lung transplant

Research Aim: This research will help explore the identity and body image of people who have had a heart or a lung transplant. All related issues will be discussed in this study.

Topic 5: Psychosocial adjustment to renal failure and consequent dialysis

Research Aim: This research will explore psychosocial adjustment required during renal failure. The study will also discuss dialysis, which will result due to renal failure.

Topic 6: Experiences of psychosocial formulation within a bio-psychosocial model of care for psychosis

Research Aim: This research will talk about psychosocial formulation experiences within a bio-psychosocial model of care for psychosis.

Topic 7: Experiences and their association with eating behaviour in adulthood

Research Aim: This research will investigate the relationship between individual experiences and eating behaviour in adulthood. The study will furthermore present suggestions as to how these conditions can be improved.

Topic 8: Barriers to communicating about sexual dysfunction following heart trauma

Research Aim: This research will talk about an important issue i.e. sexual dysfunction. However, the study will be conducted concerning the issue being developed due to heart trauma.

Topic 9: Validation of a new scale assessing the use of strategies to change another person’s mood or emotional state

Research Aim: This research will investigate and try to validate a new scale that will be used to assess strategies for changing another person’s emotional state or mood.

Topic 10: Examining Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) within a cognitive framework

Research Aim: This research will investigate an important psychology issue, i.e. depression. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) will be assessed with a cognitive framework.

Also Read: Construction Engineering Dissertation Topics

Cognitive Psychology Dissertation Topics

Cognitive Psychology can be defined as the study of mental processes such as thinking, creativity, problem solving, perception, memory, language use, and attention through neuropsychology, computer modeling, and experimentation.

Cognitive psychologists are primarily responsible for investigating how the human brain absorbs and interprets information at micro and macro levels. This area of psychology is broad. Therefore you will have many topic options to choose from. Please see below some titles if you are looking to base your dissertation on the field of cognitive psychology.

Topic 1: Adolescent perceptions and beliefs of proactive-reactive aggression explored through the social information processing model of aggression

Research Aim: This research will talk about various perceptions and beliefs of adolescents with respect to proactive-reactive aggression. These will be explored through the social information processing model of aggression.

Topic 2: Analyzing how cognitive flexibility is influenced by emotions

Research Aim: This research will analyze how emotions influence the cognitive flexibility of individuals.

Topic 3: Tractable cognition: The role of complexity theory in cognitive psychology

Research Aim: This research will discuss tractable cognition. The study will discuss the role of complexity theory in cognitive psychology.

Topic 4: Conflict monitoring across sensory modalities

Research Aim: This research will discuss conflict monitoring during sensory modalities. The study will talk about various conflict monitoring methods.

Topic 5: Familiarity and its effect on facial expression recognition?

Research Aim: This research will discuss the concept of familiarity and its impact on facial expression recognition.

Topic 6: Investigating the relationship between cognitive vulnerability and depression

Research Aim: This research will investigate the relationship between depression and cognitive vulnerability.

Topic 7: Effectiveness of mindfulness training on ratings of perceived stress, mindfulness, and well-being of adolescents enrolled in an international baccalaureate diploma program

Research Aim: This research will discuss the effectiveness of mindfulness training on ratings of well-being and perceived stress of adolescents. The participants of this research will be international baccalaureate diploma students.

Topic 8: Assessing the development of implicit intergroup cognition in relation to in-groups and out-groups: social learning or pre-specified?

Research Aim: This research will assess the development of implicit intergroup cognition with respect to out-groups and in-groups. The study will conclude whether this development classifies as social learning or is pre-specified.

Topic 9: Assessing the relationship between impaired social cognition, emotion, and anxiety disorders.

Research Aim: This research will discuss the relationship between emotion, anxiety disorders, and impaired social cognition.

Topic 10: Investigating the relationship between episodic memory and emotional memory

Research Aim: This research will investigate the relationship between emotional memory and episodic memory and the underlying causes.

Also Read : Project Management Dissertation Topics

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• Social Psychology Dissertation Topics

This branch of psychology has gained tremendous importance in the world of academia in recent times. Essentially, it deals with social interactions, including their influence on the individuals and their origin.

According to Baron, Byrne, and Sulls (1989), “the scientific field seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour in social situations.”

Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that social psychology primarily investigates how human behaviour can influence other people and the surrounding social environment. Some relevant social psychology dissertation topics are listed below:

Topic 1: Cognitive, affective, and social psychological correlates of psychopathic personality traits in offenders and non-offenders

Research Aim: This research will address cognitive, affective, and social psychological correlations of psychopathic personality traits in offenders and non-offenders.

Topic 2: A social-psychological exploration of word-of-mouth traveller information in the digital age

Research Aim: This research will explore the word of mouth exchange of traveller information in today’s age with a social-psychological perspective.

Topic 3: Investigating the concept of contemporary social and cultural psychology

Research Aim: This research will investigate the concept of contemporary social and cultural psychology.

Topic 4: Methods for social psychological research: fundamental qualitative and fundamental quantitative methods.

Research Aim: This will be an interesting study. The research will explore two major social psychological research methods; fundamental qualitative method and fundamental quantitative method.

Topic 5: The impact of gender mistakes on various individual attitudes and behaviours that contribute to gender inequality

Research Aim: This research will explore the impact of gender issues on different individual attitudes and behaviours. Moreover, the study will assess their impact and contribution to increasing gender inequality.

Topic 6: Personality, passion, self-esteem and psychological well-being among junior elite athletes in the UK

Research Aim: This research will study the psychological well-being of junior athletes in the UK. This includes assessing their personality, passion, and self-esteem.

Topic 7: Mad, bad, or dangerous? Assessing changing social attitudes to mental illness through a study of magazine and TV advertising.

Research Aim: This research will assess the changing social attitudes to mental illness by studying TV and magazine advertising. The study will focus on the impact of these advertisements on the mental health of the audience.

Topic 8: Use of images of women in corporate website branding – The role of gender, marketing, and internet presence

Research Aim: This research will assess the use of women’s images in website branding. The study will evaluate and analyze the role of gender, marketing, and internet presence.

Topic 9: How the use of music can help to reduce crime rate – A quantitative study of underground tube stations in London

Research Aim: The study will focus on an ignored socio-psychological aspect i.e. music. The research will assess how music helps to reduce the crime rate. A quantitative study covering underground tube stations will be conducted.

Topic 10: The enduring legacy of cognitive dissonance

Research Aim: This research will talk about the history of cognitive dissonance. It will also discuss its enduring legacy.

Also Read: Sociology Dissertation Topics

Abnormal Psychology Dissertation Topics

The abnormal patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviour that may lead to mental disorders are studied under the abnormal psychology branch of psychology. But what is an abnormality, and who decides what abnormal behaviour is? Historically, societies have been quick to observe and tag individuals as abnormal when they encounter situations that they could not understand.

Abnormal psychologists are responsible for identifying the human characteristics that deviate from the norm. This branch of psychology can interest students who wish to explore unusual human behaviour and unusual conditions. Following topics on abnormal psychology can help to ease the dissertation topic selection process for your thesis project:

Topic 1: Assessing and Investigating the concepts of abnormality and mental health

Research Aim: This research will discuss the basics of abnormality and mental health. The literature review will cover the various mental health conditions and what leads them to these issues.

Topic 2: A neuropsychological investigation of frontal brain asymmetry in depression with comorbid anxiety

Research Aim: This research will investigate a neuropsychological issue, i.e., frontal brain asymmetry in depression with comorbid anxiety.

Topic 3: What is the relationship between children’s home routines and treatment for ADHD? A study of the literature

Research Aim: This research will talk about a common yet ignored issue, ADHD. The study will explore the relationship between children’s home routines and treatment procedures.

Topic 4: Investigating the relationship between depression and diet – A qualitative study of how the Mediterranean diet can help to lower depression levels

Research Aim: This research will investigate an interesting relationship – depression and diet. The study will also explore how the Mediterranean diet can help reduce levels of depression.

Topic 5: Promoting mental health and psychological wellbeing in children: A socio-cultural activity theory analysis of professional contributions and learning in a multidisciplinary team

Research Aim: This research will aim to promote mental health and psychological wellbeing in children. The study will be based on a socio-cultural activity theory analysis of professional contributions and learning in a multidisciplinary team.

Topic 6: A critical inquiry into the views of professionals working with families, parents, and children.

Research Aim: This research will help conduct a critical inquiry into the views of professionals working with parents, families, and children.

Topic 7: Exploring ways of managing stress and coping with poor mental health

Research Aim: This research will help to explore stress and coping issues amongst individuals with poor mental health.

Topic 8: The role of positive irrational beliefs in mental health & wellbeing

Research Aim: This research will talk about the positive role of irrational beliefs associated with mental health and wellbeing.

Topic 9: To understand and establish the relationship between social media websites and self-harm in adolescent females

Research Aim: This research will aim to understand and establish the relationship between social media websites and self-harm in adolescent females.

Topic 10: A biographical narrative study exploring mental ill-health through the life course

Research Aim: This will be a biographical narrative study that will explore the mental illness issues that may cause difficulties to lead the course of life.

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Developmental and Educational Psychology Dissertation Topics

According to Kendra Cherry (2001), “Educational psychology involves the study of how people learn, including topics such as student outcomes, the instructional process, individual differences in learning, gifted learners and learning disabilities.” This branch of psychology considers not only the learning process but also the social and emotional aspects of development.

Developmental and educational psychologists are responsible for designing professional development programmes, evaluating programmes and interventions, designing training programmes, consulting with groups and individuals, counselling, designing effective treatment programmes, assessing developmental learning and behavioural problems among individuals, diagnosing disabilities and disorders, and identifying and clarifying problems.

Here’s a list of developmental and educational psychology dissertation topics for you to choose from:

Topic 1: Investigating parents’ concerns with a child’s development: A Case Study

Research Aim: This research will investigate concerns of parents related to child development. A specific case will be examined in this research.

Topic 2: To examine the parent-child relationship issues

Research Aim: This research will explore the issues related to the parent-child bond. Solutions will also be provided as to how these should be tackled.

Topic 3: Managing a child’s difficult temperament or behaviour

Research Aim: This research will help parents understand how they can manage a child who has a difficult temperament.

Topic 4: How educational psychologists can assist a child with disabilities

Research Aim: This research will explore how educational psychologists help in assisting disabled children.

Topic 5: Exploring the causes of sibling rivalries in the family: Studying How These can Be Tackled.

Research Aim: This research will talk explores the causes behind sibling rivalries in families and will also suggest how these can be controlled.

Topic 6: Problems parents, teachers, and children may face in the transition from early childhood to school years

Research Aim: This study will explore issues and problems parents, teachers, and children face in the transition from early childhood to school years.

Topic 7: Exploring the impact of consultation on educational psychology service users, including pupils, teachers, and parents

Research Aim: This research will explore the impacts of consultation on educational psychology services which include pupils, teachers, and parents.

Topic 8: The development of the theory of mind in deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing preschool children

Research Aim: This research will talk about the developmental theory of mind in deaf people, hard of hearing, and hearing of preschool children.

Topic 9: Cultural differences and perceptions of autism among school psychologists

Research Aim: This research will talk about the cultural differences and perceptions of autism amongst school psychologists.

Topic 10: High school special education teachers’ use of positive behaviour: Effects of a behaviour prompting routine on specific praise rates

Research Aim: This research will discuss the use of positive behaviour by high school special education teachers. Furthermore, the dissertation will also study the impact of behaviour that prompts a routine for specific praise rates.

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Important Notes:

As a psychology student looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing psychology theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

Psychology is vast and interrelated with so many other academic disciplines. That is why it is imperative to create a psychology dissertation topic that is particular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation as you may end up in the cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

Keeping our advice in mind while developing a research topic will allow you to pick one of the best psychology dissertation topics that fulfil your requirement of writing a research paper and adds to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalizing your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample psychology dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure your Psychology Dissertation

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analyzing published and unpublished literature on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths while identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic and key terms that can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis : Findings of the research are analyzed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts, and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of the results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is establishing the link between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regards to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References : Make sure to complete this following your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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Our team of writers  is highly qualified. They are experts in their respective fields. They have been working for us for a long time. Thus, they are well aware of the issues and the trends of the subject they specialize in.

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How to find psychology dissertation topics.

To discover Psychology dissertation topics:

• Explore recent research and journals.
• Identify emerging areas or gaps.
• Consider personal interests or experiences.
• Discuss with professors or experts.
• Analyze real-world issues and applications.
• Choose a topic that excites and challenges you.

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Are you a marketing or management student looking for specific marketing management dissertation topics? If yes, your search is over because this article provides 25 highly focused marketing management dissertation ideas and examples.

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Auditing dissertation study provides professionals and students with a variety of chances to improve quality in healthcare and commercial organizations.

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

• How It Works

Psychology Research Methods: Creating a Research Question

• Creating a Research Question
• Search Terms
• Search Strategies
• Recording Your Research
• Finding Articles
• Finding Books
• Journal Articles
• Books & Other Sources
• Publisher URL

Choosing a Topic

Sometimes the most difficult part of the research process is choosing a topic.  Here are some tips for selecting a research question that you will enjoy learning about and will ultimately lead to a good grade.

• Read through your assignment.   Professors design an assignment outline for a reason.  Make sure your topic can and will adhere to their requirements and guidelines.
• Choose a topic you are interested in.   If you don't like what you're researching, chances are you won't learn a whole lot or enjoy the process.  And really, what's the point of that?  
• Browse resources that relate to your course work.  Look through a newspaper, magazine, or database for current events or hot topics.  Browsing can spark a lot of great ideas and can help you refine your topic.
• Ask for help!   There is nothing wrong with asking your professor or a librarian to help you brainstorm ideas.

Where to Start

The links below are great places to start in developing a research question.  Browsing current events and hot topics can spark your interest and inspire a topic.

• Alvernia's "Opposing Viewpoints" Collection
• Alvernia's Reference Collection
• Google Trends
• Health & Medicine
• Hot Paper Topics
• Hot Topics for Research Papers
• National Library of Medicine
• New York Times
• NPR Research News
• Pew Research Center
• Psychology Encyclopedias - eBooks
• Psychology Encyclopedias - print
• Public Agenda's Programs and Reports
• MedLinePlus This link opens in a new window
• Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window

APA PsycINFO Guides

These APA PsycINFO guides include suggested subject terms to aid you in your research.

• Behavioral Economics
• Child Development
• Computers & the Internet
• Gerontology
• Grief & Trauma Counseling
• Integrative Medicine
• Marketing & Advertising
• Military Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychology and The Law
• Public Health
• Religion & Spirituality
• Sexuality & Gender Identity
• Social Work

Helpful Tools

• bubbl.us - Brainstorming Made Simple
• Critical Thinking Model
• Glean Comparison Search
• Thesis Builder

How to Formulate an Answerable Clinical Question

P opulation/patients

I ntervention/indicator

C omparator/control

• P I C O: Formulate an Answerable Question
• Formulating Answerable Clinical Questions

Developing your Research Question

• Creating a Research Question Helps you to write a narrow, focused research question.

Try asking yourself these questions to help develop a research question:

Topic:  Obesity

Who?  teenagers

What?  consumption of high fat foods

Where?  school cafeterias

Question :  How does the consumption of high fat foods in school cafeterias contribute to teenager obesity?

Topic: Smoke Exposure

Who?   children exposed to smoke

What?   developmental abilities

Question :  How does smoke exposure alter the developmental abilities of children?

Below is worksheet which will help illustrate how a research question develops from a broad topic to a focused question.  This could be a helpful resource for you during the process of creating your research question.

Translating Your Research Question into a Search

Research Question:

Does the rate of medication compliance change when the number of prescribed medications increase for older adults?

1. Identify the main concepts

   Does the rate of  medication compliance  change when the  number  of prescribed medications increase for  older adults ?

2. Add related terms or synonyms 

    Things to consider        Example  

   synonyms                  drugs OR medications

   antonyms                   adherence OR nonadherence

• Use terms you would expect professionals to use in published articles
• Browse psychology encyclopedia articles for terms
• Check PsycINFO Guides

3. Connect related terms with OR.  Connect concepts with AND

(medication OR drugs) AND (compliance OR adherence OR nonadherence) AND (multiple OR polypharmacy) AND (elderly OR aged)

• << Previous: Research Help
• Next: Search Terms >>
• Last Updated: Aug 18, 2023 3:22 PM
• URL: https://alvernia.libguides.com/psychology_research

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

2.2 Generating Good Research Questions

Learning objectives.

• Describe some common sources of research ideas and generate research ideas using those sources.
• Describe some techniques for turning research ideas into empirical research questions and use those techniques to generate questions.
• Explain what makes a research question interesting and evaluate research questions in terms of their interestingness.

Good research must begin with a good research question. Yet coming up with good research questions is something that novice researchers often find difficult and stressful. One reason is that this is a creative process that can appear mysterious—even magical—with experienced researchers seeming to pull interesting research questions out of thin air. However, psychological research on creativity has shown that it is neither as mysterious nor as magical as it appears. It is largely the product of ordinary thinking strategies and persistence (Weisberg, 1993). This section covers some fairly simple strategies for finding general research ideas, turning those ideas into empirically testable research questions, and finally evaluating those questions in terms of how interesting they are and how feasible they would be to answer.

Finding Inspiration

Research questions often begin as more general research ideas—usually focusing on some behavior or psychological characteristic: talkativeness, memory for touches, depression, bungee jumping, and so on. Before looking at how to turn such ideas into empirically testable research questions, it is worth looking at where such ideas come from in the first place. Three of the most common sources of inspiration are informal observations, practical problems, and previous research.

Informal observations include direct observations of our own and others’ behavior as well as secondhand observations from nonscientific sources such as newspapers, books, and so on. For example, you might notice that you always seem to be in the slowest moving line at the grocery store. Could it be that most people think the same thing? Or you might read in the local newspaper about people donating money and food to a local family whose house has burned down and begin to wonder about who makes such donations and why. Some of the most famous research in psychology has been inspired by informal observations. Stanley Milgram’s famous research on obedience, for example, was inspired in part by journalistic reports of the trials of accused Nazi war criminals—many of whom claimed that they were only obeying orders. This led him to wonder about the extent to which ordinary people will commit immoral acts simply because they are ordered to do so by an authority figure (Milgram, 1963).

Practical problems can also inspire research ideas, leading directly to applied research in such domains as law, health, education, and sports. Can human figure drawings help children remember details about being physically or sexually abused? How effective is psychotherapy for depression compared to drug therapy? To what extent do cell phones impair people’s driving ability? How can we teach children to read more efficiently? What is the best mental preparation for running a marathon?

Probably the most common inspiration for new research ideas, however, is previous research. Recall that science is a kind of large-scale collaboration in which many different researchers read and evaluate each other’s work and conduct new studies to build on it. Of course, experienced researchers are familiar with previous research in their area of expertise and probably have a long list of ideas. This suggests that novice researchers can find inspiration by consulting with a more experienced researcher (e.g., students can consult a faculty member). But they can also find inspiration by picking up a copy of almost any professional journal and reading the titles and abstracts. In one typical issue of Psychological Science , for example, you can find articles on the perception of shapes, anti-Semitism, police lineups, the meaning of death, second-language learning, people who seek negative emotional experiences, and many other topics. If you can narrow your interests down to a particular topic (e.g., memory) or domain (e.g., health care), you can also look through more specific journals, such as Memory & Cognition or Health Psychology .

Generating Empirically Testable Research Questions

Once you have a research idea, you need to use it to generate one or more empirically testable research questions, that is, questions expressed in terms of a single variable or relationship between variables. One way to do this is to look closely at the discussion section in a recent research article on the topic. This is the last major section of the article, in which the researchers summarize their results, interpret them in the context of past research, and suggest directions for future research. These suggestions often take the form of specific research questions, which you can then try to answer with additional research. This can be a good strategy because it is likely that the suggested questions have already been identified as interesting and important by experienced researchers.

But you may also want to generate your own research questions. How can you do this? First, if you have a particular behavior or psychological characteristic in mind, you can simply conceptualize it as a variable and ask how frequent or intense it is. How many words on average do people speak per day? How accurate are children’s memories of being touched? What percentage of people have sought professional help for depression? If the question has never been studied scientifically—which is something that you will learn in your literature review—then it might be interesting and worth pursuing.

If scientific research has already answered the question of how frequent or intense the behavior or characteristic is, then you should consider turning it into a question about a statistical relationship between that behavior or characteristic and some other variable. One way to do this is to ask yourself the following series of more general questions and write down all the answers you can think of.

• What are some possible causes of the behavior or characteristic?
• What are some possible effects of the behavior or characteristic?
• What types of people might exhibit more or less of the behavior or characteristic?
• What types of situations might elicit more or less of the behavior or characteristic?

In general, each answer you write down can be conceptualized as a second variable, suggesting a question about a statistical relationship. If you were interested in talkativeness, for example, it might occur to you that a possible cause of this psychological characteristic is family size. Is there a statistical relationship between family size and talkativeness? Or it might occur to you that people seem to be more talkative in same-sex groups than mixed-sex groups. Is there a difference in the average level of talkativeness of people in same-sex groups and people in mixed-sex groups? This approach should allow you to generate many different empirically testable questions about almost any behavior or psychological characteristic.

If through this process you generate a question that has never been studied scientifically—which again is something that you will learn in your literature review—then it might be interesting and worth pursuing. But what if you find that it has been studied scientifically? Although novice researchers often want to give up and move on to a new question at this point, this is not necessarily a good strategy. For one thing, the fact that the question has been studied scientifically and the research published suggests that it is of interest to the scientific community. For another, the question can almost certainly be refined so that its answer will still contribute something new to the research literature. Again, asking yourself a series of more general questions about the statistical relationship is a good strategy.

• Are there other ways to operationally define the variables?
• Are there types of people for whom the statistical relationship might be stronger or weaker?
• Are there situations in which the statistical relationship might be stronger or weaker—including situations with practical importance?

For example, research has shown that women and men speak about the same number of words per day—but this was when talkativeness was measured in terms of the number of words spoken per day among college students in the United States and Mexico. We can still ask whether other ways of measuring talkativeness—perhaps the number of different people spoken to each day—produce the same result. Or we can ask whether studying elderly people or people from other cultures produces the same result. Again, this approach should help you generate many different research questions about almost any statistical relationship.

Evaluating Research Questions

Researchers usually generate many more research questions than they ever attempt to answer. This means they must have some way of evaluating the research questions they generate so that they can choose which ones to pursue. In this section, we consider two criteria for evaluating research questions: the interestingness of the question and the feasibility of answering it.

Interestingness

How often do people tie their shoes? Do people feel pain when you punch them in the jaw? Are women more likely to wear makeup than men? Do people prefer vanilla or chocolate ice cream? Although it would be a fairly simple matter to design a study and collect data to answer these questions, you probably would not want to because they are not interesting. We are not talking here about whether a research question is interesting to us personally but whether it is interesting to people more generally and, especially, to the scientific community. But what makes a research question interesting in this sense? Here we look at three factors that affect the interestingness of a research question: the answer is in doubt, the answer fills a gap in the research literature, and the answer has important practical implications.

First, a research question is interesting to the extent that its answer is in doubt. Obviously, questions that have been answered by scientific research are no longer interesting as the subject of new empirical research. But the fact that a question has not been answered by scientific research does not necessarily make it interesting. There has to be some reasonable chance that the answer to the question will be something that we did not already know. But how can you assess this before actually collecting data? One approach is to try to think of reasons to expect different answers to the question—especially ones that seem to conflict with common sense. If you can think of reasons to expect at least two different answers, then the question might be interesting. If you can think of reasons to expect only one answer, then it probably is not. The question of whether women are more talkative than men is interesting because there are reasons to expect both answers. The existence of the stereotype itself suggests the answer could be yes, but the fact that women’s and men’s verbal abilities are fairly similar suggests the answer could be no. The question of whether people feel pain when you punch them in the jaw is not interesting because there is absolutely no reason to think that the answer could be anything other than a resounding yes.

A second important factor to consider when deciding if a research question is interesting is whether answering it will fill a gap in the research literature. Again, this means in part that the question has not already been answered by scientific research. But it also means that the question is in some sense a natural one for people who are familiar with the research literature. For example, the question of whether human figure drawings can help children recall touch information would be likely to occur to anyone who was familiar with research on the unreliability of eyewitness memory (especially in children) and the ineffectiveness of some alternative interviewing techniques.

A final factor to consider when deciding whether a research question is interesting is whether its answer has important practical implications. Again, the question of whether human figure drawings help children recall information about being touched has important implications for how children are interviewed in physical and sexual abuse cases. The question of whether cell phone use impairs driving is interesting because it is relevant to the personal safety of everyone who travels by car and to the debate over whether cell phone use should be restricted by law.

Feasibility

A second important criterion for evaluating research questions is the feasibility of successfully answering them. There are many factors that affect feasibility, including time, money, equipment and materials, technical knowledge and skill, and access to research participants. Clearly, researchers need to take these factors into account so that they do not waste time and effort pursuing research that they cannot complete successfully.

Looking through a sample of professional journals in psychology will reveal many studies that are complicated and difficult to carry out. These include longitudinal designs in which participants are tracked over many years, neuroimaging studies in which participants’ brain activity is measured while they carry out various mental tasks, and complex nonexperimental studies involving several variables and complicated statistical analyses. Keep in mind, though, that such research tends to be carried out by teams of highly trained researchers whose work is often supported in part by government and private grants. Keep in mind also that research does not have to be complicated or difficult to produce interesting and important results. Looking through a sample of professional journals will also reveal studies that are relatively simple and easy to carry out—perhaps involving a convenience sample of college students and a paper-and-pencil task.

A final point here is that it is generally good practice to use methods that have already been used successfully by other researchers. For example, if you want to manipulate people’s moods to make some of them happy, it would be a good idea to use one of the many approaches that have been used successfully by other researchers (e.g., paying them a compliment). This is good not only for the sake of feasibility—the approach is “tried and true”—but also because it provides greater continuity with previous research. This makes it easier to compare your results with those of other researchers and to understand the implications of their research for yours, and vice versa.

Key Takeaways

• Research ideas can come from a variety of sources, including informal observations, practical problems, and previous research.
• Research questions expressed in terms of variables and relationships between variables can be suggested by other researchers or generated by asking a series of more general questions about the behavior or psychological characteristic of interest.
• It is important to evaluate how interesting a research question is before designing a study and collecting data to answer it. Factors that affect interestingness are the extent to which the answer is in doubt, whether it fills a gap in the research literature, and whether it has important practical implications.
• It is also important to evaluate how feasible a research question will be to answer. Factors that affect feasibility include time, money, technical knowledge and skill, and access to special equipment and research participants.
• Practice: Generate five research ideas based on each of the following: informal observations, practical problems, and topics discussed in recent issues of professional journals.
• Practice: Generate five empirical research questions about each of the following behaviors or psychological characteristics: long-distance running, getting tattooed, social anxiety, bullying, and memory for early childhood events.
• Practice: Evaluate each of the research questions you generated in Exercise 2 in terms of its interestingness based on the criteria discussed in this section.
• Practice: Find an issue of a journal that publishes short empirical research reports (e.g., Psychological Science , Psychonomic Bulletin and Review , Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ). Pick three studies, and rate each one in terms of how feasible it would be for you to replicate it with the resources available to you right now. Use the following rating scale: (1) You could replicate it essentially as reported. (2) You could replicate it with some simplifications. (3) You could not replicate it. Explain each rating.

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67 , 371–378.

Weisberg, R. W. (1993). Creativity: Beyond the myth of genius . New York, NY: Freeman.

Research Methods in Psychology Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Conducting research in clinical psychology practice: Barriers, facilitators, and recommendations

Kirsten v. smith.

1 Oxford Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK

Graham R. Thew

The combination of clinical psychologists’ therapeutic expertise and research training means that they are in an ideal position to be conducting high‐quality research projects. However, despite these skills and the documented benefits of research to services and service users, research activity in practice remains low. This article aims to give an overview of the advantages of, and difficulties in conducting research in clinical practice.

We reviewed the relevant literature on barriers to research and reflected on our clinical and research experiences in a range of contexts to offer practical recommendations.

We considered factors involved in the planning, sourcing support, implementation, and dissemination phases of research, and outline suggestions to improve the feasibility of research projects in post‐qualification roles.

Conclusions

We suggest that research leadership is particularly important within clinical psychology to ensure the profession's continued visibility and influence within health settings.

Practitioner points

Clinical implications

• Emerging evidence suggests that clinical settings that foster research are associated with better patient outcomes.
• Suggestions to increase the feasibility of research projects in clinical settings are detailed.

Limitations

• The present recommendations are drawn from the authors’ practical experience and may need adaptation to individual practitioners’ settings.
• This study does not attempt to assess the efficacy of the strategies suggested.

There is a growing body of evidence that conducting research in clinical practice not only improves the clinical performance of the service (Mckeon et al ., 2013 ) but can also lead to improved physical health outcomes and survival rates (Nickerson et al ., 2014 ; Ozdemir et al ., 2015 ; Rochon, du Bois, & Lange, 2014 ). Clinical psychologists in the United Kingdom are predominantly trained in the ‘scientist‐practitioner model’ meaning that we theoretically have the skills to both deliver psychological therapies and design, conduct, analyse, and interpret research (Holttum & Goble, 2006 ; Stricker, 2002 ). However, despite research output being a requirement of doctoral training, psychological research conducted in clinical practice post‐qualification is not commonplace (Mitchell & Gill, 2014 ; Morton, Patel, & Parker, 2008 ). In fact, it has been suggested that the modal number of publications for clinical psychologists, namely zero, has not improved in over twenty years (Barrom, Shadish, & Montgomery, 1988 ; Eke, Holttum, & Hayward, 2012 ; Norcross, Karpiak, & Santoro, 2005 ).

Clinical psychology trainees are required to produce a substantial and original piece of clinically‐relevant research as part of their training qualification. However, reports suggest that up to 75% of UK doctoral theses are left unpublished (Cooper & Turpin, 2007 ). One suggestion for these low publication rates is the lack of identification with the role of ‘researcher’ and rejection of the scientist‐practitioner model (Gelso, 1993 ; Newman & McKenzie, 2011 ). However, it seems important to broaden the conceptualization of the term ‘research activity’ to more than the production of peer‐reviewed publications and to include consuming research (e.g., reading literature, reviewing guidelines, staying up to date with recent field advances). While not falling under the formal definition of research, service evaluation (designed and conducted solely to define or judge current care) and audit (designed and conducted to inform delivery of best care by comparing current care against a predefined standard) could also reasonably constitute research activity given that they draw on similar skills (NHS Health Research Authority, 2014 ; see Table  1 for an overview of research types, their practical requirements, and general aims). Yet it has been suggested that even service evaluation and audit are not projects that clinical psychologists feel particularly comfortable undertaking (Cooper & Graham, 2009 ).

Types of research activity in clinical psychology, requirements, aims, and potential team member involvement

C = clinicians; M = managers; T = trainees; J = junior staff (e.g., assistant psychologists, research assistants, other junior staff members); A = administrative staff; E = external collaborators; S = statistical advisors; RCT = randomized controlled trial.

A recent study showed that Australian psychologists working in a large metropolitan public health setting reported higher perceived capacity to undertake research compared with other allied health professionals (Elphinston & Pager, 2015 ). However, psychologists also perceived their individual capacity to be greater than that of their team and overarching organization, which may suggest they do not feel research skills are sufficiently valued or harnessed by employers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, team research capacity was found to mediate the relationship between psychologists’ research skills and their current research activity. Consequently, psychologists working in teams where research training was encouraged, funds were allocated, and projects relevant to practice were supported were more likely to engage with research and employ their skills. This study is consistent with earlier research that found subjective norms (i.e., beliefs about how others would perceive ones’ engagement in research) to be an important mediator between research environment and research intention (Eke et al ., 2012 ; Holttum & Goble, 2006 ). Similarly, these findings were supported by a report on attitudes to research activity within the health and social care system in Ireland. This found that a lack of perceived skills, coupled with an organizational culture that did not value research, contributed to low research engagement (McHugh & Byrne, 2011 ). This underutilization of research training is troubling as it remains a unique selling point of clinical psychologists and an opportunity to provide intellectual leadership and influence policy within the health care profession. One explanation might be that, in the United Kingdom at least, research in clinical practice is so rare that there is limited opportunity for the benefits to be realized by wider teams, perhaps feeding the undervaluation of these skills.

However, this only partly explains the low research output of psychologists in clinical practice and unfortunately there is limited literature exploring the reasons for this. Some suggested barriers by McHugh and Byrne ( 2011 ) include the prioritization of clinical roles, lack of protected time, and lack of appropriate funding. In fact, over 80% of their participants cited either a lack of time or clinical work pressures as a factor preventing research activity. A recent report found that much of the research conducted within the National Health Service (NHS) was unfunded (Mitchell & Gill, 2014 ) with previous reports in the United States suggesting that as much as 40% of all research is carried out without adequate funding (Silberman & Snyderman, 1997 ), with 60% of unfunded projects being carried out in researchers’ own time (Schroter, Tite, & Kassem, 2006 ). Previous research found that competence in applying for funding was rated by both research active and inactive health professionals as their weakest skill. The authors suggested that insufficient practical experience due to limited funding opportunities may compound the lack of skill development (McHugh & Byrne, 2011 ). So it seems that we, as clinicians, have the difficult task of fitting research into limited time, with limited funds, often without the support or encouragement of our surrounding teams. Yet, as already mentioned, our research capacity enhances our professional visibility and influence within the field, as well as improving clinical performance and health outcomes.

In the light of the numerous benefits and difficulties, it is important to consider strategies that may facilitate research activity. We reflected on our clinical and research experiences in a range of contexts, aiming to outline key factors that can influence the successful set‐up and implementation of research in clinical practice. Relevant literature was consulted to consider the empirical support for these factors and to guide recommendations to overcome potential barriers.

Determinants of successful research – Recommendations from the field

Role specification.

One factor that can make research projects easier to implement is having them ‘built in’ to overall job roles. Where psychologists are looking for post‐qualification positions or looking to change posts, it is worth considering how research components or specific projects fall within job descriptions. Having research activity included within the overall framework of roles and responsibilities for a post not only facilitates it happening, but also demonstrates something of the service's attitude towards this aspect of clinical psychologists’ skills. Where research is not mentioned, we recommend asking about what opportunities might be available, as it is likely this may be feasible at least in some form. If psychologists are enquiring more routinely about research opportunities within posts, this may contribute to research skills being more widely recognized as a key component of what the profession can offer.

We note that this approach does not apply exclusively to those seeking new posts, and would encourage psychologists to consider research opportunities within the context of job planning meetings, writing job descriptions for vacant posts, or annual appraisals.

Scope of research project

A related point is the choice of research project itself. The size and setting of the service may mean larger‐scale studies are not practical in terms of resources, and original research studies will require formal ethical review, 1 which can be lengthy, so may be a less practical option. However, in our experience the projects that are most difficult to implement in routine clinical settings are those where the impact of the findings may not be immediately apparent. While many may argue that the development of new knowledge is inherently valuable, clinical services must balance a number of competing priorities, meaning they can only feasibly support projects that are likely to lead directly to improved service provision and/or service user benefit. As such, it is recommended that clinicians in the first instance design research projects on the basis of client needs, and/or those with a greater focus on service improvement, which are more likely to be supported by services and clinical teams.

Managerial support

In our experience, research projects in qualified practice hinge greatly on managerial support. Having team leaders, ward managers, or heads of service engaged with the project appears to make them much more feasible, especially in the planning and development stages. We would encourage clinicians to approach managers at the outset of a research project, and to elicit their ideas, interests, and priorities to help shape the project and foster further collaboration. Carving out adequate time for research may be a delicate subject to discuss with managers, especially with a busy caseload and clinical responsibilities. However, given the benefits outlined earlier, and it being among the core skills of our profession, we would encourage decisive advocacy for protected research time.

Previous research has shown that in a sample of research‐active health professionals in the North West of Ireland, almost half (45%) reported having to conduct their research mostly or completely outside of working hours (Research and Education Foundation, 2004 ). We would argue that it is not a reasonable expectation that research activity be subsumed into a schedule already at capacity, and doing this carries the risk of devaluing these skills within our profession. Therefore, we would suggest that managers are given a clear summary of the project, which should include (1) a description of the current problem or unknown issue, and possible implications of this; (2) a summary of potential benefits to service users, and the wider service if the project is done; (3) details of what methods will be used, including what time and resources are required, preferably with minimal impact on routine service provision; and (4) a timeline for the project and dissemination.

Making the most of research time

Finding the time to undertake research projects in the context of a busy clinical service is not straightforward. While we acknowledge that this can be hard to implement, as far as is practical we strongly recommend aiming to designate particular blocks of time in which to undertake research activities, and have found that an effective method to protect this time is to work elsewhere if possible. This helps to keep the research time more distinct and serves as a more concrete reminder of this for both the researcher and other staff members. This approach can also minimize distractions and interruptions, which can reduce perceived effectiveness (Kearns & Gardiner, 2007 ). Clinicians may also want to consider the use of tools such as shared calendars, which can further clarify to the wider team when research time has been allocated. If practical, having this scheduled on a fixed, regular day and time can help make research activity become a more established routine within the service.

It should be noted that it is not necessarily the case that psychologists’ research activity is fully separate from their clinical responsibilities. Some research projects, such as case studies or case series, service user interviews, or single‐case experimental designs, have much greater integration with routine clinical service provision and will therefore require less ‘distinct’ research time (e.g., see Kaur, Murphy, & Smith, 2016 ; Ladd, Luiselli, & Baker, 2009 ; Thew & Krohnert, 2015 ).

Project marketing

Research projects in clinical contexts will require a certain degree of marketing. Having sought and hopefully obtained managerial support, it is helpful to publicize the project, for example, through in‐house presentations, discussion with service users, and service newsletters, magazines, or social media accounts. We have found that projects benefit greatly from the extra visibility and, to some extent, legitimacy that this provides. The marketing approach needs to extend throughout the project to maintain this visibility, which can be achieved through giving brief updates on the status of the project, and taking the time to feed back the results, particularly to staff who may have been involved with recruiting participants or in other capacities. This is also critical to influencing the culture of a service to be more receptive to future research projects.

Some, although not all, projects will require at least some funding, for example, to purchase equipment or resources, to buy out part of a clinician's time, or to recruit a research assistant, and preparing a successful funding application in this competitive climate can be time‐intensive. While this can understandably be a barrier to research activity in some contexts, we would emphasize that funding is by no means required for a successful research project, particularly when there is interest and support from the immediate clinical team including assistants and trainees, or a skilled wider network.

Where funding is being sought, we note that a number of services and trusts have some funds available to support new research projects, particularly those looking to innovate, or deliver more effective and efficient interventions for service users. We recommend working closely with local Research and Development departments, who are able to advise on funding opportunities, and on various aspects of developing and running projects generally. Many charitable organizations fund psychologist‐led projects (examples include the following: MQ: Transforming Mental Health through Research; British Heart Foundation; Marie Curie Cancer Care; Mind; OCD‐UK). At a broader level, agencies such as the National Institute for Health Research, the Wellcome Trust, and the Alzheimer's Society offer more structured programmes of funding to support clinicians in undertaking research projects linked to a clinical or academic institution.

Collaboration

While the research projects conducted as part of clinical training courses tend to be solo efforts with a small number of supervisors, post‐qualification research is able to place a greater emphasis on collaboration. This could be within or across services, and links between clinical services and academic institutions can often be productive. Here, clinicians can benefit from academics’ research expertise and supervision, while academics can benefit from clinicians’ practical experience and knowledge, along with potential links to service users interested in contributing to research studies (Lampropoulos et al ., 2002 ). For example, involvement with academic departments could permit the independent evaluation of local clinical services and establish a protocol and methods for ongoing data collection. On a smaller scale, potential collaborations could include supervising the research projects of clinical trainees and postgraduate junior academics. While collaborations will help to reduce the demands on an individual researcher, they also can serve to maintain the momentum of a research project given multiple people are invested in its completion.

It may also be the case that individuals are willing to assist with the project in a more informal capacity, such as helping with recruitment or general administration. It can be helpful to discuss in the early stages of projects the level of involvement different collaborators will have, and to work out the practical elements of how best to keep people informed and updated with what they might be required to do.

Deadlines and monitoring progress

Although there may be an estimated timescale for the project agreed at the outset, we have found that setting deadlines for different stages of the project can help maintain progress, and prevent the project being overshadowed or neglected in the face of new service‐level priorities or responsibilities. Obviously, a degree of flexibility will always be required, but working to an agreed schedule, and if possible having someone who is more external to the project monitoring its progress, such as a manager or mentor, can be helpful.

Dissemination

Dissemination of project findings can often be a somewhat neglected part of the research process (Cooper & Turpin, 2007 ), but it can play a powerful role in facilitating subsequent service improvements, research projects, and future funding applications. Failing to share and publicize project findings can mean people are unable to see their value and implications, which can therefore hinder research projects from happening in the future.

Publication in peer‐reviewed journals is one effective route to share findings, but there are many others that should also be considered, including presenting at conferences, at team meetings, or directly to service leaders, service users, project participants, and where relevant, to those managing or funding services. To maximize dissemination effectiveness, it will be necessary to adapt the medium and language of your communications to suit a range of audiences. It may be possible to circulate written summaries or brief reports around local or regional professional networks and industry partnerships, and again making use of in‐house media/communication teams can facilitate this.

We note that for some larger projects, the time and effort invested in just obtaining the results can be significant, meaning that finding further time and/or motivation to apply to dissemination activities can be difficult. However, it can be argued that given most projects involve collecting data from participants in some form, who have therefore given their time and energy to assist with the aims of the project, we have a professional duty to make productive use of the findings and ensure that they are shared appropriately. We recommend including dissemination activity in the project timeline from the outset to avoid this being neglected or missed.

Feeling deskilled

Lastly, it is worth noting that for many psychologists, the idea of developing a research project may feel demanding or even daunting and that this may be the principal reason that research ideas do not get taken forward (Cooper & Graham, 2009 ). It is easy to feel that our research skills are no longer up to date, or that our projects will require too much time to be feasible.

Given that this may understandably encourage avoidance of research activity and that as psychologists we all recognize that avoidant strategies are not the most useful in the long term, we have found it helpful to remember the following: First, research projects do not have to use complicated methodology and large samples in order to have scientific merit and useful implications. Second, research activity can be quite closely tied into routine clinical work as described earlier. Third, seeking out potential continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities through workshops, conference attendance, and training activities can improve research skills and increase confidence. Fourth, no researcher knows how to do everything, and that collaboration can be a powerful tool for learning new skills, and lastly, psychologists already have a number of transferable skills from their clinical work, such as the ability to approach a problem logically and systematically, or the capacity to attend accurately and consider carefully what a client is saying, which are equally important and valuable within the research domain.

Despite a strong focus on research skills during clinical psychologists’ training, the evidence suggests that post‐qualification research activity within clinical settings is rare, even though there are tangible benefits to clients and services. While a lack of time to undertake research within clinical roles is perhaps the most obvious reason for this, we have outlined a number of other possible barriers and hope that some of our reflections and suggestions may prove useful to those clinicians who are considering undertaking research projects within their services.

Clinical psychologists’ combination of clinical expertise and research training means that they are in an ideal position to be conducting high‐quality research projects that aim to better understand and intervene across a range of clinical issues. From a professional perspective, these research skills are perhaps one of the key features of clinical psychologists that serve to distinguish us from many health professionals. In a context of financial pressures and cuts to clinical services and training places, it is possible that greater use of these research skills in practice will help to ensure the continued appeal and future utility of clinical psychology.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Belinda Graham for her helpful comments on this manuscript. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust (102176); and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, based at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health.

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Questionable Research Practices in Clinical Psychology

• First Online: 24 August 2022

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• William O’Donohue 4 &
• Akihiko Masuda 5  

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Research into fundamental questions such as psychotherapy outcome and process forms a fundamental component of clinical science. At a broader level, the aim of this volume is to present useful, practical information—for both consuming current research and improving one’s own research—for researchers, instructors, and trainees (e.g., doctoral students) in clinical psychology. Simultaneously, at a more specific level, it is also our thesis that an improved understanding of questionable research practices (QRPs) derived from this book offers students and researchers to more accurately and deeply understand psychological science and clinical psychology and to learn to avoid errors in their own research. While taking these aims into consideration, we have organized this book into three major sections. The first section of this volume (i.e., Chaps. 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ) offers a general introduction to the issues of QRPs, setting them into a historical and current landscape in psychological science and clinical psychology. The second section of this volume (Chaps. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , and 13 ) introduces some of the notable exemplars of QRPs and QRPs in various research contexts. Finally, in the third and last section of this volume (Chaps. 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , and 19 ), newly emerging models for minimizing the impact of QRPs in research are presented.

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William O'Donohue

Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

Scott Lilienfeld

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O’Donohue, W., Masuda, A. (2022). Questionable Research Practices in Clinical Psychology. In: O'Donohue, W., Masuda, A., Lilienfeld, S. (eds) Avoiding Questionable Research Practices in Applied Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04968-2_1

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Tess Neal Examines the Nature—and Limits—of Expertise 

• Clinical Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Legal System
• Member Spotlight - Observer

APS Fellow Tess Neal, a clinical and forensic psychologist at Iowa State University, is focused on understanding and improving human judgment processes, particularly among trained experts.  

Your research focuses on human judgment processes as they intersect with the law and the nature and limits of expertise. What led to your scientific interest in these subjects?  

Early in my graduate training, I had a stellar statistics teacher and mentor—Jamie DeCoster—who taught us about exploratory vs. confirmatory processes in science and why those distinctions matter for a credible body of knowledge. A few years later, while completing my predoctoral internship in 2011, I was fascinated by high-profile criticisms of science that burst onto the scene and built on the ideas I’d learned in grad school (e.g., Ioannidis, 2012; Simmons et al., 2011). 

I also went to graduate school in a state with robust capital punishment. I saw psychologists I knew and highly respected take capital case referrals, believing they could divorce their personal opinions and beliefs about the death penalty from their professional work, such as when conducting competence for execution evaluations. But I wondered if their beliefs were correct. Is it really possible for experts to compartmentalize their personal emotions and cognitions as separate from their professional cognitions and judgments? I designed a dissertation project to answer this question, for which I was fortunate to secure funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). I learned about the bias blind spot through this work (i.e., our tendency to more easily recognize others’ biases than our own; Pronin et al., 2002), as this pattern clearly emerged in my dissertation data in psychologists’ reasoning about themselves and their colleagues (Neal & Brodsky, 2016). 

I saw connections between the problems in expert judgment among psychologists I was studying in my work and problems in expert judgment in scientists more broadly as the credibility revolution got underway and determined that I wanted to spend my career digging in to better understand the nature and limits of expertise—and what solutions we can identify for bolstering real expert performance. This fascination with expert abilities and performance, and the correspondence between those capacities and what is believed about experts’ capacities, has never gone away and continues to motivate the work I do. It also underpins my open science philosophy as incoming editor for the journal  Psychology, Public Policy, and Law  (see  https://osf.io/vwgy3 ).   

What are some highlights of your research? What has it shown?   

Do people (including experts themselves) have too much faith in the objectivity of expert judgment? People are vulnerable to a host of psychological biases that prejudice judgments and decisions. One might hope and expect experts to be more protected against these biases than the average person, yet the evidence supporting this expectation of expert objectivity is mixed at best. Some of my work wrestles with this conflicting evidence. For instance, a couple of years ago we published a general model of cognitive bias in human judgment, synthesizing a large body of evidence from diverse fields and theories about the circumstances under which people (including experts) are protected against bias and when they are particularly vulnerable to it ( Neal, Lienert, et al., 2022 ). Our broad descriptive model outlines how cognitive biases impact human judgment across two interconnected continuous dimensions: depth of cognitive processing (ranging from low to high) and susceptibility to bias (ranging from low to high). The model is useful because it offers a framework for organized, testable predictions about specific manifestations of bias that are likely to emerge, as well as strategies to mitigate these biases, which could improve justice and fairness in society in general and the legal system, in particular. 

Beyond theoretical integrative work like that above, I’ve also done experimental work on expert judgment. For example, we have investigated the degree to which experts view themselves as objective and the degree to which those perceptions are tethered to reality. Across multiple preregistered studies with different methods and in different decision domains, we find robust evidence of the following (see e.g.,  NSF #1655011 ):  

• Experts can be vulnerable to predictable and systematic cognitive biases even in their professional judgments and decisions. 
• Experts’ perceptions are generally not tethered well to the reality of their biases (i.e., experts exhibit a bias blind spot).  
• Laypeople tend to believe experts are protected against bias (i.e., people have an illusion of expert objectivity). There are real consequences for expert bias blindness and people’s illusion of expert objectivity, with clear policy relevance. 

I’ve also done a lot of work to better understand and quantify what psychologists do in their expert consultations with the legal system and have put effort toward solving some of the problems identified through that work. For example, a few years ago we published a big project reporting on the wide variety in psychometric quality of the assessment tools psychologists use in preparing their reports and testimony. This evidence aids judges in making legal decisions that profoundly affect people’s lives, such as child custody, insanity pleas, sentencing determinations, and even eligibility for capital punishment. We also found that courts are not calibrated to that variation in quality, and little quality screening occurs ( Neal et al., 2019 ; see also  the APS write-up here ). 

This work was covered by more than 500 newspapers and television news stations locally, nationally, and globally; in popular podcasts; in national and international news magazines, such as  Wired ; and on various popular blog sites. This work also led to a  Fulbright Scholarship  that brought me to the University of New South Wales in 2022 to study how country-level differences in evidence admissibility rules relate to the quality of expert evidence used in court. And we further built on that work with a special issue offering comprehensive, credible reviews of the psychometric evidence for, and legal status of, some of the most commonly used psychological assessment measures used in forensic evaluations ( Neal , Sellbom, & de Ruiter, 2022 ). 

Subsequently, I consulted with my Fulbright collaborator Kristy Martire on a major project for the Joint Federal/Provincial Mass Casualty Commission inquiry into Canada’s worst public mass shooting. Our role was to help the Commission understand  whether a key piece of evidence for their inquiry (a psychological assessment of the perpetrator) was scientifically credible . For the first stage of our involvement, we insisted on being blind to details of the case, information about the perpetrator, and the assessment report itself for our initial analysis of what a scientifically credible report should look like. In our second phase, we applied those principles to evaluate the actual report in the case. We published part one of our analysis as an open-access journal article ( Neal, Martire, et al., 2022 ) and made publicly available the items we developed to evaluate the quality of psychological assessment reports for others to use ( https://osf.io/jhpqu ). 

What new or expanded research are you planning to pursue?  

I’m working with Kristy Martire again and a great team of folks on expertise itself: reconsidering theories of expertise and refining how we can better identify it across domains and tasks (especially for those kinds of domains/tasks where expert performance is not visible). These issues are particularly important in law, where people’s lives and liberties are staked on whether we get these things right. 

Related content: Psychological Assessment in Legal Contexts: Are Courts Keeping “Junk Science” Out of the Courtroom?

I’m also thinking a lot about how legal systems can make better use of expert evidence. Our legal system has evolved particular rules to try to foster good expert performance, but the rules are not working very well (see e.g., Neal et al., 2019). There are many reasons for this wicked problem, and innovative solutions are needed. I’m thinking a lot about how innovations in science—as the credibility revolution continues to evolve—could be useful for solving similar problems in law. I’m excited by the prospect of testing new solutions. 

What is the biggest challenge you have encountered in your career?  

I think in big, synergistic, and interdisciplinary ways—but that kind of approach has few power brokers championing it, and it can be tough as it tends to work against disciplinary status quo. This challenge is not just across disciplines, but even within psychology itself: my work weaves together theories and methods from the clinical, social, and cognitive traditions of psychological science. This kind of boundary-spanning is difficult to achieve because it doesn’t fit easily into existing categories and its value is not always recognized by scholars who fit more clearly within these boundaries. 

What practical advice would you offer to an early career researcher who wants to be in your position someday, especially those interested in getting involved in human judgment processes, expert judgment, or legal psychology?  

Realize that your life is happening now. Nurture your purpose both in terms of career and also personal life: Both have to be tended continuously for goals to be achieved. Set your goals and then pursue them diligently throughout your life, refining them with care as you go. Read voraciously. Be kind, curious, and open to the variety of opportunities and experiences that can lead you to your goals. Say “yes” to opportunities early on and embrace them (like joining research lab(s) as an undergrad even if the lab’s work isn’t exactly what you want to be doing). As you progress, get more discriminating about what opportunities you actually have time to embrace and that will keep you on your path.  

Excel: Everything you do matters for the reputation you develop (do good work but don’t let perfectionism knock you off track). Recognize that there are many ways to do work in these areas. You can find good work without a graduate degree, and if you choose to pursue graduate education you can look broadly at what kinds of pathways might work for you (no one path is the way you must proceed toward an outcome like this one). Find research papers you love and figure out who wrote them: Seek to work with those people in graduate school, postdocs, jobs, and collaborations. Also read Paul Silvia’s book How to Write a Lot and check out the Faculty Success Program (ncfdd.org). Finally, try hard things but also know that failure is common (google “failure CV”). One mentor told me, “You have to play ball: You can’t hit a home run if you aren’t swinging the bat.” It’s excellent advice. 

Feedback on this article? Email  [email protected]  or login to comment.

Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2012). Why science is not necessarily self-correcting. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 7 (6), 645–654. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612464056  

Neal, T. M. S., & Brodsky, S. L. (2016). Forensic psychologists’ perceptions of bias and potential correction strategies in forensic mental health evaluations. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law , 22 (1), 58–76. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000077  

Neal, T. M. S., Lienert, P., Denne, E., & Singh, J. P. (2022). A general model of cognitive bias in human judgment and systematic review specific to forensic mental health. Law and Human Behavior , 46 (2), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000482  

Neal, T. M. S., Martire, K. A., Johan, J. L., Mathers, E. M., & Otto, R. K. (2022). The law meets psychological expertise: Eight best practices to improve forensic psychological assessment. Annual Review of Law and Social Science , 18 , 169–192. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-050420-010148  

Neal, T. M. S., Sellbom, M., & de Ruiter, C. (2022). Personality assessment in legal contexts: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Personality Assessment , 104 (2), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2022.2033248  

Neal, T. M. S., Slobogin, C., Saks, M. J., Faigman, D. L., & Geisinger, K. F. (2019). Psychological assessments in legal contexts: Are courts keeping “junk science” out of the courtroom? Psychological Science in the Public Interest , 20 (3), 135–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100619888860  

Pronin, E., Lin, D. Y., & Ross, L. (2002). The bias blind spot: Perceptions of bias in self versus others.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28 (3), 369–381. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202286008 

Simmons, J. P., Nelson, L. D., & Simonsohn, U. (2011) False-positive psychology: Undisclosed flexibility in data collection and analysis allows presenting anything as significant. Psychological Science , 22 (11), 1359–1366. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611417632   

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NSF Proposals for I/UCRCs in Areas Relevant to the Forensic Sciences

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) have partnered as co-sponsors to welcome proposals for establishment of Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers in areas relevant to the forensic sciences. With permission

Forensic Experts May Be Biased By the Side That Retains Them

Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists are ethically bound to be impartial when performing evaluations or providing expert opinions in court. But new research suggests that courtroom experts’ evaluations may be influenced by whether their paycheck comes

The Psychology and Power of False Confessions

On July 8, 1997, Bill Bosko returned to his home in Norfolk, Virginia, after a week at sea to find his wife murdered in their bedroom. A few hours later, Bosko’s neighbor, Danial Williams was

Privacy Overview

by Tim Wombles | Apr 25, 2024

Timothy Makubuya’s research primarily focuses on physical activity and academic performance, health literacy and teacher and coach education. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

Growing up in post-colonial Uganda in the 1990s, Timothy Makubuya didn’t have access to a school bus. To get to his primary school, where he’d sound the assembly bell every morning as a prefect, he resorted to running the 5 miles – often barefoot. Fitness continued to play a major role in his life as he went on to compete as a distance runner for the Ugandan national team and move to the U.S. to study sports medicine. On an athletic scholarship, he competed under the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and ran 2 hours and 50 minutes in the 2007 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the men’s marathon. Interested in exploring how the human brain responds to exercise, his research primarily focuses on physical activity and academic performance, health literacy and teacher and coach education. In 2018, Makubuya received the Gerald and Deanna Gitner Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 2022, he received the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award. Last fall, he was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the College of Education at UMSL .

1. Your research centers on fitness and physical education. Why do you find these topics compelling?

I was always fascinated at how euphoric I felt during and after a run. Learning about the unique performance of the human brain during and after a bout of exercise compelled me to further my studies in the teaching and learning processes of physical educators. The childhood obesity epidemic in America was also skyrocketing at the time I arrived in the U.S., which got me thinking about designing physical activity and wellness interventions. As part of my PhD research, I explored the impact that physical inactivity, poor dietary choices and poor sleep patterns had on the body composition of children in the U.S.

Additionally; the recent COVID-19 pandemic reminded us all of the importance of fitness in our daily lives, and how physical educators play a crucial role in promoting life-long participation in physical activities. Furthermore, it is also fascinating to learn from some of the brain science based research that reflects on the impact of a mere bout of exercise on learners preparing for a test or an exam. I thought, wow… this is worth further exploration! Moreover, a 2024 Forbes Health/One poll survey suggested that the number one resolution for many adults was to improve physical health. How they achieve this topic, priority is worth exploring.

2. What is the biggest issue you have noticed in American physical education?

Physical education has changed as a subject area; it was previously just regarded as “gym class,” which led to many administrators regarding it as unworthy of time and funding. This de-prioritization continues to impact physical education nationally. The notion of subject competition that values some subjects and not others, coupled with the usual lack of funding, hurts many PE programs across the U.S.

3. What do you see as the role of recreational facilities on college campuses?

These spaces are key to the improvement of student well-being, which helps improve learning outcomes. They also have the potential to improve employee wellness, as recent evidence reveals that college campus employees who participate in work-related recreation programs have lower medical expenditures and report healthier behaviors.

4. What kind of training split or regimen do you currently practice in your personal life?

Of late, I have varied my training regimen based on where I am. I love the outdoors, and I enjoy brisk walking, jogging and running. By cross- training and supplementing these activities with biking and occasional weight training, I’m able to stay on a year-long fitness routine. I attempt to meet the exercise and physical activity recommendations per the U.S. Surgeon General and the World Health Organization that require anywhere between 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity.

5. How can busy students or working professionals improve their physical health and well-being?

Everyone should really try to find 30 to 60 minutes a day for moderate to vigorous aerobic activity. Those who cannot should find creative ways to stay mobile during the week, like parking further away from your destination, and use the weekends to take a brisk walk. It is also important to engage in mindful approaches to wellness as the body, mind and spirit are always in unison. Calming breathing exercises, brain breaks, a simple meditation or prayer could exponentially impact one’s mental faculties and improve learning or work efficiency.

This story was originally published in the spring 2024 issue of UMSL Magazine . If you have a story idea for UMSL Magazine, email [email protected] .

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