3 ways the EU referendum transformed our psychology

PhD candidate Brett Heasman reflects on the psychological impact of the EU referendum. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author, and not the position of the Psychology@LSE blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Whether you voted to remain or leave, the EU referendum has unquestionably altered our cultural landscape, and we now face a critical struggle to re-establish a sense of national identity both within our nation and with other nations

New assessment form likely to underestimate disability

By Brett Heasman Changes to the disability living allowance (DLA) form which distributes over £13 billion annually in benefits, may lead to reduced financial support for claimants, new research suggests

The cultural psychology of morality: reflections on Professor Richard Shweder’s talk

PhD candidate Brett Heasman reflects on Professor Richard Shweder’s (University of Chicago) talk in honour of the Department of Social Psychology’s 50th anniversary

Employers may discriminate against autism without realising

Employers often think they're communicating well, but they use 'neurotypical' standards of interacting, writes Brett Heasma

Enabling autistic sociality: unrealised potentials in two-sided social interaction

Research on autism, which is defined as a life-long developmental disability affecting social interaction, has focussed predominantly on how autistic individuals perceive and interact with others with less emphasis on the perspectives of their interactional partners. Yet autistic viewpoints have highlighted how other people are part of a two-way breakdown in interaction originating from differences between people rather than the deficit of any one individual, a phenomenon known as the double empathy problem. A gap therefore exists in the literature in terms of understanding how autistic sociality (i.e. the range of social opportunities possible for a given individual on the spectrum) is shaped by different interactional partners. This thesis examines the double empathy problem in three interactional contexts. Study 1 examines relationships between autistic people and their family members through focussing on perspective-taking, the ability to impute mental states to others. In light of prior research where autistic abilities have been assessed using abstract scenarios, Study 1 implements a two-way measure of perspective-taking which considers both sides of 22 real-life relationships (n=44) consisting of autistic adults and their family members, to understand how autistic people are seen by familiar others as well as vice versa. It uses a mixed-methods approach, where members of each dyad were individually asked about 12 topics, providing quantitative scores and qualitative explanation of their rating of Self, their rating of their partner, and their predicted rating by their partner. Comparison of perspectives provided a means for detecting misunderstandings and their underlying rationale. The contribution of Study 1 is that it shows perspective-taking is two-sided: family members can be biased in underestimating the perspective-taking of their autistic relatives, while autistic adults are aware of being negatively viewed despite disagreeing with such views. Study 2 examines interactions between autistic adults (n=30) partaking in a naturally occurring activity of video-gaming at a charity. It is a qualitative study using participant observation, with each conversational turn systematically rated in terms of coherence, affect and symmetry to identify the key features of neurodivergent intersubjectivity, the process through which autistic people build shared understanding in their own non-normative ways. The contribution of Study 2 is to identify two forms of neurodivergent intersubjectivity which enable shared understanding to be achieved, but which have traditionally been viewed as undesirable from a normative social viewpoint: a generous assumption of common ground that, when understood, lead to rapid rapport, and, when not understood, resulted in potentially disruptive utterances; and a low demand for coordination that ameliorated many challenges associated with disruptive turns. Study 3 examines interactions involving lay people (n=256) who believe they are interacting with an autistic partner through an online collaborative game, when in fact they are playing with an intelligent virtual agent (IVA) who behaves the same way for all participants. Its contribution is methodological as it develops a new application for simulating interactions in experimental research called Dyad3D. Study 3 uses Dyad3D to explore how disclosure of an autism diagnosis by the IVA affects social perception and social behaviour in comparison to a disclosure of dyslexia and a condition where there is no diagnostic disclosure. Combined with a post-game questionnaire, Study 3 triangulates self-reported (quantitative rating scales and qualitative explanation) and behavioural measures (quantitative scores of actions within the game) to understand the interplay of positive and negative discrimination elicited through using the label of autism. It highlights that diagnostic disclosure of autism leads to significant positive bias in social perception when compared to a disclosure of dyslexia or a no disclosure condition; yet participants are not as helpful towards the autistic IVA as they think they are, indicating a potential bias in helping behaviour. The thesis takes an abductive methodological approach which integrates with a wider call for a more participatory model of research in the study of autism. Abduction is a form of reasoning which involves the iterative development of a hypothesis that holds the best explanatory scope for the underlying phenomena observed. It is inherently aligned with a participatory model of research because abduction involves the ongoing exploration of ideas that may originate from multiple sources (i.e. interactions with autistic people as well as research outputs). Taking a more holistic approach to the development of knowledge with autistic people which recognises the legitimacy of different claims to knowledge is important, because prior research in the field has often failed to critically reflect on researcherparticipant positionality and the principals underlying the development of research agenda. For this reason, the thesis details the participatory activities which surround and interconnect with the development of the three empirical studies. Overall the thesis contributes to understanding autistic sociality as a dynamic, interactionally shaped process. It reasons that autistic people have unrealised social potential, both in terms of imagining other perspectives (Study 1) and coordinating with others (Study 2). However, such social potential may not be easily recognised by other non-autistic people who may be biased in their assumptions about autism (Study 1 and Study 3). Consequently, the evidence presented in this thesis helps to explain some of the processes that underscore the double empathy problems reported in literature, including poor mental health (because autistic people are aware that they are misunderstood by others, see Study 1), employment prospects (because autistic social potential is under-recognised by others, see Study 1 and 3), and quality of life (because neurotypical standards of communication are not compatible with neurodivergent forms of intersubjectivity, see Study 2). The thesis therefore makes suggestions for how we design enabling environments which are sensitive to the dynamic factors that can enable autistic sociality to flourish

Antioxidant pathways and human leukaemia chemotherapeutic sensitivity

Cancer is uncontrolled cellular proliferation devoid of normal biological regulatory mechanisms. Therapeutic treatment of cancers relies on overcoming such proliferation, to allow cytotoxic destruction of cancer cells. Many of the recent therapeutic breakthroughs have been in the targeting of various blood cancers: eg imatinib has effectively eradicated chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) morbidity. However, acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) remains essentially incurable for the vast majority of patients. The current gold-standard treatment for AML has remained relatively unchanged for decades, consisting of the antimetabolite cytarabine (ara-C) and the anthracycline cytotoxic antibiotic daunorubicin (DNR). The cytoprotective gene haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been found regulated in various forms of cancers (including AML) and implicated in chemotherapeutic drug-resistance. HO-1 protects AML cells from induced apoptosis via its transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2 (Nrf2). We show a role for HO-1 in regulating apoptosis in AML cells in response to ara-C and DNR. HO-1 expression was increased in response to both cytotoxic agents. Upon micro RNA (miRNA) silencing of HO-1 expression, both ara-C and DNR stimulated greater apoptotic responses in these silenced AML cells. A concurrent induction in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was observed. Studies with ara-C-resistant AML cell lines (THP1araC(1)) showed there to be significantly suppressed levels of Nrf2 and HO-1. A miRNA screen in these resistant cells revealed reduced basal miR-196a expression. One of miR-196a’s targets is the Nrf2-inhibitory protein Bach1 (BTB and CNC homology 1), which was found to be elevated in these cells. Exogenous replacement of miR-196a with the introduction of a miR-mimic, suppressed the Bach1 overexpression, elevated HO-1 expression, and reintroduced sensitivity towards ara-C. These findings suggest HO-1 inhibition in conjunction with chemotherapy would improve the number of cases who reach complete remission (CR)

Glucocorticoid modulation of macrophage function

Macrophages have a central role in immune responses. They are important effector cells, binding and phagocytosing invading microorganisms, and producing reactive oxygen species and proteases involved in tissue remodelling. In addition, they exert immunoregulatory activity via presentation of antigen to T cells and through production of cytokines. Macrophage phagocytic clearance of apoptotic neutrophils is a process that is central to tissue homeostasis and for the resolution of inflammation. Failure to remove apoptotic cells results in necrotic cell death and the release of histotoxic intracellular contents, with the potential for exacerbating inflammation thus contributing to the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.In this thesis, I have examined the effects of glucocorticoid-treatment of peripheral blood monocytes which has previously been demonstrated to markedly augment phagocytic capacity for apoptotic cells, an effect which may contribute to anti¬ inflammatory actions of glucocorticoids. Within the inflammatory site, the cytokine environment governs the differentiation and function of infdtrating leukocytes. I have investigated the effects of combinatorial treatment of monocytes with the principal Thl and Th2 cytokines, IFN-y and IL-4 respectively. I have demonstrated that whilst glucocorticoids exert a dominant effect over those of IFN- y in terms of cell morphology and cell surface receptor expression, glucocorticoid-augmented phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils is inhibited by IFN-y. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of glucocorticoids in promoting a highly phagocytic macrophage phenotype is crucially dependent on the cytokine milieu at inflammatory sites.Cellular migration is an important determinant for the initiation of inflammatory responses and for the resolution phase, where macrophages migrate to draining lymph nodes. My results provide evidence for an alteration in the adhesion and migration of macrophages following glucocorticoid treatment. I have demonstrated changes in cytoskeletal organisation and assembly/engagement of Rho family GTPase signalling pathways. These changes may influence macrophage migration patterns that are important for the progression of inflammatory responses.Finally, I present novel studies which separate binding and the subsequent internalisation of apoptotic cells for the first time. Critically, I have demonstrated that glucocorticoid-treated macrophages have an enhanced ability to bind apoptotic neutrophils in a divalent cation independent manner, when compared to untreated macrophages. In terms of phagocytic mechanism, I also show that internalisation requires the presence of divalent cations and can be attenuated by blocking phosphatidylserine-mediated uptake.Together, the studies presented in this thesis suggest that glucocorticoids exert profound effects upon macrophage cytoskeletal organisation that influences both phagocytosis and migration and may also cause a switch in apoptotic cell recognition mechanisms

Pressure and temperature dependencies of the Gunn and lasing thresholds in (GaIn) (AsP) semiconductor devices.

16 cm-3 n-doped LPE grownGaxIn1-xAsyP1-y samples are presented as a function of temperature, pressure and alloy composition. The threshold field and peak velocities measured across the alloy agreed with measurements made by Marsh, confirming that GalnAs is the most attractive composition for high speed microwave devices. Devices made from mid alloy material benefit from a low temperature sensitivity of the threshold current, which is less than half the sensitivity of GaAs devices. The results imply that alloy scattering remains influential even at high fields. In agreement with pressure measurements on InP and GaAs the threshold field increased with pressure primarily because of the increase in the electron effective mass. The experimental results are compared with Monte Carlo simulations for quaternary alloy compositions y=O, 0.5 and 1.0. The effect of alloy scattering on the high field measurements is discussed. High pressure studies on 1.3 and 1.55mum GalnAsP lasers were performed in order to investigate the cause of the high temperature sensitivity of the threshold current. Threshold current, spontaneous carrier lifetime and operating wavelength measurements versus pressure revealed that intervalence band absorption (IVBA) is the dominant loss mechanism at room temperature in the 1.55mum lasers. In 1.3mum lasers both IVBA and the CHHS Auger process are important processes at room temperature, the Auger process is probably the more dominant of the two. At room temperature neither carrier loss over the barrier nor the CHCC Auger process is dominant in 1.3mum or 1.55mum lasers. Carrier leakage from the active layer has been modelled theoretically using Monte Carlo simulation. Hot holes created via the CHHS Auger and IVBA processes are believed to be responsible for hole leakage to the n-InP confinement layer

Perspective-taking is two-sided: misunderstandings between people with Asperger’s syndrome and their family members

Misunderstandings are social in nature, always having two sides. Yet the misunderstandings experienced by people with Asperger’s syndrome are usually studied in terms of the individual with a diagnosis, with less emphasis on social relations. We use a two-sided methodology to map out misunderstandings within 22 dyads (n = 44) consisting of people with Asperger’s syndrome and their family members. Both sides of the relationship were asked about 12 topics in terms of one’s rating of Self, one’s rating of Other and one’s predicted rating by Other. The findings show that people with Asperger’s are able to predict lower scores from family members, despite disagreeing with their view, and that family members often over-estimate the extent to which their relatives with Asperger’s syndrome are egocentrically anchored in their own perspective. The research demonstrates that a two-sided methodology is viable, and it uses it to identify how representations of Asperger’s syndrome can both support and hinder social understanding within relationships affected by Asperger’s

How to build an echoborg: PhD researcher Kevin Corti featured on the BBC

Research by Kevin Corti and Alex Gillespie on “echoborgs”, a hybrid social agent consisting of a real person who speaks words determined by a computer program, has been featured on the BBC website. By Brett Heasman and Kevin Cort