Dunn, AK

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2 vol 29 no 4 april 2016texts are mindful of followingdata, of blending variousapproaches and avoidingtheoretical dogma. They’re alsovery readable. One nugget of advice foraspiring academicpsychologistsSuccess is relative, and careersare something you have inhindsight. Be patient, keep anopen mind and enjoy thejourney. There’s more to beingan academic than academicpublishing and grant capture(though they are important).The best academics (many ofwhom are highly cited)were/are also greatteachers andcommunicators. One culturalrecommendationBook: Orwell’sNineteen Eighty-Four. It changedeverything for me.Also readZamyatin’s We, andcomic Britten andBrulightly byHannah Berry. It’sbeautifully inkedand cleverlywritten. Film: Rocky(1976). It’s notabout winning, it’sabout going thedistance, taking opportunitieswhen they come and seeingthings through. Album: Pulp’sA Different Class – Clever,funny, poignant. Song: Almostimpossible. Either, SamCooke’s ‘Bring It On Home ToMe’ (it’s sublime), or James’ ‘SitDown’ (my universityanthem), or ‘Up the Junction’by Squeeze, or maybe ‘Dignity’by Deacon Blue (it reminds meof my dad). We said one culturalrecommendationOK then, David Bowie – nocompetition really. The Beatleschanged the world but he justkept on ch-ch-changing. One guilty pleasureI’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. One academic heroIndiana Jones. Oh come on!OK, I am fan of DonaldBroadbent, but to be fair we allowe a great debt to Aristotle.One great thing thatpsychology has achievedI am still waiting. No point inresting on our laurels just yet.One thing all psychologistsshould be concerned aboutMental health and mentalhealth provision. I have lostsleep worrying about this. Putsimply there’s not enoughfunding, knowledge orcommunication (anywhere).Definitions aside (the term,mental health is highlyproblematic), we simply don’tunderstand enough abouttypical mental life, let aloneanything else. There arelegions of (wonderful) peopleout there wanting and tryingto help, but they’re hamperedbecause we know so little andthere’s so little funding orgovernmental will (theprovision for transition fromchild-adolescent to adultmental health care isscandalous). People do getbetter of course and we aremaking progress, but I thinkwe only see the sharpest end.Most mental health issuesremain hidden because ofstigma or because it’s justabout manageable (andignored). At the very least we(psychologists) have aresponsibility to remove thestigma.One moment that changedthe course of your careerGoing to night school aged 20(I was working full time) andstumbling on GCSEPsychology (I got an A – myonly A in anything). Thefollowing year I started A-levels and more GCSEs (all atnight school). Another yearlater I applied to York (lastspace on my UCAS formactually). I sat an entrance forYork because I didn’t have thegrades. I passed – stillwondering how – and I wasin. It was 1996, I was 22, itwas the height of Britpop, thelight of New Labour wasshining and the world was fullof possibilities. Without theUniversity of York I wouldnever have made the manygreat friends I have, or foundmy wonderful wife(Catherine) and made ourwonderful family. One loveLove is biochemistry andcircumstance (Tim Minchinhas a song about that). As ascientist, I am sold on the bio-chemical basis of love, but forme there’s so much more tohuman experience, even if it’snot directly causal. If you can’tfeel what Otis Redding isemoting on ‘These Arms ofMine’ then you have nevertruly felt romantic love. Let’snot kill the arts andhumanities off just yet. One regretI should have been braver inthe past, but I only know thatin hindsight.One thing you’d like to seehappenI’d like to see psychologistsworking towards a unifiedpsychological science thatintegrates social andenvironmental variables withbiological and cognitivereality. A properly informeddata-led understanding ofdevelopmental processesacross the lifespan should beat the heart of this. A goodapproximation of my ownviewpoint can be found inDunbar, Barrett and Lycett(2007) EvolutionaryPsychology: A Beginner’s Guide.I’d also highly recommendSwami’s (2011) EvolutionaryPsychology: A CriticalIntroduction because it cutsthrough a lot of the nonsensespouted about evolution. BothArts-based research, public engagement and much more... I Contribute: reach 50,000 colleagues, with something to suit all. Seewww.thepsychologist.org.uk/contribute or talk to the editor, Dr JonSutton, on jon.sutton@bps.org.uk, +44 116 252 9573 I Comment: email the editor, the Leicester office, or tweet @psychmag. I To advertise: Reach a large and professional audience at bargainrates: see details on inside front cover. coming soonONE ON ONE… with Andrew Dunn‘Be patient, keep anopen mind’Andrew Dunn is a Senior Lecturer atNottingham TrentUniversity, withinterests Perception,Cognition and Evolution

One to one... with Andrew Dunn

http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27670/1/5167_Dunn.pdf

One to one... with Andrew Dunn

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