Elle  Boag BSc Psychology, MSc Research Methods Psychology, PhD Psychology, BSc (2006), MSc (2007), PhD (2011)

Lecturer in Social Psychology

I feel sure that the consistently high quality training and research opportunities have served to springboard my career at a much faster rate. I am proud to be Alumni at the University of Southampton.

Q: What courses did you undertake at the University of Southampton?

Although beginning my academic career as a mature student, my history at the University of Southampton spans seven years. After completing my BSc in psychology in 2006 at the University of Southampton, I was awarded both the school of psychology prize and the BPS prize for best dissertation in the Wessex region. Subsequently, I continued onto an MSc. in research methods in psychology which I completed in 2007. I was awarded school funding to complete a Ph.D. examining the role of empathy in explaining the relation between attachment patterns and prejudice. I was awarded my Ph.D. in March 2011.

Q: How did your course employment?

In the latter stages of writing up my Ph.D. thesis I was offered a one year post as part-time lectureship within the School of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton. During this time I taught psychology to undergraduates studying a BSc. in Applied Social Sciences, along various pathways including criminology, sociology, anthropology, and criminology/psychology. As my funding included a requirement that I completed some teaching during my Ph.D., I was able to take on this lectureship with confidence. Prior to my contract ending at the University of Southampton, I was offered the permanent position of lecturer in social psychology at Birmingham City University, to start in September 2011.

Q: What is your particular research focus?

My research interests have never waned, and I am currently working on collaborations with colleagues from the University of Southampton as well as Universities in Bristol, Durham, and colleagues within the private sector. All of my research has an attachment-related basis, and covers topics that extend my Ph.D research on prejudice and discrimination, as well as introduce new areas such as investigating the role of attachment patterns on relationship satisfaction in partners of individuals with Type II transexuality. I have been very lucky to have been involved in the creation of the United Kingdom Attachment Network (UKAN) a collaborative group from the University of Southampton, as well as the Universities of Bristol, Durham, East Anglia, and the private sector.

Q: What additional activities did you get involved with alongside your degree?

Throughout my academic career I have attended numerous symposiums and conferences, allowing me to disseminate my research to professionals and other research students both nationally and internationally. Additionally, being offered the opportunity to attend school symposiums and seminars provided me with the opportunity to forge professional relationships with world-renowned psychologists. I have published my research in peer reviewed journals, and begun to build a profile as a scientist as well as an academic.

Q: What do you feel you have achieved as a result of studying at the University of Southampton?

Although traditionally, the pathway to a permanent lectureship involves a period of experience gathering after a PhD. I*’ve managed to get my first lectureship straight from my PhD and I feel sure that the consistently high quality training and research opportunities that I have had have served to springboard my career at a much faster rate. I am proud to be Alumni at the University of Southampton.