Psychology of soap operas like the Archers; Awards Finalist

As every summer, exams are in the news. We look at whether the pressure to do well in exams is having an effect on children's mental health. We speak to experts from Education, Psychology and Economics who are now working together to address the wider issue of the effect of Britain's current education system on our children's wellbeing.Looking beyond anecdotal evidence, we ask why, when considering education, is it so difficult to find firm data from which to draw conclusions and make recommendations? And we hear from Today's finalist in the All in the Mind Awards.The Tomorrow Project is a suicide prevention project established in response to the needs and concerns of local communities, in Nottinghamshire affected by suicide.We meet people who have been helped by the project and discuss the kind of services it provides.

24 Touko 201628min

For many, working with animals is a dream job and every year thousands of students compete to get into vet school. But whilst life as a vet isn't always easy, surprisingly the suicide rate amongst vets is four times greater than among medical doctors. This fact came to prominence in research back in 2004 and steps have been taken to address it. Yet the exact reasons are still unclear. Claudia hears from vet Richard Hillman and meets Rosie Allister, who's based at Edinburgh University researching the wellbeing of vets, and is the Chair of Vetlife Helpline.There's been a lot of talk about the technology behind self-driving cars, but what about the psychology? As the first UK trials begin examining how other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians react to coming across a car that's driving itself, Claudia travels to the Transport Research Laboratory in Surrey, to meet its Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Stevens, to discuss the behaviour psychologists and car manufacturers need to understand before autonomous vehicles hit the road.Our latest finalist in this year's All in the Mind Awards is a boss called Blair with an unusual relationship with her employee, Steven. She doesn't just pay him and supervise him. She has supported him through some of the hardest times in his life.

17 Touko 201628min

In the UK there are around a hundred unfilled Consultant Psychiatrist posts. Claudia Hammond discusses with Sir Simon Wessely, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, why there is such a shortage, and the knock on effect for patients. Why does psychiatry seem to be the poor relation when compared with other branches of medicine and what can be done to persuade more trainee doctors to consider psychiatry as a career?In the next of our series of features on the shortlist for the All in the Mind Awards, Claudia meets a GP who has helped one patient with a range of mental health issues, giving advice to her when she was admitted to hospital - despite not being in the same country at the time - and helping her to manage mental health complications associated with childbirth.Are you bored? Don't worry it could be good for you. Research into boredom suggests an uncluttered schedule might be a good thing, giving us the chance for a bit of creative thinking. Sandi Mann, Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire talks to Claudia about the benefits of boredom.With expert comment from Dr Catherine Loveday, Principal Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Westminster.

10 Touko 201628min

We hear the second nomination in this year's All in the Mind Awards - where we asked you to nominate the person or group who has made a difference to your mental health. Last week we heard from the first of the finalists in the groups category. This week we have the first of our individuals.Neuroscience may be a young science, but discoveries are coming through fast. Will we see a day where everything is known about the brain and where parts of it that have gone wrong can even be replaced with computer chips? This is the premise of a new play called Elegy at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Cognitive neuroscientist Catherine Loveday reviews the play. Why are theatre and film directors, who have long turned to historians and scientists for help, increasingly embracing psychology? Claudia Hammond talks to University of Berkeley Psychology Professor Dacher Keltner who was invited to advise on the Pixar animation Inside Out and to director Simon McBurney who sought advice about the psychology of time perception in advance of his production Encounter.

3 Touko 201628min

In the first of a new series Claudia Hammond meets the finalists for the All in the Mind Awards. Claudia meets group finalists The Common Wheel in Glasgow and discovers why bicycle maintenance helps mental health.Plus, the so-called replication crisis that's plaguing psychology at the moment - why is it proving so difficult to repeat some long-established experiments and to get the same results? First the crisis happened with something called priming, and now 23 labs around the world led by Professor Martin Hagger have tried to replicate an effect involving willpower first described by Professor Roy Baumeister. How early does gender stereotyping begin? New research from David Reby at Sussex University shows it may start as early as three months.

26 Huhti 201628min

As Tim Peake is launched on his trip to spend 6 months on the International Space Station Claudia Hammond talks to Alexander Kumar, the doctor who has been to Antarctica to investigate the psychology of a human mission to Mars. How will the confined spaces, the dark and distance from planet Earth affect Mars astronauts of the future? Professor Philip Tetlock explains why his newly discovered elite group of so-called Superforecasters are so good at predicting global events. Claudia talks to MP James Morris about why some of his constituents are coming to him and his staff for help in a mental health crisis. He talks about the advice available for other MPs and constituency staff in the same situation. Claudia visits the South London and Maudsley Recovery college to find out how their educational courses are helping people in south London with their mental health.

15 Joulu 201528min

Europe's largest brain bank is to be dismantled. The Corsellis Collection in west London contains tissue from 4000-6000 brains and includes a wide and unusual range of pathologies, some dating back as far as the 1950s. But now funding pressures mean that new homes must be found for as many as possible. Claudia asks which brains will be kept and hears about the value of brains without pathology.As the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 21, continues in Paris, Claudia talks to Dr Sander van der Linden in Princeton about how psychological science can help policy makers to communicate about climate change.We hear what being nominated for the All in the Mind Awards meant to last year's finalists in the groups category.And at Lancaster University English literature students have requested that trigger warnings be added to texts on their reading lists which contain potentially distressing passages. Richard McNally, Professor of psychology and expert in anxiety and trauma, talks to Claudia about the evidence.Producer: Lorna Stewart.

8 Joulu 201529min

Claudia Hammond talks to Dr Catherine Loveday to find out why being bilingual can protect against the damage caused by a stroke. She explains why it might all be down to something called cognitive reserve. Kevan Jones MP explains why he chose to talk about his own experience of depression to parliament and explains his role as judge on this year's All in the Mind awards. In 2008 the government introduced 'Improving Access to Psychological Therapies' services for people with depression and anxiety across parts of England. IAPT has expanded in the 7 years since then but new figures just out reveal a huge variation in recovery rates and waiting times across England. Claudia talks to one of the founders of IAPT, Professor David Clark to ask why there is such a variety of success across the country and what can be done to improve it. Claudia visits Tate Liverpool and their 'An Imagined Museum' exhibition to find out how the brain remembers works of art.

1 Joulu 201528min