I spent my in2scienceUK placement with Dr James Moore at Goldsmith’s University. His research was particularly interesting. His research focuses on Agency Theory: whether humans have a conscious will or not, and the possible cognitive neuroscience based pieces of evidence that both support the idea and argue against it. Dr Moore, enlightened me about how the topic he is researching is prominent in disproving sensationalised paranormal happenings including how the world of psychics and séances. By reading about the research of Daniel Wegner; falsifiable explanations for the supernatural occurrences have come in the form of underlying neural activity that causes us to exhibit certain actions but be unaware of doing so, thus a challenge to the idea we have a conscience.
I even had the opportunity to discuss with Dr Moore about the ethics of doing research into the possible absence of human will, and it has cultivated an insight into how I not only perceive cases and concepts in my studies, but in the everyday occurrences of the world around me, and the people in it. It really was a new and invaluable experience because I was able to experience research and experimentation in Psychology at a professional level, and I’ve learnt a lot of skills that I feel will give me the best head-start in my future education as possible.
by Viknesh Jeevachandran