| Description | British Psychological Society press releases concerning conferences and statements
30 March - 2 April 1984 BPS Annual Conference Warwick University
1. Psychology and Minority Groups - The Latest - press release concerning symposium 'Psychologists and Minority Ethnic Groups';
2. Nature's Love Potions (John Bancroft) - press release concerning paper 'Hormones and Human Sexual Behaviour';
3. Treat Your Own Drink Problem (Nick Heather) - press release concerning paper 'The Effectiveness of Minimal Interventions and Self-Help Manuals in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviour';
4. Something to Bite On (Professor Robert Zajonc) - press release for paper 'Explaining Emotional Research: Darwin and His Ignored Competition';
5. Anything Goes in the Bedroom - press release concerning symposium 'The Sexual Pathology of Everyday Life';
6. Sexual Incidents With Children More Common Than Thought in England (Kevin Howells) - press release for paper 'Psychological Sequelae of Sexual Victimization';
7. Policy and Careers - press release for symposium 'Computers in Careers Guidance';
8. Parental Help Pays Off (Paul Widlake) - press release for paper 'Parental Involvement Schemes and The Reading, Writing and Speaking Skills of Primary School Children';
9. Memory Quirks (Brian Stollery) - press release for symposium 'Factors Affecting Selective and Sustained Attention';
10. Dealing With Aggression: Police Training (Robert Packman) - press release for paper 'Aggressive VS Conciliatory Verbal Responses of Police Officers';
11. Parapsychology - The Latest (John Beloff) - press release for symposium 'Recent Research in Parapsychology';
12. The Ghost of the Industrial Revolution (Tom Cox) - press release for symposium 'Work and Occupational Stress';
13. The Foundations of Failure in Maths - press release for Education Section symposium 'Aspects of Number Development in Young Children';
14. Smile and You Feel Good (Robert Zanjonc) - press release for paper 'Explaining Emotional Research: Darwin and His Ignored Competition';
15. Hopes and Disappointments in a Test-Tube Baby Programme (Marie Johnston, Lorraine Sherr, David Bird) - press release;
16. Keeping Baby Amused - A Baby Operated Tape Player (Susan Blackmore) - press release
17. Coping With Bereavement - press release for symposium 'Differential Outcome of Bereavement: Determining Factors.
[June] 1984]
Psychologists Deplore Use of the Polygraph for Personnel Screening - includes copy of BPS Scientific Affairs Board statement
14 -16 September 1984 Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, University College Oxford
covering letter and releases about conference papers
1. Why did the chicken Cross the Road (Hugh Foot) - press release
2. What is Good for Women's Health (Carol Turnball and Tom Cox) - press release
3. Innovation Among British Managers (Michael West and Nigel Nicholson) - press release
4. How Unemployment Affects Children in Northern Ireland (Ronnie Wilson, Carolyn McKnight and Ed Cairns) - press release
14-17 September 1984 Developmental Psychology Section Annual Conference 'Beyond 1984 Future Perspectives in Developmental Psychology', University of Lancaster. Correspondence and press release
General release about the conference
A Crying Face Can Warn of Danger (Robert Grieve) - press release
September 1984 correspondence concerning creation of press releases for Welsh Branch Conference on Anorexia [no press releases included].
17-18 December BPS London Conference at City University
includes
general press release about the conference
1. Aircraft Noise Makes You Blunder (Andrew Smith) - press release for paper 'Noise Exposure, Noise Sensitivity and Everyday Errors';
2. Elderly Need Good Talking To (Kevin Browne) - press release for paper 'The Influence of Elderly Patients Confusion On Nurse-Patient Interaction';
3. Bad Drivers Can't Help It (Tony Rutland) - press release
4. Being Out of Work Is Not Good for You (Graham Stokes) - press release for paper 'The Relationship Between National Levels of unemployment and the Rate of Admission to Mental Hospitals in England and Wales, 1950-1976';
5. Violence and the Brain (Paul Devonshire) - press release for paper 'Frontal Lobe Deficits in Mentally Abnormal Offenders'; |
| AdminHistory | The first report on public relations was in 1946 by T H Pear [see BPS Council Papers 25 May 1946]. A public relations committee was founded in 1955 and was a short lived working party.
The first press releases was for the BPS Occupational Psychology Section Conference in Cambridge, held 3-4 January 1970.
In 1971 Nicholas Georgiades and Professor Arthur Summerfield arranged a press conference at Brown's Hotel to draw attention to the BPS response to Sir John Foster's report on Scientology [See BPS/001/4/01/03/01]. After advice from Mr Christopher Hall, Barbara Castle's Information officer on setting up a press function - a Standing Press Committee was formed in October 1971 under the Chairmanship of Dr Georgiades - they produced press releases and started recruiting spokespeople and setting up a media training courses for them - the first of which was held in June 1972. Early press efforts were concentrated on promoting the conferences and journal articles but later encompassed promoting BPS policy, positions, activities and the profession of psychology.
In 1973 Susan Best PA to the Secretary General took on the additional role of 'Public Relations Secretary', this was later held by Mrs M Clark, the post existed until 1976. A dedicated press officer was recruited in 1991.
Stephen White joined the BPS staff as Director of Communications in 1985 and started organising regular media training from 1986 onwards. Press releases were regularly issued from this time.
By October 1991 the Press Committee was no longer a standing committee but a subcommittee of the Information Committee (which itself took over from the Standing Committee on Communications SCCOMS 1984-1990). The Information Committee became the Communications Committee in 1998 as part of the Society's strategic plan. This became the Publications and Communications Board in 2000. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of the History of Psychology Centre and Archives and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material |