| Description | British Psychological Society press releases concerning conferences, publications, policy and events
[January] 1987 Psychology in Action: Police Work (Peter B Ainsworth) - publication of BPS book - press release
7-9 April 1987 International Conference on Skilled Behaviour at the University of Sussex, joint conference of the Cognitive Section of the British Psychological Society and Psychology Department of Leicester University -
1. General release about the conference
2. Diagnosing Clumsiness (Judith Laszlo) - press release
3. Problem Solving With Problem Parents and Problem Children (Martin Herbert) - press release
4. It's Not What You Do, It's The Way That You Do It (Richard Alexander) - press release
10-13 April 1987 British Psychological Society Annual Conference, University of Sussex, Brighton includes:
General press release about the conference;
1. New President of the British Psychological Society - press release
2. The Falklands War - Counting the Human Cost (Roderick Orner) - press release for 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorders in Veterans of the Falklands War: Syndrome and Treatment;
3. I'd Never Forget That Face, Officer (Elizabeth Noon) - press release for paper 'Lay Knowledge of Eyewitness Behaviour: A British Survey';
4. Link Found Between Eating Disorders and Overprotective Families (Rachel Calam) - press release for paper 'Eating Disorders and Sexual Experience: Relationships with Parental Style and Body Image';
5. Pain or Fear Children in the Dentist's Chair (Ann Rowland) - press release for 'Pain or Fear: the Experience of Children in Dental Treatment';
6. The New Man - Where is He? (Simon Lalonde, Lorna McKee) - press release for paper 'The Young Father's Dilemma: Employment or Participation in the Family';
7. Progress in the Infant School - Effects of Race and Sex, Home and School (Barbara Tizard) - press release for 'Design Sample and Conceptual Overview';
8. Birth Day Blues (Helen Kennerley) - press release for 'The Measurement and Investigation of Maternity Blues';
9. Life in the Community: What The Mentally Handicapped Think (Ivana Markova) press release for symposium;
10. Human Errors in the Chernobyl Accident - How Likely Here? (James Reason) - press release for paper 'The Chernobyl Errors';
11. Macho Man Gets Thumbs Down (Robin Goodwin) - press release for 'Emotional Fulfilment As A Predictor of Relationship Formation';
3 August 1987 British Psychological Society Project Award for Schools
Schools Psychology Project 1987 Award Winners - press release
11-14 September 1987 British Psychological Social Annual Conference of the Developmental Psychology Section, University of York
General press release about the conference
1.Teenagers Want to Learn About Children in School (Tim Jordan and Patricia Skuse)
15-17 September 1987 BPS Social Psychology Annual Conference St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
General press release about the conference
1. How Ethnic Groups Use the Health Service (Andy Clarke and Jenny Hewison) - press release
2. Selling Skills in the Market (Trevor Pinch and Colin Clark) - press release
3. Do Your Training Work? (Liz McWhirter) - press release
4. Working at the Margins - Community Programme (Bryn Davies) - press release
5. Teenagers Want to Learn About Children - In School (Tim Jordan and Patricia Skuse) - press release
6. Do Children Need Their Dads at Home (Nicola Totterman) - press release
7. Children With Cancer Understand (Carol Kendrick) - press release
8. Insights into Blind Children (Kim Morsely and Christopher Spencer) - press release
9. New Findings on Effects of Depression (Maggie Mills) - press release
10. Moving from School to Work: See Differences under Scrutiny (Liz McWhirter) - press release
16 September 1987 BPS DCLP Division of Criminological and Legal Psychology Conference (together with Midlands Forensic Group 'Clinical Approaches to Working With Sex Offenders and Their Victims' press release
2 October 1987 Staff Appraisal in Further and Higher Education - press release and statement by the Scientific Affairs Board;
5 October 1987 More Criticisms of the National Curriculum - press release and statement concerning BPS response to Department of Education Consultation on the National Curriculum 5-16;
17-18 December 1987 BPS London Conference at the Institute of Education
General press release about the conference
1. For God's Sake Switch That Alarm Off (Judy Edgworth) - press release;
2. Rhyming and Reading - Early Intervention Makes The Long Term Difference (Lynette Bradley) - press release;
3. The Charity Handicap (Robert Farr) - press release;
4. The Menopause - It's Not As Bad As You Think (Myra Hunter) - press release;
5. Cure for Valium Addiction (Sandra Fine) - press release;
6. Crabbie Cabbies (Ben Fletcher) - press release;
7. Your Job Will Be The Death of Me (Ben Fletcher) - press release;
18 December 1987 [for Conference being held 4-6 January 1988] Annual Occupational Psychology Conference, Manchester University
General release about conference |
| 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 |