| Description | British Psychological Society press releases concerning conferences, publications, policy and events
[May not be complete -See BPS/001/6/01/02/03/10 Annual Conference 1991 Press]
14 January 1991 Poll Tax Exemption Rules Threaten Civil Liberties - press release for BPS report 'Mental Impairment and Severe Mental Impairment A Search for Definitions';
16 January 1991 Psychological Therapies Must Be Integrated - press release for BPS policy statement 'Psychological Therapy Services: The Need for Organisational Change' November 1990;
14 February 1991 Making Use of Ageing Memory (Carol Holland and Patrick Rabbitt) - press release for article 'Ageing memory: Use versus impairment ' published in the British Journal of Psychology;
4 November 1991 New Directory of Occupational Test Experts - press release for launch of 'The Directory of Advisors in Occupational Testing' by the BPS;
8 November 1991 Sloppy Discipline Leads to Adolescent Problems (Michael Feehan)- press release for an article 'Strict and inconsistent discipline in childhood: Consequences for adolescent mental health' published in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology;
28 November 1991 False confessional A Key Issue in Royal Commission Evidence - press release concerning BPS evidence to the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice;
9 December 1991 Everyday Explanations for Personal Debt (Peter Lunt and Sonia Livingstone) - press release for article 'Everyday explanations for personal debt: A network approach' published in the British Journal of Social Psychology;
9 December 1991 Competencies of Applied Psychologists - press release concerning research project by Interactive Skills Ltd;
17-18 December 1991 BPS Annual London Conference, City University
1. General release about the conference
2.General Reading Standards Aren't Falling, But Late Starters May be on the Increase (Brian McDevitt, Mike Lake) - press release';
3. HIV testing - Gay Men May Not Tell (Sharon Brown and Jean Meadows) - press release;
4. Equal opportunities are a Myth - But That's Ok (Sue Newell) - press release;
5. Top Sports People Play to Win (Barry Cripps) - press release;
6. A Boy Named Sue - What's In a Name? (Carol Johnson and Helen Petrie);
7. You Need to Be Active to Be Happy, But Not Too Fit (Kathryn Thirlaway and David Benton) - press release;
8. Personality Key to Cancer and Heart Disease Risks (Hans Eysenck) - press release;
9. Drug Taking As A Conditioned Response (Colin Drummond, Steven Glautier, Bob Remington) - press release';
10. Major Credibility Gap in TV interviews (Peter Bull and Kate Mayer) - press release;
11. Emotional Control and Breast Cancer (Maggie Watson) - press release;
12. Unborn Baby Behaviour Key To Detection Of Handicap (Peter Hepper) - press release;
13. Survivors Of The Marchioness Sinking (James Thompson and Man Chung) - press release;
14. Pumping Up With Anabolic Steroids Can Make Athletes Flip (Priscilla Choi and Andy Parrott) - press release;
15. Psychological Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Abuse (Douglas Williamson and Allan Young) - press release;
16. Mixed Race Children 'Have The Best of Both Worlds' (Barbara Tizard) - press release.
For more information and paper summaries see BPS/001/6/01/03/09 London Conference 1991 Press |
| 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 |