Professor Geoff Beattie - personal details

Geoffrey Beattie is Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Manchester and is a Professorial Research Fellow in the Sustainable Consumption Institute at the university. He was formerly Head of Department of Psychology (2000-2004) and Head of School of Psychological Sciences (2004-2011). He obtained his PhD in Psychology from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) and is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). He was awarded the Spearman Medal by the BPS for 'published psychological research of outstanding merit' and was President of the Psychology section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (2006). Geoffrey has been a keynote speaker at many international conferences and is widely regarded as one of the leading international figures on nonverbal communication.

Books

Geoffrey has published 17 books many of which have either won or been short-listed for major international prizes. His novel entitled 'The Corner Boys' was short-listed for the Ewart-Biggs Literary Prize in 1999 (as was ‘We Are The People: Journeys Through the Heart of Protestant Ulster’ in 1992). 'On the Ropes: Boxing as a Way of Life' is hailed as a boxing classic and was runner-up for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 1996. His autobiography 'Protestant Boy' has enjoyed enormous critical acclaim as has his book on body language 'Visible Thought'. His recent book, ‘Why Aren’t We Saving The Planet? A Psychologist’s Perspective’ (2010) has been described as ‘a brilliant book that has opened up a veritable practical path to solving the crises facing the planet. This is required reading for everyone who is interested in our survival’ by Marcel Danesi (University of Toronto and Editor of Semiotica). Geoff's latest book ‘Get the Edge: How Simple Changes Will Transform Your Life’ (2011) has been described by Aaron Beck, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania (and founder of CBT) as being full of ‘wonderful advice based on the wisdom of a lifetime combined with lessons firmly rooted in psychological research. This book is not only profoundly informative, but also a pleasure to read.’

Media

Geoffrey was the psychologist and presenter on 'The Farm of Fussy Eaters' (UKTV Style, 2007) and Channel 4's 'Dump Your Mates in Four Days' (2006/07) and resident on-screen psychologist on ITV's 'Ghost Hunting with...' (2007-11). He was presenter of BBC1's 'Family SOS' (2004/05) and co-presenter of BBC1's 'Life's too Short' (2002). Geoff was also the resident psychologist on ten 'Big Brother' series. His television credits also include 'Child of Our Time' (BBC1), 'Diet Trials' (BBC1), 'Tomorrow's World' (BBC1) and numerous documentaries on ITV and Channel 4. On the run up to the General Election in 2005 Geoff had a regular slot on the ITV news at 10.30 called 'The Body Politic', in which he analysed the body language of the senior politicians involved in the election. He has also been a regular contributor to 'Richard and Judy', the 'Lorraine Kelly Show', 'GMTV', the 'Extreme Celebrity' shows, 'BBC News 24' and 'Sky News'. His academic publications have appeared in a wide variety of international journals including Nature, Semiotica, and the Journal of Language and Social Psychology. Geoff has been keen to show how psychology can illuminate many aspects of human experience and has written for a diverse range of newspapers and magazines including: The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, The Sunday Telegraph, The Observer, The New Statesman, and Marie Claire.

• PSYC 10601 - Group Working & Communication Skills Workshops
• PSYC 20351 - Social Psychology & Cognition
• PSYC 30131 - New Approaches to the Social World