Psychology

Profile

Background

Gary Lancaster came to the University of Portsmouth as an undergraduate in 2004 after a ten year career as an Electronics Engineer. He graduated with a first in Psychology in July 2007 and won a regional BPS award for his 3rd year project. In October 2007 he was awarded a place on the departmental GATS Scheme in order to complete his MSc in Psychological Research Methods for which he gained a Distinction.

Research

In October 2008 I became a full-time PhD student under the supervision of Professor Aldert Vrij. My PhD research involved using secondary tasks to measure cognitive load during interviews in order to explore potential differences between interviewees who lie compared to those who tell the truth. I passed my Viva voce in December 2011 with minor amendments. 2012 will hopefully see me publishing some of my PhD work.

Teaching

Since 2007 I have also worked in the Psychology department as a tutor, and as a demonstrator and marker for 1st and 2nd year practical units. In addition, I also teach computing and SPSS skills to psychology undergraduates. In 2011 I lectured and took seminars on the 2nd Year social psychology unit at the University of Winchester.

Presentations

Lancaster G. L. J., & Vrij A. – The effect of secondary-task-induced cognitive load on liars' and truth tellers' eye gaze frequency during an interview. Platform presentation at the 20th Annual Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law, 15 – 18 June 2010, Gothenberg, Sweden.

Lancaster G. L. J., & Vrij A. – Effects of secondary-task induced cognitive load on liars & truth tellers during an information gathering interview. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law, 2 – 5 September, Sorrento, Italy.