Profile
Rose Turner
My CV
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Education:
Lympstone Primary School; Exmouth Community College 1996-2003; Lancaster University 2003-2006; Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 2007-2008; Open University (distance learning) 2009-2013
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Qualifications:
9 GCSEs; A Levels in Psychology, Theatre Studies & English Literature; BA Hons. Theatre Studies; MA Performance Practice and Research; Graduate Diploma in Psychology; currently completing PhD.
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Work History:
I worked freelance (short-term contracts) so I had loads of different jobs since leaving university. Most of them have combined theatre and psychology (my two passions), like training staff in care homes, doing role-play in prisons, and taking shows and workshops into schools in the UK and beyond. I trained in acting, so I have done lots of different acting jobs from music videos and Shakespeare plays, to far less glamorous things like dressing up as a giant bear and wandering around IKEA!
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Current Job:
Doctoral Researcher in Psychology
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About Me:
I’m Rose, I live in London and I’m doing a PhD in Psychology
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Although I’m originally from the seaside in Devon, I’ve found myself living the city-life in central London for the past few years. I live with my partner in a flat beneath some very noisy neighbours who spend a lot of time rapping, very loudly and very, very badly. When I’m not yelling “be quiet!” at the ceiling (in my head, I’m too afraid to do it out loud) I like to go to the theatre, to gigs, do zumba, watch films, see friends and sing in a choir. I play a few musical instrument (badly), and practice when I can (perhaps I should set up a band with the neighbours?!) Before I started working in Psychology, I worked as an actor and writer, and sometimes a filmmaker, and still do those things when I have the time. As you can probably tell, I like to try lots of different things (my aunt called me a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none”. Thanks a lot, Auntie!) Last weekend I went clay pigeon shooting for the first time – I accidentally pulled the trigger twice, boffed myself on the chin and fell over in front of everyone! So glamorous.
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Whether you prefer to read books, watch TV, films or plays, or play video games, you probably spend a lot of time absorbed in a fictional world. I know I do! As a species, we humans have spent more than 235,000 YEARS watching or reading Harry Potter alone! So it makes sense that fiction should be good for us in some way, otherwise our species wouldn’t spend so much time and money on it. I use psychological experiments to test how fiction might make us better at what psychologists call “social cognition”, which is the ability to understand what people think and feel in the real world. My research investigates questions like: Are people who enjoy comedies kinder to others? Does playing video games make you better at understanding other people’s points of view? What stories make us more sociable?
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My Typical Day:
Running an experiment with people in a lab then running a statistical test to analyse the data, then running to the corner shop for coffee and chocolate supplies!
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I am a psychologist based at a university where I spend my days doing teaching and doing research. My research mostly involves running experiments with humans, in a laboratory. Before doing that, I will have done a lot of reading, to work out what exactly needs doing. I also will have sent a description of the study to a committee to check that it is ethical, and doesn’t pose risks to the people taking part. After running the experiments, I need to put all the information into a spreadsheet and then analyse it using a statistical computer program. Once you get to grips with what you need to do, this part can actually be quite good fun, because you get to see if your experiment worked, or whether anything strange/interesting happened. If it looks good I might run around the office waving my hands in the air. And if it doesn’t, I’ll go and buy coffee and chocolate supplies and try to work out what went wrong!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d produce an event to engage the public in scientific research using performance art.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Friendly, creative, determined
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Hmm.. nothing too serious – but I think got away with more than I should have!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Dark Dark Dark (they’re a bit folky, but I like them)
What's your favourite food?
Marzipan and cheese. Not together. Oh and bread sauce. Weird, but I love it.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I would like to live somewhere that’s by the sea, but also has lots of fun stuff going on. I’d like to have kids one day, and a cat. I’d like to be brave enough to try doing stand up comedy.
Tell us a joke.
What do you call a donkey with only three legs? A wonky! (Haha! That one always makes me laugh so much!)
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