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Psychology

About

The Department of Psychology at Mary Immaculate College is committed to providing outstanding education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and conducting excellent research. Our dedicated members of staff are all qualified to the highest level in their subject and are research active. Moreover, they are vastly experienced at teaching and place great emphasis on the needs and experience of students.

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Psychology at Mary Immaculate College can be studied at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The Department of Psychology offers the following three undergraduate programmes:

    - BSc Psychology programme - a single honours psychology programme that focuses on applications of psychology 

    - Psychology in the Bachelor of Arts programme - a joint honours programme that allows students to combine psychology with another arts subject.

    - B Ed in Education and Psychology programme - a unique dual undergraduate degree in psychology and education. 

Each of the programmes provides a different pathway into psychology and all three programmes are accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI). These programmes also include work placement/s to gain real world employability skills alongside core psychology content. 

This blend of scientific theory and real-world application gives students a chance to develop incredibly valuable critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills.

Psychology can also be studied at postgraduate level within the Department of Psychology at MIC. We regularly advertise funded positions for those seeking to study for a research master’s degree or a doctoral level qualification.

Contact
Head of Department
Prof. Niamh Stack

Subject Overview

Undergraduate

Undergraduate psychology at Mary Immaculate College is studied either as a single honours degree programme within the BSc Psychology programme or alongside a second subject; either as part of the BA Liberal Arts programme or the B Ed in Education and Psychology programme. The core psychology content of all three programmes is similar and meets all the standards for accreditation with the Psychological Society of Ireland. Each programme then additionally has its own specialism, be that, applications in psychology in the case of the BSc Psychology programme, education in the case of the BEd Education and Psychology or your choice of arts subjects within the BA Psychology programme.

Below are some examples of modules we offer within our undergraduate Psychology provision at MIC. 

Core Modules
Individual and Developmental Influences on Behaviour
Social Psychology 
Introduction to Research
Cognitive Psychology 
Psychology and Social Justice
Lifespan Development
Personality and Individual Differences
Human Behaviour and Mental Health
Biological Basis of Behaviour
Work and Organisational Psychology
Design and Ethical Evaluation of Psychological Research
Skills for Study and Work
Critical Perspectives on Research
Dissertation in Psychology
Controversies in Psychology
Elective Modules
Advanced Issues in Educational Psychology
The Psychology of Motivation
Development, Difference and Diversity
Health Psychology
Bodies and Behaviour in Context 
Organisational Psychology
Developmental Psychology

Postgraduate

Postgraduate research qualifications offered in Psychology at MIC include a Master’s degree by Research and PhD study. If you are interested in pursuing these routes at MIC the best place to start is to read individual staff research profiles and make an initial informal enquiry with the member of staff who matches your research interests.

Funded opportunities are available through the MIC Doctoral Award, MIC Doctoral Studentship Award, MIC Postgraduate Studentship Award, and Departmental Assistantships. All of these opportunities carry a stipend and full fee waiver. For more information, contact a member of staff with whom your proposed research aligns.

We are currently seeking applications for Departmental Assistantships.

The MIC Departmental Assistantship Award is offered to postgraduate students who are prepared to participate in departmental and  college activities (tutorial/seminar/laboratory/field work/course work marking etc.) for a maximum of 108 hours in the academic year. An assistantship entitles the student to a fee waiver and a subsistence bursary of €6,900. For informal enquiries, please contact Psychology@mic.ul.ie.

Staff

Professor Niamh Stack


Head of Department - Psychology
  • Phone: 061 2043111
  • Email: Niamh.Stack@mic.ul.ie
  • Location: MIC Limerick Campus G66

Dr Lorcan Cronin


Lecturer in Psychology
  • Phone: +353 (061) 774973
  • Email: Lorcan.Cronin@mic.ul.ie
  • Location: G61

Dr Suzanne Egan

BA (UCD); MA (UCD); PG Dip (TCD) and PhD (TCD)
Lecturer
  • Phone: +353 61 204333
  • Email: Suzanne.Egan@mic.ul.ie
  • Location: G63

Michelle Glasheen

BA (MIC) and MA (MIC)
Psychology Technician
  • Phone: +353 61 204939
  • Email: Michelle.Glasheen@mic.ul.ie
  • Location: R201b

Dr Niamh Higgins

BA (University of Galway); HDipPsych (University of Galway); PhD (University of Galway); Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (University of Limerick)
Lecturer
  • Phone: +353 61 774344
  • Email: Niamh.Higgins@mic.ul.ie
  • Location: R122

Dr Marek McGann

BA (UCD); M Litt (UCD); MA (UCD) & D Phil (Sussex)
Lecturer
  • Phone: +353 61 204326
  • Email: Marek.McGann@mic.ul.ie
  • Location: G62

Blog

MIC Researchers Seek Parents to Participate in Study on Parenting with Mental Health Challenges

The Department of Psychology in Mary Immaculate College in partnership with Parents, HSE, Tusla and Clarecare have launched a new study to examine the experiences of parents living with mental health challenges. The study aims to find out more about the difficulties parents face, and…

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Planting the Seeds of Reading

National and international events such as World Book Day help encourage a love of reading and support literacy. Studies have found consistent relationships between early shared reading in the home and later literacy and language skills. Early childhood is an important time to lay down…

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The Social and Emotional Impact of School and ECEC Closures on Young Children

Over a billion children globally have missed out on school and early childhood education and care (ECEC) due to closures during the COVID-19 crisis. In Ireland, these settings closed abruptly in March 2020 causing major disruption for children and parents. During the first lockdown…

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The Role of Smartphones in Parent-Child Interactions: Capturing Parents’ Perspectives

Technology has become an integral part of everyday life, with most households having access to multiple devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets. Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures and lockdowns, devices have been used to work, entertain,…

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Travel Restrictions & Transnationalism

Researchers at MIC Investigate the Impact of Travel Restrictions on the Irish in Britain & British in Ireland A new research project from Mary Immaculate College (MIC) aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those who lead transnational lives…

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The last Ryanair generation?: Transnationalism in the time of Covid

For various reasons, I spent much of 2017 commuting on a weekly basis between Cork and the English Midlands. This involved numerous early morning and late evening flights between Cork and Birmingham: over time I came to recognise fellow travellers who were clearly in similar…

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Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Young Children’s Play, Learning and Development: Preliminary Findings from the PLEY Survey

Children’s lives have changed considerably over the last few months with the closure of schools and creches in mid-March, and the subsequent restrictions that were put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Play and Learning in the Early Years (PLEY) Survey was launched in May…

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Thinking differently about the future can mitigate some socioeconomic disadvantage in school

An unfortunate but well-established fact is that academic attainment is significantly predicted by socio-economic status. Put simply, if someone is from a deprived background, they are less likely to do well in education (and beyond). Clearly, the most welcome solutions to this problem…

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Research

Staff in the Department of Psychology at Mary Immaculate College are engaged in a variety of research projects aimed at developing knowledge and having a real-world impact on a national and international scale. Staff regularly publish their work in peer-reviewed journals, present at international conferences, and inform practice in applied areas. Generally, our research expertise falls under the areas of personality, stress, and health, education, community and social psychology, and the work of the Cognition, Development, and Learning Lab.

Meet the Researcher

John O'Neill
John O'Neill
PhD student, Department of Psychology

John O’Neil is studying for his PhD in the Department of Psychology at MIC.

John tells us about his really interesting research topic, which delves into the concept of vulnerability in professional Football. His study aims to enhance our understanding of vulnerability across all roles in the football landscape, from players to directors and various departments within.

John also talks about what he enjoys most when undertaking his research, what he likes about supervising students and his advice for anyone considering taking up a postgraduate programme by research.

Before coming to MIC to undertake my PhD, I completed a Sports & Exercise Science Degree, and a Master in Sport Psychology at the University of Limerick. I always wanted to do sports psychology and apply it to professional football. One of the main learning pillars of a Sports & Exercise Science degree is psychology, and during this time I created an opportunity to do my thesis on understanding Player Welfare in Professional Football. This allowed me to understand what it really meant to be a professional athlete and coach. It also taught me the psychology and continuous learning needed to support athletes on and off the field. For my Masters thesis, I was able to research the learning behind the psychology within Athletic Bilbao who are a professional football club in the Basque Country of Spain. Since 1912, it has adhered to a policy of only developing players from the Basque Country to play for them. I discovered how psychology was developed in the club towards developing home-grown players, which became known as La Mirada (“The Gaze” in Spanish). A key perspective of how La Mirada developed over time was to address coaches’ mindsets before those of the players, especially because coaches often felt that their learning was going to be an upward trajectory by relying on what had given them results in other clubs. Despite the self-imposed limitation of this unwritten rule, Athletic Bilbao is one of only three clubs to have never been relegated from La Liga, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona.

For my PhD, I am doing a psychology research project that delves into the concept of vulnerability in professional football. This study aims to enhance our understanding of vulnerability across all roles in the football landscape, from players to directors and various departments. We want to understand how can vulnerability serve as a compass for our learning in professional football. By understanding it through (𝐢) our own vulnerability (𝐢𝐢) how vulnerability may be different between and within departments of a club (𝐢𝐢𝐢) how vulnerability may impact senior management/leadership at the board level (𝐢𝐯) how vulnerability may impact sport psychology. We have developed a psychological framework around these phases and now we are building a psychometric scale to measure and understand how and when we can use our vulnerability throughout all the roles and people who make up a professional club. 

I like the fact that we started with very little research in this area of psychology but now we have developed it to a level where we feel our research can make a positive impact practically and also in academia. It has allowed me to connect, share, learn and discuss this research with some of the most influential football clubs, associations and federations in the world like the Premier League, La Liga and FIFA. I also really enjoy that in MIC you get to know and share with other researchers from different departments with different interests. In many ways, we might have a different research topic but we are all connected by the journey of what it means to be a researcher. I have found that when sharing my research with my department and others, people can often give you knowledge that can have a positive impact on your whole research area and vice versa. I have been able to show and connect my research into vulnerability with other researchers and department colleagues in MIC regarding how we all at times feel vulnerable both personally and professionally. I am also very grateful for all the support I get from my Head of Department, Niamh Stack, and colleagues who don’t just support you but encourage you both in the good times and especially at times when challenges are encountered. 

For the last three years, I have been the module leader of the Sport Psychology Module for Third Year BAs and Fourth Year B Eds. MIC has allowed me to connect with students in a way where I still know what it is to be a student. However, now as a module leader, I can feel what the students are going through at different stages throughout the term. You gain experience with students regarding when is the right time to talk and more importantly, when is the right time to just listen. Doing so without always feeling the need to offer advice but just knowing that they can come to you for advice. This is what can promote even more autonomy and life skills which can be even more beneficial to their learning both in and out of the lecture room. 

I would encourage anyone who is thinking about taking up a postgraduate programme by research to try and focus on a topic and area that you are really interested in and don’t undertake a programme for the sake of it. It’s often the interest that keeps the energy and commitment that is needed going. Don’t compare yourself with others because everyone’s postgraduate programme will have different pathways, but do be sure to stop and say hello and ask other postgrads how they are doing along the way. Enjoy your achievements as well no matter how big or small and keep interested in your research and progress. Remain humble along the way because it’s often the connections and people that you meet during the programme that will be your biggest achievement, support, help and reference for the years ahead, long after the last full stop has been typed! Keep the communication with your supervisors strong and positive. They only ever want to help you.

I tell many people that MIC has an exceptional support and guidance team with Julianne Stack and Rebecca Breen from the Research & Graduate School, and to really make the most of the opportunities that they create every single year. I have more full stops to go yet on my PhD journey but at the end, I know it will be a time that I will always be super proud of and much of that is because of the community spirit that you will always find in MIC. 

Research Areas & Associated Staff

Cardiovascular responses to stress is the focus of two of our researchers. Dr Niamh Higgins examines attention towards or away from threat with an emphasis on physiological response.

This also includes personality influences. Similarly, Dr Paul Mulcahy is interested in the reactivity to stress in different individuals and the impact on sleep deprivation. Dr Higgins is also currently active in research regarding youth mental health and individuals working with musculoskeletal pain.

Dr Marc Scully leads research on individual’s identification with a place, particularly related to migration. Dr Scully is highly active in discourse surrounding Irish diaspora issues.

Dr Marek McGann aids in the management of a national forum project, the Teaching Research Expertise Exchange (T-REX), which aims to build a digital bridge between academic and professional practice. This fits with Dr McGann’s ongoing interest in the practice of science and implementation.

Prof Niamh Stack research is predominantly in the areas of gifted education, ecopsychology and community psychology.

Researchers in the Cognition, Development and Learning Lab in the Department of Psychology, led by Dr Suzanne Egan, study the factors that impact on how we think, reason, learn, solve problems and interact with others, with a special focus on early experiences. Examining data from children, parents, preschool educators, and teachers, we aim to understand the interactions and interdependencies between people's physical and social environments and their cognitive and socioemotional development. For current information about research from the lab please check the Department of Psychology blog or Dr Egan’s profile page.

These are some of the research questions and topics we focus on:

  • What level of outdoor play are Irish children engaged in?
  • How much of an impact does reading to infants have for later cognitive development?
  • What sorts of different activities and games in the home learning environment influence socio-emotional development?
  • What effect does screen use have on development during early childhood?

Postgraduate Opportunities

Departmental Assistantships 2024

General Information 

The Department of Psychology, Mary Immaculate College, is now accepting applications for a funded Departmental Assistantships in Psychology beginning in September 2024.  

The successful applicant will work under the supervision of a member of staff in the Department of Psychology. They will be provided with a fee waiver (two years for a research M.A. student; four years for a Ph.D. student) and an annual stipend of €6,900 (two years for a research M.A. student; three years for a Ph.D. student). The applicant will undertake tutorial or other departmental work, to a maximum of 120 hours per year.  

General information on the Departmental Assistantship funding scheme is available here: https://www.mic.ul.ie/researc…;

Application Process - Part One

To be considered for a Departmental Assistantship, applicants should identify a research topic and supervisor, and complete a research postgraduate application. Information on this process is available here 

It is essential that potential applicants allow sufficient time to prepare an application in conjunction with a potential supervisor. Further information on the research interests of faculty in the Department of Psychology is available here: https://www.mic.ul.ie/faculty-of-arts/department/psychology 

We are particularly welcoming applications this year to work with the supervisors below in the following areas:   

Dr Paul Mulcahy/Dr Niamh Higgins: Social support reciprocity and cardiovascular reactivity to stress - The proposed PhD project would investigate the relationship between a reciprocity-oriented framework of social support and acute cardiovascular stress reactivity, and explore how other individual difference variables such as personality factors may moderate this relationship.

Dr Lorcan Cronin: life skills development in youth sport, PE, dance, or higher education; life skills as a way of combatting depression, anxiety and stress; sport and exercise psychology. 

Dr Marc Scully: Social psychological approaches to migration, transnationalism and diaspora. Discourses of local and national identity. Identities and pro-environmental behaviour – the focus within these topics will preferably be on qualitative methodologies  

Prof Niamh Stack: Ecopsychology, outdoor learning, gifted development, developmental impact of growing up with congenital heart disease, community psychology  – the focus within these topics will preferably be on qualitative methodologies 

 

Application Process - Part Two

The applicant should complete a Departmental Assistantship (Psychology) application.  

Selection Criteria 

  • Academic record at undergraduate level; 
  • Academic record at postgraduate level (if appropriate); 
  • Research M.A. or Ph.D. project; 
  • Aptitude for teaching undergraduate students in tutorials. 

 

Application Process - Part Three

Applicants should submit the following documents in hard copy or by email to the Head of Department, Prof Niamh Stack (Niamh.Stack@mic.ul.ie): 

  • Academic transcript(s). 
  • A copy of the research M.A. or Ph.D. application. 
  • A short statement indicating aptitude for teaching undergraduate psychology students in tutorials (maximum 200 words). 

The deadline for applications is noon on Monday 19th August 2024. 

Selection Process

The department will convene a Selection Committee consisting of the Head of Department (chair) and at least two other members of staff. The committee will assess applications on the basis of the selection criteria and make recommendation(s) for approval via the Research and Graduate School to the Executive Team. The Head of Department will notify applicants of the outcome of the selection process as soon as possible. 

 

Late Applications 

Late applications will be welcomed if Department Assistantships in the Department of Psychology remain unfilled after the deadline. Please contact Prof Niamh Stack (Niamh.Stack@mic.ul.ie

 

Contact Information

Please direct general queries to: 

Prof Niamh Stack, Head of Department (Niamh.Stack@mic.ul.ie).  

Department website

Resources

Staff and students in the Department of Psychology have access to a range of excellent facilities, equipment and technical support.

We have a Psychological Test Library, which includes intelligence and personality tests, and a dedicated Psychology Computer Laboratory, which features high performance networked PCs, specialist software, response pads and more.

We also have a suite of individual and small group observation and testing rooms. These include a Cognition and Perception Laboratory equipped with two SMI Eye Trackers (an iView X HED for mobile eye-tracking and a RED 250 for remote eye tracking) and a Psychophysiology Laboratory equipped with blood pressure monitors and PowerLab systems (which can be used to measure EEG, EOG, ECG and GSR).

Our Cardiovascular Psychophysiology Laboratory has a Finometer PRO which allows for accurate non-invasive beat-to-beat blood pressure monitoring.

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