Lisa Whittaker

I graduated with a BA (hons) in Psychology at the University of Stirling in 2005.  Since graduating I have worked in the Psychology Department as a teaching assistant and then Acting Final Year Co-ordinator. In 2006 I was awarded an ESRC 1 +3 studentship. I completed the MSc in Psychological Research Methods in Oct 2007 and I am currently in the 2nd year of my PhD supervised by Dr. Alex Gillespie.

 

I enjoy horse riding and occasionally compete in local events with my horse Fred. I also love going on holiday and travelling this year I am going to Australia.

My main area of interest lies within the field of Social Psychology and my research uses the theory of the Dialogical Self to explore adolescent identities. During my MSc placement with Youth Services at Stirling Council I became aware of a particular group of young people that I have chosen to focus on.  These young people are labelled NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and this label has arisen from the NEET Strategy (2006) - More Choices, More Chances: A Strategy to Reduce the Number of Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training in Scotland. I am interested in how young people in this group see themselves and others. My MSc dissertation:  'Adolescent identity: A dialogical analysis of the role of significant others' highlighted a number of signifcant others that appear in the dialogues of some of these young people. My PhD research - "Scotland's Shame" A dialogical analysis of the identity of young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (working title) - builds on my masters research by further exploring adolescent identities. I am interested in the role recognition plays in identity construction. I have also been exploring how young people present themselves on social networking sites. I am currently using an questionnaire called the Interpersonal Perception Method to gain an insight into the relationship between employers and young people.

I am a tutor on PSY9AJ Social Psychology course for 3rd year undergraduate students.  I have previously ran final year electives exploring interpersonal relationships and identity, the Self and narrative psychology. I have also taught a methodology class to those on the MSc Health Psychology programme.

Whittaker, L. (2008)."Scotland's Shame" A dialogical analysis of the identity of young people Not in Education, Employment or Training. Psychology and Society Vol 1 www.psychologyandsociety.sps.cam.ac.uk/currentissue/

I have given presentations at the following conferences:

9th LSE Cambridge Inter-University Graduate Conference. Constructions, Discourse and Representations 17 May 2008

The 5th International Conference on the Dialogical Self. Cambridge 26th-29th August 2008

I will also present at the 4th Conference Young People & Societies in Europe and around the Mediterranean. Forli, Italy 26th-28th March 2009.