Dr Ana Fernandez

My background is in cognitive psychology and its interaction with emotion. I gained a BSc and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Kent.

I started working at Christ Church University in 2007 and I am currently the Postgraduate Lead in Psychology.

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Undergraduate teaching

• Key Skills in Psychology (year 1)
• Key Skills in Psychology 2 (year 2)
• Psychology Research Project (year 3)
• Key Skills in Psychology 3 (year 3)
• Psychology of Sustainability (year 3; convenor)
• Slaves to Emotion (year 3; convenor)

Postgraduate (taught)

Programme Director of our MSc Psychology (conversion course). I also convene Cognitive & Biological Psychology, Research Methods 2, I teach on Society & Environment, and supervise projects.

Postgraduate (by research)

Project Supervisor on the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences MSc by Research in Psychology.

Research interests

Sustainability: I have a strong interest in all aspects of sustainability including attitudes and engagement; responses to environmental policies; discourses surrounding the environmental debate; (moral) reasoning and justifications in relation to pro-environmental behaviours. I'm also interested in the relationship between sustainability and health, as well as wider ranging aspects, such as community psychology.

Cognition and Emotion: Particularly attentional biases in adults and children and their relation to wellbeing.

Supervision

I would welcome PhD applications in any of the above areas.

• Chloe Griggs, who is investigating sustainability in the NHS.
• Ahmed Ismail, who is investigating the role of arousal vulnerability in psychosis.

Current projects

• Carnivores & Biodiversity: Attitudes to the reintroduction of native carnivores and the role of wildlife parks in increasing awareness of their impact on biodiversity. With Dr Adriana Consorte-McCrea and Dr Alan Bainbridge. Partners: Wildwood Wild Animal Park & Howletts Animal Park.
• Dog Adoption & Ownership: Investigating the reasons leading to giving up dogs for adoption and prevention strategies. With Dr Anke Franz. Partners: Redwood Rescue and Rehome.
• The 'Talk About Thoughts and Feelings' Project: Investigating the relationship between mother-child interactions involving talking about emotions, theory of mind, attentional bias and cognitive development. With Dr Amanda Carr. Partners: Bechange.
• The Discourses of Climate Change: Focusing on the use of metaphors and other rhetorical devices to describe / defend / criticise camps and claims surrounding climate change and environmental policy in the media and online community. With Dr Ruth Woods and Dr Sharon Coen.

• Consorte-McCrea, A., Fernández, A. & Bainbridge, A., (Chairs). Large Carnivores and Zoos as Catalysts for Biodiversity Conservation: How do we engage the public in the protection of biodiversity? Symposium at the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology, 12th - 15th of June 2018, Jyväskylä, Finland.
• Consorte-McCrea, A., Bainbridge, A., Fernández, A., & Nigbur, D. (2018). Attitudes to carnivore reintroductions in the UK and the role of zoos. Paper presented at the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology, 12th - 15th of June 2018, Jyväskylä, Finland.
• Nigbur, D., Coen, S., Fernández, A., Franz, A. and Hocking, I. (2012). The theory of planned behaviour, self-identity, and moral disengagement: what predicts
  sustainability at work? Paper presented at the British Psychological Society, Social Psychology Section conference, University of St Andrews, 21st-23rd August 2012.
• Woods, R., Coen, S. & Fernández, A. (2009). An analysis of the British public's concerns regarding climate change legislation. Virtual paper presented at the International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts and Responses, Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research, Pune, India, 9^th – 11^th January 2009.
• Fernández, A. & Sharma, D. (2006). Disengagement effects reconsidered: Linguistic stimuli produce more emotional interference in the right visual field. Poster presented at the XXIII Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, Cognitive Psychology Section, Lancaster University, 6^th – 8^th September 2006.