About my current job
I direct UCL's Centre for Behaviour Change, leading a team of about 25 researchers, and am a co-Director of an MSc in Behaviour Change.
Something important I learned during my time at EP
I learned how to interrogate questions and people, and to think analytically and beyond the appearances of issues. I also learned how to stand up for myself in academic arguments and how to take criticism as food for thought, rather than as a personal slight.
Fond memories of my time at EP
The fresh doughnuts that were served at coffee time every morning at 11am and Michael Argyle pretending to drink from an empty coffee cup because he didn't like coffee, but knew it was socially skilled to perform the behaviours that others around him were performing.
Did you have a favourite tutor/lecturer/prof, and how did they inspire you?
Peter Bryant's lectures were the best I have ever attended. He would pose a question, build a series of arguments with supporting evidence that we would follow (to begin with unquestioningly) before identifying a fatal flaw that we could have spotted had we had all our wits about us. An inspiring and fun way to be taught. Intellectually challenging theatre!
How did friends made during your time at EP influence your life?
My closest friend from EP days is Jamie Bennett-Levy. We were undergraduates together and then went on to train in clinical psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, along with our friend from EP days, Charlie Vincent. Both are now professors. Jamie lives in Australia, but we have managed to see each other most years, on the back of academic travel. One of his influences has been not to take myself or, indeed, anyone too seriously.
Do you have a lesson or advice that you’d give to current students/researchers at EP?
Ensure that you read, write, discuss and think about things that interest you and take the time to explore areas that are not necessarily 'core'. Keep open to new ideas and new ways of thinking and don't feel pressured into being too outcomes-focused - the journey along the way is where you learn ...the balance between being open and exploratory and being focused is a skill worth attending to.
With the benefit of hindsight, do you have any advice you’d give your younger self?
Don't be intimidated by others, especially other men, who sound clever and authoritative and believe in your own abilities. Oxford can knock confidence especially if one didn't go to a private school where confidence is imparted.
Other reflections
Having fun and a full and interesting social life is a key part of University experience. Using the time to find how to balance this with getting work done, in an enjoyable way, is a key learning for life.