Dr Ben Harkin SFHEA, PGCE, BA(Hons), MA(Psych), MA(Edu), MSc(Psych Sci), PhD(Cog Psych)

Senior Lecturer in Psychology

My profile

Biography

Academic and professional qualifications

PhD in Psychology. A Cognitive Examination of Compulsive Checkers’ Working Memory and Inhibitory Performance. School of Psychology, University of Glasgow. 

MSc in Research Methods of Psychological Science (Distinction). School of Psychology, University of Glasgow. Published Thesis: How Checking Breeds Doubt: Reduced Performance in a Simple Working Memory Task, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47, 504-512.

MA in Psychology (First Class: Top Student). School of Psychology, University of Glasgow. Published Thesis: Implicit Awareness of Ambiguity: A Role in the Development of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46 (7), 861-869.

MA in Higher Education (Distinction), Manchester Metropolitan University.

BA Sports Science and Business Management (Honours). University of Manchester.

Post Graduate Cert in Higher Education, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Prizes and awards

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Future Leaders Award (£230,000) investigating why people avoid their debt and designing interventions to reverse this.

British Academy Grant investigating why ex-conspiracy theorists go down the YouTube rabbit hole and how they got out. 

The Faculty of Information and Mathematical Sciences (FIMS) Ph.D. Scholarship. Awarded to Top FIMS Candidate at University of Glasgow. Fees and Monthly Stipend.

Henry J. Watt Prize in Psychology. Awarded by the School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, for Top Student in fourth year of undergraduate study.

Alastair Weir Prize for Excellence in Psychology. Awarded by the School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, for Top Student in third year of undergraduate study.

Get in touch

0161 247 5477
Tuesday 11-1

Teaching

Postgraduate teaching

I am the unit leader for:

  • Cognitive and Biological Psychology (MSc Conversion)

I also contribute to:

  • Cognitive Psychology (Undergraduate)
  • Research Principles and Methods (Masters)
  • Quantitative Methods in Psychology (MSc Conversion)
  • Empirical Dissertation (MSc Conversion)

Supervision

I am currently accepting new PhD advisees. All applicants are welcome, across a range of topics and methods (i.e., quantitative and qualitative). I encourage students to review current projects and selected publications to determine fit. Some areas of interest, although applicants are not limited to these areas, are: 

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety Disorders. Cognitive and/or abnormal psychology (e.g., anxiety disorders), with an emphasis on attention and memory performance in OCD specifically and anxiety disorders generally.
  • Selective and/or Meta-Analytic Reviews. Those with an interest in conducting selective and meta-analytic reviews in Psychology. These can be across any area in psychology. 
  • Educational Research. Large scale qualitative and quantitative analysis of National Student Survey Responses to identify areas of good pedagogical practice. Understanding the multidimensional constructions and experiences that students have for online and/or face-to-face learning with the aim of identifying suitable interventions to improve experience and academic outcomes.  
  • Trust in Science. Identity the factors which devalue TIS, how this impacts health-related behaviours and use of scientific information (e.g., vaccination uptake; belief in flat earth), and to design and implement interventions to tackle this issue. 

Research outputs

My expertise is in the area of anxiety disorders (i.e., Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) in terms of the attentional and memory impairments that drive this disorder.

I am also interested in Trust in Science and identifying the factors which devalue it and designing interventions to improve it. 

I have conducted and published several selective reviews and meta-analysis, and I am keen to take on masters/PhD students who wish to utilise these approaches in an area of psychology. 

Lastly, I am interested in student experiences from a qualitative and quantitative perspective, with the aim of identifying good pedagogical practice, and informing interventions and provision across Higher Education Institutions. 

  • Journal articles

    Harkin, B., Yates, A., Persson, S., Zinkunegi, A., Kessler, K. (2023) 'Top-Down and Bottom-Up Contributions to Memory Performance in OCD: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis with Clinical Implications..' Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science,

    Harkin, B., Paltoglou, A., Tariq, K., Watkin, M., Ashfaq, S., Yates, A., Jacobs, C. 'Student Experiences of Assessment and Feedback in the National Student Survey: A Framework Analysis with Pedagogical Implications..' International Journal of Management and Applied Research,

    Harkin, B., Davies, L.E., Yates, A. (2024) 'Contamination-focussed vignettes as an analogue of infectious pandemics: an experimental validation via state disgust and anxiety responses in OCD.' Psychological Reports,

    Eve, Z., Turner, M., Di Basilio, D., Harkin, B., Yates, A., Perrson, S., Henry, J., Williams, A., Walton, G., Jones, M., Whitley, C., Craddock, N. (2023) 'Therapeutic games (TGs) to reduce anxiety and depression in young people: a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis of their use and effectiveness.' Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy: an international journal of theory and practice,

    Harkin, B., Yates, A., Riach, M., Clowes, A., Cole, S., Cummings, C. (2022) '“I Want to See People’s Reactions to the Selfies”: A Lefebvrian Analysis of the Impact of Social Networking Sites on Physical, Mental, and Emotional Functioning.' Social Science Computer Review, 40(3) pp. 788-808.

    Harkin, B., Yates, A., Wright, L., Nerantzi, C. (2022) 'The Impact of Physical, Mental, Social and Emotional Dimensions of Digital Learning Spaces on Student’s Depth of Learning: The Quantification of an Extended Lefebvrian Model.' International Journal of Management and Applied Research, 9(1) pp. 50-73.

    Persson, S., Yates, A., Kessler, K., Harkin, B. (2021) 'Modeling a multidimensional model of memory performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A multilevel meta-analytic review..' Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 130(4) pp. 346-364.

    Harkin, B., Nerantzi, C. (2021) '“It Helps if You Think of Yourself as a Radio Presenter!” A Lefebvrian Commentary on the Concerns, Conflicts and Opportunities of Online Block Teaching.' International Journal of Management and Applied Research, 8(1) pp. 18-35.

    Harkin, B. (2021) 'Academic Readiness and Collaborative Communities in Online Block Teaching: A Lefebvrian Case Study..' Learning and Teaching in Action (Special Issue), 14(1) pp. 1-9.

    Harkin, B. (2017) 'Improving Financial Management via Contemplation: Novel Interventions and Findings in Laboratory and Applied Settings.' Frontiers in Psychology, 8

    Benn, Y., Webb, T.L., Chang, B.P.I., Harkin, B. (2016) 'What is the psychological impact of self-weighing? A meta-analysis.' Health Psychology Review, 10(2) pp. 187-203.

    Harkin, B., Webb, T.L., Chang, B.P.I., Prestwich, A., Conner, M., Kellar, I., Benn, Y., Sheeran, P. (2016) 'Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence.' Psychological Bulletin, 142(2) pp. 198-229.

    Kessler, K., Pajak, K.M., Harkin, B., Jones, B. (2013) 'A working memory bias for alcohol-related stimuli depends on drinking score.' Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(1) pp. 23-31.

    Harkin, B., Miellet, S., Kessler, K. (2012) 'What Checkers Actually Check: An Eye Tracking Study of Inhibitory Control and Working Memory.' PLoS ONE, 7(9)

    Harkin, B., Kessler, K. (2012) 'Deficient inhibition of return in subclinical OCD only when attention is directed to the threatening aspects of a stimulus.' Depression and Anxiety, 29(9) pp. 807-815.

    Harkin, B., Rutherford, H., Kessler, K. (2011) 'Impaired Executive Functioning in Subclinical Compulsive Checking with Ecologically Valid Stimuli in a Working Memory Task.' Frontiers in Psychology, 2

    Harkin, B., Kessler, K. (2011) 'The role of working memory in compulsive checking and OCD: A systematic classification of 58 experimental findings.' Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6) pp. 1004-1021.

    Harkin, B., Kessler, K. (2011) 'How checking as a cognitive style influences working memory performance.' Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(2) pp. 219-228.

    Harkin, B., Kessler, K. (2009) 'How checking breeds doubt: Reduced performance in a simple workingmemory task.' Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(6) pp. 504-512.

    Harkin, B.L., Mayes, G.M. (2008) 'Implicit awareness of ambiguity: A role in the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder.' Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(7) pp. 861-869.

Press and media

Media appearances or involvement

In January 2022 we had our paper discussed in a recent podcast by Sister Doctor Squared (https://sisterdoctorsquared.com/2022/01/29/new-years-resolutions/). The paper in question was: Harkin, B., Webb, T., Chang, B., Benn, Y., Sheeran, P., Connor, M. & Prestwich, J. (2015) Does Monitoring Goal Progress Promote Goal Attainment? A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence. Psychological Bulletin.

Interviewed by BPS magazine “The Psychologist” in an article titled “The Psychology of Debt - Avoiding the Unavoidable.” Link to the article on page 539 can be found here: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/sites/thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/files/files/psy0715new.pdf

Invited to author an article by ORCHARD 9 which is a charity who invest in interventions in OCD on the impact of COVID-19 and associated health messages on those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. A link to the article can be found here: https://www.orchardocd.org/news/the-unique-challenge-of-covid-19-to-those-with-ocd-lessons-from-cognitive-psychology/