Brian M. Hughes Ph.D.

About

Brian Hughes, Ph.D., is a biological psychologist, psychophysiologist, and research methodologist, and a professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. His research focuses on psychological stress (particularly its impact on cardiovascular psychophysiology, immunity, and health) and on psychosocial moderators of stress processes (such as social support, cognition, and personality). He also writes widely on the psychology of empiricism and of empirically disputable claims, especially as they pertain to science, health, and medicine.

Brian has held visiting academic appointments at the Universities of Missouri (USA), Leiden (Netherlands), and Birmingham (UK), at King's College London (UK), and at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He is a former president of the Psychological Society of Ireland (2004-2005) and of the international Stress and Anxiety Research Society (2014-2016).

He is the author of Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology (Prentice Hall, 2012), Rethinking Psychology: Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience (Palgrave, 2016), and Psychology in Crisis (Palgrave, 2018). His latest book is The Psychology of Brexit: From Psychodrama to Behavioural Science (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2019).

Books by Brian M. Hughes Ph.D.

Recent Posts

Halloween, COVID-19, and the Psychology of Masks

At Halloween, we pretend to be terrified when kids wear masks. COVID has turned this convention on its head: We get jumpy when adults refuse to wear theirs.

Psychology Is Still in Crisis

Psychologists are working hard to deal with the effects of the replication crisis. But are they doing anything about its causes?

Rest in Peace, Professor Hawking

A cultural icon of our times has died. His guidance will live on.

The Psychology of Stand-Up Comedy

Academics have not only studied stand-up comedy. Occasionally they have performed it too.

Evidence-Based Dating: What Could Go Wrong?

There is no shortage of research into romance and relationships. But is it convincing? And are psychologists really best placed to advise others on romance?

The Irishness of Psychology (and Psychology of Irishness)

It's time to ask whether psychology is in fact Irish. Also: What influences the Irish psyche?

Disease Mongering: Past, Present and Future

Medicine is often criticized for depicting ordinary experiences as diseases requiring treatment. But is psychology guilty of this too?

Why Boastful People Likely Aren't Virgins

Research suggests that boastful people are more sexually promiscuous, implying an evolutionary advantage for braggarts. But can such a claim really be corroborated?

On Bragging Rights (and Wrongs)

Subtle self-promotion is now so common that the Oxford English Dictionary lists 'humblebrag' as an official word. New studies have sought evolutionary explanations for bragging.

It's the Negative Campaigning, Stupid

Do negative campaigns risk alienating voters? Opinion polls have long suggested that they do. But new experimental research tells a different story.