Dr Alyson Blanchard

School of Health & Society

Photo of Dr Alyson Blanchard

Current positions

Lecturer in Psychology

Biography

Dr Alyson Blanchard started her academic career at The University of Sheffield, graduating in 2000 with a BA in Archaeology and Prehistory (2.1). She then pursued a successful self-employed career as an Editorial Photographer based in the North West, and worked for a range of prestigious publications and clients. During this time, she returned to academia and achieved a Graduate Diploma in Psychology (equivalent 1st) from Liverpool Hope University and then completed a self-funded part-time PhD in Psychology from the University of Liverpool in 2017. Her lecturing career started as an Associate Lecturer in 2011, and subsequently worked at Nottingham Trent University as a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer and then at Bishop Grosseteste University as a Senior Lecturer.

Alyson's research specialisms focus around personality traits such as psychopathy and narcissism from an evolutionary psychological perspective, which also informs her research on mate preferences and social and political behaviour.

Areas of Research

Personality and Individual Differences
Psychopathy
Narcissism
Dark Triad
Evolutionary Psychology/Life history theory
Anti-social personality
Mate preference and mate choice
Intelligence
Environmental/social influences on behaviour

Teaching

Programme Leader - Psychology of Human and Animal Behaviour
Module Leader: Individual Differences; Further Individual Differences; Further Research Methods (Quantitative strand)
Co-Module Leader: Philosophical Roots, Research Approaches & Academic Skills in Psychology; Animal Assisted Therapy

Qualifications and Recognitions

Qualifications
  • Personality and Evolutionary Psychology

    2011 - 2017
  • Graduate Diploma in Psychology

    2008 - 2009
  • Learning Conversion Entry Award in Psychology

    2005 - 2006
  • Archaeology and Prehistory

    1997 - 2000