Psychology facilities
Pub Lab
The Pub Lab is a purpose-built research facility designed to simulate real-world drinking environments, allowing researchers to observe and analyse social behaviour in a naturalistic yet controlled context. Adjustable lighting, background music, and ambient noise can be used to create different social settings for experimental purposes. The facility supports research into alcohol-related behaviour, decision making, and social influences on drinking, with the aim of informing strategies to reduce alcohol-related harm. It offers Psychology students valuable experience in designing and conducting real-world behavioural research and contributes to LSBU’s wider work in applied psychology and public health.
Child Development Lab
The Child Development Lab is designed to support high-quality developmental psychology research. It is equipped with a variety of age-appropriate neuropsychological tests and resources tailored for work with young people and families. The lab includes two dedicated spaces: one room offers a comfortable, family-friendly setting with a sofa, beanbags, toys and books—ideal for naturalistic studies involving younger children and parents. The second room is styled like a classroom, providing a familiar environment for working with school-aged children on computer-based tasks or problem-solving activities. The space was co-created with young people from LSBU Group schools to ensure it is welcoming, inclusive and fit for purpose.
Cognitive Neuroscience Labs
Our Cognitive Neuroscience Labs include facilities for both electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), supporting a wide range of brain and behaviour research. EEG enables researchers to measure electrical brain activity with millisecond precision, while fNIRS uses light to monitor changes in blood flow to the brain as participants engage in naturalistic tasks. These complementary methods are used to study cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and language in both children and adults. The lab facilities are supported by the expertise of the Brain, Mind and Behaviour Research Group, LSBU’s hub for cognitive neuroscience. The group fosters a collaborative and inclusive research culture, bringing together specialists in psychology, neuroscience, and health to support innovative, impactful research.
Psychophysiology Facilities
Our Psychophysiology facilities support the measurement of bodily responses linked to cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes. Researchers have access to a desk-mounted SR eye tracker and portable units, which enable the measurement of visual attention and gaze patterns across a variety of tasks and populations. In addition, we have three Biopac base units that support the collection of high-quality physiological data, including impedance cardiography (ICG), electrodermal activity (EDA), electromyography (EMG), skin conductance response (SCR), continuous blood pressure, electrocardiography (ECG), and respiratory rate. These tools can be used independently or alongside other equipment to support a wide range of experiments in psychophysiology and behavioural neuroscience.
Facilities for Online Research and Data Science
We have computing facilities and software to support online research and advanced statistical analyses. Students can create and manage sophisticated online experiments using Gorilla Experiment Builder and collect survey data using Qualtrics. These tools make it easy to collect high-quality data from online participants. Our dedicated psychology computer labs include SPSS for statistical analysis. For studies involving large datasets or complex analyses, the Data Processing and Analysis Lab provides access to advanced programming environments such as MATLAB and R. These tools are widely used in professional research, giving students valuable experience with the kinds of software and methods they’re likely to encounter in graduate study or employment.