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Courses
Courses
Choosing a course is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make! View our courses and see what our students and lecturers have to say about the courses you are interested in at the links below.
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University Life
University Life
Each year more than 4,000 choose University of Galway as their University of choice. Find out what life at University of Galway is all about here.
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About University of Galway
About University of Galway
Since 1845, University of Galway has been sharing the highest quality teaching and research with Ireland and the world. Find out what makes our University so special – from our distinguished history to the latest news and campus developments.
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Colleges & Schools
Colleges & Schools
University of Galway has earned international recognition as a research-led university with a commitment to top quality teaching across a range of key areas of expertise.
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Research & Innovation
Research & Innovation
University of Galway’s vibrant research community take on some of the most pressing challenges of our times.
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Business & Industry
Guiding Breakthrough Research at University of Galway
We explore and facilitate commercial opportunities for the research community at University of Galway, as well as facilitating industry partnership.
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Alumni & Friends
Alumni & Friends
There are 128,000 University of Galway alumni worldwide. Stay connected to your alumni community! Join our social networks and update your details online.
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Community Engagement
Community Engagement
At University of Galway, we believe that the best learning takes place when you apply what you learn in a real world context. That's why many of our courses include work placements or community projects.
Risky and Extreme Behaviour Group
Risky and Extreme Behaviour Group
The risky and extreme behaviour group is comprised of staff, postdoctoral, and postgraduate students from the School of psychology. The overarching objective of the group is to generate high-quality evidence problematic behaviours that can be used to inform the design and implementation of risk mitigating interventions and initiatives. The work of the group is informed broadly by social cognitive theory and research and moral decision-making.
- Dr. Kiran Sarma
- Dr. Denis O'Hora
- Dr. John Bogue
- Dr. Méabh Ní Maolalaidh, Post-Doc (Terrorism)
- Dr. Rachel Carey
- Aoife Kervick, PhD Candidate (Risk Taking)
RISKY BEHAVIOUR
In the area of risk-taking, our research to date has focused primarily on risky driving by young people. Within the stream of research we have examined the psychological profile of risky drivers, the impact of different types of persuasive messages on risk-taking, and the potential efficacy of in vehicle technologies in reducing traffic collisions. This research has been funded by the Road safety authority of Ireland.
Latest publications
Carey, RN., McDermott, DT., Sarma, KM (2013) 'The Impact of Threat Appeals on Fear Arousal and Driver Behavior: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Research 1990-2011'. PLos One, 8 (5).
Sarma, K.M., Carey, N. R., Kervick, A. A & Bimpeh, Y. (2013) 'Psychological factors associated with indices of risky, reckless and cautious driving in a sample of drivers in the Republic of Ireland'. Accident Analysis And Prevention, 50 (January):1226-1235.
Byrne, C., Walsh, J., Kola, S., Sarma, K. M. (2012). Predicting intention to uptake H1N1 influenza vaccine in a university sample. British Journal of Health Psychology. 11, (13), pp. 582-595.
EXTREME BEHAVIOUR
In the area of extreme behaviour, we are interested in a wide range of actions that could be broadly interpreted as involving violence and aggression. A major focus of our research is on psychological aspects of radicalisation and terrorism, the generation and running of informants, and support for terrorism. This research has been funded by the Irish Research Council.
Latest Publications
Sarma. K. (2014). The use of informants in counter terrorism operations: Lessons from Northern Ireland. Chapter in David Lowe, Austin Turk & Dilip K. Das (Eds.)., Examining Political Violence: Studies of Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Internal War (pp. 237-260), Taylor and Francis: London.
Sarma, K., & Livings, B. (Eds.). (2013). Evil and the State. (Inter-disciplinary Press: London).
Project: Addressing Radical Cognition (ARC). Understanding and responding to the risk of violent radicalisation into terrorism (RCS1252, with funding from the Irish Research Council (IRC) Research Projects Grants (2013-2015).
Role: Principal Investigator.
Start/End Dates: December 2013-March 2015.
Project: Information Sharing and Confidentiality: Guidance for health professionals when working with individuals at risk of violent radicalisation. (Report for the EC's Radicalisation Awareness Network, RAN-HEALTH).
Project: Social cognitions implicated in psychological and social processes of radicalisation. (REI1116, with funding from Enterprise Ireland)
Role: Principal Investigator
Start/End Dates: 26-JUL-12 / 14-FEB-13
Project: RISK: Monitor - Using mobile phone application as in-vehicle technology to monitor driving behaviour. ( ROG1071, with funding from the Road Safety Authority of Ireland)
Role: Principal Investigator
Start/End Dates: 01-JAN-12 / 31-DEC-15
Project: Moral Disengagement and Terrorism (RM0921, with funding from the Millennium Research Fund, NUIG)
Role: Principal Investigator
Start/End Dates: 28-JAN-10 / 30-APR-12
Project: RISK: Comms - The use of fear appeals as persuasive communication in road safety campaigns. (ROG086, with funding from the Road Safety Authority)
Role: Principal Investigator
Start/End Dates: 01-OCT-10 / 01-OCT-13
Project: RISK: Profile - Investigating the psychological profile of risky and reckless drivers in Ireland. (with funding from the Road Safety Authority of Ireland).
Role: Principal Investigator
Start/End Dates: 01-JUN-11/01-DEC-12
Project: Development of a Gender Role Conflict Scale for Adolescent males (RCS1037, with funding (bursary award) from the IRCHSS)
Role: Supervisor
Start/End Dates: 01-SEP-10 / 31-AUG-13
Project: Firearms assisted suicide in Ireland (RM7013, with funding from the Millennium Research Fund, NUIG)
Role: Principal Investigator
Start/End Dates: 03-DEC-07 / 19-JUN-09
Project: Chronic Pain in Ireland (multiple funding awards >1milllion Euros) with the Centre for Pain Research (e.g. ICE Award from the HRB).
Role: Collaborator and advisor on methodology and statistics.
Start/End Dates: 03-JAN-10/PRESENT
Kilroy, S., Egan, J., Walsh, M., McManus, S., Sarma, K. M. (2015) 'Staff perceptions of the quality of life of individuals with an intellectual disability who transition from a residential campus to community living in Ireland:An exploratory study'. Journal of intellectual & developmental disability, 40 (1)
Dowd H, Hogan M, McGuire BE, Sarma K. M, Fish R, Davis M, Zautra A. (2015) 'Comparison of an online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy intervention with online pain management psychoeducation: A randomized controlled pilot study'. Clinical Journal Of Pain
Dooley, M,Dineen, T, Sarma, K.M, Nolan, A (2014) 'The psychological impact of infertility and fertility treatment on the male partner'.Human Fertility , 17 :203-209.
Kilroy, S. J., Egan, J., Maliszewska, A., Sarma, K. M. (2014) 'Systemic trauma: The impact on parents whose children have experienced sexual abuse'. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 23 (5):481-503.
Kennedy, S., O'Higgins, S., Sarma, K.M, Willig, C., McGuire, B.E. (2014) 'Evaluation of a group based cognitive behavioural therapy programme for menstrual pain management in young women with intellectual disabilities: protocol for a mixed methods controlled clinical trial'. BMC Womens Health, 14(107), 1 - 10.
Sarma. K. (2014) . The use of informants in counter terrorism operations: Lessons from Northern Ireland. Chapter in David Lowe, Austin Turk & Dilip K. Das (Eds.)., Examining Political Violence: Studies of Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Internal War (pp. 237-260), Taylor and Francis: London.
Sarma, K. M., & Livings, B. (Eds.). (2014). Evil and the State: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Witney, UK: Interdisciplinary Press.ISBN: 978-1-84888-135-8.
Sarma, K. M. (2014). Evil beneath? What we know and do not know about public support for violent extremism. In Kiran Sarma & Ben Livings (Eds.)., Evil and the State: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 107-127). Witney, UK: Interdisciplinary Press.
Sarma, K. M. (2014). Postscript: Future Directions in Evil. In Kiran Sarma & Ben Livings (Eds.)., Evil and the State: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 127-131). Witney, UK: Interdisciplinary Press.
Sarma, K. M. (2014). Awareness raising actions and materials for health workers in the area of radicalisation and violent radicalisation. Report for the European Commission's Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN-HEALTH).
