Dr Andy Watt

Module Leader

• FPS7009 Foundations in Forensic Psychology
• PRC8001 Advanced Applied Research Methods
• PSY6120 Applied Forensic Psychology

• PSY6002 Clinical Psychology
• PSY5021 Introduction to Forensic Psychology
• MRES – Research Ethics

• BSc Psychology Dissertation
• MSc Forensic Psychology Dissertation

• Andrew Evered - Visual Learning And Proficiency Testing In Clinical Cytology Using Digital Media
• Jacqueline Campbell - Measuring and Enhancing Offenders’ Motivation for Treatment and Change
• Deiniol Skillicorn - Cognition and Emotion in Introvertive Anhedonia
• Stephanie Best - Diffusion of innovation in rural health and social care services
• Charlotte Hill - What changes for patients in medium secure care? A long term follow up of outcomes, care, supervision and patient's experiences
  
• Teri Howells - Developing Practical tools for measuring central disinhibition and asociality in clinical settings​
• Joe Davies - Weight gain in secure psychiatric settings: The role of attentional bias, stress and dietary factors

• Sedeek Ameer – Reasoning bias and religiosity
• Helen Yule – Perceptual learning processes in breast cancer screening
• Daniel Lawrence – Least restrictive clinical practice in Forensic Psychiatry
• Philips Madsen – Indecision in NATO General staff

Recent Publications

• Davies, J., Watt, A., Bagshaw, R., Hill, C., & Seage, H. (2023). Weight Gain is Not Associated with Antipsychotic Medication, Sociodemographic Factors, or Diagnosis in a Welsh Secure Mental Health Unit. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, DOI: 10.1080/14999013.2023.2218287
• Hill, C., Bagshaw, R., Hewlett, P., Perham, N., Davies, J., Maden, A., & Watt, A. (2023). Estimating the Effects of Secure Services on Reconviction. Part 1 -Predictive Validity of the Offending Groups Reconviction Scale (OGRS-2) and Redundancy of Patient Social and Clinical Features. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, DOI: 10.1080/14999013.2023.2183528
• Hill, C., Bagshaw, R., Hewlett, P., Perham, N., Davies, J., Maden, A., & Watt, A. (2023). Estimating the Effects of Secure Services on Reconviction. Part 2 -Fewer Convictions Than Expected? Six Year Follow Up of an England and Wales Medium Secure Cohort. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, DOI: 10.1080/14999013.2023.2183528
• Lawrence, D., Bagshaw, R., Stubbings, D., & Watt, A. (2021). Restrictive practices in adult secure mental health services: A scoping review. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 1-21.
• Mills, S., Watt, A., & Bagshaw, R. (2020). Beyond the call: National Review of access to emergency services for those experiencing mental health and/or welfare concerns. National Collaborative Commissioning Unit. Report for The Welsh Government.
• Calderon, A., Watt, A., Skillicorn, D. & Perham, N. (2020). A double dissociative study into the effectiveness of computational thinking. Education and Information Technologies, 25, 1181-1192.
• Watt, A., & Skillicorn, D. (2019). Negative schizotypy is associated with impaired episodic but not semantic coding in a conditional learning task. Journal of Cognitive Psychology.31(4), 397-408.
• Onu, D. Orjiakor, T., & Watt, A. (in press). Associations between Schizotypal traits and Antisocial Behaviours in a sub-Saharan sample. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing.
• Perham, N., Watt, A., Howell, T., & Szmalec, A. (in press). Can a simple, short-term memory task help to screen dyslexia? Current Psychology.
• Davies, J., Hewlett, P., Seage, H., Watt, A., Bagshaw, R., & Hill, C. (2018). Weight gain in secure psychiatric settings: The role of psychological factors in the mediation of obesity. Appetite, 130, 302.
• Lawrence, D., Lee-Davies, T., Bagshaw, R., Hewlett, P., Taylor, P., & Watt, A. (2018). External validity and anchoring heuristics: application of DUNDRUM-1 to secure service gatekeeping in South Wales. British Journal of Psychiatry Bulletin.
• Evered, A., Watt, A., Perham, N. (2017). Are sound abatement measures necessary in the cytology reading room? A study of auditory distraction. Cytopthology.10.1111/cyt.12457
• Evered, A., Walker, D., Watt, A., & Perham, N. (2015). Visual perception learning in cytopathology. In, Advances in visual perception research (Eds.). Pp 203-233. Nova Science Publishers, New York.
• Evered, A., Walker, D., Watt, A., & Perham, N. (2015). Visual distraction in cytopathology: should we be concerned? Cytopathology.
• Watt, A., Skillicorn, D., Clark, J., Evans, R., Hewlett, P., & Perham, N. (2015). Contextual representations may mediate sex differences in attraction. Evolution, mind and Behaviour.
• Boniwell, N., Bagshaw, R., Etheridge,L., Sullivan, J., & Watt, A. (2015). Mental health nurses’ perceptions of attachment style as a construct in a medium secure hospital: A thematic analysis. Journal of Mental Health Education Training and Practice. Vol 10.

• Hill, C., Bagshaw, R., Hewlett, P., Perham, N., Davies, J., Maden, A., & Watt, A. (under review). Remission of prison to hospital transfers from medium security: A 1997/8 UK national discharge cohort study. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health.
• Hill, C. Bagshaw, R., Hewlett, P., Perham, N., Davies, J., Maden, A., & Watt, A. (under review). Fewer convictions than expected? Six year follow up of a UK Medium Secure Cohort. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health.

• • Evered, A., Walker, D., Watt, A., & Perham, N. (2015). Visual perception learning in cytopathology. In, Advances in visual perception research (Eds.). Pp 203-233. Nova Science Publishers, New York.
• Evered, A., Walker, D., Watt, A., & Perham, N. (2015). Visual distraction in cytopathology: should we be concerned? Cytopathology.
• Watt, A., Skillicorn, D., Clark, J., Evans, R., Hewlett, P., & Perham, N. (2015). Contextual representations may mediate sex differences in attraction. Evolution, mind and Behaviour.
• Boniwell, N., Bagshaw, R., Etheridge,L., Sullivan, J., & Watt, A. (2015). Mental health nurses’ perceptions of attachment style as a construct in a medium secure hospital: A thematic analysis. Journal of Mental Health Education Training and Practice. Vol 10.
• Evered, A, Walker, D., Watt, A., & Perham, N. (2013). Untutored discrimination training on paired cell images influences visual learning in cytopathology. Cancer Cytopathology, 11/2013.
• Evered, A., Walker, D., Watt, A., & Perham, N. (2013). To what extent does non-analytic reasoning contribute to visual learning in cytopathology? Cancer Cytopathology 02/2013
• Bagshaw, R., Lewis, R., & Watt, A. (2012). Attachment theory-based approaches to treatment and problem behaviour in a medium secure hospital: effects of staff gender on ratings. Journal of Mental Health Education and Practice 7(4):191
• Payne, E., Watt, A., Rogers, P., McMurran, M. (2008).,Offence characteristics, trauma histories and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in life sentenced prisoners. British Journal of Forensic Practice, 10(1):17-25.
• Watt, A., Topping-Morris, B., Rogers, P., & Mason, T. (2003). Pre-admission nursing assessment in forensic mental health (1991-2000): Part 2 - Comparison of traditional assessment with the items contained within the HCR-20 structured risk assessment. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 40, 657-662
• Watt, A., Topping-Morris, B., Mason, T., & Rogers, P. (2003). Pre-admission nursing assessment in forensic mental health (1991-2000): Part 1 – A preliminary analysis of practice and cost. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 40, 645-655
• Gray, N.S., Watt, A., Hassan, S., & MacCulloch, M.J. (2003). Behavioural Indicators of sadistic sexual murder predict the presence of sadistic sexual fantasy in a normative sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 1018-1034
• Rogers, P., Watt, A., Gray, NS, MacCulloch, M, & Gournay, K. (2002). Content of command hallucinations can predict self-harm but not violence in a medium secure hospital. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 13, 251-262
• Kington, J.M., Jones, L.A., Watt, A., Hopkins, E.J., & Williams, J. (2000). Impaired eye expression recognition in schizophrenia. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 34, 341-347
• MacCulloch, M.J., Gray, N.S., & Watt, A. (2000). Brittain’s sadistic murderer syndrome reconsidered: An associative account of the aetiology of sadistic sexual fantasy. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 11, 401-418
• Honey, R.C., & Watt, A. (1999). Acquired relational equivalence between contexts and features. The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behaviour Processes, 25 (3), 324-333
• Honey, R.C., Watt, A., & Good, M. (1998). Hippocampal lesions disrupt an associative mismatch process. The Journal of Neuroscience, 18 (6), 2226-2230
• Honey, R.C., & Watt, A. (1998). Acquired relational equivalence: Implications for the nature of associative structures. The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behaviour Processes, 24 (3), 325-324
• Watt, A., & Honey, R.C. (1997). Combining CSs associated with the same or different USs. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 50B (4), 350-367
• Dickinson, A., Watt, A., & Varga, Z.I. (1996). Context conditioning and free-operant acquisition under delayed reinforcement. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49B (2), 97-110
• Dickinson, A., Balleine, B., Watt, A., Gonzalez, F., & Boakes, R.A. (1995). Motivational control after extended instrumental training. Animal Learning and Behaviour, 23 (2), 197-206
• Leslie, J.C., Tierney, K.J., Robinson, P.C., Keenan, M., Watt, A., & Barnes, D. (1993). Differences between clinically anxious and non-anxious subjects in a stimulus equivalence training task involving threat words. The Psychological Record, 43, 153-161
• Dickinson, A., Watt, A., & Griffiths, W.J.H. (1992). Free-operant acquisition with delayed reinforcement. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 45B (3), 241-258
• Watt, A., Keenan, M., Barnes, D., & Cairns, E. (1991). Social categorisation and stimulus equivalence. The Psychological Record, 41, 33-50
• Keenan, M., & Watt, A. (1990). Concurrent behaviour and response-reinforcer contiguity. The Psychological Record, 40, 127-138

Interests
My research interests are in cognitive processes, human mental health and mental health services. I work closely with colleagues within the School of Health Sciences and mental health services in Wales and South West England. My current research is focused on 3 areas, 1) the interaction between emotion, executive cognitive processes and complex learning deficits widely assumed to underpin schizophrenia, 2) models of adult attachment style and how these can inform management of people in secure mental health care, 3) learning processes in the acquisition of visual diagnostic ability.

• CMK215 - What changes for patients in medium secure care? A long term follow up study of outcomes, care, supervision and patients' experiences. KESS2 co-funded with South Wales Forensic Mental Health Service. (~£52K)
• CMK214 - Developing Practical tools for measuring central disinhibition and asociality in clinical settings. KESS2 co-funded with South Wales Forensic Mental Health Service. (~£52K)
• CMK216 - Weight gain in secure psychiatric settings: The role of attentional bias, stress and dietary factors. KESS2 co-funded with South Wales Forensic Mental Health Service. (~£52K)
• Reducing restrictive practice in secure mental health care. Funded by The Priory Group PLC. (~£16.5K)

Professional
Chairman British Psychological Society (BPS), Welsh Branch 2004-2008
BPS Representative Council Member 2004-2008
Chair CSHS HCP ethics panel 2010-present
CSHS Research & Enterprise Committee 2008-present
CSHS Research Degrees Sub-Committee 2007-present
CSHS Professoriate 2010-present
Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice (2008-present)
Offender Health Research Network (2004-present)
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA: 2019 onwards)

Panels & Committees
Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice (WCCSJ). Management committee member since 2011.
School of Health Sciences School Research Ethics Committee (SREC). Committee member since 2008.
School of Health Sciences Professoriate. Member since 2011.
School of Health Sciences Research Degrees Committee. Committee member since 2008.
School of Health Sciences Research and Enterprise Committee. Committee member since 2008.
School of Health Sciences Managing Safety and Planning Working Group. Group member since 2012.
Chair of Health Sciences HCP ethics panel since 2006.

• Chief Examiner Birmingham City University, BSc Psychology, Psychology & Criminology, Psychology & Sociology.
• University of Chester, BSc Psychology.
• Oxford Brookes University, PhD.
• Huddersfield University, BSc Psychology and Criminology.

Employment
Jan 1992 – July 1994 Research Assistant. “Motivational control of incentive processes.” Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge.
Jul 1996 – Jul 1998 Post-Doctoral Research Associate. “The role of the hippocampus in complex stimulus processing.” School of Psychology, Cardiff University.
Jul 1998 – Jul 2000 Post-Doctoral Research Associate. “Follow-up study of South Wales Forensic psychiatric services.” School of Psychological Medicine,UWCM.
Jul 1998 – Jul 2001 Honorary Research Fellow. School of Psychology, Cardiff University.
Aug 2000-Aug 2001 Research Fellow (Grant held by A Watt) Department of Psychological Medicine, UWCM.
Present – onwards Honorary Reader, South Wales Forensic Mental Health Service, Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust.

Education
Graduated University of Ulster, BSc Psychology in 1988
PhD Cardiff University in 1998. Thesis: “Associative processes in acquired stimulus equivalence”