March kicked off with an exciting start when Dr David Mothersill, Associate Professor of Psychology at National College of Ireland appeared on Ireland:AM to talk about the real-world possibilities of Severance.
"It was great fun chatting to Martin and Síomha about Severance and real-life brain chips, with insightful questions on the morality of such procedures as well as the level of possibility." ~ Dr David Mothersill, Associate Professor of Psychology at National College of Ireland.
Watch David in conversation on Ireland:AM (Episode 58 on the Virgin Media player - forward to 01:41:00 to get straight to his appearance)
If you’ve never watched the programme, NCI PR & Events Executive Kate O’Brien can fill you in – and share her response to David’s TV appearance:
“IMDb describes Severance as a science fiction psychological thriller series created by Dan Erickson, and produced and primarily directed by Ben Stiller, that explores what it would be like if people could split themselves into two distinct personalities.
When speaking on Ireland:AM, David explained that in the show, characters undergo a procedure called “severance,” resulting in a split in consciousness.
After the procedure, characters have two distinct personalities, the “innie,” who goes to work and has no recollection of anything outside of work, and the “outie,” who leads a personal life outside of work and has no recollection of anything to do with the job when they leave the office.
Upon first glance, this might sound like a dream, the ultimate work/life balance where work and home never intersect, but as we know from many forms of art and literature, famously from The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, splitting one’s personality into two is never as straightforward as it may seem. In fact, splitting one’s consciousness so distinctly could have negative, even dangerous consequences.
The show has been incredibly popular, and although it is fun to discuss fiction, Dr David Mothersill was able to provide some excellent, scientific insights into the neuroscience ideas behind something like severance, discussing if this type of science would ever be possible in real life, and if so, what would it be used for. David also shared some professional insights into the benefits that could come from this type of development, while also shedding light on the ethical questions that would arise when looking at anything like this.”
You can continue reading here to learn more about some of David’s research. David is also co-founder of the SAMI Lab at NCI, examining stigma around mental health.
Psychology at NCI
On March 12th, NCI hosted a Brain Awareness Week event as, thanks to Conor Thornberry, Assistant Professor in Psychology, we were one of the official host institutions in Europe taking part in the Brain Awareness Week campaign. You can read more about the event and about the research taking place at NCI surrounding how we can slow cognitive decline by visiting our blog.
It has been a very busy time for the Psychology Department here at National College of Ireland. This week the College hosts the IPSON conference as NCI Associate Professor Amanda Kracen is the current Chair of the Irish Psychosocial Oncology Network.
Thinking of studying Psychology? You can learn more by exploring NCI’s full time and part-time evening degree programmes.
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