Events - Talks & Lectures

Paul Camic, Phil Loring and Victoria Tischler

Objects and the Psyche

22 Nov 2011

The Space, 7pm – 9.30pm, free

From childhood attachment to soft toys, to adult fixation with inanimate items – psychological experts explore our relationship to objects.

Paul Camic, Professor of Psychology at Canterbury Christ Church University, will discuss the role of material objects in human development. A founding member of the Material Objects Research Group, he has a particular interest in the use of artefacts in healthcare.

Phil Loring, Curator of Psychology at the Science Museum, will give an illustrated tour of 20th century nerve tonics and psychiatric medicines. Some of the most mundane psychological objects are the pills people take for various mental illnesses.

Victoria Tischler of The University of Nottingham’s Division of Psychiatry will discuss the magical powers we imbue objects with, our urge to collect, and objects from the asylum.