Dr Ben Harkin | Psychology | Best Researcher Award 
Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University,United Kingdom
Education
Dr. Harkin earned his PhD in Psychology in 2012 from the University of Glasgow, focusing on compulsive checkers’ working memory and inhibitory performance. He also holds an MSc in Research Methods of Psychological Science (2008) and an MA in Psychology (2007) from the same institution. In 2022, he completed an MA in Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, where his research explored the impact of digital learning spaces on student learning.
Work Experience
Dr. Harkin has worked extensively in cognitive psychology, focusing on developing and applying interventions to improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes. His work has involved multidisciplinary collaboration, particularly in projects aimed at improving financial decision-making for individuals in debt. He has also held key roles in supervising research teams and disseminating research findings to both academic and lay audiences.
Skills
Dr. Harkin’s diverse skill set includes expertise in psychometric questionnaires, cognitive measures (e.g., memory and attentional tasks), meta-analytic statistical approaches, and intervention studies. He is also skilled in using monitoring to understand mechanisms of change in human behavior, with a particular focus on cognitive functions in OCD and financial decision-making.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Harkin was awarded the ESRC Future Leaders Research Award in 2013 for his work on developing interventions for individuals who avoid dealing with debt. He also received a British Academy grant to investigate the impact of anti-science messages and potential interventions to counteract them.