skip to content

Department of Psychology

In celebration of International Women's Day 2014, a new book and web resource will be launched by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, on Wednesday 5 March. The book recognises and celebrates the achievements of women of the University. One of the women celebrated by the book is the Department's Professor of Comparative Cognition, Professor Nicky Clayton

Professor Clayton studies the remarkable cognitive abilities of the crow family. You can find more about this on BBC2's Inside the Animal Mind Episode 2, The Problem Solvers. She also studies cognition in young children, with a particular focus on causal reasoning. She is Scientist in Residence at the Rambert Dance Company where she collaborates with Artistic Director, Mark Baldwin. She is also a dancer. Nicky's most recent collaboration is with artist and writer, Clive Wilkins, who is Artist in Residence in the Psychology Department. This started about three years ago and arose out of their mutual interest in mental time travel, and its consequences for consciousness, identity, memory and creativity. They also regularly dance tango together.

About the book


The Meaning of Success: Insights from Women at Cambridge makes a compelling case for a more inclusive definition of success.  It argues that the current criteria we use to judge people as successful are both too narrow and create a career advantage for men.  In order to recognise, reward and realise the talents of both women and men, a more meaningful definition of success is needed.  Practical ways of achieving this are explored through interviews with a diverse cross-section of remarkable female role models at the University of Cambridge, spanning academic staff, administrators and professors.  These first person stories bring alive the achievements and challenges women experience in their working lives, and the effect gender has had on their careers.  The book stimulates a debate about what it would take to bring about a more inclusive working environment and is relevant to the University and academic sector internationally, as well as the wider workplace. 

 

For details of the Meaning of Success event, which is taking place in the build up to the Science Festival, see the Cambridge Science Festival website.

Nicky and Clive will give a Science Festival talk entitled The Captured Thought. This will take place  on Saturday 15 March, 11am-12pm, at the Anatomy Lecture Theatre.