About

I am an Associate Professor of Psychology and Assistant Head of Discipline for Psychological and Behavioural Sciences in the School of Psychology.

In terms of my research, teaching, and professional activities I have consistently found myself drawn to controversial, challenging, and difficult questions: from parapsychology, to why we believe in things, to dark personality traits, to addressing attainment gaps, the use of AI, and through to how playing roleplaying games can make us feel better.

Research interests

I have research interests in parapsychology, paranormal belief, religious belief, dark personality characteristics, how roleplaying games can have wellbeing benefits, and research into teaching and learning.

I am the Lead of the Transformational Learning Research Group at the University of Derby.

I am currently supervising the following PhD students:

• Linda Renshaw - Investigation into the interaction between cognitive fatigue and the mechanisms of balance in older adults
• Ian Danton - Prejudice, social schema and the relationship with common human values; working towards a new scale
• Caroline Adams – I feel, therefore I am: Investigating what emotions underly the variables that correlate with paranormal belief and experience
• Katherine Trimby - Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs) and Wellbeing

I have also supervised several students to the successful completion of their MRes projects, and I have supervised four students to the successful completion of their PhDs:

• Dr Kornanong Yuenyongchaiwat - Do haemodynamic responses to mental stress tests predict future blood pressure one year later? Prospective studies in the United Kingdom and Thailand (Completed September 2013)
• Dr Michael Batashvili – The electrophysiological correlates of maths anxiety: Exploring the role of gamma activity (Completed March 2014)
• Dr Malcolm Schofield – The Cognitive and Personality Differences of Supernatural Belief (Completed September 2017)
• Dr Louise Katz - The Dark Side of Humanity Scale: A Reconstruction of the Dark Tetrad Constructs as they Manifest in the General Population (Completed May 2021)

Recent publications

• Vaal, S., Schofield, M. B., Baker, I. S., & Roberts, B. L. H. (2022). Narcissism, national narcissism, COVID-19 conspiracy belief, and social media use as predictors of compliance with COVID-19 public health guidelines. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03715-6
• Schofield, M. B., Sheffield, D., & Baker, I. S. (2022). Metarepresentations of Supernatural Belief and the Effect of Context on Cognitions. Journal of Scientific Exploration. Vol. 36, No. 2. 289-297. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31275/20222501
• Baker, I. S., Turner, I. J. & Kotera, Y. (2022) Role-play Games (RPGs) for Mental Health (Why Not?): Roll for Initiative. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00832-y
• Barnes, K. M., Bulling., M. T., Baker, I. S., & Long A. S. (2022). From crime scene to court: How should future research address the current limitations in forensic entomology? Journal of Forensic Entomology, 1
• Katz, L., Harvey, C., Baker, I. S., & Howard, C. (2022). The Dark Side of Humanity Scale: A reconstruction of the Dark Tetrad constructs. Acta Psychologica, 222, 103461. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103461
• Schofield, M. B., Roberts, B. L. H., Harvey, C. A., Baker,  I. S., & Crouch, G. (2021). Tales from the Dark Side: The Dark Tetrad of Personality, Supernatural and Scientific Belief. Journal of Humanistic Psychology.  DOI: 10.1177/00221678211000621
• Schofield, M. B., Baker, I. S., Staples, P., & Sheffield, D. (2020). Modelling Supernatural Belief: Cognition and Personality. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 81, 3, 129-156
• Batashvili, M., Staples, P., Baker, I. S., & Sheffield, D. (2020). The neurophysiological relationship between number anxiety and the EEG gamma-band. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2020.1778006
• Baker, I.S., Montague, J., & Booth, A. (2019). Aplicacion de métodos cuali-cuantutativos para evaluar falsas y genuinas lecturas en psiquicos. Psi, 14, 1
• Schofield, M., Baker. I.S., Staples, P. & Sheffield, D. (2018). Modelling supernatural belief: Cognition and Personality. The creation and validation of the Belief in the Supernatural Scale. Journal of Parapsychology, 82, 1, 41-64
• Baker, I.S., Montague, J., & Booth, A. (2017). A mixed-methods examination of psychometry using psychic and non-psychic claimants with actual and false readings. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 81, 2, 109-123
• Yuenyongchaiwat, K., Baker. I., & Sheffield, D. (2017).  Symptoms of anxiety and depression are related to cardiovascular responses to active, but not passive, coping tasks. Revista Brasileria de Psiquiatria, 39 (2), 110-117
• Schofield, M., Baker. I.S., Staples, P. & Sheffield, D. (2016). Mental representations of the supernatural: A cluster analysis of religiosity, spirituality and paranormal belief. Personality and Individual Differences, 101, 419-424
• Yuenyongchaiwat, K., Baker. I., Maratos, F., & Sheffield, D. (2016).  Do cardiovascular responses to active and passive coping tasks predict future blood pressure over 10-Months later? The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 19, e10, 1-12
• Baker, I. S. (2015). The relationship of the feeling of being watched to paranoia, self-consciousness, and social anxiety. Journal of Parapsychology, 79(2), 203-218
• Yuenyongchaiwat, K., Sheffield, D., Baker. I., & Maratos, F. (2015). Hemodynamic responses to active and passive coping tasks and the prediction of future blood pressure in Thai participants: A preliminary prospective cohort study. Japanese Psychological Research, 57, 4, 288-299
• Irwin, H. J., Schofield, M. B., & Baker, I. S. (2014) Dissociative tendencies, sensory-processing sensitivity and aberrant salience as predictors of anomalous experiences and paranormal attributions, Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 78.4, 917, 193-206
• Baker, I. S., Schofield, M. B., & Staples, P. (2014). Book review: Education in parapsychology - student and instructor perspectives by Harvey J. Irwin, Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 78.4, 917, 240-241
• Baker, I. S., & Stevens, P. (2013). An anomaly of an anomaly: Investigating the cortical electrophysiology of remote staring detection. Journal of Parapsychology, 77, 1, 107-122
• Baker, I. S. (2012). Perceptions of the paranormal. Pan European Networks: Science & Technology, 5, Dec 2012, 234-236
• Roe, C. A., Sherwood., S. J., Farrell, L., Savva, L., & Baker, I. S. (2007). Assessing the roles of the sender and experimenter in dream ESP research. European Journal of Parapsychology, 22.2, 175-192
• Baker, I. S., & O'Keeffe, C. (2007). Ethical guidelines for the investigation of haunting experiences. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 71.4, 889, 216-229
• Baker, I. S. (2005). Nomenclature and methodology [Special issue on 'the sense of being stared at']. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 12, 6, 56-63
• Watt, C., & Baker, I. S. (2002). Remote facilitation of attention focusing with psi-supportive versus psi-unsupportive experimenter suggestions. Journal of Parapsychology, 66, 2, 151-168
• Baker, I. S. (2002). 'Do Ghosts Exist?': A summary of parapsychological research into the apparitional experience (pp. 108-123). In Newton, J. (2002). Early Modern Ghosts. Durham: Centre for Seventeenth-Century Studies, University of Durham

Membership of professional bodies

• Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol)
• Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS)
• Member of the BPS Division of Academics, Researchers & Teachers in Psychology (DARTP)
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

Professional interests

I am the Chair of the College of Health, Psychology and Social Care's Access and Participation Plan Steering Group, where we are responsible for implementing the University's Access and Participation Plan for the College. I have been involved in institutional efforts to address awarding gaps for many years and I am passionate in trying to help address these issues.

I am part of a Task and Finish Group producing a set of Guidelines for the use of AI in Research for the British Psychological Society.

I am also the UK Representative on the Digitalisation Expert Reference Group for the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations (EFPA).

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Psychology - Coventry University
• Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching - University of Derby
• MSc by Research in Psychology - University of Edinburgh
• PhD in Psychology - University of Edinburgh

I am qualified in psychometric test use, and I hold the following qualifications that are awarded by the British Psychological Society (BPS):

• Assistant Test User: Occupational
• Test User: Occupational Ability
• Test User: Occupational Personality
• Test User: Forensic

Recent conferences

During 2023-2034, Prof. Ian Turner and I have organised several online conferences exploring research into playing Tabletop Roleplay Games (TTRPGs), such as Dungeons and Dragons, as part of our D&D Research Tarvern series.

Conferences:

• Lindley, M., Williams, S., Baker, I. S., & Burgess, S. (March 2024). Bridging the gap between anti-oppressive practice and academic practice. Advance HE’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Conference, Liverpool, UK
• Baker, I.S., (July 2020). People, People, People: Pedagogy in the COVID and Post-COVID HE Landscape. International (Online) Conference entitled “The Higher Education Sector in the Post Pandemic Landscape"
• Schofield, M., Baker. I.S., Staples, P. & Sheffield, D. (2018). The creation and validation of the Belief in the Supernatural Scale. The 61 Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association, Petaluma, California
• Baker, I.S. (May 2009). Staring at the Brain: EEG Activity When Being Watched Remotely. The Society for Psychical Research Study Day No. 56: Psi and Brain
• Baker, I. S. (2008). Parapsychology and investigating haunting experiences: The ethics of investigating haunting experiences [Panel paper and discussion]. In S. Sherwood & B. Carr (Eds.), Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association 51 & the Society for Psychical Research 32nd Annual Convention (pp. 368). The Parapsychological Association, Inc
• Baker, I. S. (March 2007). An anomaly of an anomaly: Exploring the feeling of being watched. University of Derby, Psychology Department Research Seminar Series
• Baker, I. S. (September 2006). Exploring the Limits of Human Perception: The Psychological and Physiological Perception of Normal and Remote Staring. The 34 Annual Scientific Meeting of the British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience
• Baker, I. S. (August 2005). The Electrophysiology of Remote Staring Detection. Getting the most from Event-Related Potential (ERP) studies of Human Cognition, a workshop held in the Department of Psychology at the University of Stirling, sponsored by the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• Baker, I. S. (March, 2005). The Electrophysiology of Remote Staring Detection. The Institut fur Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene (IGPP), and Frieburg University Hospital, Germany
• Baker, I. S. (February 2005). Don't look now, but I think he's behind us! - Investigating the Electrophysiology of Remote Staring Detection. University of Northampton, Psychology Department Research Lecture Series
• Baker, I. S. (September 2002). Remote staring detection: A research review. 26th International Conference of the Society for Psychical Research
• Baker, I. S. (March 2001). Do Ghosts Exist? - A Summary of Parapsychological Research into Apparitional Experiences. Early Modern Ghosts Conference, Centre for Seventeenth-Century Studies, University of Durham
• Baker, I. S. (September 1998). Investigation of a Reportedly Haunted Public House in Derbyshire. 22nd International Conference of the Society for Psychical Research

Experience in industry

• Associate Professor in Psychology (University of Derby) (August 2024 to Present)
• Assistant Discipline Lead for Psychological and Behavioural Sciences in the School of Psychology (University of Derby) (October 2022 to Present)
• Senior Lecturer in Psychology (University of Derby) (October 2013 to August 2024) I was also the Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) in Psychology (including both the with Industrial Placement Year and with Foundation Year variants) and the BSc (Hons) in Psychological Studies programmes from 2014 to 2024
• Lecturer in Psychology (University of Derby) (May 2008 to October 2013)
• Associate Lecturer in Psychology (University of Derby) (June 2007 to May 2008)
• Guest Lecturer on "Sociology of Science and the Paranormal" (State University of New York/University of Edinburgh) (July 2005)
• Part-time Lecturer on the M.Sc by Research in Psychology (University of Edinburgh) (February 2005)
• Visiting Lecturer on the M.Sc in Health Psychology (Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh) (March 2004 and April 2005)
• B.Sc Psychology Tutor (University of Edinburgh) (October 2001 to May 2002)
• Research Assistant (University of Edinburgh/University of Hertfordshire) on the project "An Investigation into Hauntings in the Edinburgh South Bridge Vaults" (April 2001)
• Research Assistant (University of Edinburgh) on the project "Remote Facilitation of Attention Focusing" (April 2001 to September 2001)

In the media

• May 2024: Interviewed for Ars Technica about D&D and therapy
• October 2022: Interviewed for Raconteur about my research into Dungeons and Dragons and how it could be good for businesses
• November 2020: Interviewed by Michael Duggan for my entry into the Psi Encyclopaedia 
• September 2020: Interviewed by The International Literary Quarterly about my research

Teaching responsibilities

I teach on a range of modules on the BSc (Hons) in Psychology degree and I lead the Philosophy of Science in Psychology module on the MRes in Psychology degree. Much of my teaching focuses on the use of quantitative research methods.

Additional interests and activities

During 2018 and 2019 I was responsible for leading the quantitative data analysis and delivering on key project objectives for the Office for Students funded “Student Attainment Project” for their “Addressing Barriers to Student Success programme”. This £683,000 project was led by the University of Derby, in partnership with Southampton Solent University and the University of West London.

I am a reviewer for the following journals:

• International Journal of Parapsychology (IJP)
• Journal of Parapsychology (JP)
• Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (JSPR)
• Journal of Consciousness Studies (JCS)
• Cognitive Processing (CogPro)
• Applied Cognitive Psychology (ACP)
• Universal Journal of Psychology (UJP)
• European Journal of Psychological Assessment (EJPA)

In addition, I am an Article Editor for SAGE Open.

I have been on the conference committee (and one of the reviewers) for the annual convention of the Parapsychological Association (PA) for several years. I was the Editor of the European Journal of Parapsychology (EJP).

I have acted as an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Rapporteur.

In 2004, I received the Eileen J. Garrett Scholarship Award from the Parapsychology Foundation, New York.

I have received over £200,000 of internal and external funding to date, and I have been a BIAL Foundation Research Fellow on several occasions.

Courses

• Psychology BSc (Hons)