ACADEMICS are taking lectures out to a pub to get people talking about psychology and its impact on everyday life.

The monthly sessions kicked off last week at the Glebe pub, in Stoke, and attracted a packed house.

Now organisers hope the general public will go along to learn about popular psychology topics over a pint.

Punters can also gain an insight into research being carried out locally.

Karen Rodham, professor of health psychology at Staffordshire University, came up with the idea after seeing it in action in other parts of the country.

The sessions are being run by the Stoke-on-Trent branch of the British Psychological Society.

Karen said: "For the first eight talks, we've got speakers from Staffordshire and Keele universities.

"As word spreads, we hope more people will come along to hear them."

Topics will range from the psychology of Sherlock Holmes through to swearing and false memory syndrome.

Karen's colleague Marc Jones gave the first lecture, which looked at useful strategies for reducing stress in sport, work and life.

As a professor of sports psychology at Staffordshire University, he brought the audience up to speed on some of his work.

Marc said: "Sport is an ideal natural laboratory to look at how stress affects performance."

His research has included working with the England Under-19s cricket team to test their responses to stressful situations.

The audience at the Glebe heard how people who see stress as a threat do worse than those who view it as a challenge. This 'fight or flight' response is partly down to physiological changes.

For his lecture, Marc also set pub goers hypothetical tasks.

One involved scaling a 10-metre climbing wall. People in half the pub were told they had climbed the wall before, while the others hadn't. Those who thought they had some experience felt less stressed.

Marc said: "Just changing a few words can enhance someone's confidence."

Greg Wood, from Burslem, went along to the lecture with his 16-year-old son Reis.

The 35-year-old, a sports psychologist at Liverpool Hope University, said: "People might think a lecture at university is going to be out of their depth. But bringing it to a pub makes it more friendly and welcoming."

Reis, an A-level psychology student at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, added: "I thought it was really good."

PhD psychology student Jenny Parfitt-Bowman was also impressed.

The 37-year-old, from Hanley, said: "It's great to bring lectures into pubs. I've picked up some useful things."

Mark Gadd stumbled across the talk last week after walking past the Glebe Street pub.

The 56-year-old, from Joiners Square, said: "I found it absolutely amazing."

The next 'psychology in the pub' session is at the Glebe on November 5. It starts at 6pm and will cover food allergies. For details, email karen.rodham@staffs.ac.uk.