Area of Research Expertise Outline:

My background is varied and multidisciplinary, with interest in Cognitive Neuropsychology, Political and Gender Psychology and many years of experience in interdisciplinary teaching and interdisciplinary curriculum development. My research in the past has focused on cognitive inflexibility following brain injury, cognition and emotion and more recently on political psychology and the psychology of gender, including work on attitudes related to Gender-Based violence and rape mythology.

Current Research Activity:

I am convinced of the need for intensive and focused research in the area of Gender-Based violence, with the aim of providing evidence-based recommendations for supportive and preventative strategies in Higher Education. I am currently involved in research on attitudinal contributors to rape myth acceptance and I have recently applied for funding to support a collaborative research project with the ESHE team at the University of Strathclyde on gender based violence affecting HE staff and students in Scotland. In addition, I am collaborating with NHS Lanarkshire and a number of NGOs (including LRCC and YWCA) on prevention initiatives and with Glasgow Women's Library on a project focusing on Hate and Prejudice.

Desired Research Direction:

I plan to continue my work with external partners in the third sector and colleagues from other Universities on Gender-Based violence, particularly as it pertains to University life and to contribute to evidence-based policies promoting safer campuses across the UK. Pending the outcome of a recent funding application, I am planning to embark on a large scale project, which will contribute to work led by ESHE and funded by the Scottish Government, on a National toolkit for the prevention of gender-based vilence in HE.

Target Collaborative Companies/Organisations:

In 2016 I set up the UWS Standing Safe Campaign, a University-wide initiative against sexual violence, led by students and staff in partnership.  The Standing Safe campaign was launched on the 14^th September 2016, with the purpose of engaging students in an attempt to reflect on and change harmful attitudes that underpin Gender-Based violence (such as everyday sexism, misogyny, gender stereotypes, rape myths and victim blaming) and to support safe bystander intervention. In partnership with pivotal external organisations, such as Women's Aid, Victim Support Scotland, Glasgow Women's Support Project, YWCA, Glasgow Women's Library and most notably our local Rape Crisis Centre (LRCC) and NHS Lanarkshire, we are working collaboratively, through focus groups and student-led workshops, to provide students with valuable opportunities to lead projects and to directly engage with experienced professionals, activists and the larger community.

The Standing Safe Campaign has enjoyed wide media coverage since its launch and was presented as a motion at Scottish Parliament on the 22^nd of September 2016 by the Convenor of the Justice Committee Margaret Mitchell MSP, where it received unanimous cross-party support and was described as ground-breaking and was presented again on the 1st December by Christina McKelvie MSP and was presented again on the 1st December by Christina McKelvie MSP as part of wider discussion on the prevention of violence against women. The campaign recently won the prestigious National Suzy Lamplugh Trust Safer Campus Award and the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2017 UWS SAUWS Big Awards. The Campaign was also a finalist for the Suzy Lamplugh Trust Best Safety Campaign Award.

Standing Safe was included in the National Toolkit produced by the ESHE team at the University of Strathclyde, which provides guidance for implementing the Scottish Governement's Equaly Safe Strategy  to gender based violence (GBV) in HE and FE institutions.

Current collaborative work includes working with the Equaly Safe in Higher Educatin (ESHE) team at the University of Starthclyde and 9 other Universities in Scotland on implementing cross-University Research into prevavlence of GBV experiences among staff and students in HE, with the view of collating data and infoming national policy.

I am currently a member of the UWS steering group for implementing teh ESHE strategy on campus and we are looking at different ways to implement the strategy so that it is as widereaching and effective as possible. As part of this work, I am collaborating with White Ribbon Scotland towards achieving white ribbon status for UWS.   

As part of my ongoing work in the area of gender based violence prevention I attend the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Men's Violence Against Women and Children, which is infomed by the Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls. 

Gosetti, V. and Manoussaki, K. (2021). Blame is in the Eye of the beholder: Assessing the Role of Ambivalent Sexism on Subtle Rape Myth Acceptance. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(2) 284-295. DOI:10.14738/assrj.82.9669

Ballantyne, C., Nunez, M. and Manoussaki, K. Visuospatial construction trajectories in Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Evidence of cognitive heterogeneity within neurodevelopmental conditions. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 70, 113 - 125. 

Manoussaki, K. (2016, August). Risk Orientation, Inflated Responsibility and Right Wing Authoritarianism as predictors of voting preference in the Scottish Independence Referendum. Paper presented at the 2016 BPS Social Psychology Conference, Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff.

Manoussaki, K (2015, September). Religiosity, Authoritarianism, Social Dominance and Ambivalent Sexism as Predictors of Rape Myth Acceptance.  Paper presented at the 2015 FWSA Biennial Conference, University of Leeds.

Manoussaki, K.  (2015, September). Attitudinal Predictors of Rape Myth Acceptance.  Poster session at the BPS Developmental and Social Section Annual Conference, Palace Hotel, Manchester

Manoussaki, K. (2015) Responsibility Attitude and Stimulus Valence in Relation to Recognition and Confidence in Recognition of Words. Psychology, 2015, 6, 1159-1167.

Manoussaki, K. and Veitch F.  (2015). Ambivalent Sexism, Right Wing Authoritarianism and Rape Myth Acceptance in Scotland. International Journal of Gender and Women’s studies, 3 (1), 1-25

Manoussaki, K. (2014, September). The Effect of Responsibility Attitude and Stimulus Valence on Recognition and Confidence in Recognition. Paper presented at the BPS Cognitive Psychology Section Annual Conference at Nottingham Trent University.

Manoussaki, K. and Veitch, F. (2013, June).  Right Wing Authoritarianism and Ambivalent Sexism in the West of Scotland: Attribution of Blame in relation to Rape Myth Acceptance. Paper presented at the FWSA Biennial Conference, University of Nottingham.

Manoussaki, K. Veitch, F (2006). Higher Education in Scotland; Experiences in Developing an Interdisciplinary Social Science Curriculum. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 1 (2), 141-148

Manoussaki, K. and Veitch, F (2006). Higher Education in Scotland: Experiences in designing an interdisciplinary curriculum. Virtual Presentation for the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Rhodes.

Manoussaki K (2004, February). Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Perseveration on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Poster session at the Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Baltimore, MA.

Manoussaki, K. (1999, April). Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Perseveration after traumatic Brain Injury. Poster session at the BPS conference, Belfast.

Manoussaki, K. (1997). “Perseveration and underlying cognitive mechanisms”. Paper presentation at the Neuroscience Discussion Group Meeting, University of Strathclyde