Richard Wiseman

Professor Richard Wiseman is a Psychologist, Broadcaster, Keynote Business Speaker and Author.

Professor Wiseman has established an international reputation for research into the scientific examination of unusual areas within psychology.

Wiseman started his working life as an award-winning professional magician and was one of the youngest members of The Magic Circle. He then obtained a first class honours degree in Psychology from University College London and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Edinburgh.

He currently holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire.

Richard Wiseman’s research has been reported in over 40 academic journal articles, including those In Nature, Science and Psychological Bulletin.

In addition, he has co-authored 6 books and presented over 50 papers at both national and international conferences.

Prof. Wiseman has given invited addresses at The Royal Society, The Royal Television Society, The Royal Statistical Society, The Royal Society for the Arts and The Royal Institution.

Richard often appears on the media, and has been a regular guest on BBC1’s ‘Tomorrow’s World’ and Radio 4’s ‘The Today Programme’. His work has also been reported on a large number of other radio and television programmes, including BBC2’s ‘Horizon’, Channel 4’s ‘Equinox’, ITV’s ‘World In Action’, and Radio 4’s ‘Start The Week’ and ‘Midweek’.

Feature articles about this work have appeared in various newspapers, including The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Guardian. He has recently completed a documentary about The Psychology of Luck for BBC1, and an international documentary on The Science of Humour for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. More recently chosen to appear in an international advertising campaign for Volvo.

A survey by The Times Higher Education Supplement revealed that he was ‘the psychologist most frequently quoted by the British media’.

His best selling book, The Luck Factor, has been translated into 15 languages and published in 24 countries.

His book, Did you spot the Gorilla?’ has become a business best-seller.

Professor Richard Wiseman has spoken about the psychology of lying at several prestigious business conferences, and provided training in the detection of deception to many organisations, including city banks, law firms and fraud investigators.

Prof. Wiseman was the recipient of The CSICOP Public Education In Science Award in 2000 and the Joseph Lister Award For Social Science in 2002. In 2004 he was awarded a NESTA DreamTime Fellowship for his innovative work in science communication, and in 2005 served as President of the General Section of The British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Speech topics include:

The Psychology of Luck:

• Professor Wiseman examines psychological differences between exceptionally lucky and unlucky people, and develops techniques to enhance luck.

The Psychology of Deception:

• Lying and Lie detection: Examining behavioural indicators of lying, and developing techniques for enhancing the detection of deception.
• The Psychology of Magic: Investigating the principles behind the performance of conjuring.