Refereed Proceedings of Doing Psychology: Manawatu Doctoral Research Symposium 2012

We are again delighted to present to you the Refereed Proceedings of the Doing Psychology: Manawatū Doctoral Research Symposium. The Symposium was held on November 22, 2012, at the School of Psychology, Manawatū campus. The number of presentations increased from 8, in our inaugural year, to 13 and again saw a diverse range of presentations from Doctoral candidates at all stages of their study. The Symposium is a student initiative that not only gives students the chance to present their work in a supportive environment, but also to gain experience in writing a concise paper for publication. All papers are peer reviewed by Doctoral peers and/or new PhD recipients, and the editorial team comprises solely of Doctoral candidates, who have gained valuable skills from the copyediting and publishing process. Indeed, the mission statement of this publication must be that the Symposium and proceedings publication is run by students, for students with a commitment to enable and develop presentation, writing and publication skills. Due to increased interest and support, the proceedings are now a serial publication, and we have increased our organising and editorial team for the upcoming 2013 Symposium to be held on November 29. Our team now comprises of Maria Benschop, Stephanie Denne, Ross Hebden, Melissa Rangiwananga and Ann Rogerson. Thanks once again to our Head of School Associate Professor Mandy Morgan for opening the proceedings and for her continued support for our venture. We also recognise the support and commitment from all staff within the School of Psychology, in particular Harvey Jones for his assistance with the publication process.