Dr James Butterworth


Lecturer
Phd MSc BSc
Monday 2-4 09AC04

Academic and research departments

Cognitive Psychology research group, School of Psychology.

About

I am a Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Surrey. I also teach on several other modules, and have additional roles as an academic and personal tutor, and dissertation and placement supervisor. I obtained my PhD at the University of Southampton in 2024, and I have a Masters Degree in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Sussex, and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the University of Surrey.

My key research examines the relationship between Sleep and The Self (including self-compassion, self-control, self-esteem, and self-continuity). I am interested in how these variables interact on a state basis, and the influence of external factors. 

I also conduct EEG research. Recent research includes investigating the neural mechanisms of reward-related, emotion regulation, and wellbeing; how do different types of narcissists respond to making mistakes; and neural markers of descriptors for the presented vs authentic self.

Teaching

Publications

Chengli Huang, James W. W. Butterworth, Anna J. J. Finley, Douglas J. J. Angus, Constantine Sedikides, Nicholas J. J. Kelley (2023)There is a party in my head and no one is invited: Resting-state electrocortical activity and solitude, In: Journal of personality Wiley

Objective: What are the motivational underpinnings of solitude? We know from self-report studies that increases in solitude are associated with drops in approach motivation and rises in avoidance motivation, but only when solitude is experienced as non-self-determined (i.e., non-autonomous). However, the extent to which individual differences in solitude relate to neurophysiological markers of approach-avoidance motivation derived from resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) is unknown. These markers are Frontal Alpha Asymmetry, beta suppression, and midline Posterior versus Frontal EEG Theta Activity.Method: We assessed the relation among individual differences in the reasons for solitude (i.e., preference for solitude, motivation for solitude), approach-avoidance motivation, and resting-state EEG markers of approach-avoidance motivation (N = 115).Results: General preference for solitude was negatively related to approach motivation, observed in both self-reported measures and EEG markers of approach motivation. Self-determined solitude was positively related to both self-reported approach motivation and avoidance motivation in the social domain (i.e., friendship). Non-self-determined solitude was negatively associated with self-reported avoidance motivation.Conclusion: This research was a preliminary attempt to address the neurophysiological underpinnings of solitude in the context of motivation.

James W. Butterworth, Anna J. Finley, Cassandra L. Baldwin, Nicholas J. Kelley (2022)Self-control mediates age-related differences in psychological distress, In: Personality and individual differences184111137 Elsevier

The ability to over-ride or alter motivated responses, known as self-control, is crucial for goal-directed behaviour and is a determinant of many consequential outcomes including physical health, psychological well-being, and mental health. Three cross-sectional correlational studies examined the extent to which individual differences in self-control (i.e., trait self-control) account for age-related differences in psychological distress. In Study 1 par-ticipants (N = 622), predominantly from the United States, completed measures of self-control and psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. In Study 2, United Kingdom par-ticipants (N = 300) completed the same measures as Study 1 via Prolific Academic. In Study 3 a transnational sample of participants (N = 1484) from the Human Penguin Project completed the same measure of self-control as Studies 1-2 along with a new measure of psychological distress (i.e., perceived stress). Across all 3 studies, utilizing varied measures of distress, older (relative to younger) participants reported reduced depression, anxiety, and stress (Studies 1-2) as well as reduced perceived stress (Study 3). These age-related differences in psychological distress were mediated by self-control. Taken together with past research, the current studies suggest that trait self-control may be a key mechanism driving healthy aging.

Additional publications