Professor Carolyn Mair PhD
Behavioural Psychologist
Background
Professor Carolyn Mair PhD CPsychol FBPsS is the proud Founder of Carolyn Mair Consulting Limited and psychology.fashion.
Carolyn has a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, MSc in Research Methods and BSc in Applied Psychology and Computing.
Her diverse background combined with her drive to make the world a better place, create a rare combination of expertise, and the aptitude to direct and influence positive change.
While ‘fashion psychology’ tends to focus on the influence of what we wear on how we feel, Carolyn’s expertise extends beyond the psychological influence of what we wear. She advises global companies on many aspects of human behaviour from what and why consumers buy what they do, through developing behaviour change programmes for social and environmental sustainability, ethics and values, mental health and wellbeing.
Carolyn Mair Consulting Limited provides evidence-based, transformational consultancy, research and development programmes.
Carolyn has published broadly in academic and popular media and is frequently interviewd for TV and Radio (including global, national and local BBC, Sky, i24News, Global Eye, TRT), as well as international press and fashion media.
Career history
Carolyn’s first role on leaving school was with a small company where she trained as a visual merchandiser and graphic designer. Alongside this, she designed and made clothes, took commissions for portraits and murals, and advised on interior design.
While her children were young she did a range of jobs including teaching English as a foreign language before applying to study BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology and Computing at Bournemouth University. Following the BSc, she was awarded a funded place to study MSc Research Methods at Portsmouth University.
On completing the MSc, Carolyn secured her first academic role as part-time lecturer and part-time research assistant in the Department of Computer Science at Bournemouth University where she published her first academic paper, An investigation of machine learning based prediction systems, in the Journal of Systems and Software. This paper and has since been cited almost 500 times. Following this publiction, she was invited to undertake doctoral studies which she completed at Bournemouth University with a short spell at SISSA.
The PhD, Towards a further understanding of the binding problem, was followed by a postdoc at Brunel University London, and then a Senior Lectureship at Solent University where she was promoted to Reader, then full Professor. She left Solent in 2012 to take up her position at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London where she established the Psychology Department and was promoted to full Professor of Psychology for Fashion.
Carolyn was invited to join London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London (UAL) and establish the Psychology Department in 2012. She created the world’s first Masters and Bachelors degree programmes to apply Pscyhology specifically in the context of Fashion which began recruiting in 2014. Since that time, ‘fashion psychology’ has gained rapid momentum internationally.
Academic and professional achievements
During her 20 years as an academic, she was promoted to full Professorship at two UK universities, firstly at Sounthampton Solent University where she was Professor of Applied Cognitive Psychology, and secondly at University of the Arts London, where she was Professor of Psychology for Fashion.
During her five years at University of the Arts London, she created the Psychology Department at London College of Fashion, and wrote the world’s first MSc and MA to apply Psychology in the context of fashion. She later established the undergradaute degree programme, BSc Psychology of Fashion, also at LCF.
As a result of her dedication to create Masters degrees that would rigorously apply the scientific study of human behaviour to make fashion better, the MSc Applied Psychology in Fashion degree programme was awarded the British Psychological Society’s prestigous Award for Innovation in Psychology Programmes.
Carolyn is a Chartered Psychologist and Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). She is the proud recipient of the BPS 2017 Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Education award.
In 2017 Carolyn established her consultancy Carolyn Mair Consultancy Limited which provides expert services to global and local fashion businesses on a range of projects in which understanding and predicting behaviour is of utmost value.
Carolyn is considered the go-to person for commentary on the psychological impact of fashion, mood, emotion, identity and behaviour.
Get in touch to find out more.