Prof Charles Musselwhite
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charliemuss.bsky.social
Prof Charles Musselwhite
@charliemuss.bsky.social

Professor & Head of Psychology at Aberystwyth Uni. Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences. Research interests in how we connect with communities around us as we age inc transport, tech & built env. Loves prog rock, football (Swansea & Gosport fan) & cricket. .. more

Charles Brian Alexander Musselwhite FAcSS is Professor and Head of Psychology at Aberystwyth University.

Source: Wikipedia
Engineering 34%
Public Health 20%
Pinned
My presentation at the excellent, TRANSPORT Smart Class, Wales & West of England, Cardiff, last week.
This is my keynote presentation highlighting that we need to see transport much more from a person-based perspective, bring in the social and bring in community.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-J6...
Putting Communities and People at the Heart of Transport Decision-Making
YouTube video by Charles Musselwhite
www.youtube.com

🌍New paper: research trends in environmental psychology🌍
4,300+ articles (2004–24) analysed: growth in climate change & pro-environmental behaviour topics but less visibility for built env., ageing, migration & conflict.
Where next for env psych? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Research Trends in Environmental Psychology: A Bibliometric Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Publications, 2004-2024
Discussions about environmental psychology’s constituent research topics and future directions have persisted over several decades. In this bibliometr…
www.sciencedirect.com
Thank you for joining us at the Senedd! We had an inspiring discussion alongside experts, including @charliemuss.bsky.social from @aberuni.bsky.social on:
💜 How to make Wales and the world healthier
💡 Living well and ageing well
Find out more about our work here: dewischoice.org.uk
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Diolch am ymuno â ni yn y Senedd! Cawsom drafodaeth ysbrydoledig ochr yn ochr ag arbenigwyr, gan gynnwys @charliemuss.bsky.social o Brifysgol Aberystwyth ynghylch:
💜 Sut mae gwneud Cymru a'r byd yn iachach
💡 Byw'n dda, heneiddio'n dda
Cewch ddarllen mwy am ein gwaith yma: dewischoice.org.uk

Likewise. You're doing great work! Let's think how we can bring it all together.

Presented today on healthy transport & ageing at the Senedd, Wales.

Great talks & discussion too, inc. Rebecca Zerk @choiceolderppl.bsky.social, Angharad Jones from healthcare ed & Luis Mur on rapid prostate cancer tests.

"Independence means being able to get out, connect & access what matters"
I wrote this a couple years ago, warning that car safety tech will never be a panacea.

A big reason why: Drivers take more risks when they assume technology will protect them if something goes wrong. It's known as the Peltzman effect, and it's really bad news if you're walking or biking.
Don’t expect your car’s safety technology to save you
What if ADAS is just for convenience?
www.theverge.com
I'm at a #TRBAM session about car tech (AVs and ADAS).

@iihs-hldi.bsky.social head of research says ADAS leads people to drive more dangerously, negating its crash avoidance potential.

A reminder that safety tech can look a lot less useful when you consider human behavior changes.

One of the best write ups I’ve read on road safety claims by AVs.
We’re not comparing apples with apples human driver v AV.
And remember:
“Self-driving technology is only one of many tactics available to reduce crashes, and it is not at all clear that it offers the highest return on investment”
Sorry, but triumphant claims about autonomous vehicle safety are wildly exaggerated.

It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans.

And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question.

My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵
We Still Don’t Know if Robotaxis Are Safer Than Human Drivers
And even if self-driving technology proves to be less dangerous, there are many better ways to improve traffic safety and prevent fatal crashes.
www.bloomberg.com

New paper out with Carlo Luiu in Journal of Transport & Health. We call for a new research agenda that treats walking as health care and streets as spaces of care for older adults in African cities.

🚶🏾‍♀️ From walking-by-necessity to walking-by-design. 🌍

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Towards a research agenda to better understand the role of walking for healthy ageing and wellbeing in African cities
www.sciencedirect.com

Spoke on BBC Radio 5 & Radio Wales on older driver safety

Eyesight matters, but visual acuity alone is not linked to crash risk

Evidence supports supportive, age-friendly approaches over blunt screening

🎧
BBC 5 (1h17m): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
BBC Wales (48m): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Nicky Campbell - What makes a good manager? Plus should older drivers take new tests? - BBC Sounds
What makes a good manager? And should older drivers take new tests? Nicky takes your calls
www.bbc.co.uk
Sorry, but triumphant claims about autonomous vehicle safety are wildly exaggerated.

It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans.

And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question.

My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵
We Still Don’t Know if Robotaxis Are Safer Than Human Drivers
And even if self-driving technology proves to be less dangerous, there are many better ways to improve traffic safety and prevent fatal crashes.
www.bloomberg.com
Is laughter heritable? On the evolution of laughter, why Darwin tickled chimpanzees, giggling twins, and what might be the only trait that is completely heritable (a bit gross). You can't go wrong with Nancy Segal and Sophie Scott on the show. @aberuni.bsky.social @charliemuss.bsky.social

That Asda Christmas advert is awful. From the stereotypical nonsense that the dad is (and hence, hilariously, all dads are) a grinch around Christmas to the local market being hideously expensive compared to the multinational Asda - to that horrible smug singing at the end youtu.be/Cq2MtslmFX4?...
Asda | A Very Merry Grinchmas ('Let It Snow')
YouTube video by Checked Label Services
youtu.be

🚌🚞🚵‍♀️ 58th Universities Transport Study Group Annual Conference is at the University of Surrey 13-15 July 2026

✨Bring your bold ideas, bright visions & transport futures to Surrey in July

Abstract submission open, deadline: 10 Feb '26 → utsg.net/annual-confe...

See you in the Guildford sunshine! ☀️
Next Conference: UTSG2026 – UTSG
utsg.net

Today I spoke on phone-ins on BBC Radio 5 & BBC Radio Wales about the default 20mph limit.
🔹 Safety is improving
🔹 Public attitudes are shifting as the policy beds in
📻 BBC Radio 5 (1h42): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
📻 BBC Radio Wales (44 mins): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in

Great evening last night watching System 7 and Ozric Tentacles. Where prog meets dance and it works.

📝New article! ✨Working with an advisory group to share power to shape intergenerational climate debate, challenge climate stereotypes & spark creativity - collage, walking, comic futures & a workshop dice-game 🎲Huge thanks to collaborators! 🙌 #ClimateResearch www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com

This is a great find. Thank you.

This is a good point. I found 88% of older people didn’t walk at the DfT required speed of 1.2m/s (no one knows where that figure comes from by the way - think it’s a 1950s MSc diss from the US) (I didn’t look at blackout period) see more www.drcharliemuss.com/crossing-the...

There was an excellent video aimed at Boris Johnson when he was mayor 3 out of 4 older people can’t cross the road. Wanting very catchy lyrics and tune … youtu.be/lpwboQxVJtg?...

Great to see Will Barnes Quartet tonight. Impressive musicianship, some amazing crazy changes in melody and timing. Prog rock and metal influences in some excellent Welsh place based jazz. Well done Aberystwyth Arts Centre - great venue and sound. More about them here ukjazznews.com/will-barnes-...

Free full paper link for 50 days here:
authors.elsevier.com/c/1m4Iq56Waj...
authors.elsevier.com

👥 For politicians & policymakers: early backlash to 20 mph limits is normal - but it fades.
As people see safer streets & clearer info, negativity drops and support grows.
✅ Communicate local benefits
✅ Tackle misinformation early
✅ Link 20 mph to wellbeing, not restriction
#20mph #PublicPolicy

💡 Key takeaway: even controversial policies can gain acceptance when:

The benefits become visible (e.g., fewer crashes, safer streets)

People have time to adapt

Communication is open & evidence-led

Behaviour change takes time — but it does happen.

#PublicPolicy #Transport #Wales

📊 Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) & VADER sentiment analysis, we explored how public debate evolved.

At first, the 20 mph policy was framed as “political” — but over time, talk shifted toward safety, children, and urban mobility.

People began seeing the benefits 🚸

🚗 New paper out!
We analysed 70k+ tweets about Wales’ new 20 mph speed limit
Public negativity dropped & positivity rose over 6 months — showing attitudes adapt with time 🕒
“Public perspectives on the 20 mph speed reduction in Wales”
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.js...
#20mph #RoadSafety #BehaviourChange
Redirecting
doi.org

Loved teaching our MSc Behaviour Change students this week — great ideas on how psychology can shape more sustainable and inclusive transport! 🚴‍♀️🚌 #BehaviourChange #TransportPsychology

A great chat on BBC Radio Wales about driving etiquette — it’s not just about rules, but norms.

We could all slow down a bit. It barely adds time to our journey, but makes driving calmer, more civil, and less stressful for all.🚗✨

1h10m in www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
#DrivingEtiquette #RoadSafety
The Phone In - Oliver Hides takes your calls on the Caerphilly by-election, motorists' disrespect for funerals and Jess Fishlock. - BBC Sounds
Caerphilly by-election, motorists' disrespect for funerals and Jess Fishlock.
www.bbc.co.uk

I haven’t heard this before either … great to hear the middle of side 1 live! Love the end section to Heart of Lothian - curtain call
This is simply amazing. I’ve never seen this footage before, and so glad I found it. I really wish I could have seen the band during this era. A special time, and a very special album for me 🥰✨

youtu.be/2p_6W6PDKr0?...
Marillion London the Marquee Club 10th December 1985
YouTube video by The Archive Channel
youtu.be
This is simply amazing. I’ve never seen this footage before, and so glad I found it. I really wish I could have seen the band during this era. A special time, and a very special album for me 🥰✨

youtu.be/2p_6W6PDKr0?...
Marillion London the Marquee Club 10th December 1985
YouTube video by The Archive Channel
youtu.be