Niamh joined RESOLVE as a Research Fellow in January 2010. Her role focuses on threatened identities and changing environmental behaviour. In particular, she will be investigating if threats to valued identities can encourage more environmentally responsible behaviour in the area of transport.

Prior to taking up her role in RESOLVE, Niamh completed an MSc in Occupational Psychology and her PhD, on the topic of voluntary career change, both at the University of Surrey. Her research findings supported threatened identities as motivators in change, and other-than-rational processes of career decision-making in which affect and context were influential.

Niamh's first degree was in Computer Science, from University College Dublin. She worked in software in a variety of industries in Ireland and the UK, including utility, telecommunications and freight, and achieved Chartered Engineer and Chartered Information Technology Practitioner status. Alongside her roles as Business Analyst, Network Tools Development Manager, IT Strategy Manager and Systems Architect, she completed an MSc in Software Engineering at the University of Brighton. Niamh has also worked as a Career Coach.

Research Interests

Identity and behaviour change; the subjective experience of career; affect and decision-making; contextual decision-making.

Publications and Conferences

Murtagh, N., Lopes, P. N., Lyons, E. (In Press) "Decision making in voluntary career change: An other-than-rational perspective". Career Development Quarterly

Murtagh, N., Lopes, P. N., Lyons, E. (2007) "What makes a career barrier a barrier?" Industrial and Commercial Training. 39(6): 332-339

Murtagh, N., Lopes, P. N., Lyons, E. (2008) "The influence of emotion on career decision-making". Summer School on Decision Processes: Rationality and irrationality in decision-making - the role of intuition and emotion, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, 30th June-3rd July.

Murtagh, N., Lyons, E., Lopes, P. N. (2008) "Identity motivations in adult career change". The British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Dublin, 2-4th April.

Murtagh, N., Lyons, E., Lopes, P. N. (2008) "Identity and women's experience of voluntary career change: Towards a theoretical framework for initiation of career change". The British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference, Stratford-Upon-Avon, 9-11th January.

Murtagh, N., Lopes, P. N., Lyons, E. (2006) "What barriers? Women's experience in changing careers" 1st International Coaching Psychology Conference, London, 18-19th December 2006.

Murtagh, N., Zijlstra, F. (2005) "Evening-time activities and recovery from work stress" Social Psychology European Research Institute (SPERI) Seminar, Guildford, 28th November.