Dr Moira Cachia

Senior Lecturer in Psychology

School of Human and Social Sciences

moira.cachia@uwl.ac.uk

Several years in banking led me to develop an interest into examining psychological factors which contribute to employees’ experience of their employment. Following a Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) with Communication Studies at the University of Malta, I relocated to the UK and pursued further studies through an MSc in Organisational and Occupational Psychology and PhD, both at the University of Surrey. My MSc dissertation and PhD thesis focused on the influence of individual identity on the psychological contract of the employment relationship, conducting research both within military and business organisations. My current research continues to focus on employee wellbeing in the workplace, and my main teaching areas are work psychology, experiential learning, psychological literacy, social psychology and qualitative research methods.

Moreover, as a higher education practitioner, I am now also engaged in exploring university students’ experience of their learning process, such as assessment and feedback, academic motivation and their perception of academic success. My research aims to identify factors that facilitate student engagement, informing my practice.

Qualifications

BSc Psychology with Communication Studies (1st Class - University of Malta), MSc Occupational and Organisational Psychology (Distinction - University of Surrey), PhD Occupational Psychology (University of Surrey)
Memberships

Chartered Psychologist - British Psychological Society (CPsychol)
Full Member - British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology
Senior Fellow – Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
Associate Fellow – British Psychological Society (AFBPsS)

Teaching

Moira teaches across a range of subject areas including organisational psychology, social psychology, psychological literacy, employability, leadership, qualitative research methods and academic writing skills.

Research

See Dr Moira Cachia's publications list in the UWL Repository.

Research and publications

Publications
Lynam, S., Cachia, M. & Stock, R. (2022). An evaluation of the factors that influence academic success as defined by engaged students. Educational Review, DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2022.2052808
Szulik, M., & Cachia, M. (2021). Interpretative phenomenological analysis examining the influence of professional identity on the perceived well-being of doctors. Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 251-256. DOI: 10.15557/PiPK.2021.0027
Rahman, S. and Cachia, M. (2021), Resilience and stress management amongst corporate security managers: a hybrid approach to thematic analysis, Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 299-314. Available online.
Brakespear, G. & Cachia, M. (2021). Young adults dealing with loneliness at University. New Vistas, 7(1), 32-36. doi: https://doi.org/10.36828/newvistas.23
Butcher, R., Stock, R., Lynam, S., & Cachia, M. (2021). Academic Success and individual differences. New Vistas, 7(1), 37-42. doi: https://doi.org/10.36828/newvistas.24
Cachia, M., Lynam, S., & Stock, R. (2018). Academic success: is it just about the grades? Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1), p.434-439. doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2018.1462096. Available online.
Stock, R., Lynam, S., & Cachia, M. (2018). Academic success: The Role of Mental Toughness in Predicting and Creating Success. Higher Education Pedagogies, 3(1), p.429-433. doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2018.1507623. Available online.
Whitfield, M., & Cachia, M. (2018). How does workplace stress affect job performance? An employee’s perspective. New Vistas, 3(2), 28 – 33. Available on the repository.
Lynam, S., & Cachia, M. (2018). 'Students’ perceptions of the role of assessments at higher education.' Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(2), 223-234. doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1329928. Available online.
Cachia, M. (2017). The role of identity in the choice of employment. New Vistas, 3 (1), 34-38. Available on the repository.
Hunt, F., Usher, L., Fern Pollak, L., Stock, R., Lynam, S. & Cachia, M. (2016). Mental toughness: is it the key to academic success? New Vistas, 2 (1), 10-15.
Cachia, M. & Millward, L. (2011) Telephone interviews and semi-structured interviews: A complementary fit. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 6 (3), 265-277.
Cachia, M., Lauri, M.A. & Cachia, P. (2009) Teleshopping: A uses and gratifications approach. Social Psychology Review, 11, 17-26.
Conferences

Cachia, M., & Lynam, S. (2023). Student feedback on assessment design for learning success: Findings from a qualitative study. In: Festival of Learning and Teaching, 6th July 2023, University of West London.
Stock, R., Lynam, S., & Cachia, M. (2019). A quantitative study of the relationship between feedback orientation and students' motivation to learn. In: Festival of Learning and Teaching, 3 July 2019, University of West London.
Stock, R., Cachia, M., & Lynam, S. (2018). Why did you give me this grade, and what do I do now? The role of feedback and motivation in predicting student grades. In: Learning and Teaching Conference 2018, 27 June 2018, University of West London.
Fracalanza, P., & Cachia, M. (2017). Technostress: A consumer’s perspective. In: The British Psychological Psychology Annual Conference, 3 May 2017, Hilton Brighton Metropole.
Cachia, M., Lynam, S., Stock, R., Fern Pollak, L., Usher, L., & Hunt, F. (2017). What do university students understand by academic success? What factors contribute to its attainment? Higher Education Academy STEM Conference 2017, Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester, UK.
Lynam, S., & Cachia, M. (2017). An evaluation of the role of assessments at Higher Education on student learning. Higher Education Academy STEM Conference 2017. Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester, UK.
Stock, R., Hunt, F., Cachia, M., Lynam, S., Usher, L., & Fern Pollak, L. (2017). Mental toughness and moods as predictors of academic success. Higher Education Academy STEM Conference 2017. Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester, UK.
Cachia, M., Lynam, S., Stock, R., Fern Pollak, L., Usher, L. and Hunt, F. (2016) Factors facilitating academic success: a student perspective. In: Teaching and Learning Conference 2016, 28 June, University of West London.
Curtis, H., & Cachia, M. (2015). The impact of globalisation on organisational communication: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. BPS Developmental Section and Social Section Annual Conference, The Palace Hotel, Manchester, UK.
Cachia, M. (2015). The lifeline technique: Its usefulness in the exploration of processes. BPS Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section Conference, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
Lynam, S., & Cachia, M. (2015). A qualitative study of Students’ Experience of Assessments in Higher Education. Teaching and Learning Conference, University of West London, London, UK.
Kheta, A., & Cachia, M. (2015). A qualitative examination of the persuasive marketing strategies used by charity websites to attract donors. Teaching and Learning Conference, University of West London, London, UK.
Patel, Z., & Cachia, M. (2015). Employees’ perception of how managers motivate their subordinates. Teaching and Learning Conference, University of West London, London, UK.
Whitfield, M., & Cachia, M. (2015). An employee’s perspective of how stress effects performance. Teaching and Learning Conference, University of West London, London, UK.
Stock, R., Hunt, F., Fern-Pollak, L., Lynam, S., Cachia, M., Usher, L. (2015). Gender differences in predictors of academic success: Mental toughness and affect. Teaching and Learning Conference, University of West London, London, UK.
Cachia, M. (2014). The Psychological Contract: The interaction between the personal and the political at the workplace. BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK.
Cachia, M. (2014). Understanding theoretical application through concrete experiences. The University of West London Teaching and Learning Conference, London, UK.
Curtis H., & Cachia, M. (2014). Communication in a multicultural workplace: as easy as 1, 2, 3? The University of West London Teaching and Learning Conference, London, UK.
Jefferies, N., & Cachia, M. (2014). Demographics as a factor predicting public punitiveness. The University of West London Teaching and Learning Conference, London, UK.
Hunt, F., Fern-Pollak, L., Stock, R., Usher, L., Lynam, S., & Cachia, M. (2014). The role of mental toughness and affect in academic success within a higher education setting. The University of West London Teaching and Learning Conference, London UK.
Cachia, M. (2012). The telephone as a medium for qualitative data collection. Annual Psychology Conference, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Cachia, M. (2010). The psychological contract as an expression of identity. Annual Psychology Conference, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Cachia, M. (2009). The Influence of identity on the psychological contract. Annual Psychology Conference, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Cachia, M., Lauri, M.A., & Cachia, P. (2007) Why do people watch teleshopping? BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Research degree supervision

Principal supervisor
Developing a conceptual framework for delivering luxury experiences through enhancing emotional intelligence. (Olena Fedoruk)
Forget Me Not: Demarginalising Trailblazing and Leading Black Women’s WEIRD Industrial, Organisational, and Societal Career Experiences with “Power” in the World’s Top Music Industry Ecosystems (Brittany Blackwell)
(WEIRD stands for: Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic)
Second supervisor
Tailored Mitigation of Psychological Distress in Touring and Gigging Musicians (Helen Rowell)
An autoethnographic study of neurodiversity (Annalise Elliott)
Third supervisor
Understanding mental health in the music industry: The artist-manager relationship (Brenda Combs)