[32] 'The Corner Boys', the story of a teenager growing up in a loyalist working-class neighbourhood of Belfast during the Troubles, was also shortlisted for the Ewart-Biggs Literary Prize [1].
The novel situates the action in Sheffield in Thatcher's Britain of the early nineteen-eighties, just after the miners' strike with the mines and the steelworks closing.
Matt himself is trying to make a name for himself as an academic in this changing societal landscape but oversteps the mark in his claims about what his body language analyses can reveal from CCTV footage of a murder, to his ultimate cost.
In a review in the international journal Semiotica,[33] Professor Marcel Danesi, professor of semiotics at the University of Toronto, described the book as a 'truly outstanding work' and wrote that 'With his latest novel, Dr Geoffrey Beattie can now be projected onto the same international platform as the late Umberto Eco, who became famous for integrating semiotic theory with fiction, starting with his bestseller, The Name of the Rose...There is little doubt, in my estimation at least, that Geoffrey Beattie is Eco's successor, displaying an uncanny and ingenious ability to blend his insightful work on nonverbal semiotics with an exceptional sense for narrative in this outstanding roman-à-clef.'
His book 'Selfless: A Psychologist's Journey through Identity and Social Class', published by Routledge, which is a memoir reflecting on identity, social class and education, attracted excellent international reviews—'a powerful mix of psychological research, intellectual rigour and personal insight' (Binna Kandola), 'a unique book....We come away understanding what psychology should be....required reading by anyone interested in understanding what consciousness is' (Marcel Danesi, University of Toronto), 'has the potential to contribute to relevant fields of inquiry in the same way Oliver Sacks' books did to neurology and the history of science' (Hongbing Yu, Ryerson University).
[34] A review in the Psychologist read 'We need more books like this—where the author is authentically written into the work, and psychology is opened up, inviting people to explore it in relation to their own lives.
'[35] His most recent book 'Doubt: A Psychological Exploration' was described by Professor Brian Butterworth from UCL as 'Beattie brilliantly illustrates the science of doubt with fascinating case studies from doubters like Kafka, to non-doubters like Picasso.'
Professor Richard Bentall from the University of Sheffield wrote 'Geoff Beattie has written a brilliantly entertaining book about the little considered phenomenon of doubt, focusing mainly but not exclusively on self-doubt.'
[39] His book 'On the Ropes: Boxing as a Way of Life' (Victor Gollancz) has been optioned by a major Hollywood studio to be made into a film.
[40] The book focuses on Brendan Ingle's famous gym in Wincobank in Sheffield and explores boxing in precarious economic times after the pit closures and the decline of the steel industry.
The Daily Telegraph's review of the book read "Beattie can write about the low life of boxing like no-one else…[He] has got the smell of the gym in his lungs.
His research shows that both verbal and nonverbal elements are critical to everyday semantic communication and that iconic hand gestures reflect unarticulated aspects of thinking.
He has explored the possible applications of this theoretical perspective for both advertising and for deception, where gesture-speech mismatches may occur, along with structural changes in the phases of gestures.
He has also explored the psychological barriers that prevent consumers adopting more sustainable lifestyles in the light of the threat posed by climate change.
Beattie presented this research on sustainability at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in July 2015,[47] and with Laura McGuire contributed a chapter to the United Nations International Commission on Education for Sustainable-Development-Practice Report[48] (a report issued every ten years by the U.N. to define priorities in education internationally for the next decade), to be published in 2019.
He is also well known for bringing analyses of behaviour, and particularly nonverbal communication, to a more general audience by appearing as the on-screen psychologist on eleven series of Big Brother[49] in the UK and for explaining how psychology can be used by people in their everyday lives.
Dump Your Mates in Four Days (Channel 4) Co-presenter and psychologist, The Farm of Fussy Eaters (UKTV Style) A series focusing on individuals with oddly constrained and unhealthy food choices.
Ghosthunting With....The Saturdays He has also been a frequent guest on the ITV News (with a slot called 'The Body Politic' at one General Election[51] ), Lorraine Kelly, Richard and Judy, The One Show, Tonight with Trevor McDonald (ITV), with other guest appearances on Child of Our Time, Arena, It's Only a Theory,[52] Risky Business, Tomorrow's World, The Heart of the Matter, Watchdog, BBC Breakfast,[53] Good Morning America, the Keri-Anne Show (Australia),[54] TV4 (Sweden), News Asia, The Mindfield, and various documentaries for Channel 4, Channel 5, BBC4 and Sky.