Banister completed a BSc followed by a PhD in Psychology at the University of Durham.
His thesis was entitled Cognitive effects of long term imprisonment.
He was Head of the School and subsequently Department of Psychology for a large portion of his career.
[2] Banister was active in both the British Psychological Society (of which he became President) and in the Association of Heads of Psychology Departments.
He was actively involved in developing innovations in teaching and authored with others in his department a popular textbook on qualitative research methods.