Psychology MPhil, PhD

Our supervisors will meet you regularly to discuss your progress formally and are available any time for support or advice. There are also extensive study resources online.

If your work is interdisciplinary we can involve relevant specialists from other schools and disciplines.

Our supervisory staff are recognised experts in their field. Their research expertise includes:

• Dr Jane Aspell - Jane is a cognitive neuroscientist and her research focuses on the multisensory bodily basis for self-consciousness.
• Prof Peter Bright - Peter Bright is a Professor of Psychology and his research interests are in memory, cognitive control and intelligence.
• Dr Matt Bristow - Matt’s research concentrates on psycho-neuro-immunology and the psychophysiology of stress.
• Dr Flavia Cardini - Flavia’s research is focused on the study of the brain representation of one’s own body as a result of the interaction between information from different sensory modalities.
• Dr James Close - James is a cognitive and comparative psychologist interested in the development and evolution of cognition and prosociality. His research is focused on understanding the factors which drive the categorisation and prosocial behaviours of animals and humans.
• Dr Suzanna Forwood - Suzanna is a cognitive psychologist interested in food choice, the factors that determine food choice and the tools available to improve the healthiness of food choices.
• Dr Sharon Geva - Sharon is a cognitive neuroscientist, with an interest in language and memory across the lifespan. She is studying cognitive processing and impairments following brain damage, using neuropsychological testing and brain imaging techniques.
• Dr Nic Gibson - Nic is interested in Applied Psychology, particularly well-being, resilience, and pro-sociality as personal strengths that influence positive outcomes. Research areas include play and playfulness in adults, human-animal companionship, gaming, and individual differences.
• Dr Julia Gillard - Julia is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Psychologist working in a specialist mental health service for adults with a diagnosis of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her research interests include clinical psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and individual differences in risk and resilience in mental health.
• Dr Lewis Goodings - Lewis is a qualitative social psychologist who is interested in the way that self and identity are mediated via social media technologies. He also considers the use of these technologies in relation to mental distress and the possible advantages or disadvantages therein.
• Dr Mick Finlay - Mick is a social psychologist conducting research in two main areas: intellectual disabilities and political conflict between groups.
• Dr Ruth Ford - Ruth studies the cognitive and social development of young children, focusing on memory, cognitive control, and social cognition. Her research encompasses both theoretical and applied projects.
• Dr Annelie Harvey - Annelie is a social psychologist interested in the psychology of justice. Her research considers how people react to victims and instances of misfortune.
• Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd - Cathrine is a consumer psychologist with a particular interest in tactile perception and environmentally friendly consumption. Additionally, she is interested in how consumers aesthetically evaluate products and consumer environments.
• Dr Emma Kaminskiy - Emma undertakes health services research with a particular interest in involvement and collaboration with service users and carers in mental health research and service improvement.
• Dr Helen Keyes - Helen researches how experienced and novice drivers’ brains process the road environment, as well as how the brain processes our own face and other familiar faces.
• Dr Elizabeth Kirk - Elizabeth is a developmental psychologist and her research focuses on the role of gesture in language and thought.
• Dr Eimear Lee - Eimear is a lecturer in psychology, and her research interests include biological psychology, health psychology, personality and individual differences, and psychosocial influences on health.
• Dr Sharon Morein-Zamir - Sharon’s research investigates the control of actions and thoughts, as it relates to disorders of compulsivity and impulsivity.
• Dr Craig Owen - Craig is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology. His areas of interest include critical social psychology, critical health psychology, sociology of sport, gender studies and qualitative research methods.
• Dr Michael Pake - Michael is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and also acts as our undergraduate Admissions Tutor.
• Dr David Pearson - David is a cognitive psychologist whose research examines the cognitive processes involved during memory, mental imagery and visuo-spatial thinking, with a particular focus on applications in the fields of clinical and environmental psychology.
• Dr Debora Sa - Debora is a chartered psychologist and senior lecturer in psychology. Her research focuses on family carers'; mental health and well-being.
• Dr Tamer Said - Tamer is a cognitive psychologist who is interested in studying the relations between cognitive and non-cognitive factors within educational settings, with a special interest in conceptual change research and science learning.
• Dr Elena Sakkalou - Elena specialises in typical infant and child development and neurodevelopmental disorders, focusing on cognitive and social-communicative development and how it is affected by neurodisability.
• Dr Jane Scott - Jane is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology. She is a registered clinical psychologist with extensive international experience in clinical and academic settings. Her main research interests are hoarding disorder, eating disorders, body image, mental health and vision loss, and self-reflective practice.
• Dr Lesley Storey - Lesley is a social psychologist with an interest in health issues and social justice. Her research looks at the psychosocial impact of cancer, particularly sarcoma. Her current focus is on fear of recurrence. Her political psychology research looks at issues of inter-group conflict and social group memberships.
• Prof Viren Swami - Viren is a social psychologist whose research focuses on the psychology of human appearance and body image and, separately, the psychology of conspiracy theories.
• Dr Magdalena Zawisza - Magdalena is a Reader in Consumer and Gender Psychology; her research interests fall into three general areas: consumer, gender and applied social psychology.

Students on the PhD in Psychology programme can benefit from attending (subject to availability of space in the class) some of the School’s MSc lectures which relate to their research. These could include lectures within the MSc modules listed below. Attendance is not compulsory:

• Developmental Psychopathology
• Imaging and Diagnostics in Cognitive Neuroscience
• Current Theoretical Issues in Cognitive Neuroscience
• Issues in Scientific Research
• Quantitative Research methods
• Diagnosis and Treatment in Child Psychology

ARU's academic excellence was recognised in 2021, as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), an exercise which assesses the quality of academic research. Sixteen areas of our work were classed as generating world-leading research. The results showed that we're making a significant impact on the societies we live in.

We’ll provide comprehensive research training in areas such as academic writing and publishing, research methods, subject developments, data analysis, conference skills and presentation.

You can also access the Epigeum Suite of online skills training modules.

If you're interested in finding out more about research study opportunities, please email [email protected]