Psychology

My research centres around social and moral development in children and adolescents, focusing on the development of speciesism, that being the varying treatment of animals based on species membership. Adults appear to be speciesist, for example having some animals as pets whilst eating others, but little work has investigated how children and adolescents view different animal species. My PhD research will investigate these concepts and uncover whether children and adolescents differ from adults in this regard.

Autistic individuals are more vulnerable to sexual abuse (SA) and rape and serious sexual offences (RaSSO) than non-autistic individuals, yet the extent to which factors predict this is unclear. Also, autistic victim-survivors’ experiences with the criminal justice system (CJS) are unknown. Aims: identify factors predicting autistic people’s vulnerability to RaSSO/SA; understand the experiences of autistic victim-survivors from multiple perspectives; and co-produce materials to improve CJS outcomes. Methods: a review identifying factors contributing to RaSSO in autistic individuals; a comparison of abuse recognition between autistic and non-autistic individuals; interviews with autistic victim-survivors, their parents/supporters, and CJS professionals; co-production to develop materials.

I will investigate the development of cognitive processes in children that support attention management, planning and problem-solving, called Executive Functions (EFs). Three key EFs are working memory, inhibitory control and shifting (or cognitive flexibility). I will explore how they develop and interact, evaluating the overall structure of EF. To do this, I will develop new cognitive tasks that combine visual and sound prompts to measure different kinds of EF in pre-school age children. I am hoping to gain new insight into how EF develops and is structured, informing more effective early strategies supporting learning and socialising in young children.

My research explores how cannabis use contributes to the development of psychosis using a new, standardised measure of cannabis exposure: Standard THC Units. Similar to standard alcohol units, this metric enables consistent assessment of cannabis use across studies. I apply it to quantify the risk of developing psychotic-like experiences in the general population and first-episode psychosis in clinical samples. Combining large-scale data analysis with interviews of individuals with psychosis, my work examines the transition from early symptoms to clinical disorder. This research aims to guide clinicians, support evidence-based policy, and establish safer cannabis use guidelines worldwide.