Psychology

Profile

Background
I graduated from Glasgow University in 1996 with an MA (Hons) Psychology. After graduating I worked for several years in marketing and market research, and then decided to return to psychology. From 2003 to 2005 I studied for an MSc Research Methods in Psychology at Reading University. My MSc research project, supervised by Dr Graham Schafer, investigated the influence of the social context on 20-month-old infants interpretation of novel words. In 2004, I volunteered as an Earthwatch research assistant at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, University of Central Washington.

Project Title
Infants experience of joy: Comparative and developmental perspectives.

Research
My research will explore the social and non-social contexts in which infants experience joy towards the end of their first year. I will also analyse the ways in which mothers support and encourage the expression of joy. By comparing the findings across cultures and species, this research will further our understanding of the adaptive value of joyful emotions. My Director of Studies is Dr Kim Bard, with Dr Vasu Reddy and Dr Anne Hillstrom as additional supervisors. I am a member of the Centre for the Study of Emotion.