Professor Beatriz Lopez
Biography
I graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid with a BSc in Psychology in 1995. Since 1997, after moving to the UK I have had various posts, all relating to autism research and developmental psychology at the University of Kent, the University of Durham, York St John College and the University of the West of England until I took up my post at the University of Portsmouth in September 2008. I am the founder of the Autism Centre for Research on Employment, which was set up in collaboration with four local authorities and funded by the Department of
Health to enhance employment opportunities for autistic people.
Research interests
My main research interests fall within the area of cognitive development with a particular focus on how socio-cultural factors affect cognitive development in autism. Recently, my research has focused on documenting the heterogeneity of cognitive profiles across domains and across development. The aim of this research is to inform personalised
care plans for autistic children and adults. You can view my publications here.
Research outputs
2025
Mental health in autistic adults: key stages in the journey from experiencing psychological distress to recovery
Beckwith, A., Lopez, B.
1 Jun 2025, In: Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 124, 11p., 202584
Research output: Article
2023
Beyond reliability in first impressions research: considering validity and the need to “mix it up with folks”
Satchell, L., Jaeger, B., Jones, A. L., Lopez, B., Schild, C.
17 Nov 2023, In: Social Psychological Bulletin. 18
Research output: Article
Social attention patterns of autistic and non-autistic adults when viewing real versus reel people
López, B., Gregory, N. J., Freeth, M.
1 Nov 2023, In: Autism. 27, 8, p. 2372 - 2383, 12p.
Research output: Article
Autistic students’ experiences, opportunities and challenges in Higher Education in Singapore: a qualitative study: A Qualitative Study
Lim, E., Wong, S., Gurbuz, E., Kapp, S. K., López, B., Magiati, I.
10 Aug 2023, In: Education Sciences. 13, 8, 18p., 818
Research output: Article
Preverbal infants produce more protophones with artificial objects compared to natural objects
Gibson, V., Somogyi, E., Nomikou, I., Taylor, D., Lopez, B., Mulenga, I. C., Davila Ross, M.
20 Jun 2023, In: Scientific Reports. 13, 10p., 9969
Research output: Article
2021
The meaning of significant mean group differences for biomarker discovery
Loth, E., Ahmad, J., Chatham, C., López, B., Carter, B., Crawley, D., Oakley, B., Hayward, H., Cooke, J., San José Cáceres, A., Bzdok, D., Jones, E., Charman, T., Beckmann, C., Bourgeron, T., Toro, R.,
18 Nov 2021, In: PLoS Computational Biology. 17, 11, 16p., e1009477
Research output: Article
Evaluation of the ACE employment programme: helping employers to make tailored adjustments for their autistic employees
Lopez, B., Kargas, N., Udell, J., Rubin, T., Byrgess, L., Drew, D., McDonald, I., O'Brien, A., Templeton-Mepstead, K.
5 Apr 2021, In: Advances in Autism. 7, 1, p. 3-15, 14p.
Research output: Article
2020
Factually based autism awareness campaigns may not always be effective in changing attitudes towards autism: evidence from British and South Korean nursing students
Mac Cárthaigh, S., López, B.
1 Jul 2020, In: Autism. 24, 5, p. 1177-1190, 14p.
Research output: Article