Research interests

I am a cognitive psychologist working at Bangor University. Most of my current work is on information within the face and the social inferences we make based on this information. My email contact is here. You can click on the headings below for further information about my different research interests. But first, news below:

Social inferences from the face

My main focus linking the different threads below. Humans are both highly visual and highly social beings. We are quick, perhaps to a fault, to make attributions of personality and other social traits on the basis of mere appearance. Why are we are so willing to make these judgements, and what do they tell us as observers?

Evolved signals from the face

Why the messages being "sent" from the face may be part of an evolved system for behaviour signalling.

Sexual dimorphism

Some social inferences from the face are based on sexual dimorphism, that is, the level of masculine or feminine quality in the face. New work is looking at how face shape may be linked to personality inferences.

Appearance and mental-health

Some traits related to mental health can be identified from the face. What kinds of responses do observers make to this appearance, and what might be the effect of these judgements?