Research at the Department of Psychology

Research Excellence

Members of the Department of Psychology are engaged in exciting and innovative research at the cutting edge of Psychology. Our research expertise represents interests in the application of psychology to understanding health and well-being, food and behaviour, lifespan psychology and neuropsychology. 

Our research interests are:

Cognition across the lifespan
Health behaviours
Enhancing psychological wellbeing

We draw on both quantitative and qualitative approaches including:

Experimental methods
Biological and physiological measures
Questionnaire studies
Narrative/ biographical approaches

We have a strong research community of academics and PhD students, and we encourage enquiries from potential research students.

We run a Psychology research seminar series with internal and external speakers taking part focusing on any area of psychology.

Theory of Mind in older adults: Links to fiction, cognition, and social function

In September 2023 research conducted by Dr Min Yong was featured on the cover of the Leverhulme Trust Newsletter. The research, conducted with Professor Louise Phillips of the University of Aberdeen, uses a range of methodologies to examine links between fiction engagement and mental state understanding in older adults.

Research Summary: Reading is an enjoyable activity and studies in young adults indicate that reading fiction may improve our ability to understand others’ mental states. However, we know very little about reading habits in older adults, and whether they might help to protect against age-related declines in mental state understanding.

Our aim is to examine links between fiction engagement and mental state understanding in older adults using a range of methodologies. We will test whether the immersion in other minds in reading might provide a simple and effective way to support cognition and social function in old age.