Staff Profile

Qualifications

PhD in Psychology of Music, University of Cambridge

MPhil in Musicology, University of Cambridge

BA in Music, University of Cambridge

Career

2019-24: Department of Psychology, University of York, UK

2018-19: Vocal Communication Lab, Royal Holloway, University of London/University College London, UK

2017-18: Centre for Mind in Society, Queen Mary University of London, UK

2013-16: Medical Research Council Institute of Hearing Research (MRC IHR), University of Nottingham, UK

Professional Membership

Experimental Psychology Society

Overview

Human voices are richly informative, allowing the listener to draw conclusions not just about the speaker's message but also their identity, personality and affective state. Furthermore, listeners are able to do this even under challenging listening conditions, such as in a noisy restaurant or via a bad telephone line. My research explores how we can understand not just what is being said, but also who is speaking and how they might behave or feel. For example, I have investigated the contribution of cognitive abilities to the perception of speech-in-noise across the lifespan, and the interaction of cognitive, sensory and acoustic factors during speech-in-noise listening. I have explored how we recognise other people from their voices and the trait judgements we make from voices (such as attractiveness and trustworthiness), and how these influence the ways we interact with voices and their owners. I am also interested in the voice in musical and therapeutic contexts.

Current projects

"Split listening: A cognitive investigation of speech perception in adverse conditions" | ESRC (2023-25) | Co-PIs: Sven Mattys (University of York) and Ronan McGarrigle (University of Leeds)

"Perception of Atypical Voices" | YorVoice/Sparks Programme (2024-25) | Co-PIs: Lotte Eijk, Eloísa Monteoliva García and James Tompkinson (University of York)