Current Research
The primary aim of my research is to further our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying language comprehension. Typically, I seek converging evidence from traditional methods in experimental psychology (such as eye-tracking, self-paced reading, and language production tasks); and cognitive neuroscience methods (for example, EEG).
My interests lie in how our knowledge of the world and of the context in which we encounter language enable us to understand what we are reading or listening to. Issues that I am currently investigating include; the comprehension of non-literal language (metaphor and irony), the processing of emotional information, reference resolution, quantification, and how readers resolve syntactic and semantic ambiguities more generally.
I also have a strong interest in how basic research in experimental psychology can inform more applied issues, such as the communication of information relating to healthcare (and how this impacts on patient safety), and language development.
I am keen to be contacted by students who may be interested in doing a Ph.D in the areas described above. If you might be interested in becoming a Ph.D student under my supervision, please email me.