About Us
Dr. Gray Atherton
Background
I have a BSc in Child Development from Vanderbilt University, a MEd in Counselling Psychology from the University of Houston, and a PhD in Educational Psychology and Individual Differences from the University of Houston, focusing on special populations.
Research Interests
I am interested in understanding how neurodiverse people perceive the social world. Specifically, I explore individual differences in social processing, finding parallels between autistic individuals and the general population. My focus is on uncovering the strengths inherent in neurodiversity to challenge stigma surrounding developmental conditions like autism. I also investigate anthropomorphism, or the attribution of human traits to non-human entities, and its relationship to social processing in autism. To explore this, I'm developing virtual and augmented reality techniques for anthropomorphic experiences. Additionally, I study human-animal interactions and their benefits for neurodiverse populations. My broader research interest lies in embodied social processing, particularly how movement influences self-perception and social interactions. I'm exploring this through modern board games, investigating how joint action and attention during gaming can positively impact mental health.
Dr. Liam Cross
Background
I have a BSc in Psychology from Lancaster University and a PhD in Psychology from Leeds Beckett University. My doctoral research focused on understanding the impact of Coordinated Rhythmic Movement on interpersonal relations and group dynamics.
Research Interests
My research interests encompass a diverse range of topics within psychology. I am particularly intrigued by the effects of Coordinated Rhythmic Movement on interpersonal relations and group dynamics, exploring how activities such as dancing, singing, or walking in synchrony influence affiliation, cooperation, and conformity among participants, ultimately shaping social identity. Additionally, I and investigate nonverbal cues to deception and the impact of specific statistical co-occurrences of language in media on attitudes towards immigration. Furthermore, I examine the effects of sexualized and violent video games on stereotypes and prejudice, and I explore whether theory of mind deficits in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder can be mitigated by altering stimuli from human to cartoon and animal representations.