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Biography
PhD Psychology (2013) - Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK.
After completing my PhD in Psychology at the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, I moved to the 海角黑料, in 2014. I spent two years as a Psychology Research Fellow, working with Dr Ruth Filik (Nottingham) and Prof Hartmut Leuthold (T眉bingen, Germany), using psychophysiology, EEG, and behavioural studies to examine emotional responses and language processes related to sarcasm and irony.
I am now Associate Professor in Psychology of Language. I teach and manage undergraduate, postgraduate, and online masters modules on the cognitive underpinnings of language. I am also director of the Applied Linguistics Masters degree programme.
Expertise Summary
As a psychologist with a close interest in language, my research examines aspects of cognition, emotion, and digital communication. I make use of a broad range of methodologies, including psychophysiology (galvanic skin-response and muscle movements), brain imaging (EEG), eye-tracking, and behavioural tasks.
My research also reaches beyond academia, including industry-funded projects with the BBC and community-focused work with Deaf organisations and sign language users. These projects bring real-world impact and demonstrate the value of psychology research to the wider community.
I am on the Advisory Board for Paratexts Seeking Understanding, as well as liaison to the Scientific Team. This 拢2.4 million grant (Templeton Religion Trust) is a unique project, combining empirical psychology research with philology. The outcomes of the research are integrated into an exhibition at the Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin. Visit for more info.
Teaching Summary
With my background in psychology, I have taught and developed modules covering cognition, memory, digital communication, research ethics, experimental design, and data analysis.
I specialise in psychology of language; a field of psychology that examines the cognitive and developmental underpinnings of language. This includes exploring and investigating how we acquire the ability to discriminate between speech sounds, how we store and organise language in the brain, and how other cognitive systems interact with language.
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SOME OF MY KEY ONSITE MODULES
Psychology of Language (Masters level) and Language and the Mind (undergraduate level)
--- how the brain organises language, how we access it, and the behaviours and processes of production; how memory and other cognitive processes depend on and inform the language system; brain architecture; learning difficulties and other cognitive impairments.
Language Development
--- an examination of developmental psychology through the lens of language; how children develop the skills that support language acquisition; how behaviours and social skills are acquired; the impact of social and economic differences; how we learn to read, and difficulties we can face.
Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods in Applied Linguistics
--- formulating research questions, considerations of research ethics, task and survey design, data-collection, statistical analysis, and research reporting.
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SOME OF MY KEY DISTANCE LEARNING MODULES
Calls, Speech, Writing, and Sign Language
--- exploration of animal behaviours and communication systems; differences in physiology, behaviour, and cognition between humans and animals; human modes of communication, including speech, writing, and sign languages, and how these impact everything from emotion to social acceptance and accessibility.
Data-collection and Ethics
--- important considerations for conducting scientific research with rigour and integrity; informed consent; data management and security; how to ensure appropriate ethical approval.
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In psychology, we use APA style. If you are writing up your research for a module assessment or for publication, see my brief guide to the essentials of for citations, references, inclusive terminology, and text formatting.
Research Summary
I am a psychologist with a particular interest in language and the cognitive processes that interact with it. My current work focuses on emotion, cyber-psychology, and digital communication, asking… read more
Selected Publications
THOMPSON, D., LEUTHOLD, H. and FILIK, R., 2016. Psychophysiology. 53, 1054鈥�1062
THOMPSON, D. and FILIK, R., 2016. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 21(2), 105-120
FILIK, R., 葰URCAN, A., THOMPSON, D., HARVEY, N., DAVIES, H. and TURNER, A., 2015. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
THOMPSON, D., LING, SP., MYACHYKOV, A., FERREIRA, F. and SCHEEPERS, C,, 2013. Frontiers in Psychology.
I aim to provide my PhD students with the tools they will need to successfully pursue their future research career. My PhD students are welcomed into a supportive and collaborative environment, promoting the development of skills for all stages of the research process.
Students learn to use software for experimental design, data analysis, and data visualisation, as well as specialist equipment for psychophysiological measurements, eye-tracking, EEG, or behavioural studies. I am keen to promote principles of open science: use of free, open access, cross-platform software, reproducible code, and open data.
I am happy to supervise students at all levels who are interested in psychology, psychophysiology, and language. I especially welcome projects related to: emotion; digital communication; perception; and language processing. Key methods supervised include: psychophysiology (EDA, facial EMG, or EEG); eye-tracking or pupillometry; priming, paraphrasing, behavioural, and decision making tasks.
If you are a student with a proposal you would like to discuss or are looking for advice feel free to get in touch!
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CURRENT PHD STUDENTS
Maisa Qani -- "The Influence of Audio-Visual Input and Accent on L2 Learners' Listening Comprehension."
-- "The Impact of Interactive Augmented Reality-based Gamified Learning on Vocabulary Acquisition Among Adult ESL Learners in Arab TESOL Classrooms."
Afnan Alghamdi -- "The Impact of Visual-Spatial Awareness on the L2 Reading Ability of Bilingual Children."
Lucy Peacock -- "Empathy and Literature."
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COMPLETED PHD STUDENTS
(2023) -- "The Eyes Tell a Story: An Eye-Tracking Exploration on Metaphor Comprehension in Second Language Speakers of English."
(2022) -- "Colourful Language: The Impact of Linguistic Reclamation on the Processing of LGBTQ+ Slurs."
Raya Harbi (2021) -- "Reader Response to Literary Political Discourse: A Critical Text World Theory Approach."
(2019) -- "Understanding modified idiomatic expressions: the 'impossible' just takes a little longer."
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SELECTED MASTERS PROJECTS SUPERVISED
--- Emotion and cognition
"Motion, emotion and language: the influence of sensory-motor information on the activation of abstract emotional words."
"Cognitive Mechanisms of Semantic Activation in English Idioms: A Lexical Decision Study with L2 Learners."
--- Perception and processing of gesture and sign
"Can co-speech hand gestures communicate in non-visible conditions via speech?"
"Investigation into the recognition, perception and use of conventionalised Italian hand gestures by L1 English speakers living in Italy."
--- Meaning activation and processing
"Investigating Figurative Meaning Activation in Chinese L2 Learners: A Lexical Decision Task with Ambiguous Idioms."
"A Study on the Affective Priming Effect in the Word-Face Stroop Paradigm with Chinese English Bilinguals."
"The Impact of Idiom Transparency in Figurative and Literal Meaning Processing in Chinese EFL Learners."
--- Language impairment
"Phonological neighbourhood development in specific language impairment."
Current Research
I am a psychologist with a particular interest in language and the cognitive processes that interact with it. My current work focuses on emotion, cyber-psychology, and digital communication, asking questions such as: How does event perspective impact our cognitive and emotional processing? How can our emotional processing be influenced by digital objects such as emoji? Do our evaluations of uniqueness, creativity, and quality change when we are told a work was created using AI?
To address these questions, I make use of a broad range of methodologies, including psychophysiology (galvanic skin-response and muscle movements), brain imaging (EEG), eye-tracking, and behavioural tasks.
My research also reaches beyond academia, including industry-funded projects and community-focused work, leading to social impact and change.
In recent work with the BBC, we used physiological measures to explore emotional response and perceptions of trust and impartiality towards online news articles. The project compared participants from varied socio-economic backgrounds, with the purpose of improving news provision to currently under-served sections of the population.
I currently have several ongoing projects with sign language users and with Deaf organisations including Nottinghamshire Deaf Society. These projects focus on access and inclusion in digital spaces, as well as across the shops and services of the physical city. We are in the process of producing advice and recommendations to enable businesses to be more welcoming to Deaf people and to be more aware of cultural differences and communication needs.
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INTERESTED IN PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE?
If you are interested in psychology of language, psychophysiology, or digital communication for undergraduate, postgraduate, or PhD study, or as an academic or industry collaborator, feel free to get in touch!
As a researcher in psychology of language, my work involves designing and building experimental studies, data wrangling, analysis, and data visualisations. If you are interested in psychology or psycholinguistic research, I recommend familiarising yourself with free, open source, cross-platform software. This will enable you to work consistently across different environments and will make it easier to share your work.
For building and running studies, try OpenSesame or PsychoPy. For data wrangling, analysis, and visualisation, take a look at R (with RStudio); particularly useful packages include tidyverse and ggplot2.
KYRIACOU, M., CONKLIN, K. and THOMPSON, D., 2022. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. 77(3), 212鈥�226
THOMPSON, D., LEUTHOLD, H. and FILIK, R., 2021. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. 75(2), 107-113
KYRIACOU, M., CONKLIN, K. and THOMPSON, D., 2021. Frontiers in Psychology. 12, 3253
KYRIACOU, M., CONKLIN, K. and THOMPSON, D., 2020. Language and Speech. 63(2), 404-435
THOMPSON, D., FERREIRA, F. and SCHEEPERS, C., 2018. Journal of Cognition. 1(1), 35
PICKERING, BETHANY, THOMPSON, DOMINIC and FILIK, RUTH, 2018. METAPHOR AND SYMBOL. 33(3), 185-197
RODRIGUES, D., LOPES, D., PRADA, M., THOMPSON, D. and GARRIDO, M. V., 2017. Telematics and Informatics. 34(8), 1532-1543
THOMPSON, D. and FILIK, R., 2016. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 21(2), 105-120
THOMPSON, D., LEUTHOLD, H. and FILIK, R., 2016. Psychophysiology. 53, 1054鈥�1062
FILIK, R., 葰URCAN, A., THOMPSON, D., HARVEY, N., DAVIES, H. and TURNER, A., 2015. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
THOMPSON, D., LING, SP., MYACHYKOV, A., FERREIRA, F. and SCHEEPERS, C,, 2013. Frontiers in Psychology.
MYACHYKOV, A., SCHEEPERS, C., GARROD, S., THOMPSON, D. and FEDOROVA, O., 2013. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 66(8), 1601-1619
THOMPSON, D. and SCHEEPERS, C., 2013. Harmonizing the Passive: A new proposal for Passive Constructions in Generative Grammar. Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics. 19(2), 74-96
MYACHYKOV, A., THOMPSON, D., GARROD, S. and SCHEEPERS, C., 2012. Frontiers in Psychology.
MYACHYKOV, A., THOMPSON, D., SCHEEPERS, C. and GARROD, S., 2011. Visual attention and structural choice in sentence production across languages. Language and Linguistic Compass. 5(2), 95-107