The Self Lab is a research group based at Abertay University and the University of Dundee, working on self-processing biases in children and adults.
Our primary research focus is an ESRC-funded project exploring the educational applications of self-reference effects.
Additional projects include examining the early development of self-biases, the effects of self cues on attention and working memory, and the impact of clinical disorders on self processing (details below).
For information, to participate in research, or to apply for postgraduate opportunities within the research team, please contact s.cunningham@abertay.ac.uk.
Lab group
Prof Sheila Cunningham
Prof Sheila Cunningham
Prof Sheila Cunningham
Dr Josephine Ross
Prof Sheila Cunningham
Prof Sheila Cunningham
Dr Janet McLean
Prof Sheila Cunningham
Dr Janet McLean
Dr Joshua March
Dr Joshua March
Dr Janet McLean
Research Fellow, Abertay University
Karen Golden
Dr Joshua March
Karen Golden
Research Assistant, Abertay University
ESRC project: Applying the self in education
Our research shows that self-referencing can be harnessed to support learning and education, work that is now part of an ambitious three-year project funded by ESRC.
Self-Referencing projects
Self-cues in numeracy and literacy
Self-cues in numeracy and literacy
Self-cues in numeracy and literacy
Most of our work with children is currently focused on school-based tasks, in a project is funded by ESRC. The project is designed to explore the effects of self-cues such as personal pronouns on children's information processing. In particular, we are testing the effects of self-cues on numeracy (e.g., text-based problem-solving) and literacy (e.g., close reading) tasks.
Development of self
Self-cues in numeracy and literacy
Self-cues in numeracy and literacy
We are assessing the development of self-processing biases in memory in children and adolescents, and the relationships between self-processing and other aspects of social and cognition development. This project was partly funded by the Leverhulme Trust, and collaborators include Dr Jacqui Hutchison (University of Aberdeen) and Dr Ada Kritikos (University of Queensland, Australia)
Effects of self-cues on cognition
Self-cues in numeracy and literacy
Effects of self-cues on cognition
We are studying the effects of self-cues on attention and working memory, and how these effects might link to information processing. This work is the subject of a Zahra Ahmed's PhD as well as a collaboration with Dr Kevin Allan (University of Aberdeen), with whom we are developing game-based working memory tasks with self-referent avatars..
Self in developmental disorders
Self in developmental disorders
Effects of self-cues on cognition
Self-processing can vary across individuals, and particularly in children who are diagnosed with developmental disorders such as autism and ADHD. In collaboration with Dr Karri Gillespie Smith and Dr Sinead Rhodes (Edinburgh University), we are examining the extent and nature of these variations.
>>>> NEWS <<<<
Self in developmental disorders
>>>> NEWS <<<<
[June 2022] We are running focus groups with teachers this month, looking at how our materials might fit with current curriculum. Email us if you would like to be part of this!
[April 2022] Karen presented a poster at the Cognitive Developmental Society conference in Wisconsin, US.
[Jan 2022] Congratulations to RA Karen Golden on winning a PhD studentship! Karen's PhD will explore the impact of gender biases and social learning on young people's educational choices.
[Nov 2021] New paper published, examining the position of the self in the hierarchy of attentional biases. Early online version available here.
[Oct 2021] We have produced a new resource for teachers in collaboration with Futurum Careers, shared with thousands of teachers internationally and available on teaching websites including the Times Educational Supplement.
Dissemination
Recent lab group publications: Journal articles
2022/in press
- Cunningham, S., Vogt, J., Martin, D. (in press). Me first? Positioning self in the attentional hierarchy. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. Advance online publication. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/xhp0000976
- Wood, L., Hutchison, J., Aitken, M. & Cunningham, S. J. (in press). Young people’s knowledge and endorsement of gender stereotypes of education and career competency. British Journal of Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12510
2021
- Kempe, V., Gauvrit, N., Panayotov, N., Cunningham, S. J., Tamariz, M. (2021). Amount of learning and signal stability modulate emergence of combinatorial structure and iconicity in novel signaling systems. Cognitive Science, 45(11), e13057. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13057
- Desai, S., McLean, J., Lawrence, C. & Filik, R. (2021). The impact of hyperbole on perception of victim testimony. Journal of Pragmatics, 174, 143-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.01.013
- Armstrong, V.G. & Ross, J. (2021). Art boxes supporting parents and infants to share creative interactions at home: An art-based response to improve wellbeing during Covid-19 restrictions. Public Health, 193, 109-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.01.031
- Hutchison, J., Ross, J., & Cunningham, S. J. (2021). Development of evaluative and incidental self reference effects in childhood. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 210, 105197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105197
2020
- Ross, J., Cunningham, S. J., & Hutchison, J. (2020). The me in memory: The role of the self in autobiographical memory development. Child Development, 91, e299-e314. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13211
- Armstrong, V.G. & Ross, J. (2020). The evidence base for art therapy with parent and infant dyads: an integrative literature review. International Journal of Art Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17454832.2020.1724165
- Woolnough, P. & Cunningham, S. J. (2020). Developmental perspectives on the behaviour of missing children. Psychology, Crime and Law. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2020.1837130
2019
- Taranu, M, Wimmer, M.C., Ross, J., Farkas, D., Van Ee, R., Winkler, I., &. Denham, S. (2019). Children’s perception of visual and auditory ambiguity and its link to executive function and creativity. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 184, 123-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.03.010
- Armstrong, V.G, Dalinkeviciute, E. & Ross, J. (2019). A dyadic art psychotherapy group for parents and infants: Piloting quantitative methodologies for evaluation. International Journal of Art Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17454832.2019.1590432
2018
- Cunningham, S. J., Scott, L., Hutchison, J., Ross, J., & Martin, D. (2018). Applying self-processing biases in education: Improving learning through ownership. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 7, 342-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2018.04.004
- Cunningham, S. J. (2018). The thoughtful self. In Hauke & Kritikos (Eds.) Embodiment in Psychology – A Practitioner’s Guide. Springer.
- Gillespie-Smith, K, Ballantyne, C, Branigan, H, Turk, D. J., & Cunningham, S. J. (2018). The I in Autism: Severity and social functioning in Autism is related to self-processing. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 36, 127-141. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12219
- Hutchison, J., Martin, D., Slessor, G., Urquhart, J., Smith, K., & Cunningham, S. J. (2018). Context and perceptual salience influence the formation of stereotypes via cumulative cultural evolution. Cognitive Science, 42(S1), 186-212. https://doi.org/10.1111/COGS.12560
2017
- Ivanova, I., Branigan, H. P., McLean, J. F., Costa, A. & Pickering, M. J. (2017). Do you what I say? People reconstruct the syntax of anomalous utterances. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 32, 175-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2016.1236976
- Rusconi, E. & McLean, J. F. (2017). Nature/nurture and the origin of individual differences in mathematics: evidence from infant and behavioural genetics studies. In The nature and development of mathematics: cross disciplinary perspectives on cognition, learning and culture, J. W. Adams, P. Barmby, & A. Mesoudi (Eds.). Abingdon: Routledge.
- Martin, D., Cunningham, S. J., Hutchison, J., Slessor, G. & Smith, K. (2017). How societal stereotypes might form and evolve via cumulative cultural evolution? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/SPC3.12338
- Allan, K., Morson, S., Dixon, S., Martin, D. & Cunningham, S. J. (2017). Simulation-based mentalizing generates a ‘proxy’ self-reference effect in memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70, 1074-1084. https://doi.org/0.1080/17470218.2016.1209532
- Cunningham, S. J. & Turk, S. J. (2017). A review of self-processing biases in cognition. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70, 987-995. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1276609
- Ross, J. (2017). You and me: Investigating the role of self-evaluative emotion in preschool prosociality. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2016.11.001 (pdf)
- Ross, J. & Melinger, A. (2017). Bilingual advantage, bidialectal advantage or neither?: Comparing performance across three tests of executive function in middle childhood. Developmental Science. https://doi.org/1 0.1111/desc.12405
- Ross, J., Yilmaz, M., Dale, R., Cassidy, R., Yildirim, I. & Zeedyk, M.S. (2017). Cultural differences in self-recognition: The early development of autonomous and related selves? Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12387
Recent conference presentations
- Golden, K., March., J., Wilks, C., McLean, J., Ross, J., & Cunningham, S. J. Investigating the influence of self-referential pronouns on children’s close reading performance. BPS Developmental Section Conference (virtual). Sept. 2021.
- Ahmed, Z., Cunningham, S. J., & McLean, J. Can self-cues be used to support children's verbal working memory? BPS Developmental Section Conference (virtual). Sept. 2021.
- Cunningham, S. J., Hutchison, J., & Ross, J. How do self-reference effects change across childhood? Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting (virtual). April 2021.
- Ahmed, Z., Cunningham, S. J., & McLean, J. Can the ‘self’ enhance children’s verbal working memory? Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting (virtual). April 2021.
- March, J., Golden, K., Ahmed, Z., McLean, J. & Cunningham, S. J. Investigating the effect of self-referential cues and working memory on children's maths performance. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting (virtual). April 2021.
- Ahmed, Z., Cunningham, S. J. & McLean, J. Investigating the relationship between self-referencing and children’s visuospatial working memory: can ownership support working memory? BPS Developmental and Social Annual Conference. Stoke, August 2019.
- Cunningham, S. J., Ahmed, Z., Rhodes, S., Gow, A., Macmillan, K. & Ross, J. Self-processing in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). International Convention on Psychological Science. Paris, March 2019.
- Ross, J., Hutchison, J. & Cunningham, S. J. Development of self-reference effects. International Convention on Psychological Science. Paris, March 2019.
- Ahmed, Z., Cunningham, S. J., Ross, J. & Rhodes, S. Exploring the self-reference effect in ADHD. BPS Developmental Section Annual Conference, Liverpool, Sept. 2018.
- Ross, J., Hutchison, J., & Cunningham, S. J. Growing me: The development of the self-reference effect across childhood. BPS Developmental Section Annual Conference, Liverpool, Sept. 2018
- Cunningham, S. J., Hutchison, J., & Ross, J. Development of incidental and explicit self-reference effects reveals distinct cognitive mechanisms. BPS Cognitive Section Annual Conference, Liverpool, Aug. 2018.
- Ross, J., Hutchison, J., & Cunningham, S. J., The me in memory: Using the self-reference effect to measure development in the autobiographical self. BPS Cognitive Section Annual Conference, Liverpool, Aug. 2018.
- Cunningham, S. J., Hutchison, J., Ross, J. & Martin, D. Self-biases in recall: Applying ownership effects in education. BPS Developmental Section Annual Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon, Sept. 2017.
- Ross, J., Hutchison, J., & Cunningham, S. J. Self-processing biases in event memory: Implications for the development of self-awareness. BPS Developmental Section Annual Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon, Sept. 2017.
- Cunningham, S. J., Hutchison, J., & Martin, D. The ownership effect in memory: applications for learning. International Convention on Psychological Science, Vienna, March 2017.
Schools and educators
Workshops and Continuing Professional Development sessions
We are leading research into the positive effects of self-processing biases on children's learning. We can advise on strategies and methodologies to improve children's task engagement and performance, by capitalising on self-cues. For more details, please contact Prof Sheila Cunningham (s.cunningham@abertay.ac.uk)
With support from:
