Senior Lecturer in Psychology
I am a Chartered Developmental Psychologist with expertise in the field of Autism/Neurodiversity. My current research focuses on understanding factors that impact on wellbeing among autistic people across the lifespan. I am particularly interested in interpersonal relationships and victimisation, social identity and stigma, and increasing accessibility for neurodivergent people in higher education. I use innovative, mixed methods (quantitative, qualitative, and arts-based) approaches to address research questions, and have a passion for co-design and participatory working.
I am a Fellow of Higher Education Academy and a member of the Experimental Psychology Society, and International Society for Autism Research. I am also a member of British Psychological Society Developmental Section, and co-editor of the BPS Developmental Forum.
Teaching and supervision
I teach across a range of modules on both the undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology courses. My specialist areas of expertise are development and neurodiversity.
Undergraduate study
I am Module Leader for:
- Stage 2 PSY266 Investigating Complex issues in Psychology
- Stage 3 PSY380 Research to Reality
- Stage 3 PSY390 Development and Neurodiversity
I supervise empirical projects at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Current PhD students
Nesrin Elmarakbi 'Creative Design Thinking Approach to Support the Complex Learning Environment of the Classroom for Autistic Children'.
Research interests for potential research students
Research
I am interested in how autistic people experience the social world. My current projects focus on:
Interpersonal Victimisation: Research suggests that Autistic people are more likely to experience abuse at the hands of people they know and trust. We have been studying the experiences of autistic people, and looking at what we can do to a) prevent victimisation, and b) provide support for autistic people who have been victimised.Autistic Identity: Autistic people experience stigma and dehumanisation, which can contribute towards the masking of autistic identity. Our current projects in this area are focused on understanding the development of masking, and what contributes towards a positive sense of self for autistic people.
Publications
Article
Alderson-Day, Ben and Pearson, Amy (2023) What can neurodiversity tell us about inner speech, and vice versa? A theoretical perspective. Cortex. ISSN 00109452
Natri, Heini M., Abubakare, Oluwatobi, Asasumasu, Kassiane, Basargekar, Abha, Beaud, Flavien, Botha, Monique, Bottema‐Beutel, Kristen, Brea, Maria Rosa, Brown, Lydia X. Z., Burr, Daisy A., Cobbaert, Laurence, Dabbs, Chris, Denome, Donnie, Rosa, Shannon Des Roches, Doherty, Mary, Edwards, Beth, Edwards, Chris, Liszk, Síle Ekaterin, Elise, Freya, Fletcher‐Watson, Sue, Flower, Rebecca L., Fuller, Stephanie, Gassner, Dena, Onaiwu, Morénike Giwa, Good, Judith, Grant, Aimee, Haddix, Vicki L., Heraty, Síofra, Hundt, Andrew, Kapp, Steven K., Keates, Nathan, Kulshan, Trayle, Lampi, Andrew J., Latimer, Oswin, Leadbitter, Kathy, Tidd, Jennifer Litton, Manalili, Marie, Martin, Menelly, Millichamp, Anna, Morton, Hannah, Nair, Vishnu, Pavlopoulou, Georgia, Pearson, Amy, Pellicano, Liz, Porter, Hattie, Poulsen, Rebecca, Robertson, Zoe S., Rodriguez, Kayla, Roux, Anne, Russell, Mary, Ryan, Jackie, Sasson, Noah, Grier, Holly Smith, Somerville, Mark, Sorensen, Cole, Stockwell, Kayden M., Szymanski, Tauna, Thompson‐Hodgetts, Sandy, van Driel, Martine, VanUitert, Victoria, Waldock, Krysia, Walker, Nick, Watts, Courtney, Williams, Zachary, Woods, Richard, Yu, Betty, Zadow, Meghan, Zimmerman, Jordyn and Zisk, Alyssa Hillary (2023) Anti‐ableist language is fully compatible with high‐quality autism research: Response to Singer et al. (2023). Autism Research, 16 (4). pp. 673-676. ISSN 1939-3792
Pearson, Amy and Hodgetts, Sophie (2023) “Comforting, Reassuring, and…Hot”: A Qualitative Exploration of Engaging in Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sadism and (Sado)masochism and Kink from the Perspective of Autistic Adults. Autism in Adulthood. ISSN 2573-9581
Rosqvist, Hanna Bertilsdotter, Botha, Monique, Hens, Kristien, O'Donoghue, Sarinah, Pearson, Amy and Stenning, Anna (2023) Being, Knowing, and Doing: Importing Theoretical Toolboxes for Autism Studies. Autism in Adulthood, 5 (1). pp. 15-23. ISSN 2573-9581
Spaeth, Elliott and Pearson, Amy (2023) Reflective Analysis on Neurodiversity and Student Wellbeing. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 11 (2). pp. 109-120. ISSN 2051-9788
Manalili, Marie A. R., Pearson, Amy, Sulik, Justin, Creechan, Louise, Elsherif, Mahmoud, Murkumbi, Inika, Azevedo, Flavio, Bonnen, Kathryn L., Kim, Judy S., Kording, Konrad, Lee, Julie J., Obscura, Manifold, Kapp, Steven K., Röer, Jan P. and Morstead, Talia (2023) From Puzzle to Progress: How Engaging With Neurodiversity Can Improve Cognitive Science. Cognitive Science, 47 (2). pp. 1-11. ISSN 0364-0213
Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, Hanna, Botha, Monique, Hens, Kristien, O’Donoghue, Sarinah, Pearson, Amy and Stenning, Anna (2022) Cutting our own keys: New possibilities of neurodivergent storying in research. Autism. ISSN 1362-3613
Pearson, Amy, Surtees, Andrew, Crompton, Catherine J., Goodall, Craig, Pillai, Dhanya, Sedgewick, Felicity and Au-Yeung, Sheena K. (2022) Editorial: Addressing community priorities in autism research. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. pp. 1-4. ISSN 1664-1078
Hobson, Hannah, Poole, Daniel, Pearson, Amy and Fletcher-Watson, Sue (2022) Opening up autism research: Bringing open research methods to our field. Autism, 26 (5). pp. 1011-1013. ISSN 1362-3613
Pearson, Amy, Rose, Kieran and Rees, Jon (2022) ‘I felt like I deserved it because I was autistic’: Understanding the impact of interpersonal victimisation in the lives of autistic people. Autism, 27 (2). pp. 500-511. ISSN 1362-3613
Pavlopoulou, Georgia, Usher, Claire and Pearson, Amy (2022) ‘I can actually do it without any help or someone watching over me all the time and giving me constant instruction’: Autistic adolescent boys' perspectives on engagement in online video gaming. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. pp. 1-15. ISSN 0261-510X
Pearson, Amy, Rees, Jon and Forster, Samantha (2022) “This Was Just How This Friendship Worked”: Experiences of Interpersonal Victimization Among Autistic Adults. Autism in Adulthood. pp. 1842-10. ISSN 2573-9581
Lonbay, Sarah, Pearson, Amy, Hamilton, Emma, Higgins, Pat, Foulkes, Emma and Glascott, Michelle (2021) Trauma informed participatory research: Reflections on co-producing a research proposal. Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 14 (1). ISSN 1836-3393
Lonbay, Sarah, Pearson, Amy, Hamilton, Emma, Higgins, Pat, Foulkes, Emma and Glascott, Michelle (2021) Trauma informed participatory research: Reflections on co-producing a research proposal. Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 14 (1). pp. 1-8. ISSN 1836-3393
Miller, Danielle, Rees, Jon and Pearson, Amy (2021) “Masking Is Life”: Experiences of Masking in Autistic and Nonautistic Adults. Autism in Adulthood. ISSN 2573-959X
Pearson, Amy and Rose, Kieran (2021) A Conceptual Analysis of Autistic Masking: Understanding the Narrative of Stigma and the Illusion of Choice. Autism in Adulthood, 3 (1). ISSN 2573-959X
Pearson, Amy and Hodgetts, Sophie (2020) Can Cerebral Lateralisation Explain Heterogeneity in Language and Increased Non-right Handedness in Autism? A literature review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 105 (103738). ISSN 0891-4222
Forster, Samantha and Pearson, Amy (2019) “Bullies tend to be obvious”: Autistic Adults Perceptions of Friendship and the Concept of ‘Mate Crime’. Disability and Society.
Pearson, Amy, Marsh, Lauren, Ropar, Danielle and Hamilton, Antonia (2016) Cognitive Mechanisms underlying visual perspective taking in typical and ASC children. Autism Research, 9 (1). pp. 121-130. ISSN 1939 3792
Marsh, L. E., Pearson, Amy, Ropar, D. and Hamilton, A. F. de C. (2015) Predictive Gaze During Observation of Irrational Actions in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45 (1). pp. 245-261. ISSN 0162-3257
Pillai, Dhanya, Sheppard, Elizabeth, Ropar, Danielle, Marsh, Lauren, Pearson, Amy and Mitchell, Peter (2014) Using Other Minds as a Window Onto the World: Guessing What Happened from Clues in Behaviour. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44 (10). pp. 2430-2439. ISSN 0162-3257
Marsh, L., Pearson, Amy, Ropar, D. and Hamilton, A. (2013) Children with autism do not overimitate. Current Biology, 23 (7). R266-R268. ISSN 09609822
Pearson, Amy, Ropar, Danielle and de C. Hamilton, Antonia F. (2013) A review of visual perspective taking in autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7. ISSN 1662-5161
Conference or Workshop Item
Storey, Soph, Botha, Monique, Hodgetts, Sophie and Pearson, Amy (2023) Masking among gender minority autistic adults. In: INSAR 2023, 3-6 May 2023. (Submitted)
Book
Pearson, Amy and Rose, Kieran (2023) Autistic Masking: Understanding Identity Management and the Role of Stigma. Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd. ISBN 9781803882116
Other
Pearson, Amy, Woods, Richard, Morgan, Hayley and Botha, Monique (2021) Creating truly radical change in autism research: A response to Frith and Mottron. Autism Research 14 (10).
- Autism
- Child and adult development
- Neurodiversity
- Social cognition
- Perspective taking
- Socio-economic status and psychological health
- Mental health stigma
- Social communication
- Inequality
