Below are some areas of research that members of our Department are interested in. Rather than specific funded projects, they are instead areas of interest which prospective students can get in contact about. The prospective student and supervisor can then look at applying for external funding if applicable.

Dr. Lorena Arnal (lorena.arnal@ul.ie)

I am a cognitive/experimental psychologist mainly focused on serious games, game-based learning and gamification, comprehension, reading and discourse processing. My major expertise field so far has included visual narratives (comics) and visual narrative grammars, eye-tracking, reading comprehension and comparative psychology regarding age differences. This includes topics such as: a) comparative studies between different formats of information delivery (e.g. comics vs texts), b) comparative studies to find differences in comprehension between children and adults, c) deep understanding, classification of, and relations amongst eye-tracking measures, or d) advantages and disadvantages of visual narratives against the more “traditional” text format to deliver information and create narratives. Students can see an example of this field here: Understanding Comics. A Comparison between Children and Adults through a Coherence/Incoherence Paradigm in an Eye-tracking Study.

My newest research interest revolves around teaching through serious games, Game-Based Learning, and Gamification. I am interested in exploring: a) diverse types of game-based learning methodologies, b) available (and new) strategies to turn content into a specific game without losing accuracy and reliability while teaching (and other challenges that may arise from teaching through games), c) ARG (alternate reality games) and transmedia narratives as a new tool to deliver content in educational environments using new technologies, d) design of different tools and methods to deliver gamified content, or e) a deep study of the different uses that transmedia narratives and ARG have been given so far in health, socio-educational, and community contexts (see links to GBL online samples below). Students are encouraged to pick from any of these areas or propose any ideas related to them to develop a project. I have experience working with children, elderly, primary and secondary data analysis, quantitative research and analysis methods, systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Dr. Ann-Marie Creaven (ann-marie.creaven@ul.ie)

  1. Examining informal and peer social support for diet and physical activity in gestational diabetes: A mixed methods study of online social support

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), a prevalent condition during pregnancy, disrupts glucose regulation, necessitating dietary adjustments, physical activity, and, occasionally, medication. Although women often seek information, advice, and support from websites and online support groups, we know very little about the accuracy of this information, nor how women with GDM engage with it. Therefore, this project aims to explore the support available for women through online social support groups (and the accuracy of informational support), and invite women with GDM to share their views and experiences of informal social support, using a survey. This project will be co-supervised with Dr Alexandra Cremona (Associate Professor & Dietician) and involve collaboration with hospital diabetologists also.

  1. Exploring the role of built environment in loneliness in young adulthood

Loneliness is a negative emotional experience that accompanies our perception that our social relationships are inadequate in some way. Although loneliness is often viewed as an issue only for older adults, it can be experienced across the lifespan. In fact, young adults have comparable, if not higher, levels of loneliness relative to older adults. We are looking for a candidate interested in pursuing a masters by research on either a full-time or part-time basis who will explore neighbourhood/community/structural factors relevant to loneliness, an understudied area at present. The masters candidate will work alongside Dr Creaven and engage with the national Loneliness Taskforce Research Network. For both projects we will support the candidate to develop their own particular interests and skillset during the course of the masters/PhD.

Professor Eric R. Igou (eric.igou@ul.ie)

Professor Eric R. Igou is an internationally known and highly respected researcher in social psychology and decision-making. He has supervised many Ph.D. students to completion. He is a dedicated supervisor and believes in the long-term benefits of scholars who receive strong mentorship. Most former PhD students have developed excellent careers in social psychology and decision-making. Professor Igou’s first PhD student (and the first one to graduate with a Ph.D. in Psychology at UL) was Dr. Wijnand van Tilburg (University of Essex). Both have jointly published approximately 50 papers and book chapters, most of them on the nature and the consequences of boredom. Professor Igou also has ongoing collaborations with other former PhD students, such as Associate Professor Elaine L. Kinsella, Assistant Professor Cillian McHugh, Assistant Professor Andrew B. Moynihan, Assistant Professor Aoife Whiston, and Associate Professor Paul D. Maher (all UL).

Professor Igou’s expertise for research supervision falls in the areas of Emotions, Subjective Well-Being, Person Perception, Attitudes, and Biases in Decision Making. More specifically, he offers to supervise research on boredom, disillusionment, positive emotions, heroism, morality, attitude change, and heuristic processes in person perception.

Professor Igou’s research is further described on the following websites: Social Psychology Network Google Scholar

Dr. Elaine Kinsella (elaine.kinsella@ul.ie)

Dr. Elaine Kinsella is interested in working with researchers and students on projects that explore the interface between social and personal factors that shape activism and heroism, health and wellbeing, and work performance.

Dr. Andrew B. Moynihan (andrew.moynihan@ul.ie)

My research background is in social and existential psychology. Primarily, I investigate how existential threats to meaning in life (e.g., boredom, loneliness) promote escape behaviours from those adverse, existential experiences. My research is framed using the tenets of the ‘existential escape hypothesis’ (Wisman, 2006). According to this framework, people may engage in hedonic or interpersonal behaviours involving low levels of self-awareness as an escape when they experience an existential threat to meaning in life. To date, examples of escape behaviours I have investigated in my research include unhealthy eating, impulsiveness, conformity, interest in sex, pornography consumption, and alcohol consumption (see Moynihan et al., 2021). I am happy to discuss potential PhD projects on existential escape behaviours. I only use quantitative research methods.