PhD Students

My research focuses on the processing of metaphors in a second language. I use the psycholinguistics labs to run eye-tracking experiments that help me collect online data on people’s eye-movement when reading metaphors compared to plain literal language. For example, my first experiment involved second language speakers of English reading metaphors from their first language, which were translated and presented in English. In this way, I could observe whether participants reading behaviour in the second language is similar to those who speak English as a first language. Overall, working with the eye-tracker in the lab is an important part of my PhD experience as I can obtain very detailed data on how often participants skip certain words, or how long they spend reading specific words or sentences.  

My research investigates the cognitive processing of taboo and offensive language, particularly concerning how the processing of slurs might be affected by the practice of linguistic reclamation. In addition to two survey-based studies, I have used the Psycholinguistics labs at the University of Nottingham to conduct three experimental studies. Two of these studies focused on the amount of time participants spent between reading a slur and identifying its meaning, as well as how memorable the slurs were to participants following completion of the main task. The third study used the labs' eye-tracking technology to measure pupil dilation (a physiological measure of emotional arousal) in response to reading slurs.       

I use the Psycholinguistics lab at the University of Nottingham to investigate different aspects of Arabic word learning in novice L1 English speakers with no previous exposure to the language. My first study in Spring-Summer 2017 involved a multi-modal word-learning task where participants were presented with audio and images alongside the phonetic transcription of 40 Arabic words. They were provided with feedback to learn the words in the E-Prime program and returned 5-7 days later so I could compare their responses to performance on a new set of words. I am now using the findings of my first study to inform a second study which will focus on familiar and unfamiliar Arabic phonemes in word learning. Working in the Psycholinguistics lab is crucial for the kind of investigations I want to do as I’m not only considering participant performance, but response time data as well.