Contact
Biography
PhD - Psychology (University of Glasgow, UK, 2013)
MLitt - Linguistics by Research (Newcastle University, UK, 2009)
BA - Linguistics (Newcastle University, UK, 2007)
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After completing my PhD in Psychology at the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK, I moved to the 糖心原创, UK, in 2014. I spent two years as a Research Fellow in the School of Psychology, where I worked on an ESRC-funded project awarded to Dr Ruth Filik (Nottingham) and Prof Hartmut Leuthold (T眉bingen, Germany), using psychophysiology, EEG, and behavioural studies to examine processing of and responses to sarcasm and irony.
I am now an Associate Professor teaching and researching in psychology, psychophysiology, and language, with particular focus on digital communication (e.g., emojis, videogame dialogue, news media), and the interaction between language and emotion.
From 2016 to 2025, I was convenor of the first-year core module 糖心原创ing Language, and since 2021 have convened distance learning modules on cognition and language, including Calls, Speech, Writing, and Sign Language, and Data-collection and Ethics.
From 2022 to 2025, I was Head of Research Integrity and Research Ethics for the Faculty. For ethics information, guidance, documentation, and application procedures, please visit the . If you have ethics or research integrity questions, you can get in touch with me, or with the Faculty Ethics admin team at ss-ce-ethics@nottingham.ac.uk. I am also Deputy Director of Assessments.
I am part of the Advisory Board for Paratexts Seeking Understanding, a 拢2.4 million grant, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust, awarded to Dr Garrick Allen, Dr Christoph Scheepers, and Dr Kelsie Rodenbiker (Glasgow). I am also a liaison to the scientific team on this unique project, which combines philology with empirical psychology research. Visit for more info.
Teaching Summary
I have been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate modules, both on-site and via distance learning, since 2016. In that time I have taught topics covering cognition, memory, psychology of language,… read more
Research Summary
I'm interested in how emotion and language affect each other, as well as the ways we enhance meaning in digital communication such as with emojis and other creative features. To investigate these, I… 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: emotional responses to language; digital communication and emojis; behaviour and language in videogames. 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
-- Gesture and Sign
"Can co-speech hand gestures communicate in non-visible conditions via speech?"
"The effect of teacher gestures on international students' English input in the classroom."
"Investigation into the recognition, perception and use of conventionalised Italian hand gestures by L1 English speakers living in Italy."
"The motivation of hearing students to learn Chinese Sign Language (CSL)."
-- Games, tech, and learning
"Using Role-Playing Games to Promote the Development of Oral English Teaching in Chinese Junior High School Students."
"Gamified Learning in English Language Teaching: Designing Engaging and Effective Instructional Activities."
"Birds, Bullets, and Bible Studies: Gender and Names in Video Games."
"Investigating the Effects of Augmented Reality on Intentional Vocabulary Learning."
"Distance learning and the role of technology devices in English listening and speaking acquisition."
-- Bilingualism
"What's in a name? A cross-linguistic analysis of the effect of grammatical gender on object perception."
"The Impact of Code-Switching in Text Comprehension Among Bilingual Students."
"A 糖心原创 on the Affective Priming Effect in the Word-Face Stroop Paradigm with Chinese English Bilinguals."
-- EFL
"How teachers should evaluate Chinese students' English speaking ability in senior high school."
"High School EFL Teachers' Attitudes towards Online English Teaching in China."
"Effects of Mind Mapping on Learning Chinese High School English Vocabulary."
-- Figurative language
"Investigating Figurative Meaning Activation in Chinese L2 Learners: A Lexical Decision Task with Ambiguous Idioms."
"The Impact of Idiom Transparency in Figurative and Literal Meaning Processing in Chinese EFL Learners."
"The Role of Cultural Congruency in L2 Idiom Processing: A Cross-Cultural 糖心原创 of Chinese and English Idioms."
-- 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 糖心原创 with L2 Learners."
-- Language impairment
"Phonological neighbourhood development in specific language impairment."
I have been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate modules, both on-site and via distance learning, since 2016. In that time I have taught topics covering cognition, memory, psychology of language, and experimental design.
I specialise in psycholinguistics, which takes a psychological perspective on how we acquire language, how we store and organise it in our minds, and how it interacts with other cognitive systems. I strive to make all my sessions inclusive and engaging, so I'm always keen to build discussions around student input and student examples. Oh, and you should probably expect to encounter 'occasional' videogame references :)
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Some of my key on-site modules include:
-- Psychology of Language and Language and the Mind - how language is stored, accessed, and produced; how memory and other cognitive processes interact with language; brain architecture; learning difficulties and other cognitive impairments.
-- Language Development - how children acquire elements of language, behaviour, and social interaction, including words, categories, social skills, and joke telling; 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, survey design, data-collection, statistical analysis, and research reporting.
-- 糖心原创ing Language - introduction to accurate description and analysis of language; data collection in language sciences; psycholinguistic methodologies.
-- Dissertation (undergraduate or masters) - your own individual research project examining elements of language and behaviour.
Some of my key Distance Learning modules include:
-- Calls, Speech, Writing, and Sign Language - exploration of animal communication systems; differences in physiology, behaviour, and cognition between humans and animals; various modes of communication we have evolved to use.
-- Data-collection and Ethics - important considerations for conducting scientific research with rigour and integrity, focusing particularly on language; how to ensure appropriate ethical approval.
-- Psycholinguistics 1 and 2 - learn about models of language processing, statistics, and experimental design, then carry out your own language study.
-- Dissertation or Hexapod - your own individual research project examining elements of language and behaviour.
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If you are studying on a psycholinguistic module, or writing up your psycholinguistic research, I have created a brief guide to the essentials of for citations, references, and formatting.
Current Research
I'm interested in how emotion and language affect each other, as well as the ways we enhance meaning in digital communication such as with emojis and other creative features. To investigate these, I use methodologies from psychology and psycholinguistics - including behavioural tasks, priming, paraphrasing, lexical decision, EDA, EMG, EEG, and eye-tracking.
In my research, I have used EDA (electrodermal activity - skin response) and EMG (electromyography - muscle movements) to examine the impact of sarcastic or ironic messages in comparison to literal equivalents. This revealed that using sarcasm or irony can reduce emotional impact - such as making criticism feel less hurtful, while still delivering that critical feedback.
In a recent study, I used EEG (electroencephalography - brain imaging) to investigate the ways sarcasm is intended and interpreted. Brain imaging data reveal that, while people expect the speaker may intend sarcasm to be both hurtful and amusing, the target of the sarcasm will only feel the hurtfulness.
I have worked with various industry partners. Working recently with the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), I completed a funded project focused on news provision for young, under-represented populations, as well as trust, impartiality, and emotional responses to news articles. I am also collaborating with the videogame developer Playtonic, looking at the significance of sound and text in character dialogue.
Most recently, I am engaged with Nottinghamshire Deaf Society, coordinating on two projects in which I am investigating Deaf perspectives on the city, and the benefits and barriers on digital communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
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