Two easy and fun games assessing mental rotation and object location memory are evaluated by this paper that was published this week: doi.org/10.3390/bs16... These alternatives can complement existing standardised tasks in a way that is accessible across ages/populations/ability levels.

A recent study reported that spatial skills in kindergarten longitudinally predict arithmetic skills in 1st grade, highlighting "the importance of spatial skills in early arithmetic development" and the potential for early interventions focused on spatial skills. Read at: doi.org/10.1037/edu0...

According to this recent paper, overconfidence may be a trait with some stability across tasks: ‘some people may, in fact, be more confident that others - regardless of their actual competency - across a range of tasks.’ Read here: doi.org/10.1177/0956...

Having a wonderful time at #EPSNewcastle, and this morning I got to present my recently published study on the effects of feedback on confidence and performance in a sex/gender sensitive task! Thanks for having me @exppsychsoc.bsky.social ☺️ Link to paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Did you know? A hormone-responsive gene in the brain can reshape brain structure and behavior differently in males and females. These findings help explain why brain disorders can affect men and women differently-and why treatments may need to be sex-specific. #Neuroscience #SABV

🧠 Calling all parents with children between 8 and 11 years old 🧠 Help us understand how children feel about maths and spatial games! Slots available after school and during the Easter holidays; sign up at durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Share widely with anyone who may be interested!

Can a single piece of feedback—true or false—change how well you perform? Confidence plays a surprising role in spatial performance—and the results of a new study suggest that even false feedback can change both. doi.org/10.1007/s105...

🚨 New publication alert‼️🔔 New open access paper from my PhD with @annamatejko.bsky.social and Markus Hausmann now out in #ArchivesofSexualBehavior! We investigated feedback effects on self-perceptions of spatial ability and mental rotation performance across sexes/genders. doi.org/10.1007/s105...

🚨 Newly released issue‼️🔔 Check out the full issue with a host of commentaries (including mine :) ) answering the questions "How many sexes? How many genders?" at this link: link.springer.com/journal/1050... Without spoiling anything, the opinions definitely diverge!

A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies revealed that math anxiety is “just as likely to be a consequence of [low math performance] as it is a cause.” They report that this cycle of mutual influence could be prevented by early math anxiety interventions. Read more at psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/...

Good morning! My dissertation students and I would appreciate your help with our study investigating how neurotypical and neurodivergent people approach multi-tasking. As compensation, you can enter to win 1 of 4 £20 vouchers. Links are below! Email any questions to [email protected] :)

New paper from my postdoc with @brianlevine.bsky.social now out in #PersonalityandIndividualDifferences! We examined how different types of visual imagery relate to #STEM occupations across genders using a dimensional approach to code occupational attributes. 🔗 t.co/jX6214ZY2X

Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵

🚨 New publication alert‼️🔔 Check out my new commentary "The Spectrum of Sex and Gender" answering "How many sexes are there? How many genders are there?" at doi.org/10.1007/s105... This open access commentary delves into some critical current issues, for more info see below or read via the link :)

New paper from the Jansen lab at @uniregensburg.bsky.social surprisingly found a positive relationship between stereotype-consistent associations and mental rotation accuracy in preschool girls, highlighting the complexities within this field of research. Read more at doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...

Had a wonderful time at the @bpsdevsection.bsky.social annual conference at Royal Holloway UoL presenting my research, hearing about cutting edge & inspiring developmental psych research (with lots of talks on math anxiety which I loved), and meeting lovely people!! Thanks for having me 🥰✨🔢🧠💭

Flux @fluxsociety.bsky.social has now ended! Had a great time in Dublin presenting my poster and learning about new & exciting developmental neuroscience research 🧠✨🔢🥰

Day 2 of Flux @fluxsociety.bsky.social completed! I presented my poster on links between sex/gender, spatial/math anxiety and performance in 8-11yo today and got to speak with amazing researchers in the field 🤩✨🧠🔢

Day 1 of Flux @fluxsociety.bsky.social completed! Attended some inspiring talks on bridging educational research with policy and the poster session was super interesting with some evidence supporting the mosaic theory for sex/gender differences 🧠🔢✨

🎓 FLUX is proud to spotlight Dr. Linda Arrighi. Her research aims to understand the underlying factors and developmental trajectories of observed cognitive sex/gender differences, primarily in spatial cognition. Read about her journey now: 👉 buff.ly/jKNbuCf #FLUXSociety #TraineeSpotlight

A new study from our School of Government and International Affairs finds female politicians in the USA are judged more harshly than men. Is US politics trapped in a gender bias? Find out more 👉 www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/...

The Joint EPS X CSBBCS Meeting is now done! Presenting my work was a rewarding experience and I recommend these societies' meetings to all ECRs. I also got some inspiration for future studies from the amazing cogn psych research presented. Thanks to @exppsychsoc.bsky.social for having me! ✨

Day 2 of the joint EPS X CSBBCS meeting completed! Today, I attended some super interesting talks on metacognition, mental imagery, visuospatial skills in progressive supranuclear palsy, as well as an anxiety-inducing but nevertheless great undergraduate prize talk (see below)! ✨

Day 1 of joint EPS and CSBBCS meeting done! Attended a very interesting panel on math development, two prize talks and a poster session with, among others, a fascinating poster on the relationship between math anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and math performance 🤩 @exppsychsoc.bsky.social

This is some real life Yellowface...

Quite enjoyed The Book of Why by Judea Pearl and Dana Mackenzie - a nonfiction book on causal inference that explores human intuition; delves into the sometimes-juicy history of statistics; has lots of causal diagrams to unpick; and reflects on the importance of AIs understanding causes and effects.

In July, we will be travelling to Dundee for our joint scientific meeting with the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science, which will include many prize talks, symposia, posters and much, much more! For full information, please visit: eps.ac.uk/next-meeting/

Richardson (2025) @profrichardson.bsky.social: "The debate over measuring variability in preclinical science shows that operationalizing “sex as a biological variable”... requires... contextual judgements at multiple decision points". @ptpbio.bsky.social #psyscisky #neurosky 🧪 tinyurl.com/3vvah3x7

Trying to stay grounded here in America. Art is my safe place. 🎨 Artist: Sergiu Ciochină

Scholarship for Durham University Students £15,000 for a full-time student from the North East of England and from a lower income household to study full-time for a STEM taught Masters degree for the year 2025-26. Durham people please spread the word! Application form 👇

A common claim in #EvoPsych is that the persistence of psychological sex differences in gender-egalitarian* countries shows that the differences are innate. I've argued that ignores the highly-gender-unequal media environment. Now @larawood.bsky.social has proved me right! #EHBEA #HBES

Paxson (2025): "Science has contributed to... discrimination through biological essentialism, either by assigning specific undesirable biological characteristics to socially-normed... groupings or... assigning a genetic basis for these phenotypic differences." 🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I will be presenting at University of Dundee in around a month's time at the EPS x CSBBCS meeting about topics relevant to EDI in STEM and the news below has reminded me how relevant this is...

Two interesting new papers found that women tend to underestimate their abilities and exhibit more pronounced STEM-related gender-career associations - the latter also applies to AFABs and non-binary individuals. Both studies call the need for targeted interventions to mitigate these (self-)biases.

Public Lecture: Wednesday 19th March Dr Robert Chapman ‘Neurodiversity in the age of Late Fascism’ from 5pm and an exhibition ‘Autism through an Autistic Lens’ from Sarah Dantas 3:30-5pm. Register here: bit.ly/4hEiNeX

Interesting paper about a novel mental rotation task best suited for 9-14yos: the Little Man Task 🕴️ Could be used cross-culturally and seems easy to explain and administer! Although has potential to be more inclusive?

Last push for participants for our study of sex/gender differences in cognition- we desperately need more autistic men and neurotypical men to take part. You will need a computer/laptop with a keyboard to complete the study. www.psytoolkit.org/c/3.6.2/surv...

We almost made it through January! In my first post on this platform, I want to introduce and celebrate my new desk - a space where I am feeling newly inspired and excited about the present and future 👩‍🏫📊🥰✨