MSc PSYCHOLOGY

The following research interests and specialisms are within the Department of Psychology at Maynooth University: 

Dr Laura Coffey 

Exploring the views and experiences of people living with illness, disability and/or difference and finding ways to promote their autonomy, wellbeing and inclusion. Specific interests in amputation and prosthesis use, cancer survivorship, neurodivergence, intellectual disability, self-management and goal adjustment, supported decision-making, participatory autism research.  Emphasis on qualitative and mixed methods approaches incorporating multiple stakeholders’ perspectives and engaged research practices.

Professor Seán Commins 

The neurobiology of spatial navigation, learning and memory. Consolidation of long-term memories. Neural substrates of hippocampal-cortical interactions. Investigation of cognitive deficits following stroke and other disorders.

Professor Louise Connell  

Cognition and cognitive science, especially the mental representation of concepts, sensorimotor grounding of cognition, and role of language and linguistic distributional knowledge in cognition. Interdisciplinary research that spans psychology (experimental and cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics), linguistics (cognitive and corpus linguistics), and artificial intelligence (computational modelling, distributional semantics).  

Professor Andrew Coogan 

We are interested in circadian rhythms and sleep, and their importance for health and wellbeing. Current research interests include assessing how circadian clocks may be involved in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults, developing novel approaches towards the long-term monitoring of sleep/wake cycles  examining the impacts of working time arrangements on sleep and psychological wellbeing, examining day-to-day variability in symptoms of conditions such as narcolepsy, migraine and bipolar disorder and examining how sleep and circadian rhythms can be used in clinical endocrinology to improve disease outcomes. 

Dr Michael Cooke 

Living and working with technology. Human factors and human-computer interaction. Understanding people living and working in complex systems (such as aviation, security, emergency management, health, manufacturing, energy production, critical infrastructures, or any sociotechnical system), the psychology of lived experience (phenomenological perspectives), activity theory, and sociocultural psychology. I am also interested in Critical Psychology and qualitative methods, and Poststructuralist theory. 

Dr Michael Daly 

Lifelong impact of childhood individual differences with a focus on self-control and mental health; psychological and health effects of major stressors (e.g. unemployment, poverty, weight discrimination, the COVID-19 pandemic); longitudinal data.

Dr Constance de Saint Laurent  

Social media, internet cultures, and technological mediation: How digital technologies mediate social interactions and cognition. Social representations, misinformation, and memory: How we understand complex objects (covid, refugee crisis, generative AI), as well as the impact of misinformation and collective memory on how we understand our social environment. 

Professor Deirdre Desmond 

Psychosocial adjustment to illness, injury and disability; Outcomes measurement; rehabilitation; assistive technology. 

Dr Unai Diaz-Orueta 

Neuropsychological assessment using a process-based approach. Virtual reality applications in neuropsychological assessment. Cognitive rehabilitation procedures (both traditional and technology/game-based approaches). Research on the impacts and benefits of videogames in health and cognition. Cognitive assessment in populations with low literacy levels. 

Dr Emma Farrell 

Mental health and wellbeing. Psychology of obesity. Evidence for policy. Nature and wellbeing. 

Professor Philip Hyland  

My research interests fall in the general area of understanding mental health disorders. I primarily focus on disorders associated with stress related life events such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Complex Posttraumatic Disorder, and Prolonged Grief Disorder. I use quantitative research methods to study the nature of mental health disorders, how to measure them appropriately, to identify their causes, and to study their consequences. I tend to focus on cognitive models of psychopathology and am particularly interested in the cognitive-behavioural theory of psychopathology. 

Dr Dermot Lynott 

My research falls broadly within the areas of cognitive science and embodied cognition. I am interested in how people's linguistic, bodily and environmental experience shapes their mental representations and how this affects the way they process the world around them. This research includes investigations of the grounded and situated nature of concepts, the ability of language, body and environment to shape representations and behaviour, and the interplay of linguistic and simulation systems in human cognition. Current projects include modelling of implicit attitudes using language models, using sensorimotor representations to predict language processing, meta-research in open research practices, and developing open research resources. 

Dr Tadhg MacIntyre 

My approach as a scientist-practitioner has been to apply and test robust theoretical frameworks using pragmatic methods to address issues relating to societal challenges. My recent research outputs have included complimentary methods from psychological science and environmental science Converging methods can serve a purpose when the phenomenon in question is as complex and elusive as the challenges we face in cities relating to health, well-being and climate change. Interdisciplinary research, a hallmark of my approach to research, has guided my research on environmental psychology (e.g. nature-based interventions), mental health and well-being (e.g. resilience, climate hope) and motor cognition (e.g. metacognition, embodied cognition, and virtual nature. Current projects, both funded by the EU Horizon programme, include GoGreen Routes and GoGreen Next focus on urban health and nature-based solutions and interventions.

Professor Mac MacLachlan 

Disability, impairment, ageing and chronic illness; service design, implementation and evaluation; social inclusion; assistive and connected technologies; human rights and global health; policy development and implementation; macropsychology; maritime psychology. 

Dr Rebecca Maguire 

Quality of life and psychological well-being in patients living with chronic illness and disability. Caregiver well-being and burden of care. Health-related decision making. Coping with uncertainty. Psychological appraisals. Public and patient involvement in research.

Professor Sinéad McGilloway 

Broadly: The psychological aspects and community context of health care and social problems across the lifespan. Specifically: Child and adult mental health and well-being in the community. Health services research. Intervention/service design, development and evaluation. The health and social care needs of vulnerable and socially excluded groups. Mental health and well-being aspects of palliative/end-of-life care. Systematic reviews. 

Dr Joanna McHugh Power 

Loneliness and social connection, mostly (but not limited to) later life; epidemiology of loneliness; impact of social connection and loneliness on health and mental health; etiology of loneliness. 

Dr Joanne McVeigh 

Organisational psychology, particularly organisational justice. Psychology & Global health, including human rights, equity, and social inclusion. Disability rights. Macropsychology, including the intersection between psychology and policies / law. Maritime psychology.  

Dr Katriona O’Sullivan 

My research focuses on digital equality, equity in education, and inclusion. My research uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine, and understand, the impact of education interventions on education attainment. Research explores how digital skills can bridge educational gaps, particularly for underrepresented groups. My work explores gender issues in STEM, the impact of socio-economic status on educational outcomes, and the development of support structures for students entering higher education through alternative routes. Katriona collaborates with policymakers to influence educational policies and has been involved in significant projects aimed at promoting digital inclusion and equity.

Professor Bryan Roche 

The experimental analysis of complex human behaviour, language and cognition (EAB). Experimental social psychology and implicit attitude measurement. Fear and avoidance conditioning models of human anxiety. Intelligence and the development of behaviourally oriented educational interventions. 

Dr Richard Roche 

Cognitive neuroscience/neuropsychology, particularly memory, ageing, dementia, brain injury and synaesthesia. Current research interests include the use of Reminiscence Therapy in preserving memory and cognitive function in older age and dementia, the use of Neuroeducation for people living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Also interested in the intersection of the arts and sciences/neuroscience, and how the humanities can promote brain health across the life span.

Dr Sadhbh Byrne

Understanding experiences of giving and receiving support and care, focusing on young people. Support from friends, parents, or other caring adults (including healthcare providers), particularly in the context of mental health challenges (including self-harm, suicide, and loneliness). Specific questions include what makes support feel helpful or unhelpful, the roles of empathy and stigma, how non-professional supporters experience compassion fatigue or burnout, and digital contexts of support-giving. Approaching these questions through the lens of developmental psychology, and particularly using qualitative and/or participatory methods.

Dr Peter Murphy

Neural mechanisms of decision-making, working memory and cognitive control; relationships between them; and how they are affected under conditions of brain change (e.g. cognitive aging) and psychological disorder. Computational modelling of behaviour and neural circuits, including training and interrogation of artificial neural networks performing cognitive tasks. Influence of arousal and 'brain state' on cognitive function.  

Dr Siobhan Woods 

Athlete psychological health and well-being, in particular athlete burnout and the factors that predict the onset of burnout; burnout and additional factors impacting psychological well-being in other performance contexts; the role of physical activity in psychological health and well-being.                                                           

For further details on the research specialisms within the Department please visit: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/psychology/our-research