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We currently do not offer any postgraduate taught degrees in this area.
If you are interested in postgraduate study in Psychology or Forensic Science, why not review our areas of Postgraduate Research?
Please see below for our areas of research focus in this Division.
Or, if you are looking for something specific, check the full list of university-wide research opportunities here.
The Psychology and Forensic Sciences research profile is integrated within the University’s Health & Care Across the Lifespan, Security, Equality & Social Justice, Creative Industries & Cultural Vitality, and Sustainable Development & Inclusive Living Challenge Spaces.
We have research groupings in toxicology; finger printing and trace evidence/provenance; the psychology of policing and the criminal justice system; vision science in biology and technology; evolutionary and biological approaches to behaviour (EBAB); socio-cognitive development, learning and language.
In Psychology we are actively involved in many community projects and have strong research links with local, national and international organisations, and are part of established research networks and collaborations with researchers worldwide. As part of a highly collaborative and diverse group of scholars at Abertay, we are particularly invested in inter-disciplinary research and are innovative in the use of creative technology in understanding and developing human behaviour.
In Forensic Science, recent work includes tracing illicit drugs, detecting fingerprints on polymer banknotes and fabrics, and detecting fingerprints on feathers to identify wildlife crime. We work with police forces and the Home Office to contribute to government, policing and research-informed best practice guidance.
Members of the forensic science team include a mix of academics, researchers, former police officers, and crime scene examiners. Research is conducted in collaboration with the Scottish Police Authority and the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology.
Work on visual
Work on visual perception examines how different types of colouration in nature to help to optimise camouflage and warning colouration in real-world contexts, while simultaneously improving understanding of visual systems. Other work tackles the problems that occur in computer interfaces by using animation techniques to effectively guide user attention in complex visual arrays. This research has developed novel interactive experiences to support special user groups such as older or disabled users, e.g. the Tapology project.
Neuroscience research examines the neural basis of a variety of abilities such as aesthetic experience of dance, body structure representation, mathematical cognition and visuospatial attention. Other research evaluates cognitive change in dementia and Parkinsons.
Evolutionary psychology has combined with cultural evolution and developmental psychology within this research group which integrates ontogenetic and phylogenetic approaches.
Research on self processing considers that humans are biased not to miss important information about the self because it captures attention, evokes certain physiological responses and is linked to rich memories. It examines how these biases develop in children, how they are affected by developmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and how they can be harnessed to improve learning in academic settings.
Research on language learning and processing investigates how children and adults represent linguistic structure, how they learn and use different linguistic variants, such as dialects or speech registers, and how this may impact lexical representation and literacy acquisition. Some of our research on this work has featured on the BBC Timeline series.
Research on the evolution of social and cognitive abilities compares specific abilities like object use, problem solving, social learning strategies, and prosocial, cooperative behaviours in non-human primates (such as gibbons, chimpanzees and bonobos) with human children and adults. Research on evolutionary origins of individual differences examines influences on romantic and social attraction and the origins and consequences of laterality differences by exploring factors such as masculinity, femininity, dominance, competition and rivalry as well as the relationship between laterality, emotion, behavioural inhibition and task performance.
An example of our forensic psychology and missing persons research includes interdisciplinary research on missing people which is aimed at understanding the varied circumstances and outcomes involved. This is to enable different agencies e.g. law-enforcement practitioners, health care services, voluntary sector organisations and other academics throughout the UK and internationally, to prevent, protect and support those affected by missing and to strengthen global academic understanding of missing.
Our forensic science staff have expertise in fingerprint and latent fingermark research. Recovery challenges arise when multiple evidence types occur in combination on the same substrate, such as latent marks and inks, and when recovering from complex surfaces such as fabrics and banknotes. We work with police forces and the Home Office and contribute to government, policing and research-informed best practice. Our recent projects include identification of a single step process to reduce detection time from over 24hrs to 30mins, detecting fingerprints on polymer banknotes and fabrics, and identification of fingermark development formulations that are less harmful to the environment. Together with Scottish and English police forces, we have developed the use of a holistic approach to study overlap of DNA and fingerprint testing techniques. Our recent research to improve the detection of fingerprints on feathers will help to identify wildlife crime. We also work on detecting and tracing illicit products and drugs, and understanding their behaviour in the body.
For Job Openings, including Research Fellowships, in our School view the job search section on our website.
For PhD Studentships in any of our Subject areas, check out the Funded research projects and Postgraduate Research Funding sections.