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Lifespan Research Network

Lifespan Research Network

The Lifespan Research Network (LRN) is a group of researchers based at Royal Holloway, University of London. We are concerned with the study of how people develop and change throughout their lifetime and the effect of development on cognition, as well as on psychological and emotional well-being.

The Research Network was established to bring together academics and PhD students across many different labs, creating a collaborative environment where we can share ideas and expertise. We maintain a database of individuals interested in psychological research, offering them both the opportunity to participate in new projects and stay informed with our latest findings and initiatives. We aim to create a sense of community with strong network links with the public, engaging members with key aspects of psychology and enhancing our research impact.

 

Research Groups

Have you ever wondered why some children excel academically, while others find it challenging? And why do some children have no trouble making friends, while others struggle? These intriguing questions motivate the research conducted at the DIVERSE lab. We aim to gain insight into the relationship between differences in brain development and variations in social and cognitive development. To tackle these multifaceted and intricate questions, we employ advanced techniques such as big data analysis, machine learning, and computational modelling.

Hub for Interdisciplinary research into Vulnerability to Exploitation (HIVE) is an interdisciplinary group of academics that was first established at Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL) in 2018. Since then we have expanded our network. Our members have backgrounds in law, information security, neuroscience, forensic and developmental psychology. HIVE members are conducting interdisciplinary research into a) improving security awareness and responses to financial elder abuse, and b) online security and safety risks for adolescents with regard to cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Our team is looking to address questions in the above areas using their expertise in:

  • Decision-making and risk-taking
  • Regulatory frameworks, expressive rights and privacy
  • Information Security and privacy risk, and cybercrime
  • Elder Abuse; cyberstalking
  • Self-disclosure and adolescents’ understanding of social media risk

 

Find out more on the HIVE website

Language and Literacy Research Group aims to uncover the nature of the mental representations and computations that underlie aspects of language, literacy, and learning. Our research has earned prizes from the Experimental Psychology Society (2017) and the British Psychological Society (2018), and has been funded by project grants from the BBSRC, ESRC, British Academy, and Leverhulme Trust. 

We have a strong interest in translating my research to improve policies and practices in education and recently won the ESRC 'Celebrating Impact' Prize for Outstanding International Impact (2020). Our research also formed the basis for a REF2021 impact case study.

In the Language and Reading Acquisition (LARA) research lab, we are interested in reading and spoken language development in childhood and adolescence. Our research focuses particularly on the role of vocabulary in reading (both word-level reading and reading comprehension), and reciprocally, the role of reading in vocabulary acquisition. Our research adopts a range of methodological approaches including longitudinal and experimental studies to investigate theoretically and practically motivated questions about language acquisition and development. We work collaboratively with young people, teachers and other interested groups to conduct our research and consider its implications for educational policy and practice.

Find out more on the LARA website.

The lab’s primary focus is identifying how the brains of those with childhood speech and language disorders (such as developmental language disorder, dyslexia, and stuttering) differ from those without these disorders. We want to use this knowledge to improve our understanding of these disorders, as well as improve clinical and educational tools and practices. In our research, we use behavioural paradigms implemented online and in the lab, as well as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Find out more on the NCoDe website

The Baby Lab studies cognitive and sensorimotor development in infancy and early childhood, with a particular focus on how infants develop mental representations of objects, how they learn from books, pictures, and apps, and how their body representations develop.

Find out more on the Royal Holloway Baby Lab website.

The Social Development Lab’s work focuses on examining children and adolescent’s social and emotional development. Our recent work focuses on two key areas. First, we are exploring children’s and adolescents’ understanding of their own and others’ use of online behaviours (understanding of risks and benefits, impression management, disclosure, and ‘reactions’ online) and how this may relate to their feelings of self (e.g., social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and wellbeing) and social outcomes (e.g., cyberbullying, social capital). Second, we are exploring the value of spending time in, and engaging with natural biodiverse environments and how this may link to feelings of self (e.g., anxiety, depressive symptoms, well-being, and resiliency).

Find out more on the Social Development Lab website

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