I’m a psychological scientist interested in what drives human sociality and how we make sense of other minds—human and nonhuman alike.

I’m especially curious about how people come to perceive other social beings, where we draw the boundaries of moral concern, and how research can support meaningful, evidence-based change.

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I joined the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at the University of Canterbury in 2024. Prior to that, I taught for more than 20 years at both large and small universities across Te Ika-a-Māui, Australia, and the United States.

I have supervised dozens of postgraduate research projects, including seven doctoral students, and I enjoy mentoring early-career researchers across a range of topics.

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I am a cognitive scientist and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury. I teach courses on forensic psychology and psychology and law.
My research focuses on how forensic science practitioners make decisions in their work. How does a fingerprint examiner determine whether two fingerprints are from the same person or two different people? How does a firearms examiner decide whether two cartridge cases have been fired from the same gun or two different guns? I am interested in the psychology behind how forensic scientists make these decisions to better understand how we can train and select forensic examiners in the future to increase professional performance.
I aim to develop training programs in my work to train current forensic scientists, and work out ways to select forensic experts in the future. I am keen to work with Postgraduate students in investigating these ideas and developing evidence-based ways to improve performance in forensic science.

• 2 Keynotes 

• 4 workshops

• Panels, quizzes and spotlights.

• Plenty of time to connect over kai.

• Discover new ideas and meet new colleagues 

Stay in central Christchurch or out near UC campus. There are a range of motels, AirBnB and hostels available. No Halls of Residence support this year. 

More details on the programme of events is available on delegates page.