Despite the process of learning often being studied individually, learning is often done with other people. We learn this way throughout life, from our younger years to older age. Ageing is associated with changes to cognitive abilities, which in turn affect the ability to storage and recall (new) information. However, the support and social aspect of learning with another person, such as a spouse, might benefit older adults' learning performance. As such, I investigate under what circumstances older adults learn better with another person versus alone; it may be that this benefit depends on the (existing) relationship between learning partners or the materials used. To learn more about this, my research focuses on the various aspects of collaborative learning, such as task performance but also on the interaction between pairs, such as the words they use or different strategies.

If this topic interests you, I would direct you to a recent systematic review on this topic, published in 2023 in Royal Society Open Science.

Research has made clear that older adults benefit from learning socially. However, not everyone has a spouse, family member or friend (nearby) to learn with and support their cognitive functioning. To this end, I am interested in applying robotics to support cognitive ageing socially. For example, using a robot to complete tasks and problem-solve. I am currently working on a project with Professor Sarah MacPherson and Dr Mauro Dragone on collaborative learning with a social robot, for which data collection has finished in August 2024.

If these are topics you are interested in and would like to collaborate on with me, please get in touch.

In my research, I aim to be as transparent as possible about my justifications, expectations, methods and results. To this end, I apply Open Science principles throughout my work. So far, every first author publication to my name is a Registered Report publication (August 2023), with the large majority of my work being Registered Reports or preregistered works. My study data and scripts are available on OSF where possible, including manuscripts and additional materials. I also share any slides or materials from talks and presentations on OSF. I am always happy to answer questions on how to incorporate Open Science principles into research, or any questions about my work.

Life is accompanied by a variety of risks, from physical to financial. How different types of risk affect us changes with age, as some risks (physical) become more consequential than they were, or may have seemed, before. Despite the general assumption that older adults are risk averse, studies often find that older people do take risks, both in experimental settings and in daily life. So what drives these age differences in risky decisions? I am interested in whether age differences in risk-taking and risk perception are due to people's individual preference towards risk, or changes to cognitive abilities that may affect how we view and experience risk. 

If this is a topic that interests you, I recommend my 2021 publication on age differences and risky behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic.