{"id":475,"date":"2017-10-23T08:35:12","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T08:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/?p=475"},"modified":"2017-10-16T10:42:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T10:42:27","slug":"statement-for-excellence-in-research-degrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/2017\/10\/23\/statement-for-excellence-in-research-degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement for Excellence in Research Degrees"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr Zo\u00eb Hopkins<\/p>\n

Trite as it sounds, I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I became interested in autism and language. Throughout my undergraduate years (as a student of English Literature, rather than Psychology), I was employed as a support worker on the fabulous Artz and Sportz+ scheme (https:\/\/www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk\/artz<\/a>+), for children with additional needs. At a sports workshop, I was supporting a child with autism who had echolalia; he would repeat words and phrases that I said, over and over again, and it was really difficult for us to hold a conversation with each other. The boy\u2019s use of language suggested to me that, in conversation, there is an \u2018optimum\u2019 amount of language repetition between speakers: too much copying might be disruptive (as it was in the sports workshop), but not using any of the same words as a partner might convey that s\/he wasn\u2019t being listened to. This issue gets even trickier within the context of autism, which is associated with both under- and over-imitation (of language, actions, etc.)\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, language imitation in children with autism became the focus of my Masters thesis at Sussex. As a student on the MSc in Experimental Psychology \u2013 an intensive, year-long conversion degree \u2013 I was attached to the ChaTLab (http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/chatlab\/<\/a>), where I spent a year studying and hearing presentations about children with autism, and their difficulties with social interaction. When I left Sussex in 2011, it was to move to Singapore, where I spent six months as an intern in the autism team of the Child Guidance Clinic (CGC), as part of the Institute of Mental Health (https:\/\/www.imh.com.sg\/clinical\/page.aspx?id=267<\/a>). While working at the CGC, I supported two clinicians to run social skills classes for boys with autism; this experience in particular made me think about why conversation doesn\u2019t always run smoothly for people with autism and their social partners.<\/p>\n

From Singapore, I returned to Sussex in 2012, to take up an EPSRC-funded PhD scholarship in the ChaTLab, entitled \u2018Meeting of Minds in Conversation\u2019. My PhD thesis \u2013 co-supervised by Drs Nicola Yuill (Psychology) and Bill Keller (Informatics) \u2013 considered the conversational difficulties of children with autism from a language-processing perspective, drawing on theories of linguistic alignment<\/em>. Alignment is the tendency for speakers to imitate each other\u2019s language in conversation: it is widely observed in the conversations of typical adults, and is associated with more effective and satisfying interactions (c.f., e.g., Fusaroli et al., 2012). Furthermore, alignment may be influenced by \u2018audience design\u2019 (=tailoring speech to take a listener into account) and social-affective goals; these are recognised areas of impairment for children with autism. In my thesis, I report three experiments, which consider whether atypical alignment could explain why children with autism might find conversation difficult, and in turn why their social partners might find their interactions odd and unrewarding. \u00a0My thesis will be available online soon (http:\/\/sro.sussex.ac.uk\/60608\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Having survived my PhD viva in February 2016, I have since been working as an Assistant Psychologist at the Disabilities Trust, in a residential service for adults with autism and learning disabilities (http:\/\/www.thedtgroup.org\/autism-and-learning-disabilities\/our-services\/hollyrood\/news\/service-user-helps-to-appoint-new-psychologist\/<\/a>). I continue to be intrigued by conversation in autism, and to think about what can be done to support people with autism with their social interaction. Happily, I was offered a post-doctoral position at Edinburgh University, which will allow me to pursue some of the outstanding questions from my PhD. In April 2017, I joined an ESRC-funded project \u2013 \u2018Conversational Alignment in Children with an Autism Spectrum Condition and Typical Children \u2013 led by Professor Holly Branigan; Nicola Yuill is a co-investigator on this project, which will enable me to maintain my connections with the Sussex ChaT Lab.<\/p>\n

I am very excited about the new chapter in my academic career, and welcome enquiries from anyone regarding my research interests. Please consult either my Sussex or Edinburgh University profile pages for contact details.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Academic funding:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) \u2013 doctoral research position<\/p>\n

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) \u2013 post-doctoral research position<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Relevant publications:<\/strong><\/p>\n

My research has involved both experimental paradigms and natural language processing methodology.<\/p>\n

Hopkins, Z., Yuill, N., & Keller, B. (2016). Children with autism align syntax in natural conversation. Applied Psycholinguistics<\/em>, 37<\/em>(2), 347\u2013370. doi:10.1017\/S0142716414000599<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr Zo\u00eb Hopkins Trite as it sounds, I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I became interested in autism and language. Throughout my undergraduate years (as a student of English Literature, rather than…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[98529,98528,24],"tags":[103437,4898,97941],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pafdEV-7F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":429,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/2017\/08\/14\/my-time-on-work-experience-in-the-school-of-psychology-at-the-university-of-sussex\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":0},"title":"My Time on Work Experience in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex","date":"August 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Toby Killeen Hi! I am Toby and I\u2019m a 15 year old schoolboy doing work experience in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex. During the week I have worked all around the School. Here is a short summary of what I did. On Monday I started\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Animal behaviour\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1307,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/2021\/06\/18\/autistic-pride-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":1},"title":"Autistic Pride Day","date":"June 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Prof Nicola Yuill \u00a0Autistic Pride Flag by\u00a0Autistic Empire\u00a0is licensed under a\u00a0Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at\u00a0https:\/\/www.autisticempire.com\/autistic-pride. It sometimes seems there is an awareness day, week or month for every possible cause \u2013 June sees Loneliness Awareness, Men\u2019s Health, National Candy Month and Employer Branding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faculty research"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/files\/2021\/06\/Autistic-Pride-Flag.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1925,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/2023\/03\/30\/my-placement-with-acorns-and-an-ever-growing-interest-in-autism\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":2},"title":"My placement with ACoRNS and an ever-growing interest in autism","date":"March 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Anjali Das As part of World Autism Acceptance Week, Psychology graduate Anjali Das writes about her work placement with the ACoRNs team and the experiences that have influenced her future goals and passion for autism research. One year ago, when I finished my degree, I would have laughed in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/files\/2023\/03\/Anjali-blog-pic.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2095,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/2025\/06\/25\/a-year-of-growth-inside-my-psychology-placement\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":3},"title":"A Year of Growth: Inside My Psychology Placement","date":"June 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As part of her placement year, undergraduate student, Alex Medintu, recently took up the challenge of organizing an event to raise awareness for Autism Acceptance Month. After the event, we had a chat with Alex to find out more about her placement with ACoRN Sussex. I chose to do a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/files\/2025\/06\/photo-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1257,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/2021\/03\/30\/creating-a-society-that-works-for-autistic-people-the-acorns-health-webinar\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":4},"title":"Creating a society that works for autistic people: The ACoRNS Health webinar","date":"March 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Ethan Lam and Prof Nicola Yuill The Autism Community Research Network Sussex was launched last year as a collaboration between Psychology and Education researchers at the University of Sussex and local autism stakeholders involved in education, health and social care services. ACoRNS is a sister organisation to AcoRN Southampton\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Event"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":176,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/2016\/04\/11\/my-first-paper\/","url_meta":{"origin":475,"position":5},"title":"My first paper","date":"April 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jennifer Mankin This spring, my first paper on synaesthesia and language appears in an upcoming edition of Cognition. While I know that getting a paper published is always a rigorous and difficult process \u2013 as indeed it should be \u2013 I am not only excited and nervous for this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Academic Writing\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/files\/2016\/04\/paper-face-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":478,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions\/478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}