Dr Lisa Reidy PhD

I joined Sheffield Hallam University in 2004 and have undertaken various academic roles relating to course leadership and recruitment. For example, in 2008 I established the MSc Developmental Psychology; a specialist award also accredited by the British Psychological Society as a conversion award - a novel design at the time. I became International Lead for the Department of Psychology, Sociology & Politics in 2012, Faculty International Lead in 2014 and Faculty Head of International Recruitment in 2016. My work involves the development and promotion of courses (such as Law, Education, Architecture, Built Environment and the Social Sciences: from pre-degree level to Masters) around the world, particularly in China, South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Alongside this role, I teach abnormal, developmental and animal psychology and supervise PhD in related areas.

I conducted my PhD research on the special abilities of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Goldsmiths, University of London). My postdoctoral research was on the cognitive profiles of individuals with autism and their relatives, as part of a larger molecular genetic study of Autism (Institute of Psychiatry). I was also a researcher on a case-control study of autism and the MMR vaccination (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). I continue to research autism, particularly with colleagues at Sheffield Hallam's Autism Centre, although my focus has shifted to autism within an educational context. I am also conducting research with international students (which links with my business role), including an exploration of the psychological predictors of adjustment and achievement for overseas students in the UK. I retain a strong research interest in developmental psychology, particularly through my work with doctoral students, which includes the study of social cognition and emotion recognition in teenagers and older age adults.  

Principal Lecturer

Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics

Social Sciences and Arts

Psychology, Sociology and Politics

• Psychology Research Group

I conducted my PhD research on the special abilities of individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (Goldsmiths, University of London). My postdoctoral research was on the cognitive profiles of individuals with autism and their relatives, as part of a larger molecular genetic study of autism (Institute of Psychiatry). I was also a researcher on a case-control study of autism and the MMR vaccination (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). I continue to research autism, particularly with colleagues at Sheffield Hallam's Autism Centre, although my focus has shifted onto autism within an Educational context.  I am also conducting research with international students (which links to my business role), including an exploration of the psychological predictors of adjustment and achievement for overseas students in the UK. I retain a strong interest in developmental psychology, particularly through my work with doctoral  students, which includes the study of cognition and emotion recognition in teenagers and older age adults.

Journal articles

Hodge, N., Rice, E.J., & Reidy, L. (2019). 'They're told all the time they're different': how educators understand development of sense of self for autistic pupils. Disability and Society. http://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1594700

Darabi, M., Macaskill, A., & Reidy, L. (2017). A qualitative study of UK academic role: positive features, negative aspects and associated stressors in a mainly teaching-focused university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 41 (4), 566-580. http://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2016.1159287

Lethbridge, E., Richardson, P., Reidy, L., & Taroyan, N. (2017). Exploring the Relationship between Callous-Unemotional Traits, Empathy Processing and Affective Valence in a General Population. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 13 (1), 162-172. http://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v13i1.1179

Darabi, M., Macaskill, A., & Reidy, L. (2016). Stress among UK academics : identifying who copes best? Journal of Further and Higher Education, 41 (3), 393-412. http://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2015.1117598

Moore, D., Reidy, J., & Heavey, L. (2016). Attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder individuals : searching for a Face-in-the-Crowd. Autism, 20 (2), 163-171. http://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315573637

Taylor, S., Barker, L., Reidy, L., & Mchale, S. (2015). The longitudinal development of social and executive functions in late adolescence and early adulthood. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00252

Yafai, A.-.F., Verrier, D., & Reidy, L. (2014). Social conformity and autism spectrum disorder : a child-friendly take on a classic study. Autism, 18 (8), 1007-1013. http://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313508023

Taylor, S., Barker, L., Reidy, L., & Mchale, S. (2012). The typical developmental trajectory of social and executive functions in late adolescence and early adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 49 (7), 1253-1265. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0029871

Moore, D.J., Heavey, L., & Reidy, J. (2012). Attentional processing of faces in ASD: a dot-probe study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42 (10), 2038-2045. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1449-4

Checkley, R., Reidy, L., Chantler, S., Hodge, N., & Holmes, K. (2012). “Black white zebra orange orange”: How children with autism make use of computer-based voice output communication aids in their language and communication at school. Journal of Assistive Technologies, 6 (4), 245-258. http://doi.org/10.1108/17549451211285744

Heavey, L., Hermelin, B., Crane, L., & Pring, L. (2012). The structure of savant calendrical knowledge. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 54 (6), 507-513. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2012.04250.x

Checkley, R., Hodge, N., Chantler, S., Reidy, L., & Holmes, K. (2010). What children on the autism spectrum have to ‘say’ about using high-tech voice output communication aids (VOCAs) in an educational setting. Journal of Assistive Technologies, 4 (1), 25-37. http://doi.org/10.5042/jat.2010.0042

Smeeth, L., Cook, C., Fombonne, E., Heavey, L., Rodrigues, L.C., Smith, P.G., & Hall, A.J. (2004). Rate of first recorded diagnosis of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders in United Kingdom general practice, 1998 to 2001. BMC Medline, 2. http://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-2-39

Smeeth, L., Cook, C., Fombonne, E., Heavey, L., Rodrigues, L.C., Smith, P.G., & Hall, A.J. (2004). MMR vaccination and pervasive developmental disorders: a case-control study. The lancet, 364 (9438), 963-969. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17020-7

Fombonne, E., Heavey, L., Smeeth, L., Rodrigues, L.C., Cook, C., Smith, P.G., ... Hall, A.J. (2004). Validation of the diagnosis of autism in general practitioner records. BMC public health, 4. http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-4-5

Theses / Dissertations

Lethbridge, E.M. (2015). Callous-unemotional trait modulation of the neurological processing of empathy and emotion. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Richardson, P., Reidy, L., & Taroyan, N.

Reynolds, J.P. (2015). The age of onset of cannabis use and executive function. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Mchale, S., Barker, L., & Reidy, L.

Darabi, M. (2013). Character strength and stress management in academic staff : A positive psychology perspective. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Macaskill, A., & Reidy, L.

Moore, D.J. (2010). The social cognition and attentional preferences of autistic adults. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Reidy, L., Francis, J., & Garner, I.

Hancock, R. (n.d.). The development of real-world and counterfactual-world inference generation abilities during adolescence. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Reidy, L., Morgan, J., & Reynolds, D.