Dr Martin Thirkettle
Lecturer in Psychology
Summary
As a lecturer, I split my time between teaching and research. I teach on a number of cognitive psychology and research methods modules. My research focuses on cognitive behavioural neuroscience and, broadly, my research interests lie in the way visual information is perceived and then used in cognitive mechanisms to produce behaviour.
About
After receiving my BA in Psychology from the University of Sussex in 2004, I completed my PhD in 2010 at the University of Bristol. In my PhD I used psychophysics to investigate the visual perception of biological motion - the movement of other people as opposed to that of inanimate objects.
After my PhD I moved to the University of Sheffield where I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Here, I employed the experimental methods and stimulus control of psychophysics to allow behavioural responses to test neuroanatomical hypotheses about the contribution of various brain structures to action-outcome learning.
Following this I spent four years at The Open University as a lecturer in the Psychology department, focussing on undergraduate and postgraduate cognitive psychology modules. During this time I became interested in moving my research out of the lab and using online tools or mobile phone apps to study cognitive performance, both in large cohorts and in expert groups.
I joined Sheffield Hallam University in February 2017.
Lecturer
- Visual Perception
- Cognition
Publications
Journal articles
Havard, C., Breese, E., Thirkettle, M., Kask, K., & Leol, K.-.L. (2023). A background of bias: subtle changes in line up backgrounds increase the own race bias. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-023-09578-2
Wilkinson, L.L., Rowe, A.C., Douglas, T., Thirkettle, M., & Nolan, L.J. (2022). Adult attachment anxiety is associated with night eating syndrome in UK and US-based samples: two cross-sectional studies. Appetite, 172, 105968. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.105968
Jones, B.C., DeBruine, L.M., Flake, J.K., Liuzza, M.T., Antfolk, J., Arinze, N.C., ... Coles, N.A. (2021). To which world regions does the valence–dominance model of social perception apply? Nature Human Behaviour. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-01007-2
Williams, L., Butler, J., Thirkettle, M., Stafford, T., Quinlivan, B., MacGovern, E., ... Hutchinson, M. (2020). Slowed luminance reaction times in cervical dystonia: disordered superior colliculus processing. Movement Disorders. http://doi.org/10.1002/mds.27975
Thirkettle, M., Barker, L.-.M., Gallagher, T., Nayeb, N., & Aquili, L. (2019). Dissociable effects of tryptophan supplementation on negative feedback sensitivity and reversal learning. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13, 127. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00127
Thirkettle, M., Thyoka, M., Fernandes, N., Gopalan, P., Stafford, T., & Offiah, A. (2019). Internet-based measurement of visual assessment skill of trainee radiologists: developing a sensitive tool. The British journal of radiology, 92 (1097), 20180958. http://doi.org/10.1259/bjr.20180958
Havard, C., Richter, S., & Thirkettle, M. (2019). Effects of changes in background colour on the identification of own- and other-race faces. i-Perception, 10 (2), 204166951984353. http://doi.org/10.1177/2041669519843539
Thirkettle, M., Lewis, J., Langdridge, D., & Pike, G. (2018). A Mobile App Delivering a Gamified Battery of Cognitive TestsDesigned for Repeated Play (OU Brainwave): App Design andCohort Study. JMIR Serious Games, 6 (4). https://games.jmir.org/2018/4/e10519/
Thirkettle, M., Lewis, J., Langdridge, D., & Pike, G. (2018). A Mobile App Delivering a Gamified Battery of Cognitive Tests Designed for Repeated Play (OU Brainwave): App Design and Cohort Study. JMIR Serious Games, 6 (4). http://doi.org/10.2196/preprints.10519
Benton, C.P., Thirkettle, M., & Scott-Samuel, N.E. (2016). Biological movement and the encoding of its motion and orientation. Scientific Reports, 6, 22393. http://doi.org/10.1038/srep22393
Walton, T., Thirkettle, M., Redgrave, P., Gurney, K.N., & Stafford, T. (2013). The discovery of novel actions is affected by very brief reinforcement delays and reinforcement modality. Journal of motor behavior, 45 (4), 351-360. http://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2013.806108
Thirkettle, M., Walton, T., Redgrave, P., Gurney, K., & Stafford, T. (2013). No learning where to go without first knowing where you're coming from: action discovery is trajectory, not endpoint based. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 638. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00638
Thirkettle, M., Walton, T., Shah, A., Gurney, K., Redgrave, P., & Stafford, T. (2013). The path to learning: action acquisition is impaired when visual reinforcement signals must first access cortex. Behavioural brain research, 243, 267-272. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2013.01.023
Stafford, T., Thirkettle, M., Walton, T., Vautrelle, N., Hetherington, L., Port, M., ... Redgrave, P. (2012). A novel task for the investigation of action acquisition. PLoS ONE, 7 (6), e37749. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037749
Thirkettle, M., Scott-Samuel, N.E., & Benton, C.P. (2010). Form overshadows 'opponent motion' information in processing of biological motion from point light walker stimuli. Vision Research, 50 (1), 118-126. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2009.10.021
Thirkettle, M., Benton, C.P., & Scott-Samuel, N.E. (2009). Contributions of form, motion and task to biological motion perception. Journal of vision, 9 (3), 28. http://doi.org/10.1167/9.3.28
Thirkettle, M. (2007). Foundations of perception. PERCEPTION, 36 (2), 318-320.
Conference papers
Thirkettle, M., Havard, C., & Richter, S. (2016). Variability of background colour in suspect line-ups and identification accuracy. In European Association of Psychology and Law 2016, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, 5 July 2016 - 8 July 2016. https://eapl2016.sciencesconf.org/program/details
Williams, L., Butler, J.S., Quinlivan, B., Molloy, A., McGovern, E., Beiser, I., ... Hutchinson, M. (2016). Impaired response times to luminance stimuli in dystonia patients indicate disordered superior colliculus processing. Movement Disorders, 31, S536. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/mds.26688
Havard, C., Thirkettle, M., Barrett, D., & Ritcher, S. (2015). How does image background colour influence facial identification? PERCEPTION, 44, 282.
Thirkettle, M., Stafford, T., & Offiah, A. (2015). Internet Based Measurement of Visual Expertise in Radiological Skill. Perception, 44, 44-45. http://doi.org/10.1177/0301006615598674
Benton, C., Thirkettle, M., & Scott-Samuel, N. (2014). Biological movement and the encoding of approach. Journal of Vision, 14 (10). http://doi.org/10.1167/14.10.1020
Thirkettle, M., & Stafford, T. (2013). Linking total movement history to action learning. In Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making, 25 October 2013 - 27 October 2013.
Thirkettle, M., Redgrave, P., Gurney, K., Walton, T., Shah, A., & Stafford, T. (2012). Cortical masking and action learning. PERCEPTION, 41, 100. http://doi.org/10.1177/03010066120410S101
Thirkettle, M., Scott-Samuel, N., & Benton, C. (2010). Form information in the perception of biological-motion heading. PERCEPTION, 39 (2), 281.
Thirkettle, M., Scott-Samuel, N.E., & Benton, C.P. (2009). Dances with Gabors: Contour integration and form in biological motion (Abstract Only). Journal of Vision, 9 (8). http://doi.org/10.1167/9.8.613
Thirkettle, M., Benton, C.P., & Scott-Samuel, N.E. (2008). True to form: a reduced role for motion in biological motion. PERCEPTION, 37, 41.
Rojas-Anaya, H., Thirkettle, M., & Nijhawan, R. (2005). Flash-lag anisotropy for movement in three domains. PERCEPTION, 34, 219-220.
Wallis, G.M., & Bülthoff, H.H. (1997). Temporal Correlations in Presentation Order during Learning Affects Human Object Recognition. Perception, 26 (1_suppl), 33. http://doi.org/10.1068/v970077
Book chapters
Redgrave, P., Gurney, K., Stafford, T., Thirkettle, M., & Lewis, J. (2013). The Role of the Basal Ganglia in Discovering Novel Actions. In Intrinsically Motivated Learning in Natural and Artificial Systems. (pp. 129-150). Springer Berlin Heidelberg: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32375-1_6
Stafford, T., Walton, T., Hetherington, L., Thirkettle, M., Gurney, K., & Redgrave, P. (2013). A Novel Behavioural Task for Researching Intrinsic Motivations. In Intrinsically Motivated Learning in Natural and Artificial Systems. (pp. 395-410). Springer Berlin Heidelberg: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32375-1_15
Presentations
Raleva, G., Thirkettle, M., Gao, J., & Stafford, T. (2017). No contribution of object category information in perceptual thresholds : evidence from Candy Crush. Presented at: AVA Christmas Meeting, Queen Mary University of London, 2017