Lecturer in Psychology
I completed a BSc in Psychology at the University of Manchester in 2008, followed by an MSc in Health Psychology in 2015, and a PhD in Cognitive Psychology in 2022, both from Teesside University. I joined the University of Sunderland as a Lecturer in January 2023.
My research focuses on face perception and recognition. My PhD used eye-tracking and behavioural methods to explore the impact of biological motion on face recognition in both typical perceivers and individuals with developmental prosopagnosia, a common disorder of face recognition. My more recent research focuses on how facial ageing impacts identity judgments, and examines the impact of gastrointestinal conditions on face and emotion recognition.
Teaching and supervision
I am module leader for the following undergraduate and postgraduate modules:
- PSY123: Mind to World
- PSYM114: Understanding Growth and Change
- PSYM115: Ordinary and Extraordinary Minds
Additionally, I also teach on the following modules:
- PSYC101: Mind and Social World
- PSY247: 24/7 Everyday Motivations and Biases
- PSYM66: Everyday Motivations and Biases
- PSYM111: Brain and Behaviour
- PSYM118: Research Project
I am also Deputy Programme Leader for the undergraduate psychology programme.
Research interests for potential research students
I would be interested in supervising projects in any aspect of face perception and recognition. In particular, I am interested in examining the effect of ageing on face recognition, and the development of expertise in face perception.
Research
I am primarily interested in face perception and recognition.
My PhD research examined the facilitative effect of motion during face recognition in typical recognisers and individuals with Developmental Prosopagnosia. More recently, my research has focused on examining the impact of facial ageing on face perception in typical recognisers, super-recognisers, and forensic facial examiners.
Publications
Article
Butcher, N., Bennetts, R.J., Sexton, L., Barbanta, A. and Lander, K. (2024) Eye movement differences when recognising and learning moving and static faces. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. p. 211. ISSN 1747-0218
Sexton, L., Mileva, M., Hole, G., Strathie, A. and Laurence, S. (2024) Recognizing newly learned faces across changes in age. Visual Cognition. p. 211. ISSN 1350-6285
Sexton, L., Moreton, R., Noyes, E., Castro Martinez, S. and Laurence, S. (2024) The effect of facial ageing on forensic facial image comparison. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 38 (1). ISSN 0888-4080
- Face perception and recognition