معرفی
Dr Gethin Hughes is a Reader (equivalent to Associate Professor) and Head of Department in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex. He joined the university in September 2012 after completing his PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London (2008) and postdoctoral positions at the University of Oxford and Université Paris Descartes. His leadership roles include Director of Education (2021-2024), Employability Development Director (2018-2019), and Director of Undergraduate Recruitment (2015-2017).
His research spans five primary areas:
- Sense of Agency: Investigating the feeling of control over actions using behavioral, EEG, and brain stimulation methods, with implications for schizophrenia and autism
- Metacognition: Studying confidence in perception/action and links to anxiety/depression
- Action Understanding: Examining how object/person knowledge influences action interpretation via EEG/TMS
- Multisensory Integration: Exploring individual differences in sensory sampling rates and links to delusional beliefs
- Neurodiversity: Researching ADHD decision-making and autism communication differences
His recent publications (2021-2025) demonstrate a strong focus on neural correlates of agency using EEG/TMS methodologies, with increasing emphasis on social cognition applications and clinical connections to schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Key trends include temporal binding window modulation, sensory attenuation mechanisms, and cross-population studies involving neurodivergent individuals.
Dr Hughes actively supervises doctoral and master's students in psychology, with current advisees including Niharika Madala, Jamie-Louise Williams, and James Heffer. His successful supervision record includes 7 awarded PhDs and 2 MSc degrees since 2019, covering topics from autism communication to temporal perception. He secured research funding from the Bial Foundation (2019) for his "Sense of Agency in the Ouija Board Experience" project.
