BIOGRAPHY
I completed my BA and MA in Philosophy at King's and Birkbeck College London, before studying Psychology at London Metropolitan University. I began my PhD at the University of Essex in October 2010
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
My principle research interest is in the effects of acting alongside others on visual attention, perspective taking and decision making.
My PhD research has focused upon the visual and motor factors underlying why people respond differentially to locations that others have just acted upon against those they have not.
I am also interested in how people make judgments about the mental states and perspectives of other people in their visual world. In particular, I have conducted research on how the presence of another intentional agent affects visual attention and action planning.
Finally, I am interested in the relationship between consciousness and attention as well as philosophical issues in visual attention, action understanding and thinking about the minds of others.
PRINCIPAL SUPERVISORS Andrew Simpson & Geoff Cole
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Presentations
Atkinson, M.A, Cole, G.G., Simpson, A. and Skarratt P.A. (September 2012). Does inhibition of return during joint action reflect individual attentional processes? Poster presented at the European Conference on Visual Perception in Alghero, Sardinia.
Atkinson, M.A. (February 2012) Attending to others’ actions. Talk given to UBC Bar Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
