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Clare Carty, Postgraduate Research Student

PhD student Carty ClareEmail: ccarty03@qub.ac.uk

Office: Room 04.405

Phone: +44 28 9097 6500

PhD Details

First Supervisor: Dr Martin McPhillips

Second Supervisor: Dr Mary Hanley; Prof. Teresa McCormack

PhD Title: Social attention and social function in typical and atypical development

Summary of Project: The project aims to explore social attention and social function in terms typical development using eye-tracking techniques. Exploration of social attention using eye tracking techniques has become an important way of understanding social impairments in autism, however, relatively little research exists on typical  social attention using eye-tracking, and whether or how it is related to typical social function. The project will address this is a key issue, given that this method is becoming widely used to study autism and developmental disorders.

Research Cluster: Cognition, Development and Education Research Cluster

Research Interests

My primary research interest is the area of social attention in typical and atypical development, and how social attention is related to social cognition and social function. I am interested in developmental disorders and their associated social difficulties, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Williams syndrome. I use eye-tracking techniques alongside behavioural measures to explore social attention in typical and atypical development.

Conferences

  • Social Attention in Typical and Atypical Development, 3rd Annual Postgraduate Conference, QUB, 2012
    • 1st Prize for Best Oral Presentation.
  • Eye-tracking and real-life gaze behaviours in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, 34th All Ireland Student Congress, QUB, 2012

Publications

Mary Hanley, Debbie Riby, Teresa McCormack, Clare Carty, Lisa Coyle, Naomi Crozier, Johanna Robinson, Martin McPhillips (under review). Real-life social attention in children with autism: Comparison to Specific Language Impairment, typical development, and links to social cognition.