Qualifications

MSc, PhD

Teaching

Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology (Year 1 - Module Leader)
Research Methods for Psychology (Quantitative Research Methods) (Year 2)
Learning, Memory, & Perception (Year 2)
Psychology Project (Year 3)
Issues in Psychological Research (Masters - Module Leader)
Quantitative Research Methods (Masters)
Psychology Dissertation (Masters - Module Leader)

Research

I currently research numerous aspects of visual perception, with a particular focus on face perception. That is, I am interested in the processes behind how we learn about, discriminate between, and identify faces. Broadly my research falls within these six categories:

• Adaptation within face perception
• Own-group biases in face recognition
• Individual differences in cognitive psychology (specifically gender and sexuality)
• Visual attention and search
• Neuroscience of face perception and neuropsychology of misidentification delusions
• Perceptual learning in humans

Current Research Projects:

• Exploring the own-age biases in face recognition
• Carryover of scanning behaviour in natural scenes (with Catherine Thompson)
• Eye-tracking the own-race bias in face recognition
• Eye-tracking the face inversion effect

Member of the Brain & Cognition Research Group

Professional Associations

• Member of the Experimental Psychology Society
• Member of the AVA
• Peer-reviewer for: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Vision Research, Memory & Cognition, Cognition, Perception, Memory, Perceptual and Motor Skills.
• Guest editor: Frontiers in Perceptual Science

Research Grants

Project Title: Electrophysiological (EEG) correlates of working memory.
Funders: Wellcome Trust (£1,600).
Role: Supervisor for undergraduate bursary

Project Title: Carryover of scanning behaviour in natural scenes.
Funders: Nuffield Foundation (£1,440).
Role: Supervisor for undergraduate bursary

Project Title: The effects of personal involvement in face recognition.
Funders: EPS (£1,200).
Role: Supervisor for undergraduate bursary

Project Title: Training methods in facial image comparison.
Funders: Home Office Scientific Development Bureau (£6,000).
Role: CI with Dr Ian van der Linde

Project Title: Testing the implications of a unitary, hierarchically organised object processing system for face processing.
Funders: Anglia Ruskin University Research Capability Fund (£3,500).
Role: co-researcher with Dr Peter Bright

Project Title: Visual processing of evolutionary-relevant emotional expressions.
Funders: Anglia Ruskin University Research Enhancement Strategy grant (£7 811)
Role: co-researcher with Dr Roberto Gutierrez

Selected publications

Hills, P. J., Werno, M., & Lewis, M. B. (2011). Sad people are more accurate at face recognition than happy people. Consciousness and Cognition, 20, 1502-1517.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2011). Attention misplaced: Reconsidering the face inversion effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 37, 1396 - 1406.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2011). One year of experience is sufficient to develop the own-age bias in face recognition. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64, 17 - 23

Hills, P. J., Holland, A. M., & Lewis, M. B. (2010). After effects for face attributes with different natural variability: children are more adaptable than adolescents Cognitive Development.

Hills, P. J., Elward, R. L., & Lewis, M. B. (2010). Cross-modal effects in face identity after effects and their relation to priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2009). A spatial frequency account of the detriment that local processing of Navon letters has on face recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 1427 - 1442.

Hills, P. J., Lewis, M. B., & Honey, R. C. (2008). Stereotype priming in face recognition: interactions between semantic and visual information in face encoding. Cognition, 108, 185 - 200.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2006). Reducing the own-race bias in face recognition by shifting attention. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 59, 996 - 1002.

Selected conference proceedings

Hills, P. J., Sullivan, A. J., & Pake, J. M. (2010). Aberrant eye-movements when looking at inverted faces. Invited presentation at the BPS Cognitive Section, Cardiff, 6th-8th September, 2010.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2010). One year's experience is sufficient to develop the own-age bias in face recognition. Presented at the EPS Conference, Manchester 7-9th July, 2010.

Hills, P. J., Werno, M. A., & Lewis, M. B. (2009). Happy people are less accurate at face recognition than sad people. Poster presented at the EPS Conference, York, 8th July, 2009.

Hills, P. J., Lewis, M. B., & Elward, R. L. (2007). What's the difference between George Bush and Tony Blair? Adaptation to identity specific information. Paper presented at the EPS Conference, Cardiff, 12th April 2007.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2005). Removing the own-race bias by shifting attention. Poster presented at the ECVP conference, La Coruna, Spain, 15th August 2005.

Complete publication list

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (in press). FIAEs in familiar faces are mediated by type of processing. Frontiers in Perceptual Science.

Walton, W. & Hills, P. J. (in press). Face distortion aftereffects in personally familiar and unfamiliar faces. Frontiers in Perceptual Science.

Hills, P. J. (in press). A developmental study of the own-age face recognition bias in children. Developmental Psychology.

Hills, P. J., Sullivan, A. J., & Pake, J. M. (in press). Aberrant first fixations when looking at inverted faces of different poses: The result of the centre of gravity effects? British Journal of Psychology.

Hills, P. J., Werno, M., & Lewis, M. B. (2011). Sad people are more accurate at face recognition than happy people. Consciousness and Cognition, 20, 1502 - 1517.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2011). Attention misplaced: Reconsidering the face inversion effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 37, 1396 - 1406.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2011). Sad people avoid the eyes or happy people focus on the eyes?: Mood induction affects facial feature discrimination. British Journal of Psychology, 102, 260 - 274.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2011). Reducing the own-race bias in face recognition by attentional shift using fixation crosses preceding the lower half of a face. Visual Cognition, 19, 313 - 339.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2011). One year of experience is sufficient to develop the own-age bias in face recognition. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64, 17 - 23.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (in press). Reducing the own-race bias in face recognition by attentional shift using fixation crosses preceding the lower half of a face. Visual Cognition.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (in press). Sad people avoid the eyes or happy people focus on the eyes?: Mood induction affects facial feature discrimination. British Journal of Psychology.

Hills, P. J., Elward, R. L., & Lewis, M. B. (2010). Cross-modal effects in face identity aftereffects and their relation to priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 36, 876 - 891.

Ludlow, A., Heaton, P., Rosset, D., Hills, P. J., & Deruelle, C. (2010). Emotion recognition in children with profound and severe deafness: Do they have a deficit in perceptual processing? Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 26, 1 - 6.

Hills, P. J., Holland, A. M., & Lewis, M. B. (2010). Aftereffects for face attributes with different natural variability. Cognitive Development, 25, 278 - 289.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2009). A spatial frequency account of the detriment that local processing of Navon letters has on face recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 1427 - 1428.

Lewis, M. B., Mills, C., Hills, P. J., & Weston, N. (2009). Navon letters affect face learning and face retrieval. Experimental Psychology, 56, 258 - 264.

Hills, P. J., Elward, R. L., & Lewis, M. B. (2008). The FIAE is mediated and moderated by visualisation. Perception, 37, 1241 - 1257.

Hills, P. J., Lewis, M. B., & Honey, R. C. (2008). Stereotype priming in face recognition: interactions between semantic and visual information in face encoding. Cognition, 108, 185 - 200.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2008). Alternatives to Navon letters to produce transfer-inappropriate processing shift in face recognition. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 20, 561 - 576.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2007). The Navon effect in face recognition is temporally limited. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 107, 100 - 104.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2006). Reducing the own-race bias in face recognition by shifting attention. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 59, 996 - 1002.

Conference proceedings and other meetings

Hills, P. J., Cooper, R. E., & Pake, J. M. (2011). Eye-tracking the own-race bias in face perception. Presented at the EPS Conference, Nottingham, 7-9th July 2011.

Jones, L. A. & Hills, P. J. (2011). The behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of facial structure: evidence from inversion, familiarity, and the removal of the eyes. Presented at the EPS Conference, Nottingham, 7-9th July 2011.

Head, L. J. & Hills, P. J. (2011). Facial features of another race: Their effect on the own-race bias in face recognition. Presented at the EPS Conference, London, 6-7th January, 2011.

Hills, P. J., Sullivan, A. J., & Pake, J. M. (2010). Aberrant eye-movements when looking at inverted faces. Invited presentation at the BPS Cognitive Section, Cardiff, 6th-8th September, 2010.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2010). One year's experience is sufficient to develop the own-age bias in face recognition. Presented at the EPS Conference, Manchester 7-9th July, 2010.

Cooper, R. E., Hills, P. J., Pake, M. J., & Strain, E. P. (2010). Eye-tracking the own-race and own-gender biases. Presented at the EPS Conference, Manchester, 7-9th July, 2010.

Hills, P. J. & Walton, B. R. P. (2010). Face distortion after effects produced by parent, familiar and unfamiliar faces. Presented at the EPS Conference, London, 6-7th January 2010.

Hills, P. J., Werno, M. A., & Lewis, M. B. (2009). Happy people are less accurate at face recognition than sad people. Poster presented at the EPS Conference, York, 8 July, 2009.

Hills, P. J., Lewis, M. B., & Elward, R. L. (2007). What's the difference between George Bush and Tony Blair? Adaptation to identity specific information. Paper presented at the EPS Conference, Cardiff, 12 April 2007.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2006). Processing small, high contrast letters reduces face recognition accuracy. Poster presented at the Psychonomic Society Conference, Houston, TX 16-19 August 2006.

Lewis, M. B., Mills, C., & Hills, P. J. (2006). Understanding the Navon effect in face recognition. Paper presented at the BPS Verbal Overshadowing Symposium, Leeds, 15 July, 2006.

Hills, P. J. & Lewis, M. B. (2005). Removing the own-race bias by shifting attention. Poster presented at the ECVP conference, La Coruna, Spain, 15 August 2005.

Hills, P. J., Lewis, M. B., & Honey, R. C. (2005). Stereotype priming in the recognition of unfamiliar faces. Paper presented at the BPS Cognitive Section, Leeds, July 2005.