Anna Stone

Dr Anna Stone

Senior Lecturer

Cognition and Neuroscience Research Group

Department of Psychology & Human Development , School of Childhood and Social Care

I am a senior lecturer in the School of Childhood and Social Care. I teach on undergraduate and MSc programmes, focusing on Research Methods and Applied Cognitive Psychology. My main research interests are discrimination on the basis of accent and reactions to people with visible facial difference.

Areas Of Interest

  • reactions to people with visible facial difference; my research has examined emotional responses, the assumptions we make about the skills and abilities of people with unusual faces, how we focus our attention, and discrimination in employment
  • ethical veganism
  • evaluations of eyewitnesses based on accent and other features
Anna Stone

OVERVIEW

My research interests fall into two main strands: (1) any aspects of paranormal, religious, moral, or political belief, (2) I also conduct research into the stereotypes attached to individuals with facial disfigurement and in the emotions and attitudes they invoke in the general public. 

CURRENT RESEARCH

I am interested in why people hold beliefs that are not subject to empirical validation, including moral values, religious or political beliefs or belief in the paranormal e.g., alien visitation, telepathy, pre-cognitive dreams, etc. 

I am also interested in how people react to individuals with facial disfigurement. My research has examined emotional responses, the assumptions we make about the skills and abilities of people with unusual faces, how our attention is focused, and how discrimination may arise in employment.  

I am currently carrying out research to create a new multi-dimensional questionnaire of belief in the unusual. This questionnaire will be useful to anyone in the field of paranormal belief and experience and will help to explore the origin and consequences of such belief.

I am also looking at the perceptual categorisation of facial disfigurement.

PUBLICATIONS

Publications

  • Stone, A. (2023) Student perceptions of academic integrity: A qualitative study of understanding, consequences, and impact. Journal of Academic Ethics, 21, 357-375, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-022-09461-5
  • Stone, A. (2022) Negative perceptions of people with facial disfigurement depend on a general attitude rather than on specific concerns. Journal of Stigma and Health, 7, 270-279.
  • Stone, A. (2022) The relationship between attitudes to human rights and to animal rights is partially mediated by empathy. The Journal of Social Psychology, online https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/8UCHXEVXT3ZHXI7MNIWD/full?target=10.1080/00224545.2022.2140024
  • Stone, A. (2021) Facial disfigurement, categorical perception, and the influence of disgust sensitivity. Visual Cognition, DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2020.1870184
  • Stone, A. & Fisher, V. (2020) Changing negative perceptions of individuals with facial disfigurement: The effectiveness of a brief intervention. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 42, 341-353.
  • Frumkin, L. & Stone, A. (2020) Not all eye-witnesses are equal: Accent status, race and age interact to influence evaluations of testimony. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 18, 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377938.2020.1727806
  • Stone, A., McDermott, M et al (2018) Development and validation of the multi-dimensional questionnaire of scientifically unsubstantiated beliefs. Personality and Individual Differences, 128, 46-156.
  • Stone, A. & Potton, A. (2017) Emotional responses to disfigured faces and Disgust Sensitivity: An eye-tracking study. Journal of Health Psychology, DOI: 10.1177/1359105317692856.
  • Stone, A. (2016) Rational thinking and belief in psychic abilities: it depends on level of involvement. Psychological Reports, 118, 74-89.
  • French, C.C. & Stone, A. (2014) Anomalistic Psychology: Exploring Paranormal Belief and Experience. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Stone, A. & Potton, A. (2014) Emotional responses to disfigured faces: The influences of perceived anonymity, empathy, and disgust sensitivity. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 36, 520-532.
  • Stone, A. (2013). An avowal of prior scepticism enhances the credibility of an account of a paranormal event. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 33, 260-281.
  • Stone, A., & Wright, T. (2013). When your face doesn't fit: employment discrimination against people with facial disfigurements. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(3), 515-526. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2013.01032.x
  • Stone, A., Meade, C. & Watling, R. (2012) Peer-assisted learning in research methods and statistics. Psychology Teaching review, 18(2), 68-73.
  • Stone, A., & Wright, T. (2012). Evaluations of people depicted with facial disfigurement compared to those with mobility impairment. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 34, 212-225. doi:10.1080/01973533.2012.674420
  • Stone, A. (2012). Centre-surround inhibition is a general aspect of famous-person recognition: evidence from negative semantic priming from clearly visible primes. Memory & Cognition, 40(4), 652-662. doi:10.3758/s13421-011-0176-y 
  • Stone, A.M. (2011). Attentional effects of masked famous faces (but not names) and subjective evaluations of a target person. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 112(2), 451-476. doi:10.2466/07.22.PMS.112.2.451-476
  • Stone, A.M. (2008). Categorical priming of famous person recognition: a hitherto overlooked methodological factor can resolve a long-standing debate. Cognition, 108(3), 874-880. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.06.001 
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2007). Angry and happy faces perceived without awareness: a comparison with the affective impact of masked famous faces. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19(2), 161-186. doi:10.1080/09541440600616390 
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2007). The categorical structure of knowledge for famous people (and a novel application of centre–surround theory). Cognition, 104(3), 535–564. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2006.07.014 
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2005). Orientation of attention to non-consciously recognised famous faces. Cognition and Emotion, 19, 537–558. doi:10.1080/02699930441000409
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2005). Accuracy of familiarity decisions to famous faces perceived without awareness depends on attitude to the target person and on response latency. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(2), 351-376. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2004.09.002 
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2005). Strength of visual percept generated by famous faces perceived without awareness: effects of affective valence, response latency and visual field. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(3), 548-564. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2005.01.009 
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2004). Better the devil you know? Non-conscious processing of identity and affect of famous faces. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11(3), 469-474. doi:10.3758/BF03196597
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2003). Understanding provoked overt recognition in prosopagnosia: a modification to Morrison, Bruce and Burton (2001). Visual Cognition, 10, 1-6. doi:10.1080/713756670
  • Stone, A.M., & Valentine, T. (2003). Viewpoint: Perspectives on prosopagnosia and models of face recognition. Cortex, 39(1), 31-40. doi:10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70072-8 
  • Stone, A.M., Valentine, T., & Davis, R. (2001). Face recognition and emotional valence: processing without awareness by neurologically intact participants does not simulate covert recognition in prosopagnosia. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioural Neuroscience, 1(2), 183–191. doi:10.3758/CABN.1.2.183 

TEACHING

I am the programme leader for the BSc Psychology by Distance Learning.

I am the Responsible Officer for the Department of Psychology dealing with breaches of academic regulations.

I teach on the BSc Psychology and the MSc Psychology. I am the module leader for the modules PY6320 Anomalistic Psychology and PY6319 the Psychology of Belief, and I also teach topics in Cognitive Psychology at levels 4 and 5 (modules PY4103 and PY5203). I supervise undergraduate and post-graduate research projects.

BSc (Hons) Psychology

Studying for a BSc in Psychology, you will develop a good knowledge of the influences on, and factors involved in, human functioning in all the core areas of psychology.

Read more about this course

MSc Psychology

A psychology conversion course for students with a first degree in another subject area. It means you could go on and train to be a professional psychologist.

Study MSc Psychology

MODULES

  • PY4103:  Introduction to Cognitive and Developmental Psychology
  • PY5203: Topics in Cognitive and Developmental Psychology
  • PY6319: The Psychology of Belief
  • PY6320: Anomalistic Psychology
  • PY6101: BSc project supervision
  • PY7155: MSc project supervision
  • PY7153: Conceptual and Historical issues in Psychology and Social Psychology

Publications

The last four years of publications can be viewed below. 

Full publications list

Visit the research repository to view a full list of publications

Research repository