Dr Gemma Taylor

Gemma TaylorI completed my PhD with Dr Jane Herbert at the University of Sheffield studying the role of attention on learning and memory development across infancy. I then worked as a postdoc with Professor Peter Gerhardstein at Binghamton University, New York for a year developing a gaze contingent paradigm to investigate the development of contour detection and implementing a CCTV set up to studying children’s action imitation from television. After that, I spent two years working as a postdoc at the ESRC International Centre for Language and Communicative Development at Lancaster University with Professors Padraic Monaghan and Gert Westermann investigating how children transfer words learnt from storybooks, television and apps to the 3D world. I’m very excited to join the University of Salford this year (2016) as a Lecturer in Psychology.

Research Interests

Screen media is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in children’s day to day lives, my research strives to understand the impact of screen media on children’s early cognitive development. In particular, I am interested in children’s declarative memory development and children’s early word learning.  At present, I am running an exciting research project investigating children’s word learning from touchscreen apps.

Publications in Popular Media

Frost, R., Twomey, K. E., Taylor, G., Westermann, G. and Monaghan P. (2015). Word for word. Nursery World Magazine.

Taylor, G. (2015). Watching TV can actually be good for toddlers, The Conversation, 6 March.

For further information about Gemma’s research, visit her page on Seek or ResearchGate.

Email:  g.taylor4@salford.ac.uk

Twitter:  @Gemma_Taylor1

Granada Reports educational apps research