Dr Suzanne Stewart
Associate Professor of Psychological Science; MRes Programme Leader
My journey to Chester started some distance away in the American Deep South, as I grew up in Louisiana. When I was a kid, my mum went back into education and gained her PhD at the age of 55 – this was a definite inspiration to my own academic path.
For my undergraduate degree, I went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to study. In the end, I chose Psychology because it seemed to offer a wide variety of interesting areas, and I combined it with Communication Studies (concentrating on media) because one of my lifelong hobbies is watching films!
During my undergraduate degree, I studied abroad for a year at Manchester. That was the first time I had been outside of North America and I loved the experience of living in another culture, which influenced my decision to return to Manchester for my PhD. I wanted to go on to postgraduate study because I enjoyed being in an academic environment and wanted to keep learning. It was during my PhD that I met my British partner, sealing my fate of staying in the UK.
After my PhD, I held two research positions at Manchester before taking a career break following my first maternity leave. It was after that career break that I took up my post at Chester in 2012. In parallel, I experienced the roller coaster of the UK immigration system, moving through two study visas and renewals, a work visa and a marriage visa, permanent residency, and finally British citizenship. I’ve now lived in the UK for 18 years and although sometimes I still feel like an outsider, I have a real affinity with British culture, and I love working and living in the city of Chester.
Suzanne is the MRes programme leader. She also teaches quantitative research methods to both first year (PS4005) and second year (PS5015) students and supervises research dissertations for both undergraduates (PS6001 and PS6008) and postgraduates (PS7112). She is co-module leader for the undergraduate research dissertation modules (PS6001 and PS6008).
Suzanne conducts her research within an open context. She investigates aspects of social cognition and moral decision-making, including theory of mind, intentionality, assignment of blame, and lie detection. Her research has been conducted within cognitive, developmental, social, and forensic areas. She is also involved as a collaborator on very large-scale studies being conducted through the Psychological Science Accelerator.
Google Scholar profile here.
Pownall, M., Azevedo, F., König, L. M., Slack, H. R., Evans, T. R., Flack, Z., Grinschgl, S., Elsherif, M. M., Gilligan-Lee, K. A., de Oliveira, C. M. F., Gjoneska, B., Kalandadze, T., Button, K., Ashcroft-Jones, S., Terry, J., Albayrak-Aydmir, N., Dĕchtĕrenko, F., Alzahawi, S., Baker, B., J.,…& FORRT. (2023). Teaching open and reproducible scholarship: A critical review of the evidence base for current pedagogical methods and their outcomes. Royal Society Open Science, 10: 221255. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221255
Bago, B., Kovacs, M., Protzko, J. Nagy, T., Kekecs, Z., Palfi, B., Adamkovic, M., Adamus, S., Albalooshi, S., Albayrak-Aydemir, N., Alfian, I. N., Alper, S., Alvarez-Solas, S., Alves, S. G., Amaya, S., Andresen, P. K., Anjum, G., Ansari, D., Arriaga, P.,…Aczel, B. (2022). Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01319-5
Stewart, S. L. K., Pennington, C. R., da Silva, G. R., Ballou, N., Butler, J., Dienes, Z., Jay, C. Rossit, S., & Samara, A. (2022). Reforms to improve reproducibility and quality must be coordinated across the research ecosystem: The view from the UKRN Local Network Leads. BMC Research Notes, 15:58. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-022-05949-w
Parsons, S., Azevedo, F., Elsherif, M. M., Guay, S., Shahim, O. N., Govaart, G. H., Norris, E., O’Mahony, A., Parker, A. J., Todorovic, A., Pennington, C. R., Garcia-Pelegrin, E., Lazić, A., Robertson, O. M., Middleton, S. L., Valentini, B., McCuaig, J., Baker, B. J., Collins, E., … Aczel, B. (2022). A community-sourced glossary of Open Scholarship terms. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 312-318. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01269-4
Stewart, S. L. K., Kennedy, B. J., & Haigh, M. (2022). Valence of agents and recipients moderates the side-effect effect: Two within-subjects, multi-item conceptual replications. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 34, 289-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2021.1971234
Stewart, S. L. K., & Kirkham, J. A. (2022). Predictors of Individual Differences in Emerging Adult Theory of Mind. Emerging Adulthood, 10, 558-565. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696820926300
Zickfeld, J. H., van de Ven, N., Pich, O., Schubert, T. W., Berkessel, J. B, Pizarro J.,…& Vingerhoets, A. (2021). Tears evoke the intention to offer social support: A systematic investigation of the interpersonal effects of emotional crying across 41 countries. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 95, 104137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104137
Stewart, S. L. K., Wright, C., & Atherton, C. (2019). Deception detection and truth detection are dependent on different cognitive and emotional traits: An investigation of emotional intelligence, theory of mind, and attention. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45, 794-807. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218796795
Reeve, S., Nickless, A., Sheaves, B., Stewart, S. L. K., Gumley, A., Fowler, D., Morrison, A., & Freeman, D. (2019). Sleep duration and psychotic experiences in patients at risk of psychosis: A secondary analysis of the EDIE-2 trial. Schizophrenia Research, 204, 326-333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2018.08.006
Stewart, S. L. K., Schepman, A., Haigh, M., McHugh, R., & Stewart, A. J. (2019). Affective theory of mind inferences contextually influence the recognition of emotional facial expressions. Cognition and Emotion, 33, 272-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2018.1450224
Bright, M., Parker, S., French, P., Morrison, A. P., Tully, S., Stewart, S. L. K., & Wells, A. (2018). Assessment of metacognitive beliefs in an at risk mental state for psychosis: A validation study of the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 25, 710-720. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2301
Bright, M., Parker, S., French, P., Fowler, D., Gumley, A., Morrison, A. P…& Wells, A. (2018). Metacognitive beliefs as psychological predictors of social functioning: An investigation with young people at risk of psychosis. Psychiatry Research, 262, 520-526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.09.037
Morrison, A. P., Shryane, N., Fowler, D., Birchwood, M., Gumley, A. I., Taylor, H. E., French, P., Stewart, S. L. K., Jones, P. B., Lewis, S. W., & Bentall, R. P. (2015). Negative cognition, affect, metacognition and dimensions of paranoia in people at ultra-high risk of psychosis: A multi-level modelling analysis. Psychological Medicine, 45(12), 2675-84. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291715000689
Flach, C., French, P., Dunn, G. Fowler, D, Gumley, A. I., Birchwood, M., Stewart, S. L. K., & Morrison, A. P. (2015). Components of therapy as mechanisms of change in cognitive therapy for people at risk of psychosis: An analysis of the EDIE-2 trial. British Journal of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.153320
Pyle, M., Stewart, S. L. K., French, P., Byrne, R., Patterson, P., Gumley, A., Birchwood, M., & Morrison, A. P. (2015). Internalised stigma, emotional dysfunction and unusual experiences in young people at risk of psychosis. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 9, 133-140. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12098
Taylor, H. E., Stewart, S. L. K., Dunn, G., Parker, S., Fowler, D., & Morrison, A. P. (2014). Core schemas across the continuum of psychosis: A comparison of clinical and non-clinical groups. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 42, 718-730. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465813000593
Taylor, H. E., Stewart, S. L. K., Dunn, G., Parker, S., Bentall, R. P., Birchwood, M., & Morrison, A. P. (2014). Psychopathology and affect dysregulation across the continuum of psychosis: A multiple group comparison study. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 8, 221-228. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12064
Morrison, A. P., Birchwood, M., Pyle, M., Flach, C., Stewart, S. L. K., Byrne, R., Patterson, P., Jones, P. B., Fowler, D., Gumley, A. I., French (2013). Impact of cognitive therapy on internalised stigma in people with at-risk mental states. British Journal of Psychiatry, 203, 140-145. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.112.123703
Cooper, J., Steeg, S., Webb, R., Stewart, S. L. K., Applegate, E., Hawton, K., Bergen, H., Waters, K., & Kapur, N. (2013). Risk factors associated with repetition of self-harm in Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups: A multi-centre cohort study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148, 435-439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.018
Morrison, A. P., French, P., Stewart, S. L. K., Birchwood, M., Fowler, D., Gumley, A.I., Jones, P. B., Bentall, R. P., Lewis, S. W., Murray, G. K., Patterson, P., Brunet, K., Conroy, J., Parker, S., Reilly, T., Byrne, R., & Dunn, G. (2012). Early Detection and Intervention Evaluation for people at risk of psychosis (EDIE-2): A multisite randomised controlled trial of cognitive therapy for at risk mental states. British Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e2233
Steeg, S., Kapur, N., Webb, R., Applegate, E., Stewart, S. L. K., Hawton, K., Bergen, H., Waters, K., & Coooper, J. (2012). The development of a population- level clinical screening tool for self-harm repetition and suicide: The ReACT Self-Harm Rule. Psychological Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291712000347
Morrison, A. P., Stewart, S. L. K., French, P., Bentall, R. P., Birchwood, M., Byrne, R., Davies, L. M., Fowler, D., Gumley, A. I., Jones, P. B., Lewis, S. W., Murray, G. K., Patterson, P., & Dunn, G. (2011). Early Detection and Intervention Evaluation for people at high-risk of psychosis-2 (EDIE-2): Trial rationale, design and baseline characteristics. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 5, 24-32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-7893.2010.00254.x
Stewart, S. L. K., Corcoran, R., Lewis, S. W., & Drake, R. J. (2010). The relationship of theory of mind and insight in psychosis: Evidence for specificity. Psychosis: Psychological, Social, and Integrative Approaches, 2, 34-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/17522430902952490
Stewart, S. L. K., Corcoran, R., & Drake, R. J. (2009). Mental state references in psychosis: A pilot study of prompted implicit mentalizing during dialogue and its relationship with social functioning. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 14, 53-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/13546800902743449
Stewart, S. L. K., Corcoran, R., & Drake, R. J. (2008). Alignment and theory of mind in schizophrenia. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 13, 431-448. https://doi.org/10.1080/13546800802405610
Corcoran, R., & Kaiser, S. L.* (2008). Persecutory delusions and theory of mind: Long-standing debates and emerging issues. In D. Freeman, R. P. Bentall, & P. Garety (Eds.), Persecutory delusions: Assessment, theory, and treatment (pp. 207-222). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Drake, R. J., Corcoran, R., Kaiser, S. L.*, Smallman, R., Aslam, M., & Lewis, S. W. (2007). A pilot study of cognitive remediation for poor insight in non-affective psychosis: A minimized, controlled trial. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33, 428.
Kaiser, S. L.*, Snyder, J. A., Corcoran, R., & Drake, R. J. (2006). The relationships among insight, social support, and depression in psychosis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 194, 905-908. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nmd.0000242975.96932.4c
Kaiser, S. L.* (2005). Pro-ana web communities: An amplification of eating disorders and media on the Internet. Explorations in Media Ecology, 4, 281-298. https://doi.org/10.1386/eme.4.3-4.281_1
Suzanne graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA (2003) with a BA in Psychology and Communication Studies (highest honours). She then moved to the University of Manchester, where she completed a PhD in Psychology (2007). She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.