Abstract

Information from multiple senses must be integrated to allow us to extract meaning from the overwhelming sensory signals in our environment. This is particularly true when interpreting others’ emotional states, as emotions can often be complex and ambiguous, and are normally expressed via multiple senses. Therefore, biased multisensory processing mechanisms could contribute to emotional and interpersonal problems. In this talk, I will present evidence from my research on anxiety suggesting that biases towards enhanced processing of threat-related information in anxiety could have an important impact on how individuals interpret emotions and interact with others in everyday life.

About Naomi:

Naomi is a lecturer in psychology at Bath Spa University and an honorary research fellow at the University of Bath. Her research interests are focused on the cognitive mechanisms underlying mood and stress-related disorders, including anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She is also a keen science communicator and promoter of public engagement, having spent three months working in the digital team at The Royal Institution in London, and producing blogs, videos and podcasts for her science communication website SENSE(LESS).