Our research focuses on interpersonal communication, in particular foreign language learning and face perception.
Can learning take place without conscious effort? Is learning a foreign language with a partner more effective than learning alone? What happens in the brain when we learn a foreign language? We use brain research to find answers to these questions. Our findings show that simply listening passively to the speech sounds of a foreign language produces learning changes in the brain. Our latest research explores the benefits of social foreign language learning. These findings can be used to design effective teaching methods for foreign language learning.
Humans are able to quickly and automatically detect, for example, emotional states and intentions from another person's face. Our results show that face perception is altered when a person is experiencing depressive symptoms, but that perceptual alterations decrease as symptoms decrease. Perceptual changes may maintain depressive symptoms and predispose to new episodes of depression. We are now studying face perception and related brain activity in people experiencing symptoms of depression and/or anxiety and/or loneliness. This research will help us understand different types of interactional problems and may have implications for the development of psychological treatments.
