Biography
Alexandra is a Lecturer in Psychology, in the Department of Arts, Humanities and Human Sciences at Newman University. She has an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from Aston University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice in Higher Education from Coventry University, in addition to obtaining her BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Newman University. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Previously, Alexandra has worked as an Assistant Lecturer in Psychology at Coventry University and a Research and Data Associate for the National School of Healthcare Science. Alexandra is currently completing her PhD at Coventry University.
Profile
Research Interests
Alexandra’s current research is being undertaken as part of her PhD and focusses on the effect of superhero media on male body image. Specifically, she is exploring attentional biases towards body stimuli (non-muscular vs. muscular vs. superhero) and other moderating effects such as para-social relationships towards superhero characters.
Teaching
Alexandra teaches on a range of modules across undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology. Specifically, Alexandra is mainly involved in teaching Foundation Year psychology modules, quantitative research methods, and modules relating to cognition and neuropsychology.
Administrative Responsibilities
Alexandra coordinates several undergraduate and postgraduate modules, in addition to personal tutoring and dissertation supervision
Membership of Professional Organisations
Alexandra is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since October 2020 and a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society.
Other Activities
Conferences and Other Research Activity
Kirby, A.S., Jenks, R., Walsh, F., and Duncan, M. (2023) Attentional Biases Towards Body-Related Stimuli in Healthy Males: A Systematic Review. Poster presented at the Division of Health Psychology Annual Conference, Bristol.
Kirby, A.S., Jenks, R., Walsh, F., and Duncan, M. (2023) Attentional Biases Towards Body-Related Stimuli in Healthy Males: A Systematic Review. Presented at the Male Psychology Section Annual Conference, Preston.
Kirby, A., & Chamberlain, S. (2016). Setting the standard for a new assessment: comparing outcomes using the Angoff, borderline regression and Cohen methods. Presented at the EBMA Annual Academic Conference: Crossing Boundaries – Assessment in Medical Education, Exeter.
Chamberlain, S., Kirby, A., Sutherland, S., Packwood, T., & Gay, S. (2016). Marking reliability: The results of an OSCE marking standardisation exercise with a large cohort of newly trained assessors. Paper presented at The Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Conference, Barcelona.
Kirby, A., & Chamberlain, S. (2016). Setting the standard for a new assessment: comparing outcomes using the Angoff, borderline regression and Cohen methods. Presented at The Birmingham Conference: Innovation in Education, Birmingham.
Kirby, A., Blackwell-Young, J., Grassow, T.L., Pennicott, C., Bhogal, T., Chaaya, J., Grzanka, M., Guedelha, F., Houghton, J. & Muteriwa, V. (2012) Increasing student engagement through curriculum design: The student experience. Poster presented at The British Psychological Society: Annual Conference 2012, London.
Publications
Kirby, A.S., Jenks, R., Walsh, F., and Duncan, M. (2023) ‘Attentional Biases Towards Body-Related Stimuli in Healthy Males: A Systematic Review’, Psychological Reports, DOI: 10.1177/00332941231177243