Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
I am interested in perceptual-motor coordination and skill development, with a specific focus on auditory-motor coordination. My research includes questions of how people time movements to auditory events, such as synchronising with a beat, walking to rhythmic sounds (particularly as an aid for gait in Parkinson's disease), or catching a moving object without vision. I am interested in how sensory feedback like ‘movement sonification’ (using motion capture data to trigger sounds in real-time) can be used to enhance learning of motor skills. This involves research into both fundamental questions of perceptual-motor learning, as well as applications to habilitation for children and adults with Visual Impairments. I also research skill acquisition in music performance, including understanding how sound-movement coupling emerges through musical training, techniques to enhance musical skill development, and understanding skilful adaptability in the context of music improvisation. Across all these topics, I want to understand how perceptual information can guide skilful action, as well as the implications for understanding the embodied mind.
I have extensive experience in using various forms of motion capture technology, as well as sound synthesis techniques, for investigating some of the above research topics.
Current PhD students:
- Bonnie Smith - "Psychology of learning and playing new digital musical instruments"
- Michal Toth - "Mapping design of movement sonification to enhance motor skill acquisition"
- Yifan Shi (co-supervisor) - "The Impact of Teaching Interventions on Music Students' Music Performance Anxiety Experience"
- Rober Acheson (co-supervisor) - "Adapting Soundtracks for Listeners with Hearing Loss"
- Yang Yang (co-supervisor) - "The Role of Musical Importance Anxiety in Conservatory Students' Performance in China"
Former PhD students:
- James Stafford - "Ageing and perceptual-based decision-making in traffic environments"
- Alannah Savage - "Investigating motor skills of visually impaired young people and the use of sound to guide movements"
- John Dyer - "Human Movement Sonification for Motor Skill Learning"
- Anna Carapellotti (co-supervisor) - "From effects to affect: The multidimensional impact of dancing with Parkinson’s"
- Zara Gibson (co-supervisor) - "The Psychology of Music Preference: How People Differ in Their Use and Enjoyment of Music"
- Lilian Simones (co-supervisor) - "The Roles of Gesture in Piano Teaching and Learning"
- Gerard Breaden-Madden (co-supervisor) - "The Psychology of Music Preference: How People Differ in Their Use and Enjoyment of Music"
Teaching
My primary teaching areas are:
- Conceptual and historical issues in psychology
- Research methods and analysis
- Psychology of music
I have also previously taught at UG and PGT level the following topics: motor control and learning; psychological dynamics in sport and health;
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Network
-
R8542AEL: Improvising Futures
Stapleton, P., Rodger, M., Schroeder, F. & Waters, S.
16/09/2022 → …
Project: Research
-
R2247PSY: Improving Movement Skills fo Visually-Impaired Children Using Interactive Sounds
12/11/2015 → …
Project: Research
-
R1669PSY: Dance for Parkinson’s: Improving quality of life and movement in people living with Parkinson’s in Northern Ireland.
25/05/2022 → 31/12/2022
Project: Research
-
Evaluating the effects of dance on motor outcomes, non-motor outcomes, and quality of life in people living with Parkinson's: a feasibility study
Carapellotti, A. M., Rodger, M. & Doumas, M., 09 Feb 2022, In: Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 8, 1, p. 36Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile61 Downloads (Pure) -
The role of perfectionism in Music Performance Anxiety within university piano majors in China
Yang, Y., Schroeder, F. & Rodger, M., 29 Jun 2022, Advances in Design, Music and Arts II. 8th International Meeting of Research in Music, Arts and Design, EIMAD 2022: Proceedings. Raposo, D., Correia Castilho, L., Dias, R., Neves, J. & Silva, R. (eds.). Springer Nature, p. 674-689 16 p. (Springer Series in Design and Innovation; vol. 25).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
-
Developmental differences across the lifespan in the use of perceptual information to guide action-based decisions
Stafford, J., Rodger, M., Gómez-Jordana Martín, L. I., Whyatt, C. & Craig, C. M., 08 Feb 2021, (Early online date) In: Psychological Research.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile41 Downloads (Pure) -
Educating Older Adults’ Attention towards and Away from Gap-Specifying Information in a Virtual Road-Crossing Task
Stafford, J. & Rodger, M., 2021, In: Ecological psychology. 33, 1, p. 31 56 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile54 Downloads (Pure) -
Vodhrán: collaborative design for evolving a physical model and interface into a proto-instrument
Pardue, L., Ortiz, M., Van Walstijn, M., Stapleton, P. & Rodger, M., 2020, Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, Birmingham City University. p. 623-625 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Open AccessFile92 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
-
Augmented Instrument Lab Research Forum
Matthew Rodger (Advisor)
26 May 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
Auditory perception, action and skill
Matthew Rodger (Advisor)
17 Jun 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
New Interfaces for Musical Expression
Matthew Rodger (Participant)
24 Jul 2020Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
-
Using sounds to guide movement coordination in children and young people with visual impairments
Matthew Rodger (Advisor)
19 Feb 2020Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
Northern Ireland Sensory Impairment Conference 2019
Matthew Rodger (Speaker)
28 Aug 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference