Dr Liam Cross

I have a BSc in Psychology from Lancaster University and a PhD in Psychology from Leeds Beckett University. My PhD focused on how and why engaging in Coordinated Rhythmic Movement affects interpersonal relations and group processes and relations. Basically how moving in coordinated ways (dancing, singing or even walking) fosters greater affiliation, cooperation & conformity towards our co-actors & changes in our social identity. 
I have worked on a number of other projects investigating: 

The link between Autism Theory of Mind and Anthropmorpipsm 

Nonverbal cues to deception

How exposure to certain statistical co-occurrences of language in media can affect attitudes towards immigration. 

If sexualised and violent video games affect stereotypes & prejudice. 

Whether the theory of mind deficits in those with ASD can be alleviated by changing the object of evaluation in these measures from human to cartoon and animal stimulus.

& Most recently the overlap between tabletop games and autism 

BSc (Hons) Psychology,  University of Lancaster 2012. 

PhD Psychology,  Leeds Beckett University 2015. 

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Institutional Learning and Teaching Fellow (2015). 

Social Psychology, Research methods and Statistics. 

University of Huddersfield, University of South Wales. 

My research interests are broadly in embodied and social cognition. 

 My three current research streams are 

 1)  The social consequences of coordination.  How moving in time with each other in rhythmic ways leads to pro-group behavior. 

 2) The link between Autism, Anthropomorphism and Theory of Mind. How individuals with autism may have a penchant for anthropomorphism and this may ameliorate typical ToM differences. 

3) Analog and Digital games. how board and video games can be used be used for social good. 

Brickhill R., Piovesan, A., Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2023). Autism Thy name is man: exploring implicit and explicit gender bias in autism perceptions. Plos One. http:/doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284013

Atherton, G. , Piovesan, A.,  Cross, L. (2023). Autism, pets and the importance of seeing human Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2975

 Cross, L., Piovesan, A., Sousa, M,. Wright, P., Atherton, G. (2023). Your Move: An open access data set of over 1600 board gamer demographics preferences and motivations.  Simulation and Gaming. DOI:10.1177/10468781231189493

Atherton, G., Morimoto, Y., Nakashima, S., & Cross, L. (2023). Does the study of culture enrich our understanding of autism? A cross-cultural exploration of life on the spectrum in Japan and the West. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221231169945

Cross, L., Piovesan, A., Atherton, G. (2022). Autistic people outperform neurotypicals in a cartoon version of the RME. Autism Research. doi.org/10.1002/aur.2782

Gali, O., Ercan, S.B., Atherton, G., Cross, L., Heaton, P., Sayis, B. & Pares, N. (2022, December 14). Mixed Reality to stimulate Prosociality in Children with Social Challenges. In Subramanian, S. K., Wright, G., Fluet, G., Demers, M., Krasovsky, T., Brunner, I., & Paulino, T. (Ed.), ICVR2022 papers (pp. 15-16). https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/B85X9

Atherton, G. Edisbury, E., Piovesan, A., Cross, L.  (2022). They ask no questions and pass no criticism: A mixed methods study exploring pet ownership in autism.   Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05622-y

Cross, L., Kaye, L. K., Savostijanovs, J., McLatchie, N., Johnston, M., Whiteman, L., Mooney, R., & Atherton, G. (2022). Gendered violence and sexualised representations in video games: (Lack of) effect on gender-related attitudes. New Media & Society. doi.org/10.1177/14614448221075736 

Manera, V., Agüera-Ortiz, L., Askenazy, F., Dubois, B., Corveleyn, X., Cross, L., ... & Robert, P. (2022) In-person and remote workshops for people with neurocognitive disorders: recommendations from a Delphi panel. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 931. 13:747804. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.747804

Atherton, G., & Cross, L. (2021). Gamification in autism: A review of the uses of analog and digital games in autism interventions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 3049. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669734

Atherton, G. Edisbury, E., Piovesan, A., Cross, L.  (2021). Autism through the ages: A mixed methods approach to understanding how age and age of diagnosis affect quality of life. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 1-16, doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05235-x

Cross l., Whiteman, L., Ward, L., Atheron G. (2021). Moving From Me to We: Interpersonal Coordinations Effects on Self-Construal. Open Psychology. 3(1), 50-63 doi.org/10.1515/psych-2020-0110

Connolly, T., Atherton, G., Cross, L., Piovesan, A., & Kaye, L. K. (2021). The wild west of measurement: Exploring problematic technology use cut off scores and their relation to psychosocial and behavioural outcomes in adolescence. Computers in Human Behavior, doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106965

Crossey, B. P., Atherton, G., & Cross, L. (2021). Lost in the crowd: Imagining walking in synchrony with a crowd increases affiliation and deindividuation. PloS one, 16(7), e0254017. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254017

Atherton G., Cross, L., (2021) Reading the mind in cartoon eyes: A cartoon version of the RME Psychological Reports, doi.org/0033294120988135.

Cross, L., Atherton, G., Sebanz, N. (2021) Intentional Synchronisation affects Automatic Imitation and Source Memory. Scientific Reports, 11, 573. [573]. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79796-9

Cross, L.,  Atherton G., (2021) Gamification in autism. A review of the use of analog and digital games in autism interventions (FIRAH) 

Cross, L. (2020). Walking In My Shoes. The Psychologist, Vol  33 (p24-27)

Cross, L., Micheal, J., Wilsdon, L., Henson, H., Atherton G.,  (2020)  Still want to help: Entrainments effects on helping behaviour after a 24-hour delay. Acta Psychologica. doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103062

Atherton G., Cross, L.,  (2020) Walking in my shoes: Imagined Synchrony Improves Attitudes Towards Outgroups. Psychological Studies. 1-9  doi.org/10.1007/s12646-020-00568-6

Hamlin, I., Taylor, P.J., Cross, L., MacInnes, K., van der Zee, S. (2020). A psychometric investigation into the structure of deception strategy use. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. doi.org/10.1007/s11896-020-09380-4

Cross, L. (2020) Walking in their shoes. The Conversation.

Cross, L. Faraha, M.,  Atherton, G. (2019). The animal in me: Enhancing emotion recognition in adolescents with autism using animal filters. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04179-7

Atherton, G., Sebanz, N., Cross, L.  (2019). Imagine all the synchrony: Actual and imagined synchronous walking’s effects on attitudes towards marginalised groups. PlosOne, 14(5) e0216585. doi.10.1371/.02220264

Atherton G., Cross, L. (2019) Animal faux pas: Two legs good four legs bad for ToM, but not in the BAP. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1-15. doi.10.1080/00221325.2019.1593100

Cross, L., Wilson, A. D., Golonka, S. (2019). I’ll just watch: The pro-social consequences of coordinated rhythmic movement towards non-movers. The Journal of Social Psychology. 1-15, doi.10.1080/00224545.2019.1623161

Cross, L., Atherton., Turgeon, M. (2019). How moving together binds us together: A Review of the socio-emotional effects of interpersonal entrainment. Open Psychology 1: 273-302. doi.10.1515-2018-0018

Cross, L., Turgeon, M., Atherton, G., (2019). Moving with the in-crowd: Interpersonal entrainment and cooperation in in vs. out -groups. Current psychology. 10. doi.10.1007/s12144-019-00283-0

Lynott, D., Walsh, M., McEnery, T., Connell, L., Cross, L.,  Marsh K.  (2019). Are you what you read? Predicting implicit attitudes towards immigration based on linguistic distributional cues from newspaper readership. Frontiers In Psychlogy 10:842 doi:10.3389/2019.00842 

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2019). Beyond Neuro Diversity. The Psychologist, Vol  32 (p2-3))

Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2018). Seeing more than human: Anthropomorphic theory of mind and autism. Frontiers in Psychology. 9:528. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00528

Atherton, G., Lummis, B., Day, S. X., & Cross, L. (2018). What am I thinking? Perspective-taking from the perspective of adolescents with autism. Autism, 23(5), 1186-1200. doi.1362361318793409

Cross, L., Atherton, G., Wilson, A. D., Golonka, S. (2017). Imagined steps: Can mental simulation of coordinated rhythmic movement affect pro-sociality? Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1798. 10.3389, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01798

Cross, L., Wilson, A. D., Golonka, S. (2016). How moving together brings us together:  When coordinated rhythmic movement affects cooperation. Frontiers in Psychology, 7:1983. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01983 

Atherton, G., Gali, O., Ercan, S.B., Cross, L., Heaton, P., Sayis, B. & Pares, N. (2023). The Moving Mandala: A Mixed Reality Conceptual Replication of Kirschner and Tomasello. Joint Action Meeting, Hungary. 

Nixon, W., Clarkson, A., Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2023). Drumming to the beat, The social effects of virtual synchrony.BPS Cyberpsychology Conference, UK. 

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2023). Game Changer, Autism & Hobbyist Board Games, Nature Summit, UCLAN, UK

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2023). Game Changer, Autism & Hobbyist Board Games, Spellen Lab, Bruges, Belgium.

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2023). Game Changer, Autism & Hobbyist Board Games, Northumbria University, UK, Autism Day.  

Atherton, G., Cross, L. (Upcoming - 2023) Seeing More Than Human: Anthropomorphism & Alternative Theories of Mind. Northumbria University, UK, Autism Day.  

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2023). Game Changer, Board games as a tool for social good, UK Games Expo, Birmingham, UK. .  

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2023). Analogue Games and Autism: Overlap, Lessons and Applications, Candid, NHS, Cheshire, UK. 

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2022). Board Games, Theory of Mind & Autism. Spiel, Essen, Germany . 

Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2022) Autism,& Anthropomorphism and Personification. Social interaction, EPS, Queen Mary University, UK. 

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2022). Moving From Us & Them: Actual & imagined synchronous walking reduces prejudice towards disenfranchised groups. Social interaction, EPS, Queen Mary University, UK.   

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2022). How Moving Together Binds Us Together. Department of Cognitive Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. 

Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2022). Autism,& Anthropomorphism and Personification. Department of Cognitive Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. 

Cross, L., Jonston, M., Mooney, R., Kaye, L., Whiteman, L., Savostijanovs, J., Atherton, G., (2021). Gender portrayals and video games.BPS Cyberpsychology Conference, UK. 

Savostijanovs, J., Atherton, G.,  Cross L (2021)  Ready player one: using a virtual environment to explore the relationship between coordination and perspective taking. BPS Cyberpsychology Conference, UK. 

Cross, L., Atherton G,(2021). Gaming on the spectrum. Game in Lab symposium, Paris, hosted on Discord & YouTube

Cross, L., (2020). How Moving Together Binds Us Together. Social Bridges. Organised by Universität der  Bundeswehr München, hosted on YouTube. 

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2019). How Moving Together Binds Us Together. Tohoku University, Japan. 

Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2019) Autism,& Anthropomorphism and Personification, Tohoku University, Japan. 

Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2019) Autism, Anthropomorphism and Personification, John Moore University, UK. 

Cross, L., Atherton, G., Sebanz, N (2019). Moving Together or Meaning To: Intentional vs incidental coordination’s effects on imitation and memory. Joint Action Meeting, Genoa Italy

Atherton, G., Sebanz, N ., Cross, L. (2019). From Them To Us: Actual and imagined coordinated walking’s effects on implicit and explicit attitudes. Joint Action Meeting, Genoa Italy

Atherton, G., Cross, L. (2019) Autism, Anthropism and personification. Psychology research Launch, University of Wolverhampton, UK. 

Atherton, G., Cross L. (2018). Autism & Anthropomorphism. Workshop for WMA lab, Philosophy Department,  Warwick University, UK.

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2018). How Moving Together Binds Us Together. Workshop for WMA lab, Philosophy Department,  Warwick University, UK.

Cross, L., Atherton, G., Sebanz, N (2018). Walk It Out, Coordinated Walking’s Affect on Stereotypes. Social Cognition in Human And Robots. Hamburg Germany. 

Cross, L., Whiteman, L., Ward, S.,  Atherton G. (2018). From I to Us: Interpersonal Entrainment’s Effects on Identity.   Disembodied Self & Other. Porto Portugal. 

Cross, L., (2018). All Together Now: Interpersonal Coordination and Social Cognition. Symposium for the BPS Annual Conference, Cognitive section, Liverpool England. 

Cross, L., Atherton, G., Sebanz, N. (2018). Imagine All the Synchrony: Imagined coordination can decrease implicit and explicit attitudes towards the Roma. BPS Annual Conference, Cognitive section, Liverpool, UK.

Cross, L., Atherton, G. (2018). How Moving Together Binds Us Together. Research Seminar, SOMBY  lab, Department of Cognitive Science,  Central European University. Budapest, Hungary. 

Cross, L., Atherton, G., Wilson, A. D.,  Golonka, S. (2017). Imagine All the Synchrony. Imagined Entrainment’s Effects On Pro-sociality. Rhythm Production and Perception Workshop. Birmingham, UK. 

Lynott, D., Walsh, M., McEnery, T., Connell, L., Cross, L. (2017). Guardian and Daily Mail Readers’ Implicit Attitudes to Immigrants. Cognitive Science, London, UK. 

Cross, L., Wilson, A. D., Golonka, S. (2016). Moving Together: The Effects of a Coordinated Rhythmic Movement Task on Cooperation, Cohesion, Trust and Reciprocity. British  Psychological Society Annual Conference, Nottingham, UK.  

Cross, L., Wilson, A. D., Golonka, S. (2015). Imagined Steps: Can Mental Stimulation of Coordinated Rhythmic  Movement Foster Cohesive Social Effects? British Psychological  Society  Annual  Conference, Liverpool,  UK. 

Hamlin, I., Taylor, P., Cross, L., Hobson, S., Torrance, V. (2012). Individual  Differences in Deception Phenomenology: Factor Structure and Relationships with  Personality and Cues to Deception. European Association of Psychology and Law  (EAPL), Nicosia, Cyprus.

Turgeon, M., Phillips, A., & Cross, L. (2011). What is Necessary And Sufficient for Inter-Individual Entrainment?: Considerations of Time Scales and Temporal Structures. 13th International Workshop on Rhythm Perception and Production, Leipzig, Germany.