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      Dr Fabia Franco

      PhD
      ROLE: Senior Lecturer in Psychology
      SCHOOL: Science & Technology
      DEPARTMENT: Psychology
      TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 8411 5471
      EMAIL: F.Franco@mdx.ac.uk
      1. Biography &
        Qualifications
      2. Learning &
        Teaching Interests
      3. Research Outputs &
        Interests
      4. Funded Research &
        Knowledge Exchange Projects
      5. Engagement &
        Impact

      • Biography &
        Qualifications

        I studied in Italy at the Universities of Padua (BSc/MSc Psychology Magna cum Laude; awarded the Italian Society of Psychology prize for best dissertation yrs. 1980-82) and Bologna (PhD Psychology). 

        I spent a post-doctoral period at the University of Stirling to work with George Butterworth at the Infant Study Unit, thanks to grants from the Italian CNR and European Science Foundation. I remained as post-doctoral fellow to extend the research thanks to grants from the ESRC. 

        In 1991 I became a tenured lecturer at the University of Padua. I spent a sabbatical year at the University of Cambridge in 1996 and I relocated to London for family reasons in 1998, when I joined Middlesex University. 

        I was Visiting Professor at the University of Roma-Tre, Rome, during a sabbatical term in 2006, and Visiting Scholar at LPL (Laboratoire Parole et Langage) CNRS UMR 7309, University of Aix-Marseille, during a sabbatical period in 2014. 

        I am Life Member of Clare Hall (Cambridge) since 1997 and Honorary Member of GRiDD (Group for Research in Developmental Disabilities, UCL Institute of Education, London), since 2013. I joined the Developmental Psychology Editorial Board of Frontiers in Pediatrics and Psychology in 2015, and AIRS (Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing) in 2016. I am a member of The British Psychological Society / Developmental Section.


        Languages Spoken

        English; Italian (native); French (fluent); Spanish (basic).

      • Learning &
        Teaching Interests

        • Communication and Language (3rd year elective module)
        • Musical communication (3rd year seminar)
        • Developmental Psychology (2nd year core module)
        • Observational Methods (2nd year and masters).

        Supervision of empirical projects:

        • Final year empirical projects / dissertations
        • Internships (internal and external)
        • MScs
        • PhDs.

        I welcome Dissertation projects in the following areas:

        • Psychology of Music (including dance)
        • Selected topics in early development, particularly communication, language and music
        • The relationship between language and music, and selected topics in music psychology
        • Infants and young children's social cognition and communication in typical and atypical populations

      • Research Outputs &
        Interests

        Developmental Psychology:

        My main research focus is on infant communication and the development of language. In the course of my career I studied the development of a first sound-meaning system based on nonsegmental features in infant prelinguistic vocalisations; infant-directed speech; and joint attention, in particular the pointing gesture in infants. More recently I have begun to study the relationship between language and music in the development of human communication.

        I have established the Middlesex babyLab , a research laboratory dedicated to infant research and including observation facilities with AV digital support, sound-isolating booth, preferential looking/listening, Tobii eye-tracking.

        I am interested also in a number of other aspects of developmental psychology concerning young children's cognition and emotion in typical and atypical groups.

        Psychology of Music:

        Cognitive benefits of music exposure; Reading and musical expertise; Movement synchronization and affiliation; Music and emotion.

        Research students, interns and visiting researchers (current):

        Nina Politimou, Music processing, language processing and working memory in preschool children: The effects of short-term music training (final year PhD).

        Sara Boem (MSc Psychology Padua), Music Psychology, Erasmus+ Mobility grant (November 2016 - May 2017).

        Coulisse Bialic-Murphy (Msc Psychology Middlesex London), Dance, Music and Reading (January - May 2017).

        Ongoing collaborations:

        • Early musical interactions and language development in the second year (with S. Falk - Paris, M. Fasolo - Chieti, M. Spinelli & C. Suttora - Milan-Bicocca) and in preschoolers (with L. Stewart - Goldsmith's)
        • Infant-directed singing and musical interactions with infants and young children in hunter-gatherers (with J. Lewis - Anthropology/University College London and S. Falk - Aix-Marseille/LMU Munich)
        • Reading abilities and types of musical expertise in typical and dyslexic readers (with N. Brunswick - Middlesex)
        • Cognitive performance and physiological self-regulation with affect-matching / -mismatching music in children (with M. Van Puyvelde/Royal Military Academy of Belgium, and J. Swaine/Hull) and healthy 65+ (with E. Ward, Middlesex)
        • The Eyes Test revisited: A generalisation study with typical and atypical children (with M. Mazza/L'Aquila, D. Dimitriou/IoE University College London).
        • Music-language boundaries in human infancy (with M. Van Puyvelde/Royal Military Academy of Belgium)
        •  The impact of dance-based exercise on cognitive abilities and work performance in middle aged women (with M. Vecchi PI and P. Brañas-Garzas, Middlesex Behavioural Economics).

        Publications:

        Franco, F., and Angelova, S. (2016). Emotion-related musical variables affect person perception:Differential effects for men and women in a synchronization task. Interaction Studies 17:2, 306-320, DOI: 10.1075/is.17.2.06fra.

        Franco, F., Chew, M., and Swaine (2016). Preschoolers' attribution of affect to music: A comparison between vocal and instrumental performance. Psychology of Music, 1st August online, DOI: 10.1177/0305735616652954. 

        Van Puyvelde, M., and Franco, F. (2015). The interaction of music and language in the ontogenesis of human communication: A multimodal parent-infant co-regulation system. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Multimodal Experience of Music 2015. Sheffield (UK): HRI Online Publications, ISBN 978-0-9571022-4-8. Available online at:

        Gettings, S., Franco, F., & Santosh, P. (2015). Audio-conferencing as a method of facilitating sibling support groups: a pilot study. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 9:8  doi:10.1186/s13034-015-0041-z. 

        Franco, F., Swaine, J.S., Israni, S., Zaborowska, K.A., Kaloko, F., Kesavarajan, I. and Majek, J.A. (2014). Affect-matching music improves cognitive performance in adults and young children for both positive and negative emotions. Psychology of Music, DOI: 10.1177/0305735614548500.

        Franco, F., Pomorska, K., Abramowski, A., Itakura, S., and Nikaido, K. & D. Demetriou (2014). Can children with autism read emotions from the eyes? The Eyes Test revisited. Research in Developmental Disabilities, DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.01.037.

        Franco, F. Embodied attention in infant pointing. In J. Metcalfe & H. Torrace (Eds.), Agency & Joint Attention. NY: Oxford University Press, 2013 (pp. 152-164) (ISBN 978-0-19-998834-1).

        Franco, F., and Cross, I. (Guest Editors). Introduction to The Music of Language, The Language of Music: Meaning and Entrainment Questions. Empirical Musicology Review, 2012, Special Issue vol. 7/1-2, 2-4.

        Franco, F., & Martiskova, J. (2011). Can young children recognize emotion in the human voice? (Schopnosť rozpoznávania emócií z ľudského hlasu u detí predškolského veku). In E. Klčovanská & A. Topoľská (Eds) Psychologická teória a prax očami absolventa KP FF TU. Trnava (Slovakia): Trnava University Press, 2011 (pp. 125-132) (ISBN 978-80-8082-387-0).

        Major, A., Franco, F., & Zotovic, M., Preschoolers understanding of implicit causality and theory of mind development: A comparison between Serbian and Hungarian monolingual children (in English). Psihologija, 2010, 43/2,187-198. DOI:10.2298/PSI1002187M; UDC 159.955.072-053.4.

        Franco, F., Brunswick, N., & de Mornay Davies, P. Music of Language, Language of Music. The Psychologist, 2010, 11/3, 913-914.

        Franco, F., Perucchini, P., & March, B. Is infant initiation of joint attention by pointing affected by type of interaction? Social Development, 2009, 18 (1), 51-76.

        D’Odorico, L., Assanelli, A., Franco, F., Jacob, V. A follow-up study on Italian Late Talkers: Development of language, short-term memory, phonological awareness, impulsiveness and attention. Applied Psycholinguistics, 2007, 28, 157-169.

        Franco, F. Infant pointing: Harlequin, servant of two masters. In N. Eilan, C. Hoerl, T. McCormack, J. Roessler (Eds.) Joint attention: Communication and other minds. Problems in philosophy and psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005 (pp. 129-164).

        Assanelli, A., D'Odorico, L., Franco, F., & Salerni, N. Language delay and joint attention. Psicologia Clinica dello Sviluppo, 2005, IX N.2, 289-314.

        Levorato, C., Franco, F., Tasso, A., Russell, J. Implicit causality in verbs of visual perception: A crosslinguistic comparison between English and Italian. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 2005, XXXII N. 3, 131-154.

        Butterworth, G., Franco, F., McKenzie, B., Graupner, L., & Todd, B. Dynamic aspects of visual event perception and the production of pointing by human infants. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2002, 20, 1-24.

        Franco, F., & Gagliano, A. Toddler’s pointing when joint attention is obstructed. First Language, 2001, 21, 289-321.

        Russell, J., Hill, E., & Franco, F. The role of belief veracity in understanding intentions-in-action: Preschool children's performance on the transparent intentions task. Cognitive Development, 2001, 16, 775-792.

        Assanelli, A., Salerni, N., Franco, F., & D'Odorico, L. Linguisitc delay and gestural communication. ELA2001 Proceedings, 2001.

        Franco, F., Levorato, C., Tasso, A., Russell, J. Cross-linguistic developmental evidence of implicit causality in visual perception and cognition verbs. In M. Perkins & S. Howard (Eds.) New directions in language development and disorders. New York: Plenum, 2000 (pp. 189-198). 

        Franco, F. The development of meaning in infancy: Early communication and social understanding. In S. Hala (Ed.) The development of social cognition. Hove: Psychology Press, 1997 (pp. 95-160).

        Franco, F., & Wishart, J. Preverbal communication in young children with Down syndrome. In M. Aldridge (Ed.) Proceedings of the Child Language Seminar. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd., 1996 (pp. 52-65). 

        Franco, F., & Butterworth, G. Pointing and social awareness: Declaring and requesting in the second year. Journal of Child Language, 1996, 23, 307-336.

        Franco, F., & Wishart, J. Gestural communication development in children with Down syndrome. In R. Vianello & C. Cornoldi (Eds.), Handicap e apprendimento: Ricerche e proposte di intervento (Handicap and learning: Research and intervention). Bergamo: Junior, 1995 (pp. 55-69). 

        Franco, F., & Longobardi, E. Assessment of communication and early language. In G. Axia (Ed.), La valutazione dello sviluppo (Assessment of development). Roma: La Nuova Italia, 1994 (pp. 117-151).

        Butterworth, G., & Franco, F. Motor development: communication and cognition. In L. Kalverboer, B. Hopkins, R.H. Gueze (Eds.) A longitudinal approach to the study of motor development in early and later childhood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993 (pp. 153-165).

        Jenkins, J., Franco, F., Dolins, F., & Sewell, A. Toddlers' reactions to negative emotion displays: Forming models of relationships. Infant Behavior and Development, 1995, 18, 273-281.

        Franco, F., & Wishart, J. The use of pointing and other gestures by young children with Down syndrome. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 1995, 100/2, 160-182.

        Franco, F. Some social perception processes in adult-infant interaction: An experimental approach. In G. Di Stefano and M. Tallandini (Eds.), Meccanismi e processi di sviluppo nell'interpretazione post-piagetiana (Mechanisms and processes of development in post-Piagetian modeling). Milano: Cortina, 1991 (pp. 359-398).

        Franco, F., Evidence, interpretation and theories about object permanence in the sensorimotor period. In G. Di Stefano and M. Tallandini (Eds.) Meccanismi e processi di sviluppo nell'interpretazione post-piagetiana (Mechanisms and processes of development in post-Piagetian modeling). Milano: Cortina, 1991 (pp. 249-302).

        D'Odorico, L., & Franco, F. Adult-infant interaction as a context for communicative development. In V. Ugazio (Ed.) I condizionamenti educativi (Educational constraints on development). Milano: Angeli, 1991 (pp. 184-208).

        D'Odorico, L., & Franco, F. Selective production of vocalisations in different communication contexts. Journal of Child Language, 1991, 18, 475-99.

        Franco, F., D'Odorico, L., & Campbell, R. Children's knowledge about infants. Eta' Evolutiva, 1990, 39, 91-96.

        Franco, F., Arcuri, L., & Cadinu, M. Implicit causality in interpersonal verbs: a test with Italian. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 1990, XVII/1, 159-174. 

        Franco, F., & Arcuri, L. Implicit causality of verbs: Effects of semantic valence. British Journal of Social Psychology, 1990, 26, 61-70.

        Franco, F. Analysis of preverbal communicative development. In L. Camaioni and F. Simion (Eds.) Metodi di ricerca in psicologia dello sviluppo (Research methods in developmental psychology). Bologna: Il Mulino, 1989 (pp. 237-267). 

        Franco, F., & D'Odorico, L. Baby Talk from the perspective of discourse production. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 1988, 17, 29-63.

        Franco, F. Similarities and differences between different types of social partners in adult-infant interaction. Eta' Evolutiva, 1988, 30, 103-113. 

        Franco, F. Maturation and development: acoustical analysis of communication by cry. Revista de Logopedia, Foniatria y Audiologia (Spain), 1988, VIII/3, 162-172.

        Franco, F. Infant cry in the perspective of language development: spectrographic analysis of vocalisations and psychological accounts. In J. Kirkland (Ed.) Cry Reports; Special Issue 1987. Palmerston North, N. Z.: Massey University Press, 1988 (pp. 10-16).

        Franco, F., & D'Odorico, L. Context-discourse matching in Baby Talk. In M. Bertuccelli Papi and J. Verschueren (Eds.) The pragmatic perspective. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1987 (pp. 213-228).

        Franco, F., Memory in infancy: precursors, prerequisites, or early memory organisations? Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 1987, XIV/4, 563-576.

        D'Odorico, L., & Franco, F. Interactional context and Baby Talk: A comparison between mothers and fathers. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 1986, 2, 253-273.

        D'Odorico, L., Franco, F., & Vidotto, G. Temporal characteristics in infant cry and non-cry vocalisations. Language and Speech, 1985, 28, 29-46.

        D'Odorico, L., & Franco, F. The determinants of Baby Talk: Relationship to context. Journal of Child Language, 1985, 12, 567-586.

        Franco, F., & Gobbo, C. Analysis of exploratory behaviour in mother-infant interaction. Eta' Evolutiva, 1985, 20, 13-24.

        Franco, F. Differences in manner of phonation of infant cries: relationship to communicative context. Language and Speech, 1984, 27, 59-78.

        Franco, F. Non-segmental aspects of the acoustical differentiation of cry and non-cry vocalisations in the first year of life. Acta Phoniatrica Latina, 1984, V/3, 197-202.

        D'Odorico, L., & Franco, F. Communicative development of crying in the first year of life. Eta' Evolutiva, 1984, 19, 11-21.

        Franco, F. Functions and characteristics of crying in the first year of life. A critical review of the literature. Eta' Evolutiva, 1984, 19, 105-118.

        Franco, F. The development of research on the diagnostic use of spectrographic analysis of infant cry. Methodological problems and suggestions for a normative study. Psicologia Clinica, 1983, 2, 221-245.

        Franco, F. Jerome Bruner's contribution to the study of language development. Archivio di Psicologia Neurologia e Psichiatria, 1983, 1, 44-67.

         

        Conference papers (from 2010):

        • Franco, F., Baluch, B., Çatal, T., Danaye Tousi, M., Leivo, K., Major, A., Sigger, J., Skoczen, S., Zotovic, M. 1st Joint Conference of the Experimental Psychology Society and SEPEX. Granada (Spain), 15-17th April 2010.
        • Franco, F., Baluch, B., Çatal, T., Danaye Tousi, M., Leivo, K., Major, A., Sigger, J., Skoczen, S., Zotovic, M. 4th International Conference on Language, Culture and Mind (LCM 4). Turku (Finland), 21st-23rd June 2010.
        • Franco, F., Baluch, B., Çatal, Danaye Tousi, M., Leivo, K., Major, A., Sigger, J., Skoczen, S., Zotovic, M. 3rd UK Cognitive Linguistics Conference (UK-CLC3). University of Hertfordshire, 6-8th July 2010.
        • Franco, F., Falk, S., & Swaine, J. 1st Language & Music BPS Seminar (London, 20 July 2010).
        • Major, A., Franco, F., & Zotovic, M. et al. 5th International Conference on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. London, 12-13 July 2010.
        • Franco, F., & Martiskova, J.. British Psychological Society – Developmental Section Annual Conference. London, 13-14 September 2010.
        • Franco, F., & Martiskova, J. Annual Psychology Conference, Trnava University (Slovakia), 15 October 2010.
        • Franco, F., Chew, M., and Rohrmeier, M. 2nd Language & Music BPS Seminar (Cambridge, December 2010).
        • Franco, F., Chew, M., & Rohrmeier, M. International Conference The Neurosciences and Music - IV: Learning and Memory (Edinburgh, 9-12 June 2011).
        • Franco, F., Chew, M., & Swaine, J. International Conference The Neurosciences and Music - IV: Learning and Memory (Edinburgh, 9-12 June 2011).
        • Franco, F., Bozdogan, O., Chew, M., & Swaine, J. The Music of Language, the Language of Music - 3: Communicative Interaction / Literacy & Expertise (London, 5-6 September 2011).
        • Franco, F., & Martiskova, J. BPS Annual Developmental Psychology Section Conference (Newcastle, 7-9 September 2011).
        • Franco, F., Chew, M., & Swaine, J. BPS Annual Developmental Psychology Section Conference (Newcastle, 7-9 September 2011).
        • Nunez, M., Butcher, J., Franco, F., Leekam, S. (2012). Joint attention in children with dual sensory impairment: Touching a shared world. Presented at the BPS Developmental Psychology Section Conference, Strathclyde University (Glasgow), 5-7th September.
        • Nunez, M., Franco, F., & Leekam, S. (2013). Atypical World/Mind Regulation: Dual-sensory Impaired Children use Multisensory Means for Joint Attention. 25th APS Annual Convention. Washington, D.C. (USA), 23-26 May.
        • Franco, F., & Angelova, S. (2013). Stepping Together to Music Affects Men and Women Differently: Mode and Tempo Effects on Person Perception in a Synchronization Task. 3rd International Conference on Music & Emotion, Jyväskylä (Finland), 11-15 June.
        • Franco, F., & Angelova, S. (2013). Stepping Together to Music Affects Men and Women Differently: Mode and Tempo Effects on Person Perception in a Synchronization Task. EuroMov Inaugural Conference, Montpellier, 24-25 June.
        • Franco, F., Swaine, J., & Zaborowska, K. (2013). Mood-matching music improves cognitive performance in adults and preschoolers. Nordoff-Robbins Plus Conference Music and Communication: Music Therapy and Music Psychology. London, 20 September.
        • Franco, F., D'Odorico, L., & Kozar, I. (2013). Sex mediates musical preferences in 6-month-old infants. Nordoff-Robbins Plus Conference Music and Communication: Music Therapy and Music Psychology. London, 20 September.
        • Franco, F., Kiakides, L., Brunswick, N., and Evans, A. (2014). The effect of musical experience on reading skills. British Dyslexia Association's 9th International conference. Guildford, 27-29 March. 
        • Franco, F., Brunswick, N., Evans, A., Kiakides, L., & Martiskova, J. (2014). Exploring reading skills in function of different types of musical expertise. European Dyslexia Association (EDA) Summer Seminars 2014. San Marino, 19th-21st June.
        • Franco, F., and Swaine, J. Mood-matching music improves cognitive performance in adults and preschoolers. The Neurosciences and Music V - Cognitive Stimulation and Rehabilitation. Dijon (France), 29 May - 1 June.
        • Kozar, I., & Franco, F. Family background, preference for instrumental vs. vocal music and language development in infancy. The Neurosciences and Music V - Cognitive Stimulation and Rehabilitation. Dijon (France), 29 May - 1 June.
        • Politimou, A., & Franco, F. Western tonal knowledge in 3- and 4-year-old children. The Neurosciences and Music V - Cognitive Stimulation and Rehabilitation. Dijon (France), 29 May - 1 June.
        • Nunez, M., Franco, F. and Leekam, S. Multisensory joint attention: The deafblind path. 44th Annual Meeting of the Jean Piaget Society - Rethinking Language and Communicative Development. San Francisco (USA), 28-31 May 2014.
        • Franco, F., Pomorska, K., Abramowski, A. & Dimitriou, D. (2014). Can children with Autism read emotions from the eyes? The Eyes Test revisited. Sixth International Conference on Language, Culture and Mind (LCM6). Lublin (Poland), 23-26 June.
        • Franco, F., D'Odorico, L. & Kozar, I. (2014). Infant attention to vocal or instrumental music at 6 months is mediated by sex and exposure to singing: Follow-up on language development at 14 months. Presented at the XIXth Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies. Berlin, 3-5 July.
        • Franco, F. Sobolewska, T., Stewart, L. & Waller, A. (2015). Infant-directed song and speech: Attention deployment to sound and articulatory gesture in infancy. ICMEM2015, Sheffield, 22-24 March.
        • Politimou, N. & Franco, F. (2015). Links between musical and linguistic abilities in preschoolers: The role of the family's musical environment. Workshop on Infant Language Development (WILD2015), Stockholm, 6-10 June.
        • Franco, F., Kozar, I., & Sobolewska, T. (2015). Infant-directed singing, attention and language development in infancy. ECP2015, Milan, 7-10 July.
        • Politimou, N. & Franco, F. (2015). Links between musical and linguistic abilities in preschoolers: The role of the family's musical environment. ESCOM2015, Manchester, 17-22 August.
        • Franco, F., Swaine, J.S., & Van Puyvelde, M. (2015). Mood-matching music (not 'happy' music) improves cognitive performance and neuro-visceral integration in children. IV International Conference on Music and Emotion, Geneva, October 12-16.
        • Franco, F., Politimou, N., & Sobolewska. T. Sing for me, mama: Infant-directed singing facilitates early language development 15th WAIMH World Congress (World Association of Infant Mental Health), Prague, 29 May - 2 June 2016 (invited talk in symposium).
        • Politimou, N., & Franco, F. Links between musical and linguistic skills in young preschoolers: The role of the home musical environment. SYSMUS, Jyväskylä, Finland, 8-10 June 2016.

        Conferences/symposia recently organised:

        • Organizer and chair of a symposium "Music & language: Multimodal roots of communication in infancy", ICMEM (International Conference on Multimodal Experience of Music), Sheffiled (UK), 23-25 March 2015. Speakers: François et al. (Barcelona), Van Puyvelde (Brussels), Costa-Giomi (Texas), Franco, Sobolewska, Stewart & Waller (Middlesex/Goldsmiths).
        • Organizer and chair, Invited symposium in honour of L. D'Odorico, "Music and Language in the Development of Infant Communication", XIVth ECP (European Congress of Psychology), Milan, 7-10 July 2015. Speakers: Falk (Aix-Marseille/LMU Munich), Tsang (London Ontario), Van Puyvelde (Brussels), Filippa (Paris/Modena), F. Franco et al. (Middlesex/Milan-Bicocca).
        • BPS Seminars on The Music of Language, the Language of Music (2010-2011) - three interdisciplinary international meetings as follows:

        1. Development / Evolution, 19-20 July 2010 (London, Middlesex University)
        2. Meaning / Entrainment, 13-14 December 2010 (Cambridge, Centre for Music and Science)
        3. Pragmatics / Literacy, July 2011 (London, Middlesex University)

        Publication Feed

        Music@Home: a novel instrument to assess the home musical environment in the early years

        Politimou, Nina and Stewart, Lauren and Müllensiefen, Daniel and Franco, Fabia (2018) Music@Home: a novel instrument to assess the home musical environment in the early years. PLoS One, 13 (4). ISSN 1932-6203

        Testing literacy educational software to develop design guidelines for children with Autism

        Tuedor, Marian and Franco, Fabia and White, Anthony S. and Smith, Serengul and Adams, Ray G. (2018) Testing literacy educational software to develop design guidelines for children with Autism. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education . ISSN 1034-912X (Published online first)

        Simple mindreading abilities predict complex theory of mind: developmental delay in autism spectrum disorders

        Pino, Maria Chiara and Mazza, Monica and Mariano, Melania and Peretti, Sara and Dimitriou, Dagmara and Masedu, Francesco and Valenti, Marco and Franco, Fabia (2017) Simple mindreading abilities predict complex theory of mind: developmental delay in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47 (9). pp. 2743-2756. ISSN 0162-3257

        Preschoolers' attribution of affect to music: a comparison between vocal and instrumental performance

        Franco, Fabia and Chew, Marcia and Swaine, Joel Simon (2017) Preschoolers' attribution of affect to music: a comparison between vocal and instrumental performance. Psychology of Music, 45 (1). pp. 131-149. ISSN 0305-7356

        Emotion-related musical variables affect person perception: Differential effects for men and women in a synchronization task

        Franco, Fabia and Angelova, Stanislava (2016) Emotion-related musical variables affect person perception: Differential effects for men and women in a synchronization task. Interaction Studies: Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems, 17 (2). pp. 306-320. ISSN 1572-0373

        View more publications

      • Funded Research &
        Knowledge Exchange Projects

         

        BRITISH ACADEMY SGS (PI): Emotional meaning of musical consonance and dissonance in cross-modal nonverbal tasks, with F. Bravo (Dresden), M. Mazza (L’Aquila, Italy), and M. Van Puyvelde (Brussels) - starting spring 2017.

        SEMPRE The Arnold Bentley Fund (PI): Do musical training and practice support reading? A study of professional dancers and musicians, with Nicola Brunswick and Coulisse Bialic-Murphy (Middlesex University, Psychology) - started January 2017

        AIRS (Advancing Interdisciplinary Research on Singing), Mapping the music of 2-4 year olds with LENA, with Lauren Stewart (Goldsmiths', Psychology) and Graham Welch (UCL Institute of Education) - February/July 2015.

        SEMPRE The Arnold Bentley Fund (PI): Do M'bendjele (BaYaka) Pygmies recognise communicative intent in Western infant-directed songs? Another look at music and universality, with Jerome Lewis (Anthropology, University College London, UK) and Simone Falk (Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich and LPL Aix-Marseille University, France) - September 2014/2016. 

        SENSE, Joint attention and communication development in deaf-blind infants and young children, with Maria Nunez (PI, Glasgow Caledonian University) and Sue Leekam (Cardiff University) – September 2011/January 2014.

        MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY GRANT (PI), Reading abilities and music: The role of different types of expertise, with N. Brunswick, L. Kiakides and A. Evans - May/July 2013.

        NUFFIELD FOUNDATION SGS (PI): Young children recognition of emotion in the human voice – January 2011 / September 2012.

        DFG (PAntrag im Programm „Initiierung und Intensivierung bilateraler Kooperationen" der DFG, Deutschland – Großbritannien), The intertwining of Speech and Song: Is there a relationship between perceptive and interactional aspects of parental singing and language development? With Simone Falk (PI, LMU Munich) - 2011/12.

        BRITISH ACADEMY SGS (PI): "If you are happy and you know it ....": Can preschoolers recognise emotion in music? With Marcia Chew, and Joel Swaine (Cambridge University, Centre for Music & Science) – October 2010 / June 2011.

        SEMPRE The Arnold Bentley Fund (PI): Speech and music tone processing in function of musical and language background (tonal v non-tonal), with Martin Rohrmeier (Cambridge University Centre for Music and Science / Berlin FU) and Marcia Chew - October 2010 / June 2011. 

        BPS (British Psychological Society) (PI): Research Seminars Competition to organize three international meetings The music of language, the language of music - January 2010 / September 2011.

         

      • Engagement &
        Impact

        Membership of Professional Bodies and Learned Societies

        • B.P.S. (British Psychological Society), Graduate Member, Developmental Psychology Section, from 2001.
        • SEMPRE (Society for Education, Music & Psychology Research), from 2010.
        • AIRS (Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research in Singing), from 2016.

         

        Recent media  and general public engagements

        • I have contributed mother-infant materials mentioned with my research in the "Descent of Language" programme on BBC Radio 3, 27.09.15 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06b8q6y).
        • With my PhD student Politimou, I have presented a new experiment at the Cambridge Science Festival 17.03.16 (http://www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk/events/mind-behind-music).

        • Fabia Franco (Middlesex University, London), Music and communication: New perspectives relevant for the autistic spectrum. Keynote at the Symposium “ Intersubjectivity, theory of mind and music”, University of L’Aquila & Abruzzi Regional Centre for Autism, 11th November 2016.

         

        Contribution to the development of assessment tools

        • Siblings Views Questionnaires – Gettings, Franco & Santosh (available from XIP UCLB in 2017)
        • Communicative Development Inventory Greek adaptation (Markodimitraki, Papailiou, Politimou & Franco) (http://mb-cdi.stanford.edu/adaptations.html)
        • Music@Home: Questionnaires to assess informal musical experiences in the home, Q1-Infants, Q2-Preschoolers (Politimou, Müllensiefen, Stewart & Franco, 2017). Italian translation available.

         

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