Prof. Goeffrey Bird, PhD
Professor Geoffrey Bird is a senior research fellow at the European Research College (ERC) London and a leading cognitive neuroscientist whose research focuses on social cognition, autism, empathy, emotional awareness, interoception, and the mechanisms underlying human social behaviour. His work combines insights from psychology and neuroscience to better understand how individuals perceive, interpret, and respond to the emotions and actions of others.
He completed his doctoral studies at University College London (UCL) under the supervision of Professor Cecilia Heyes, investigating the mechanisms of imitation and social learning. He subsequently held research positions at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, where he collaborated with leading scholars including Professors Chris Frith, Uta Frith, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, and Tania Singer. His research has explored a wide range of topics, including autism, empathy, decision-making, theory of mind, emotional processing, and social development.
Professor Bird has held academic appointments at Birkbeck, University of London, the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and the University of Oxford, where he was also a Tutorial Fellow at Brasenose College. Alongside his academic career, he has contributed to science policy as an adviser to the UK Government.
He currently divides his time between University College London, ERC London, and the University of Oxford, continuing his internationally recognised research on social cognition, autism, alexithymia, and interoception.
Qualification.
PhD
Ph.D. in Psychology, UCL. Mechanisms of Imitation, supervised by Professor Cecilia Heyes, 2004
Bachelor´s Degree
B.Sc. (Hons) in Psychology, UCL, 2000
Experience.
2026-present, Senior Research Fellow, ERUNI, ERC London
2026–present, Full Professor, Institute of Education, University College London. Visitor, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
2024–2026, Full Professor, Institute of Education, University College London, Senior Researcher, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
2023–2024, Full Professor, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Senior Researcher, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
2020–2023, Full Professor, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. Tutorial Fellow, Brasenose College. Professor, University of Birmingham
2017–2020, Associate Professor, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. Tutorial Fellow, Brasenose College
2013–2017, Senior Lecturer, MRC Social, Genetic, & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
2012–2012, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London
2008–2012, Lecturer, School of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London
2007–2008, Science Advisor – UK government
2006–2007, Research Fellow. Centre for Economics & Social Evolution, UCL
2004–2006, Research Fellow. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL
2003–2004, Research Fellow. Centre for Economics & Social Evolution, UCL
Publications (last 5 years, selected).
YORKE, I., MURPHY, J., RIJSDIJK, F., et al. and BIRD, G. Alexithymia may explain the genetic relationship between autism and sensory sensitivity. Translational Psychiatry, 2025, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-025-03254-1.
MURPHY, J. and BIRD, G. How might interoceptive accuracy training work? Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2025.
PAYNE, B., et al. and BIRD, G. Anti-social learning: the impact of language on mentalising. British Journal of Psychology, 2025.
CONWAY, J. R., et al. and BIRD, G. Theoretical limitations on mindreading measures: commentary on Wendt et al. (2024). Psychological Assessment, 2025, 37, pp. 129–132.
CUVE, H. C., MURPHY, J., HOBSON, H., ICHIJO, E., CATMUR, C. and BIRD, G. Are autistic and alexithymic traits distinct? A factor-analytic and network approach. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2022, 52, pp. 2019–2034. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05094-6.