Rate My Professor Neil Kirk

Dr Neil Kirk is a Reader in Cognitive and MIND Psychology in the Department of Sociological and Psychological Sciences at Abertay University. He is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and joined the teaching staff at Abertay in 2016. Prior to this appointment, he held research roles with the Medical Research Council and the Scottish Government.

His primary research interest centres on the cognitive mechanisms that underpin bidialectalism, particularly in closely related varieties such as Scottish English and Dundonian Scots. His PhD thesis, completed in 2016, examined whether speakers of these varieties exhibit cognitive effects similar to those observed in bilinguals. He also investigates the role of language, dialect and accent in conveying social information and influencing listeners’ judgements. Dr Kirk has received funding including a Leverhulme Trust PhD Studentship and a Carnegie Trust Travel Grant, and he has been recognised with the Alexander D G Kydd Memorial Prize. He actively engages in public understanding of science through demonstrations at festivals such as the Edinburgh Science Festival, Dundee Science Festival, MRC Mini Scientists exhibition and Big Bang Science Festival, and his research has featured in media outlets including BBC News and the Financial Times.