Dr Amrita Ahluwalia
Lecturer in Psychology
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Biography
I graduated with an MA (Hons) in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Edinburgh in 2013, and again in 2015 with an MSc in Cognition in Science and Society, an inter-disciplinary masters that combined my interests in Psychology and Philosophy. In 2020, I completed my doctoral degree at the University of Edinburgh which focused on developing a novel task that captures people’s fast intuitive choices between competing moral values and exploring how these kinds of choices relate to other social and political attitudes. I joined the University of Dundee in 2020, first as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Nick Hopkins, investigating experiences of recognition and misrecognition of Muslims in Scotland, and then as a lecturer focusing on research methods and statistics.
Research
My research interests are in moral and social psychology. I have a primary interest in moral judgment, particularly in the factors that explain moral diversity, i.e. what makes some things more morally right or wrong than others, and why people sometimes answer this question in very different ways. More specifically, my work focuses on how people make judgments when they have to choose between competing moral intuitions. I am interested in how such intuitive moral trade-offs might relate to deliberated moral values, and social and political attitudes and behaviour. I also have interests in intergroup relationships, particularly in factors that influence cooperative behaviour, and in how individual differences in cognitive style impact on political and social attitudes. I am keen to supervise projects in these areas, and would also be happy to consider ideas relating to other topics in moral and social psychology. My work is usually quantitative, but I am willing to discuss ideas for qualitative projects as well.
Teaching
- Introductory Psychology (Research Methods & Statistics) (Level 1)
- Understanding the Mind (Moral Judgment) (Level 2)
- Individual Development (Research Methods & Statistics) (Level 2)
- Psychological Research Skills (Level 3 and MSc)
- Research Foundations (Guest Lecture) (MSc)
- Advanced Quantitative Methods (MSc)
Media availability
I am available for media commentary on my research.
Contact Corporate Communications for media enquiries.
Areas of expertise
- Psychology