Christopher Wilson obtained his PhD from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth in 2010 where he was awarded a scholarship for doctoral research by the Irish Research Council (IRCHSS). He is a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society.

Christopher has taught on a range of modules at Teesside University across all levels of the psychology programme. Over the last several years he has taught research methods and analysis at Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral level. He supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research.

Experimental psychologist with expertise in cognitive neuroscience. My early work focused on fundamental components of attention, perception and decision-making. My current research used these concepts to understand risk-taking behaviour in applied domains with a primary focus on gambling and gambling-related harms  (and other work on risky purchasing and cyber security) to inform policy and practice. This includes the role of cognitive processes (e.g., attention, executive function) or psychopathologies (e.g., hypomania, depression) in risk-taking behaviour.

Currently leading the MIND lab, (founded in 2024) which provides a collaborative environment for researchers, PGRs and student researchers to contribute to high-quality research.

Christopher has received funding for his work from The Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling, North Yorkshire County Council, Electrical Safety First and The Irish Research Council.

Christopher welcomes applications from prospective PhD students with interests in the area of decision making and risk.

Doctoral Supervision (in progress) *DoS

Neuroscience of decision-making and risk

*Ema Abir (Dclin, 2027): Cognitive Inhibition and Cognitive Flexibility as moderators of Depression and Problem Gambling

*David Minchella (Dclin, 2026): Does reward focus moderate the relationship between hypomania and economic risk-taking?

*Alana Gadsby (Dclin, 2026): The role of memory and impulsivity in hypomania and economic risk-taking: a neurological study.

Other Current Projects in Applied Psychology

Emily Jones (PhD, 2026): An Investigation into the Differential Effects of Visual Processing Errors on Perceiving Stimuli of Varying Emotional Intensity

Mick Stockton (PhD, 2026): Using behavioural science to explore and explain retention on online games.

Georgia Wright PhD, 2027): Developing evidence-based best practice for lineups involving child witnesses

Michelle White (PhD, 2027): Neurodivergence and Criminal Justice: A comparative analysis of the treatment of neurodivergent individuals during the early stages of the arrest and interview process.

Jack Dixon (PhD, 2027): Investigating differences in blood oxygenation and brain activity between individuals with and without dyslexia.

Josh Price (PhD, 2027): The underlying factors of participation in BDSM or Vanilla sex.

Rachel Summerhill (PhD, 2031):  Culture change in complex landscapes – creating capacity and capability to embed new ways of working within local government. 

Doctoral Supervision (completed) 

Shiny Vergehase (PhD, 2019): Online psychometrics: The design and validation of extensible system architecture.

Julianne Kinch (PsyD, 2019). The contribution of organic factors to impulsive aggression on patients with personality disorders.

Claire Brewis (PhD, 2017). The narrated lives of people affected by acquired brain injury living in rural areas.

Christopher sat on funding review panels for the Irish Research Council, UKRI, Swiss Science Federation and Dutch Research Council.

Christopher acts as editor and reviewer for a number of journals such as PLoS One, Frontiers in Psychology, Vision, Interaction with Computers and Educational Psychology.

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society.

Christopher consults and provides training on research design and development, data analysis and data intelligence. The goal is to help organisations to use research and analysis to turn data into usable intelligence.

Teaching has primarily focused on research methods and analysis.

Christopher was previously e-Learning Coordinator with responsibility for the development and implementation of technology enhanced actions and development of policy related to the university’s Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Strategy in the school of Social Sciences and Law.

He has an interest in the use of technology in teaching, effective feedback mechanisms and research methods training.