Rate My Professor Ralph Pawling

Dr. Ralph Pawling serves as Principal Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University. He earned his PhD in 2013 from Bangor University, with research centered on cognitive processes involved in learning about others through non-visual cues, including facial mimicry and emotion recognition. After completing his doctorate, Pawling undertook two postdoctoral positions within the School of Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University. The initial postdoc was supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust, followed by another funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Pawling's research aligns with the Research Centre for Brain and Behaviour, particularly in somatosensory and social neuroscience. His investigations examine psychophysiological responses to affective touch mediated by C-tactile afferents, their positive affective value, and appetitive motivational properties. Notable studies include associations between high frequency heart rate variability and sensitivity to affective touch, influences of pupil size changes on lasting person perceptions, incidental retrieval of prior emotion mimicry, and memory for social cues impacting person judgments. Key publications comprise 'C-tactile afferent stimulating touch carries a positive affective value' (Pawling et al., PLOS ONE, 2017), 'A positive touch: C-tactile afferent targeted skin stimulation carries an appetitive motivational value' (Pawling et al., Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2017), 'High frequency heart rate variability is associated with sensitivity to affective touch' (Pawling et al., Physiology & Behavior, 2024), 'Pupil size changes influence lasting person perceptions' (Pawling and Kirkham, 2019), 'Incidental retrieval of prior emotion mimicry' (Pawling et al., Experimental Brain Research, 2017), and 'Memory for incidentally perceived social cues: Effects on person perception' (Pawling et al., British Journal of Psychology, 2017). His work has garnered over 500 citations on ResearchGate across 14 publications, contributing to advancements in understanding affective touch and social perception mechanisms.