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Ms Eleanor Ratcliffe

PhD Candidate

Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Research Methods in Psychology (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Email:
Phone: Work: 01483 68 6899
Room no: 22 AD 04

Office hours

I work at home for part of the week, so contact by email is preferred in the first instance.

Further information

Biography

I am studying for a full-time PhD in Environmental Psychology in collaboration with the National Trust and Surrey Wildlife Trust. Funded by an ESRC CASE studentship, my PhD explores how natural sounds can improve mood and attention after stress or fatigue.

Before coming to Surrey I studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, where I passed MSc Research Methods in Psychology with Distinction, and also gained a BSc in Psychology with First Class Honours. In the course of my previous research I have studied attention restoration in mediated natural environments, and how this varies with individual differences in affinity with nature. More recently, I collaborated with BAA Heathrow and London Gatwick airports to study the restorative effects of views of aircraft in airport environments.

I am a student representative for Surrey within the South East Doctoral Training Centre (DTC), and I sit on the DTC's Working Group for External Networks and Engagement.

Supervisors: Dr. Birgitta Gatersleben and Dr. Paul Sowden

Research Interests

  • Restorative environments
  • Attention Restoration Theory
  • Soundscapes
  • Environmental affinity and connectedness to nature

Publications

Ratcliffe, E. (2012, September). Collaborative postgraduate research: What's in it for you? PsyPAG Quarterly.

Ratcliffe, E., & Freeman, J. (submitted). Aircraft Views in Airport Environments: Affective Appraisals and Relationships with Attention Restoration

Presentations

Ratcliffe, E. (2012, July). Collaborative postgraduate research: a case study. Oral presentation at the South East DTC's Annual Conference, Guildford, United Kingdom.

Ratcliffe, E., Gatersleben, B., & Sowden, P. T. (2012, June). Exploring perceptions of birdsong as a restorative stimulus. Oral presentation at 22nd International Association for Environment-People Studies (IAPS) Conference, Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Ratcliffe, E., Gatersleben, B., & Sowden, P. T. (2012, May). Exploring perceptions of birdsong as a restorative stimulus. Oral presentation at 13th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology, Montpellier, France.

Ratcliffe, E., & Freeman, J. (2011, September). Attention restoration in airport environments - exploratory studies. Oral presentation 9th Biennial Conference on Environmental Psychology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Ratcliffe, E., & Freeman, J. (2011, May). Fascinating views and sounds - their relationships to attention restoration. Oral presentation at Media and the Senses Conference, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom.