Federica Degno

Dr Federica Degno

  • Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  • Poole House P104c, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB
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Biography

Federica joined the Department of Psychology at Bournemouth University (BU) as a Lecturer in October 2021, after holding a Research Fellowship in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Central Lancashire (UK). Federica received a BSc in Psychological Science and Techniques and a MSc in Clinical, Developmental, and Neuropsychology from the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy), and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Southampton. During her MSc, PhD, and Research Fellowship, Federica completed research visits at the University of Exeter (UK), Macquarie University (Australia), and the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge (UK).

Research

Federica's research interests lie in the field of Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. She studies visual cognition, and is particularly interested in the foveal and parafoveal processes during reading and the link between behavioural and neural measures. Federica uses a variety of experimental techniques such as eye movements, event-related potentials, and their co-registration in her research.

Please contact Federica by email if you might be interested in carrying out an MRes or PhD under Federica's supervision.

Journal Articles

  • Atanasov, P., Liversedge, S.P. and Degno, F., 2025. Word order effects in sentence reading. Cognitive Psychology, 157.
  • Pagán, A., Degno, F., Milledge, S.V., Kirkden, R.D., White, S.J., Liversedge, S.P. and Paterson, K.B., 2025. Aging and word predictability during reading: Evidence from eye movements and fixation-related potentials. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics.
  • Rettie, L., Potter, R.F., Brewer, G., Degno, F., Vachon, F., Hughes, R.W. and Marsh, J.E., 2024. Warning—taboo words ahead! Avoiding attentional capture by spoken taboo distractors. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 36 (1), 61-77.
  • Rettie, L., Marsh, J.E., Liversedge, S.P., Wang, M. and Degno, F., 2024. Auditory distraction during reading: Investigating the effects of background sounds on parafoveal processing. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
  • Zang, C., Zhang, Z., Zhang, M., Degno, F. and Liversedge, S.P., 2023. Examining semantic parafoveal-on-foveal effects using a Stroop boundary paradigm. Journal of Memory and Language, 128.
  • Degno, F., Loberg, O. and Liversedge, S.P., 2021. Co-registration of eye movements and fixation-related potentials in natural reading: Practical issues of experimental design and data analysis. Collabra: Psychology, 7 (1).
  • Marsh, J.E., Threadgold, E., Barker, M.E., Litchfield, D., Degno, F. and Ball, L.J., 2021. The susceptibility of compound remote associate problems to disruption by irrelevant sound: a Window onto the component processes underpinning creative cognition? Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 33 (6-7), 793-822.
  • Degno, F. and Liversedge, S.P., 2020. Eye movements and fixation-related potentials in reading: A review. Vision (Switzerland), 4 (1).
  • Degno, F., Loberg, O., Zang, C., Zhang, M., Donnelly, N. and Liversedge, S.P., 2019. A co-registration investigation of inter-word spacing and parafoveal preview: Eye movements and fixation-related potentials. PLoS ONE, 14 (12).
  • de Lissa, P., McArthur, G., Hawelka, S., Palermo, R., Mahajan, Y., Degno, F. and Hutzler, F., 2019. Peripheral preview abolishes N170 face-sensitivity at fixation: Using fixation-related potentials to investigate dynamic face processing. Visual Cognition, 27 (9-10), 740-759.
  • Hepsomali, P., Hadwin, J.A., Liversedge, S.P., Degno, F. and Garner, M., 2019. The impact of cognitive load on processing efficiency and performance effectiveness in anxiety: evidence from event-related potentials and pupillary responses. Experimental Brain Research, 237 (4), 897-909.
  • Degno, F., Loberg, O., Zang, C., Zhang, M., Donnelly, N. and Liversedge, S.P., 2019. Parafoveal previews and lexical frequency in natural reading: Evidence from eye movements and fixation-related potentials. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148 (3), 453-474.

PhD Students

  • Petar Atanasov, 2025. Investigating Transposed Word Effects in Reading, (Completed)
  • Laura Rettie. Auditory distraction during reading: Investigating the effects of background noise on parafoveal processing, (In progress)
  • Marianna Constantinou, 2024. Episodic memory in young and older adults following exposure to emotional stimuli, (Completed)

Profile of Teaching PG

  • Critical Issues in Cognitive Neuroscience - unit leader
  • Research Project - supervisor
  • Research Placement - supervisor
  • Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology - unit leader
  • Digital Methods and Data Skills

Profile of Teaching UG

  • Research Project - supervisor
  • Cognition and Language
  • Current Trends in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience
  • Introduction to Educational Psychology

External Responsibilities

  • Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Associate Editor

Internal Responsibilities

  • Programme Leader for Level 6 BSc (Hons) Psychology, Department of Psychology

Memberships

  • Advance HE, Fellow,
  • Experimental Psychology Society, Member,
  • North-West Visual Cognition Group, Member,
  • Psychonomic Society, Member,