Staff Profile
Dr Nicola Cutting
Senior Lecturer, School Learning and Teaching Lead
/prod01/yorksjacuk/media/content-assets/staff-profile-images/Nicola-Cutting.jpg)
My primary research interests are in Developmental Psychology. I joined York St John University as a Lecturer in Psychology in 2016. Prior to joining York St. John I completed my PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2012. Supervised by Dr Sarah Beck and Professor Ian Apperly, my PhD investigated children’s tool innovation and problem solving. Following my PhD I was a named Research Fellow on the ESRC funded grant ‘(Re)Inventing the wheel: the development of tool innovation’.
Academic Qualifications
- PhD in Psychology, University of Birmingham, 2012
- BSc (hons) Psychology, University of Sheffield, 2008
- School – School of Education, Language and Psychology
- Email – n.cutting@yorksj.ac.uk
- Phone – 01904 876 100
- Research - View my work in RaY
- Postgraduate Research Supervisor
Further information
Teaching
- PSY4005M Current Psychology
- PSY5002M Infant and Child Development
- 3PY418 Lifespan Development (Module Leader)
- 3PY400 Research Paper
- PSY7003M Child Development (Module Leader)
- PSY7002M Research Paper
Research
We all know that children are brilliant at learning to use tools. By copying others, children quickly master how to use a spoon, a cup and even an iPad. In contrast to children’s ability to learn from others, children are surprisingly poor at working things out for themselves. My research investigates the difficulties children have with innovating simple novel tools to solve problems. The evolution of human culture (tools in particular) is due to our faithful imitation of others actions, and innovations. Much research has focused on our ability to replicate what we see, but much less is known about innovations. My research focuses on why innovation is so difficult and what makes someone an innovator.
My second stream of research explores how exposure to different types of narrative (books, audio, film) relates to the development of mentalising and empathy in children and young people. This project is a collaboration with Dr Lorna Hamilton.
Current Students
Alex Bond
Christabelle Toni-Uebari
Professional activities
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Recognised Senior Advisor UK Advising and Tutoring (UKAT).
Member of the Experimental Psychology Society.
Reviewer for the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Cognitive Development, Journal of Cognition and Development, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
Publications
Cutting, N., Apperly, I. A., Chappell, J., & Beck, S. R. (2019). Is tool modification more difficult than innovation? Cognitive Development. Advance online Publication.
Whalley, C. L., Cutting, N. & Beck, S. R. (2017). The effect of prior experience on children’s tool innovation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 161, 81-94.
Beck, S. R., Williams, C., Cutting, N., Apperly, I. A., & Chappell, J. (2016) Individual differences in children’s innovative problem-solving are not predicted by divergent thinking or executive functions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371: 20150190.
Chappell, J., Cutting, N., Tecwyn, E. C., Apperly, I. A., Beck, S. R., & Thorpe, S. K. S. (2015). Minding the Gap: A Comparative Approach to Studying the Development of Innovation. In A. B. Kaufman & J. C. Kaufman, Animal Creativity and Innovation (pp. 287–314). London: Academic Press.
Cutting, N., Apperly, I.A., Chappell, J. & Beck, S.R. (2014). Why can’t children piece their knowledge together? The puzzling difficulty of tool innovation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 125, 110-117.
Beck, S. R., Cutting, N., Apperly, I. A., Demery, Z., Iliffe, L., Rishi, S., & Chappell, J. (2014). Is tool-making knowledge robust over time and across problems? Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1395.
Chappell, J., Cutting, N., Apperly, I. A., & Beck, S. R. (2013). The development of tool manufacture in humans: what helps young children make innovative tools? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 368, 1630.
Beck, S. R., Chappell, J., Apperly, I. A., & Cutting, N. (2012). Tool innovation may be a critical limiting step for the establishment of a rich tool-using culture: a perspective from child development. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(4), 220-221
Cutting, N., Apperly, I. A., & Beck, S. R. (2011). Why do children lack the flexibility to innovate tools? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109, 497–511.
Beck, S. R., Apperly, I. A., Chappell, J., Guthrie, C., & Cutting, N. (2011). Making tools isn’t child’s play. Cognition, 119, 301–306.
