Irene obtained a D.Phil. from Bangor University, where she held a Research Officer position for two years, before taking an Assistant Professor post in the Department of Psychology at Swansea University.

Irene’s research interests and publications fall into four broad categories: Object Recognition (with a focus on representation of shape and surface properties); Object-based Attention and Memory (with a focus on inhibitory mechanisms); Perception and Action (with a focus on how the potential to find out information about an object can automatically guide our actions); and Aesthetic Appeal and Performance, with a focus on the interaction between aesthetic design and usability in improving performance with interfaces, and Time Perception in relation to individual differences.