Background

I am a Lecturer in the School of Psychology, and a member of the Centre for Behaviour and Evolution (CBE) at Newcastle University.  I completed a BSc in Psychology and MSc in Research Methods in Psychology at Swansea University, and a PhD in Psychology at Cardiff University.  After this, I held two postdoctoral positions at the University of Cambridge where I was also a member of the Trinity College Postdoctoral Society.

Qualifications

• BSc Psychology (First Class Honours), Swansea University (2008-2011)

• MSc Research Methods in Psychology (Distinction), Swansea University (2011-2012)

• PhD Psychology, Cardiff University (2012-2017)

Memberships

• Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Newcastle University
• European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (Full Member)

• Advance HE (Fellow)

Research

My research aims to explore human mind and behaviour and is at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and biology. I apply aspects of developmental psychology, evolutionary biology, endocrinology, and behavioural genetics to the following broad topic areas:

• The effects of prenatal testosterone exposure on phenotypic outcomes (e.g., autistic traits, play preferences, handedness, gender identity, motor skill).
• The role of self-compassion as a mediator between autism and mental health outcomes.
• Exploring influences of genetics and environment by studying twins reared apart since infancy.

Teaching

I teach on the BSc (Hons) Psychology and MSc Forensic Psychology and MSc Sport & Exercise Psychology programmes, and supervises undergraduate and Masters projects. I am always happy to hear from students who are interested in working with me.

Module Lead:

• PSY3042: Sex Differences and the Brain
• PSY3097: Empirical Project
• PSY8061: Advanced Research Methods for Applied Psychology A

Contributor:

• PSY1001: Psychological Enquiry 1 - Psychological Literacy and Academic Skills
• PSY2008: Psychological Enquiry 2: Principles of Psychology
• PSY2020: Evolution, Behaviour & Comparative Cognition
• PSY3048: Advanced Statistics for Empirical Psychology

Publications

• Articles

  • Galvin J, Richards G. The indirect effect of self-compassion in the association between autistic traits and anxiety/depression: A cross-sectional study in autistic and non-autistic adults. Autism 2023, 27(5), 1256-1270.
  • Ernsten L, Körner LM, Schaper ML, Lawrenz J, Richards G, Heil M, Schaal NK. The association of prenatal amniotic sex hormones and digit ratio (2D:4D) in children aged 5 to 70 months: A longitudinal study. PLoS ONE 2023, 18(3), e0282253.
  • Heise V, Holman C, Lo H, Lyras EM, Adkins MC, Aquino MRJ, Bougioukas KI, Bray KO, Gajos M, Guo X, Hartling C, Huerta-Gutierrez R, Jindrova M, Kenney JPM, Kepinska AP, Kneller L, Lopez-Rodriguez E, Muhlensiepen F, Richards A, Richards G, Siebert M, Smith JA, Smith N, Stransky N, Tarvainen S, Valdes DS, Warrington KL, Wilpert NM, Witkowska D, Zaneva M, Zanker J, Weissgerber T. Ten simple rules for implementing open and reproducible research practices after attending a training course. PLoS Computational Biology 2023, 19(1), e1010750.
  • Richards G, Browne WV. Prenatal testosterone and sexually differentiated childhood play preferences: A meta-analysis of amniotic fluid studies. Current Psychology 2023, 42, 13611-13624.
  • Galvin J, Howes A, Richards G. Longitudinal associations between autistic traits, self-compassion, anxiety and depression in autistic and non-autistic adults without intellectual disability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2023, epub ahead of print.
  • Galvin J, Richards G. Health anxiety in autistic adults. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 2023, 104, 102146.
  • Richards G, Segal NL. Handedness in twins reared apart: A review of the literature and new data. Neuropsychologia 2023, 184, 108523.
  • Richards G. Gay Fathers, Twin Sons: The Citizenship Case that Captured the World by Nancy Segal. Behavior Genetics 2023, 53, 416-417.
  • Richards G, Newman M, Butler A, Lechler-Lombardi J, Osu T, Krzych-Miłkowska K, Galbarczyk A. Birth order, personality, and tattoos: A pre-registered empirical test of the ‘born to rebel’ hypothesis. Personality and Individual Differences 2023, 204, 112043.
  • Richards G, Kelly S, Johnson D, Galvin J. Autistic traits and borderline personality disorder traits are positively correlated in UK and US adult men and women. Personality and Individual Differences 2023, 213, 112287.
  • Galvin J, Evans EH, Talbot CV, Wilson C, Richards G. The associations between autistic traits and disordered eating/drive for muscularity are independent of anxiety and depression in females but not males. PLoS ONE 2022, 17(10), e0276249.
  • Galvin J, Evans M, Nelson K, Richards G, Mavritsaki E, Giovazolias T, Koutra K, Mellor B, Zurlo MC, Vallone F. Technostress, coping, and anxious and depressive symptomatology in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Europe’s Journal of Psychology 2022, 18(3), 302-318.
  • Beaton AA, Jones L, Benton D, Richards G. Judgements of attractiveness of the opposite sex and nostril differences in self-rated mood: The effects of androstenol. Biological Psychology 2022, 167, 108237.
  • Richards G, Baron-Cohen S, Warrier V, Mellor B, Davies J, Gee L, Galvin J. Evidence of Partner Similarity for Autistic Traits, Systemizing, and Theory of Mind via Facial Expressions. Scientific Reports 2022, 12, 8451.
  • Jackson E, Galvin J, Warrier V, Baron-Cohen S, Luo S, Dunbar RIM, Proctor H, Lee E, Richards G. Evidence of assortative mating for theory of mind via facial expressions but not language. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 2022, 39(12), 3660-3679.
  • Richards G, Aydin E, Tsompanidis A, Padaigaitė E, Austin T, Allison C, Holt R, Baron-Cohen S. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and maternal testosterone-to-estradiol ratio measured in early pregnancy. Scientific Reports 2022, 12, 13586.
  • Hendriks O, Wei Y, Warrier V, Richards G. Autistic Traits, Empathizing–Systemizing, and Gender Diversity. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2022, 51, 2077-2089.
  • Cassidy S, Au-Yeung S, Robertson A, Cogger-Ward H, Richards G, Allison C, Bradley L, Kenny R, O'Connor R, Mosse D, Rodgers J, Baron-Cohen S. Autism and autistic traits in those who died by suicide in England. British Journal of Psychiatry 2022, 221(5), 683-691.
  • Richards G, Tan DW, Whitehouse AJO, McManus IC, Beaton AA, Hickey M, Maybery MT, Licari MK, Lawson L. A longitudinal examination of perinatal testosterone, estradiol and vitamin D as predictors of handedness outcomes in childhood and adolescence. Laterality: Asymmetries of Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition 2022, 27(6), 547-580.
  • Beaton AA, Richards G. Where next for laterality research? Looking back and looking forward. Laterality: Asymmetries of Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition 2021, 26(3), 336-341.
  • Barnett A, Edwards K, Harper R, Evans E, Alexander D, Choudhary M, Richards G. The association between autistic traits and disordered eating is moderated by sex/gender and independent of anxiety and depression. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2021, 51, 1866-1879.
  • Nave G, Koppin CM, Manfredi D, Richards G, Watson SJ, Geffner ME, Yong JE, Kim R, Ross HM, Serrano-Gonzalez M, Kim MS. No evidence for a difference in 2D:4D ratio between youth with elevated prenatal androgen exposure due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia and controls. Hormones and Behavior 2021, 128, 104908.
  • Tsompanidis A, Aydin E, Holt R, Goodburn S, Padaigaite E, Richards G, Allison C, Hackett G, Austin T, Baron-Cohen S. Maternal steroid levels during pregnancy: Relationship to maternal and infant autistic traits. Molecular Autism 2021, 12(51).
  • Ernsten L, Körner LM, Heil M, Richards G, Schaal NK. Investigating the reliability and sex differences of digit lengths, ratios, and hand measures in infants. Scientific Reports 2021, 11, 10998.
  • Richards G, Medland SE, Beaton AA. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and handedness: A meta-analysis of the available literature. Laterality: Asymmetries of Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition 2021, 26(4), 421-484.
  • Richards G, Browne WV, Constantinescu M. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and amniotic testosterone and estradiol: An attempted replication of Lutchmaya et al. (2004). Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2021, 12(6), 859-864.
  • Turner E, Aitken E, Richards G. Autistic traits, STEM and medicine: Autism spectrum quotient scores predict medical students’ career specialty preferences. SAGE Open 2021, 11(4), 21582440211050389.
  • Richards G, Baron-Cohen S, Warrier V, Luo S, Dunbar R, Jackson E, Proctor H, Stokes H, Lee E, Mellor B, Davies J, Gee L, Galvin J. Assortative mating for autistic traits, systemizing, and theory of mind. Behavior Genetics 2021, 51, 687-762.
  • Bushell W, Heil M, Ventura T, Gomes MC, Körner LM, Lawrenz J, Schaal NK, Richards G. A pre-registered meta-analysis based on three empirical studies reveals no association between prenatal (amniotic) cortisol exposure and fluctuating asymmetry in human infants. Evolutionary Biology 2021, 48, 54-66.
  • Howes A, Richards G, Galvin J. A preliminary investigation into the relationship between autistic traits and self-compassion. Psychological Reports 2021, 124(5), 1988-1997.
  • Galvin J, Howes A, McCarthy B, Richards G. Self-compassion as a mediator of the association between autistic traits and depressive/anxious symptomology. Autism 2020, 25(2), 502-515.
  • Osu T, Lechler-Lombardi J, Butler A, Newman M, Milkowska K, Galbarczyk A, Richards G. Fluctuating asymmetry of finger lengths, digit ratio (2D:4D), and tattoos: A pre-registered replication and extension of Koziel et al. (2010). Early Human Development 2020, 152, 105273.
  • Richards G, Browne WV, Aydin E, Kim MS, Nave G, Watson SJ. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH): Systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Hormones and Behavior 2020, 126, 104867.
  • Richards G, Baron-Cohen S, van Steen T, Galvin J. Assortative mating and digit ratio (2D:4D): A pre-registered empirical study and meta-analysis. Early Human Development 2020, 151, 105159.
  • Richards G, Beking T, Kreukels B, Geuze R, Beaton AA, Groothuis T. An examination of the influence of prenatal sex hormones on handedness: Literature review and amniotic fluid data. Hormones and Behavior 2020, 129, 104929.
  • Galvin J, Richards G, Smith AP. A longitudinal cohort study investigating inadequate preparation and death and dying in nursing students: Implications for the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology 2020, 11, 2206.
  • Richards G, Gomes M, Ventura T. Testosterone measured from amniotic fluid and maternal plasma shows no significant association with directional asymmetry in newborn digit ratio (2D:4D). Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2019, 10(3), 362-367.
  • Richards G, Kenny R, Griffiths S, Allison C, Mosse D, Holt R, O'Connor RC, Cassidy S, Baron-Cohen S. Autistic traits in adults who have attempted suicide. Molecular Autism 2019, 10(1), 26.
  • Richards G, James TK. A comparison of self-measured and researcher-measured digit ratio (2D:4D). Annals of Human Biology 2019, 46(6), 527-530.
  • Smith AP, Richards G. Energy drinks, caffeine, junk food, breakfast and academic attainment of secondary school students. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2018, 32(8), 893-899.
  • Richards G, Klimek M, Jasienska G, Marcinkowska U. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and circulating testosterone, oestradiol, and progesterone levels across the menstrual cycle. Early Human Development 2018, 117, 68-73.
  • Richards G, Davies W, Stewart-Williams S, Bellin W, Reed P. 2D:4D digit ratio and religiosity in university student and general population samples. Transpersonal Psychology Review 2018, 20(1), 23-36.
  • Richards G. What is the evidence for a link between digit ratio (2D:4D) and direct measures of prenatal sex hormones?. Early Human Development 2017, 113, 71-72.
  • Richards G. What are the benefits of teaching as a postgraduate psychology student?. Psychology Teaching Review 2017, 23(2), 66-68.
  • Richards G, Bellin W, Davies W. Familial digit ratio (2D:4D): Associations in a general population sample from Wales. Early Human Development 2017, 112, 14-19.
  • Richards G. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and prenatal/perinatal sex hormones: A response to Manning and Fink (2017). Early Human Development 2017, 113, 75-76.
  • Richards G. Digit ratio (2D:4D) and belief in superstitions, conspiracy theories, and the paranormal. PsyPAG Quarterly 2017, 103, 21-26.
  • Richards G. Could energy drinks be a cause of mental health problems, low academic attainment, and disruptive behaviour?. PsyPAG Quarterly 2017, 102, 26-30.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. Demographic and lifestyle correlates of school attendance, English and maths attainment, and the occurrence of behavioural sanctions in British secondary school children. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science 2016, 17(1), 1-15.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. Caffeine consumption and general health in secondary school children: A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition 2016, 3, 52.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. Breakfast and energy drink consumption in secondary school children: Breakfast omission, in isolation or in combination with frequent energy drink use, is associated with stress, anxiety, and depression cross-sectionally, but not at 6-month follow-up. Frontiers in Psychology 2016, 7, 106.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. Associations between energy drink consumption and school attendance, academic attainment, and problem behaviour: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. The Lancet 2016, 388(Suppl 2), S101.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. A review of energy drinks and mental health, with a focus on stress, anxiety, and depression. Journal of Caffeine Research 2016, 6(2), 49-63.
  • Richards G, Malthouse A, Smith AP. The diet and behaviour scale (DABS): Testing a new measure of food and drink consumption in a cohort of secondary school children from the South West of England. Journal of Food Research 2015, 4(3), 148-161.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. Risk factors for, and effects of, stress, anxiety, and depression in adolescents. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science 2015, 10(4), 1-10.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. Caffeine consumption and self-assessed stress, anxiety, and depression in secondary school children. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2015, 29(12), 1236-1247.
  • Richards G, Stewart-Williams S, Reed P. Associations between digit ratio (2D:4D) and locus of control. Personality and Individual Differences 2015, 83, 102-105.
  • Richards G, Millward N, Evans P, Rogers J, Smith AP. Acute effects of energy drinks on behavioural sanctions in secondary school children: A preliminary study. Journal of Food Research 2015, 4(4), 1-9.
  • Richards G, Smith AP. Diet and wellbeing in undergraduate students. Appetite 2014, 83, 362-362.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

  • Richards G, Segal N. Strength of hand preference and relative hand skill in twins reared apart. In: Behavior Genetics Association 52st Annual Meeting. 2022, Los Angeles: Springer.

• Letters

  • Richards G, Wei Y, Hendriks O. Self-measured digit ratio (2D:4D) and gender variance. Endocrine Practice 2020, 26(2), 250-251.
  • Richards G. Some questions about the replicability and practical applications of digit ratio (2D:4D) research. Science(eLetters). Science(eLetters) 2019, 364(6444), 923-925.