Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
Katie is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Psychology. Her work has two main strands – neurodiversity and forensic psychology, and the intersection between them. For example, Katie's research examines how autistic people fare when they are interviewed by the police as a witness or as a suspect of an alleged offence. Findings from this work show that current police interviewing techniques do not elicit ‘best evidence’ from autistic individuals. Through her ESRC Future Research Leaders grant Katie developed new methods of questioning to obtain detailed, relevant and accurate information about an event from an autistic person in police interviews as well as in other areas including job interviews. She is currently extending this work to courtroom questioning in a three-year ESRC-funded project, 'Measuring Special Measures'.
Katie works with a range of policy makers and end-user organisations, including a close collaboration with Avon and Somerset police. She recently completed an ESRC-funded secondment working with the Home Office on the Cyber Prevent strategy.
Research areas
- Memory and cognition
- Vulnerability
- Autism
- Forensic psychology
- Investigative interviewing
- Offending behaviour
- Cybercrime
Recent grants
2023-2026 ESRC Research Grant (PI): Measuring Special Measures: Supporting access to justice for autistic people. £657,224
2022-2023 ESRC Home Office Policy Fellowship – Cyber Prevent (PI): £107,958
2017-2021 ESRC ‘Future Research Leaders’ grant (PI): Reporting by people with autism: A new evidence-based supportive model for information gathering in applied interview contexts. £279,555
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Keywords
- Autism
- Criminal justice system
- Employment
- Investigative interviewing
- Forensic psychology
- Memory
- Cognition
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
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Measuring Special Measures: Supporting access to justice for autistic people
Maras, K. (PI)
Economic and Social Research Council
30/04/23 → 29/04/26
Project: Research council
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ESRC Policy Fellowship - Home Office Cybercrime
Maras, K. (PI)
Economic and Social Research Council
11/02/22 → 10/08/23
Project: Research council
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EPS small grant credibility study of autistic interviewees (employment interviews)
Maras, K. (PI) & Norris, J. (Researcher)
EPS - Experimental Psychology Society
20/05/19 → 19/11/21
Project: UK charity
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IAA REF Autism Awareness
Brosnan, M. (PI), Ashwin, C. (CoI), Maras, K. (CoI) & Russell, A. (CoI)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
1/04/19 → 30/06/22
Project: Research council
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Individual differences in detecting and sharing misinformation: Positive schizotypy, conspiracy beliefs, and autism
Buchanan, T., Maras, K. & Dando, C., 1 Feb 2025, In: Personality and Individual Differences. 233, 112946.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Mock Juror Perceptions of a Young Defendant with Developmental Language Disorder: A mixed-methods study
Horsham, J., Maras, K., Stanton Fraser, D., Barker, E., Hobson, H. & St Clair, M., 8 May 2025, (Acceptance date) In: International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Self-Set Goals: Autistic Adults Facilitating Their Self-Determination Through Digitally Mediated Social Stories
Camilleri, L. J., Maras, K. & Brosnan, M., 5 Feb 2025, In: Autism in Adulthood. 7, 1, p. 25-38 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (SciVal)321 Downloads (Pure) -
“I’m listening to you, but I can’t hear you”: Perspectives of autistic adults, investigators and support staff on police suspect interviews
Bagnall, R., Russell, A., Brosnan, M. & Maras, K., 2 Apr 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Psychology, Crime and Law.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Adapting communication with autistic service users: co-produced adaptations for medical services, employers, and the third sector
Norris, J., Lei, J. & Maras, K., 26 Jul 2024, In: Neurodiversity. 2Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
Datasets
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Dataset for "Informed, involved or empowered? A typology of Western European autism policy, with a focus on designing policies for autistic empowerment"
Precious, K. (Creator), Milner, S. (Supervisor), Engeli, I. (Supervisor) & Maras, K. (Supervisor), University of Bath, 20 Sept 2020
DOI: 10.15125/BATH-00867
Dataset
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Ameliorating the disadvantage for autistic job seekers: An initial evaluation of adapted employment interview questions 2017-2020
Maras, K. (Creator), UK Data Service, 14 Jan 2021
Dataset
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The witness-aimed first account: A new technique for interviewing autistic witnesses and victims, experimental data 2017-2019
Maras, K. (Creator), UK Data Service, 5 Feb 2020
Dataset
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Interviewing autistic adults: Adaptations to support recall in police, employment and healthcare interviews 2017-2019
Maras, K. (Creator), UK Data Service, 12 Nov 2019
Dataset
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Metacognitive monitoring and control of eyewitness memory reports in autism 2017-2019
Maras, K. (Creator), UK Data Service, 5 Feb 2020
Dataset
Activities
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Access to Justice Conference
Maras, K. (Speaker)
3 Nov 2023Activity: Academic conferences and events (excluding conference publications) › Keynote presentation or prestigious invited talk
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Invited keynote at the Stone King LLP Annual Conference: Neurodivergence in Criminal Justice.
Maras, K. (No value)
10 Oct 2024Activity: Knowledge Exchange (Industry, Government, NGOs) › Stakeholder engagement, presentation
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Invited talk at The Investigator CPD event: "What investigators need to know about neurodiversity."
Maras, K. (No value)
6 Mar 2025Activity: Knowledge Exchange (Industry, Government, NGOs) › Stakeholder engagement, presentation
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Invited talk at Kingsley Napley LLP: Hearings involving autistic clients
Maras, K. (No value)
25 Mar 2025Activity: Knowledge Exchange (Industry, Government, NGOs) › Stakeholder engagement, presentation
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House of Lords Committee on the Autism Act 2009
Maras, K. (No value)
16 Jun 2025Activity: Knowledge Exchange (Industry, Government, NGOs) › Giving evidence or preparing policy briefs