Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
Katie is a Reader in Psychology and Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR) at Bath. Katie’s work has two main strands – autism and forensic psychology, and the intersection between them. For example, her 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 has 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 will be extending this work to courtroom questioning in a new three-year ESRC-funded project commencing in 2023.
Katie works with a range of policy makers and end-user organisations, including a close collaboration with Avon and Somerset police. She is currently on an ESRC-funded secondment working with the Home Office on the Cyber Prevent strategy.
Research areas
- Memory and cognition
- 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
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ESRC Policy Fellowship - Home Office Cybercrime
Maras, K., Maras, K. & Maras, K.
Economic and Social Research Council
11/02/22 → 10/08/23
Project: Research council
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Measuring Special Measures: Supporting access to justice for autistic people
Economic and Social Research Council
30/04/23 → 29/04/26
Project: Research council
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EPS small grant credibility study of autistic interviewees (employment interviews)
Maras, K. & Norris, J.
EPS - Experimental Psychology Society
20/05/19 → 19/11/21
Project: UK charity
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IAA REF Autism Awareness
Brosnan, M., Ashwin, C., Maras, K. & Russell, A.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
1/04/19 → 30/06/22
Project: Research council
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Achieving Best Evidence from victims and witnesses
Farrugia, L. & Maras, K., 2022, Interviewing and interrogation: A review of research and practice since World War II. Oxburgh, G., Myklebust, T., Fallon, M. & Hartwig, M. (eds.). Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisherResearch output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Chapter in a published conference proceeding
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A quick measure of theory of mind in autistic adults: Decision accuracy, latency and self-awareness
Brewer, N., Young, R. L., Norris, J., Maras, K., Michael, Z. & Barnett, E., 30 Jun 2022, In: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 52, 6, p. 2479-2496 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (SciVal)10 Downloads (Pure) -
Autism and police interviewing
Maras, K., 2022, (Acceptance date) The Routledge Handbook of Disability, Crime, and Justice. Macdonald, S. & Peacock, D. (eds.). RoutledgeResearch output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Chapter or section
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Autism and the Youth Justice Pathway
Maras, K., Hughes, C., O'Loughlin, A. & Lewis, A., 21 Apr 2022, Educational Psychology Perspectives on Supporting Young Autistic Peoples. Gainsborough, J. (ed.). Jessica Kingsley PublishersResearch output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Chapter or section
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Autism Spectrum Disorder and Social Story research: A scoping study of published, peer-reviewed literature reviews
Camilleri, L., Maras, K. & Brosnan, M., 1 Mar 2022, In: Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 9, 1, p. 21-38 18 p.Research 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 Sep 2020
DOI: 10.15125/BATH-00867
Dataset
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Mock juror perceptions of credibility and culpability in an autistic defendant 2018
Maras, K. (Creator), UK Data Service, 13 Sep 2018
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
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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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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