Alexandra Lamont

Biography

I came to Keele in 2001 primarily to teach on the MSc in Music Psychology and have been involved with postgraduate teaching and research ever since.  I have studied and taught in the fields of music, education and psychology, and my interests are diverse.  In psychology, my expertise lies in positive psychology, developmental psychology and in research methods, as well as my specialism in music psychology.  I am also interested in musical development and music education, and in the sociology and psychology of music consumption.

My recent work has taken me into the international arena in both teaching and research. I led a transnational education programme between Keele and Ludong University in China, and was the School Internationalisation Director for Psychology and the Faculty Internationalisation Director for Natural Sciences between 2015 and 2020. I have a number of international research collaborations involving researchers from Germany, Spain, Italy, Finland and Australia. I bring this international perspective to the role of Director of the Keele Doctoral Academy, launched in 2020.

Research and scholarship

My research centres on issues of musical development and musical engagement across the lifecourse.  I have carried out studies with infants in the laboratory, research with children at schools using a range of methods, and studies of adults both in laboratory settings and more often in real life contexts.  My main research question is why and how people choose to engage with music.  Why does a toddler respond well to a familiar piece of music?  What can children learn about themselves through music?  Why do we experience strong emotions in relation to music at festivals and live concerts?  What kinds of social bonds are formed through active musical engagement?  My research focuses on exploring these questions in everyday settings and placing musical experience in the wider context of people's lives.

I am currently leading a range of different projects:

• exploring how musical memories are shaped and influenced from generation to generation, with Manuel Anglada-Tort, Don Knox and Helen Williams;
• investigating how charitable donations of musical instruments impact on people's identities and wellbeing and how charity can support access to music in a range of challenging contexts, with Fiorella Montero-Diaz;
• examining the ways in which people talk about their favourite music through analysis of Desert Island Discs, with Don Knox and Raymond MacDonald.

I am particularly interested in visiting internships, MSc and PhD proposals in areas that relate to these.

I am on the Editorial Board of the following journals: Psychology of Music, Music and Science, Music Education Research International, Music Performance Research, Educational Studies and the International Journal of Early Childhood. I have also served on the board of the British Journal of Music Education Research. I'm a Trustee of the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (www.sempre.org.uk).    

Teaching

Module leader:

• PSY-30096 Happiness and Wellbeing: Social Scientific Approaches

Module team member:

• PSY-30061 Final Year Psychology Project
• PSY-30134 Making A Difference With Psychology
• PSY-40038 Research Apprenticeship in Psychology
• PSY-40045 Psychology Research Dissertation
• PSY-40079 Advanced Study in Health Inequalities

Roles

• Director of the Keele Doctoral Academy
• Chair of University Research Degrees Committee
• Special Interest Leader (Qualitative Research Forum)

PhD students

I welcome applications from students who wish to undertake PhD or MPhil postgraduate research studies. I am an experienced supervisor and examiner: I have supervised 11 students through to completion, two more to submission, and am currently working with three more. I have also served as an external examiner for 17 different students’ PhD theses around the world, and in my current role as Director of the Keele Doctoral Academy I am leading the work of the university in supporting postgraduate research students.

My research interests, as indicated on the Research and Scholarship tab, are in the psychology of music: these centre on musical memory, preferred music, and musical identities, but I am also interested in broader topics in music psychology such as music performance, amateur music-making, music listening in a range of settings, and musical development. I have a secondary line of research interest in health, happiness and wellbeing, as I teach a final year undergraduate programme in this area and have carried out research in how music and other creative activities can boost wellbeing. I’m interested in creative ideas that bring together different areas and can also give suggestions for suitable potential projects.

I am keen to explore ideas in all of these areas with potential students. Do please get in touch with me at a.m.lamont@keele.ac.uk to discuss your own ideas prior to making an application.