I graduated in Psychology at St Andrews in 1972 and have been involved in research and/or teaching ever since. Before coming to Leicester in 1977, I worked at the Max Planck Institute in Tubingen and at Cambridge University. My research activity has evolved from the neuropsychological and electrophysiological, via synchronising of hatching in birds, development of behaviour in human neonates and the effects of companion animals on chronically ill people, to qualitative research on Leicestershire maternity services, abuse of the elderly and involvement in research from both the researchers' and participants' points of view. I'm currently involved in several collaborations as shown under research.