Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am a Professor in the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University and the Director of the Centre for Elite Performance Expertise and Training (CEPET) in Sydney, Australia. My research is directed towards modelling the dynamics of human perception, action, and cognition for the development of human-machine systems. I have expertise in cognitive science, human factors, complex systems, motor-control, perception-action, social and multiagent interaction and coordination, AI, deep-learning, virtual-reality, data analytics, and computation and dynamical modelling.
Research interests
As a cognitive scientist, with expertise in embodied cognition, social and perception-action psychology, motor control, complex systems, computational and dynamical modelling, and machine learning my research is directed towards identifying and modelling the lawful processes that underlie human perception, action, and cognition and then employing these models to development artificial agents and AI systems capable of robust and effective human interaction. I am particularly interested in understanding and modelling how the behavioural dynamics of everyday social and multi-agent behaviour emerge from the complex, nonlinear interactions that occur between the physical, biomechanical, neural, informational, and social/cultural properties of agent-environment systems. In addition to employing this complex systems framework for the development of interactive AI systems, working to advance the methodological and analytic tools of complexity science, including dynamical systems modelling, nonlinear time-series analysis, far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics, and symmetry principles within the fields of psychology, philosophy, cognitive science, and neuroscience have become a prominent feature of my research program.
Research student supervision
I routinely supervise undergraduate, Honours, M.S and PhD students. In the last 5-years, I have supervised numerous undergraduate and Honours projects, fourteen Masters students and twelve PhD students. My primary PhD supervisees have academic positions at such institutions as Stanford, Harvard and UC San Diego. In the next 3-years at MQ, 2 of my supervisees will complete PhDs, and I plan on recruiting three new Masters and PhD students.
Teaching
I have taught a wide range of theoretical and quantitative courses in psychology, cognitive science, data analytics, and mathematical modeling. This includes undergraduate courses on psychological research, sensation and perception, perception-action, motor control, complex social and biological systems, and computer programing for social and behavioral science research, as well as advanced graduate level classes on statistical methods, behavioral time-series analysis, and complex systems and nonlinear dynamics modeling. My teaching philosophy is that students learn via active engagement and by integrating theoretical perspectives with practical hands-on research experience.
External positions
Editor - Ecological Psychology
1 Jan 2020 → …
Director, American Psychological Associations Advanced Training Institute on Nonlinear Methods for Psychological Science
2014 → 2017
Consulting Editor, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
2014 → …
Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati
1 Sept 2009 → 31 Aug 2017
Assistant Professor, Colby College
1 Jul 2006 → 31 Aug 2009
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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(WSU led): Predicting Movement Alignment and Back-Channeling in Conversational Dyads using Large Language Model (LLM) Embeddings
Varlet, M. (Chief Investigator), Richardson, M. (Primary Chief Investigator), Carlile, S. (Chief Investigator) & Patil, G. (Chief Investigator)
23/03/25 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Mapping the curve of communication breakdowns during conversations in noise
Miles, K. (Primary Chief Investigator), Buchholz, J. (Chief Investigator), Rotger-Griful, S. (Supervisor), Ibrahim, R. K. (Co-Investigator), Tran, Y. (Co-Investigator), Barnes, S. (Co-Investigator), Maggs, L. (Co-Investigator), Kan, A. (Co-Investigator), Richardson, M. (Co-Investigator), Weisser, A. (Co-Investigator), Keidser, G. (Co-Investigator), Christensen, J. H. (Co-Investigator) & Shiell, M. (Co-Investigator)
1/01/25 → 1/12/26
Project: Research
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MOSAIC: The MOSAIC Study: Motion Optics and Sound sensors to Assess Interactive Communication
Miles, K. (Primary Chief Investigator), Ibrahim, R. K. (Co-Investigator), Kan, A. (Co-Investigator), Weisser, A. (Co-Investigator), Buchholz, J. (Co-Investigator), Richardson, M. (Co-Investigator), Kim, J. (Co-Investigator), Davis, C. (Co-Investigator), Smith, Z. (Partner Investigator) & Carlile, S. (Partner Investigator)
1/10/23 → 30/09/24
Project: Research
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Investigating the role of multiscale coordination dynamics in shaping psychotherapeutic outcomes.
Macpherson, C. (Primary Chief Investigator), Kallen, R. (Co-Investigator) & Richardson, M. (Supervisor)
24/04/23 → 30/06/25
Project: Research
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Developing Robust Coordination and Communication Models for Multiagent Human-Machine Systems
Richardson, M. (Primary Chief Investigator), Dras, M. (Chief Investigator) & Kallen, R. (Chief Investigator)
1/11/22 → 31/10/24
Project: Research
Research Outputs
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Exploring the impact of background noise on fractal dynamics and complexity matching during social interaction
Macpherson, M. C., Miles, K. M., Weisser, A., Buchholz, J., Carlile, S. & Richardson, M. J., 19 Mar 2025, (Submitted) 18 p. (PsyArXiv).Research output: Working paper › Preprint
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Guiding solution insight with human-compatible virtual agents
Nalepka, P., Sabanayagam, M., Joshi, S., O’Connor, F., Parada, M., Alhasan, A., Patil, G., Kallen, R. W. & Richardson, M. J., 2 Oct 2025, (Submitted) 73 p. (PsyArXiv).Research output: Working paper › Preprint
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Human-inspired strategies for controlling swarm systems
Nalepka, P., Patil, G., Kallen, R. W. & Richardson, M. J., 30 Jan 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 383, 2289, p. 1-14 14 p., 20240147.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)44 Downloads (Pure) -
Intention prediction is affordance perception
Alhasan, A., Kallen, R. W. & Richardson, M. J., 2025, In: Ecological Psychology. 37, 1, p. 21-35 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)1 Downloads (Pure) -
Kinematics in context: predicting other's action intentions entails the perception of affordances
Alhasan, A., Karin, E., Caruana, N., Cross, E., Kaplan, D. & Richardson, M. J., Jul 2025, In: Cognition. 260, p. 1-13 13 p., 106122.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)82 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Transgender virtual embodiment and contact influence empathy, affiliation, and heteronormativity.
Crone, C. (Speaker), Patil, G. (Speaker), Richardson, M. (Speaker) & Kallen, R. (Speaker)
2024Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Incidental Coupling of Perceptual-Motor Behaviors Associated with Solution Insight during Physical Collaborative Problem-Solving
Nalepka, P. (Speaker), O'Connor, F. (Speaker), Kallen, R. (Speaker) & Richardson, M. (Speaker)
26 Jul 2023 → 29 Jul 2023Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Putting interaction center-stage for the study of knowledge structures and processes
Kallen, R. (Speaker), Richardson, M. (Speaker), Tylen, K. (Speaker) & Rączaszek-Leonardi, J. (Speaker)
2023Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Quantifying situation awareness during a competitive team multiplayer video game
Crone, C. (Speaker), Bin Kamruddin, A. (Speaker), Simpson, J. (Speaker), Stening, H. (Speaker), Patil, G. (Speaker), Nalepka, P. (Speaker), Kallen, R. (Speaker), Dras, M. (Speaker) & Richardson, M. (Speaker)
2023Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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3rd Workshop on TEAM & MULTIAGENT DYNAMICS (Italy)
Di Bernardo, M. (Organiser), Kallen, R. (Organiser) & Richardson, M. (Organiser)
2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop or event series