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    Dr Katrina Muller-Townsend

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Dr Katrina Muller-Townsend

Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Email: k.mullertownsend@ecu.edu.au

Katrina is a Lecturer in Psychology at the School of Arts and Humanities.

Current teaching

  • PSY6830 - Experimental Research Design and Analysis and PSY6815 - Psychological Science of Human Social Behaviour

Background

Dr Katrina Muller-Townsend is a lecturer and researcher in psychology at Edith Cowan University, specialising in cognitive processes in learning and skill acquisition. Her research focuses on how individuals learn complex skills, with an emphasis on automaticity, individual variability, and the transfer of learning across contexts.

Originally trained as a professional dancer, Dr Muller-Townsend became intrigued by the cognitive demands of expert performance. This early interest developed into a broader exploration of how people acquire and apply knowledge in diverse and lasting ways. Her work examines the mental processes that underpin resilient, adaptive learning and the challenges of addressing individual learning differences within group-based research paradigms.

Her current research includes cognitive ageing, academic motivation and resilience, individualised learning pathways, and the application of psychological theory to curriculum and assessment design in higher education. She is particularly interested in using psychology to inform inclusive, evidence-based teaching practices that support a wide range of cognitive and learning styles.

Katrina plays an active role in curriculum design within ECU’s accelerated psychology programs, applying cognitive and educational psychology principles to create inclusive, evidence-based learning experiences that support a wide range of learners.

She is particularly passionate about bridging research and practice to better understand what enables deep, lasting learning—and how educational environments can be designed to support both academic success and learner wellbeing.

Research areas and interests

Cognitive processes in learning and skill acquisition, with a focus on automaticity, individual variability, and the transfer of learning across contexts.

Academic motivation, resilience, and learning design, exploring how psychological theory can inform inclusive and effective education practices, particularly in higher education.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) with First Class Honours, Edith Cowan University.
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Edith Cowan University, 2017.

Research Outputs

2021

Journal Articles

  • Loh, J., Robinson, K., Muller-Townsend, K. (2021). Exploring the motivators and blockers in second year undergraduate students: an ecological system approach. The Australian Educational Researcher, 48(1), 85-106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-020-00385-w.
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