Dr Shreyasi Desai

Shreyasi 'Cece' Desai got her BSc in Forensic Biology and Psychology at Abertay Univeristy, where she first heard a lecturer say "nobody was going to believe her if she talked like that". This led her to question how words can influence what a listener thinks of their speaker even if it is universally known to be a negative context. Over the next several years, she completed her bachelor's thesis and doctoral thesis on "The impact of hyperbole on the perception of testimonies from victims of sexual crime". 

Her research interests lie at the intersection of psycholinguistics and forensic psychology; specifically in forensic pragmatics. She is interested in understanding how figurative language in particular can be used in forensic contexts such as in primary statements, and court testimonies and how it ultimately impacts the perception of the speaker. Her work has primarily concentrated on hyperbole and its place as a tool for emotional expression among victims of sexual crime. 

Her current research focuses on nonfatal strangulation in domestic and sexual violence and the legal implementation of the new NFS law.