Further Enquiries:

North Terrace Campus
Level 4, Hughes Building
The University of Adelaide
SA 5005
AUSTRALIA
Email

Telephone: +61 8 8303 5693
(Country and interstate callers toll free on 1800 061 459)
Facsimile: +61 8 8303 3770

Ryan Balzan

Room 224, Hughes Building

Fax +61 (08) 8303 3770

ryan.balzan@adelaide.edu.au

Area of Research

Cognitive Illusions, Biases and Delusions

Memberships

Golden Key International Honour Society

Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society

Awards

Faculty of Health Science Postgraduate Travelling Fellowship 2011
Best Poster Presentation Faculty Health Sciences Postgraduate Research Expo 2010
Australian Postgraduate Award ( 2007– present)
University of Adelaide Medal (2006)
Australian Psychological Society Prize in Honours Psychology (2005)
Max and Bette Mendelson Foundation Scholarship (2005)
Roby Flectcher Munn Prize for Psychology III (2004)

Psychology Research Interests

I am interested in the role that cognitive biases (e.g., confirmation bias, illusory correlations) play in the development and maintenance of delusions across the ‘psychosis continuum’. Recent research indicates that the traditional view of psychoses (such as schizophrenia) as a dichotomous phenomenon is outdated, and that they are better thought of as occurring along a continuum within the general population. In light of this, our current understanding of the influence cognitive biases have in delusion formation and maintenance needs to be re-investigated and extended to accommodate for the continuum of delusional experience.

Publications

Balzan, R. P. , Delfabbro, P. H., & Galletly, C. (in press). Delusion-proneness or miscomprehension? A re-examination of the jumping to conclusions bias. Australian Journal of Psychology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-9536.2011.00032.x

Balzan, R. P. , Delfabbro, P. H., Galletly, C., & Woodward, T. (in press). Over-adjusment or miscomprehension? A re-examination of the jumping to conclusions bias. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1177/0004867411435291

Balzan, R. P. , Delfabbro, P. H., Galletly, C., & Woodward, T. S. (in press). Reasoning heuristics across the psychosis continuum: The contribution of hypersalient evidence-hypothesis matches. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry.

Research Posters

Balzan, R., Delfabbro, P., & Galletly, C., Woodward, T. (2011, December). Metacognitive Training (MCT) for Patients with Schizophrenia: Preliminary Evidence for a Targeted Module Program. Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research (ASPR) Annual Conference. Dunedin, New Zealand.

Balzan, R., Delfabbro, P., & Galletly, C., Woodward, T. (2011, August). Metacognitive Training (MCT) for Patients with Schizophrenia. Cognitive Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Research Forum Meeting. Sydney, Australia.