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

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Recent research indicates that the traditional view of psychoses (such as schizophrenia) as a dichotomous phenomenon is outdated, and that they are better thought of as occurring along a continuum within the general population.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.