High School
Brochures about Psychology programs offered the University of Adelaide
Bachelor of Psychological Science
Graduate Diploma in Psychological Sciences
The School of Psychology Research Report for 2010
The School’s research interests:
The School has three Research Centres
1. Brain & Cognition Centre
2. Health, Disability & Lifespan Development Research Centre
3. Social & Organisational Research Centre
Below is a list of staff members associated with our Research Centres. If you wish to find out more about their research interests click on their name to link to their research pages. When you find the person whose research interests you please email them directly.
Brain & Cognition Centre
I study how people detect causal relationships in their environment, which allows them to predict future outcomes and plan their actions. I am interested in discovering plausible mechanisms by which the brain can infer and represent the relationship between causes and effects. To do so, I use associative and connectionist models that are inspired by some characteristics of the nervous system to simulate existing data on learning phenomena and generate novel, testable, predictions. Although most of my research focuses on learning processes in the healthy brain, I am also interested in learning and attention abnormalities associated with certain clinical disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia.
I study individual differences in cognitive abilities using modern psychometric instruments, custom computerised tests, and psychophysical methods. The aim is to understand something of how and why people differ in their abilities to process information and carry out cognitive tasks.
I'm a clinical neuropsychologist, interested in the impact on neurocognitive functioning of anxiety, depression, dementia and chronic illness. More broadly my research interests include the prediction of health outcomes and service usage from functional measures, especially in older people.
My broad research interests are in the areas of cognitive psychology, human memory, applied decision-making, cognitive-modelling, mathematical psychology, methodological issues in neuropsychology, and human experimental psychology.
My interests fall within the broad area of clinical neuropsychology and, as such, my research investigates the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural changes associated with vari100ous types of brain damage or dysfunction. This research is completed both with people who are known to have some form of brain damage or in whom disrupted cognitive functioning is suspected.
Everyday, we navigate visually complex environments and make hand and eye movements. I am interested in understanding how our brains process visual information to enable us to do these things. How do we know where something is in space? How do we use visual information to guide our eyes and hands in order to interact with our environment? I use behavioural experiments to answer these questions, conducting experiments on visual, hand and eye movement performance.
My research interests are in cognitive science and statistics. Topics that recur in my thinking include understanding how we represent the world, how we form and use concepts, and the ways we are similar to and different from each other. I'm also interested in statistical methods, since I think there are strong links between human learning and statistical learning.
I am interested in the nature of human intelligence and individual differences in cognitive abilities. Much of my research has involved the development and application of measures of timed performance, like inspection time and reaction time, to the study of individual differences in information processing and the relationships of these with psychometric tests of IQ.
Eyewitness memory forms an important part of many criminal investigations. Investigators, judges and jurors must assess the reliability of witness reports and essentially determine whether they are accurate. My research addresses the factors affecting the reliability of eyewitness evidence and the reliability of judgments made by investigators, judges and jurors.
I am interested in factors that influence adult development and ageing. In particular, I am interested in age-related changes in cognitive functioning, both normal and dementia related. I have recently been involved with research on the impact of exercise and health habits, bereavement, meta-cognitive processing and cross-cultural issues in successful ageing.
Health, Disability & Lifespan Development Research Centre
I study how people detect causal relationships in their environment, which allows them to predict future outcomes and plan their actions. I am interested in discovering plausible mechanisms by which the brain can infer and represent the relationship between causes and effects. To do so, I use associative and connectionist models that are inspired by some characteristics of the nervous system to simulate existing data on learning phenomena and generate novel, testable, predictions. Although most of my research focuses on learning processes in the healthy brain, I am also interested in learning and attention abnormalities associated with certain clinical disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia.
I study individual differences in cognitive abilities using modern psychometric instruments, custom computerised tests, and psychophysical methods. The aim is to understand something of how and why people differ in their abilities to process information and carry out cognitive tasks.
I am interested in Health Psychology and Health Professional Education. In Health Psychology, I am especially interested in people's perceptions of their health and their preferences for treatment. I am also interested in the role of companion animals in physical and psychological health. In Health Professional Education, I am interested in the training of medical, nursing and psychology students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I am also a firm believer in interdisciplinary approaches to health care and to the training of professionals.
My interests lie mainly in discursive and health psychology - the application of critical psychological theories, and qualitative/discursive methods, to public health issues, such as breast cancer screening. I am also interested in social psychology, particularly issues relating to gender, and to the application of qualitative methods (such as discourse analysis) to a range of social and health issues.
My interests include gambling and the role of cognitive and behavioural factors; foster care; programs relating to children with challenging behaviours; adolescent gambling.
My interests include health outcomes; health service usage; values and long-term care decision-making for frail elderly people; the impact of chronic illness on cognitive functioning; mental capacity to consent to research and treatment.
I am interested in rehabilitation psychology. This includes studies relating to the psychosocial impact of acquired physical disability (e.g. severe burn injury, spinal cord injury, amputation) on the individual and family, evaluation of psychometric measures for this population, and maintaining team processes and functioning in rehabilitation. More recently, I have examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions (e.g. cognitive behaviour therapy, motivational interviewing techniques) in rehabilitation.
My interests generally focus on mental health in the community from an epidemiological perspective. I am keen to discuss age and gender differences in the experience of mental health problems (particularly depression and anxiety) and their relationship with factors that function to potentiate/attenuate them. I have also a special interest in suicidality, and similarly, factors that provide people with resilience or place them at increased risk.
I have broad research interests in health psychology, developmental psychology and child clinical psychology.
My interests lie with the assessment, training and behaviour management of people with intellectual or other disabilities. Speed of information processing associated with intellectual disability, ageing and brain damage, and organisational psychology particularly, organisational behaviour.
My interests fall within the broad area of clinical neuropsychology and, as such, my research investigates the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural changes associated with vari100ous types of brain damage or dysfunction. This research is completed both with people who are known to have some form of brain damage or in whom disrupted cognitive functioning is suspected.
I am interested in the nature of human intelligence and individual differences in cognitive abilities. Much of my research has involved the development and application of measures of timed performance, like inspection time and reaction time, to the study of individual differences in information processing and the relationships of these with psychometric tests of IQ.
My major research interests are in the moral emotions of remorse and similar emotions, particularly in relation to criminal offenders. Secondly, I am interested in clinical psychology practice, particularly the applications of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
My research interests include child and adolescent health psychology including chronic illness, disability and stigma, and child and adolescent neuropsychology. Of particular interest are people with craniofacial, neurological and metabolic conditions. I am also interested in the psychological well-being of siblings of children with disabilities.
My health-related research interests include development of a better understanding of the psychology of treatment decision-making. Work in this area has been carried out in collaboration with Dr Peter Mansfield (School of General Practice). We are interested in understanding how doctors are influenced by drug company promotions so that we can ‘arm’ doctors with effective methods for resisting persuasion, thereby eliminating this cause of inappropriate prescribing. The project does not attempt to tackle the larger socio-cultural/institutional factors at play, but focuses on micro-level factors that have their impact at the point of prescription. Which factors of the environment, doctor and patient have the most impact on prescribing?
My research interests are in health service development and evaluation, including those for maternity care, screening and primary mental health care. Other areas of interest include disease management for chronic conditions such as hypertension and methods for selecting medical students.
I am interested in factors that influence adult development and ageing. In particular, I am interested in age-related changes in cognitive functioning, both normal and dementia related. I have recently been involved with research on the impact of exercise and health habits, bereavement, meta-cognitive processing and cross-cultural issues in successful ageing.
My primary research interest is in the area of health psychology. Specifically, I work in the area of psycho-oncology which focuses on the psycho-social aspects of the experience of cancer (e.g. its diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship). My research background is broad and includes quality-of-life in cancer including research into spiritual wellbeing (meaning, peace, faith), expectations of medical treatment, the cognitive impact of chemotherapy, informed consent, psychoneuroimmunology, and the effectiveness of clinical interventions in cancer therapy. I’m also interested in clinical psychology and have a background in forensic psychology.
As a clinical psychologist, I study how an individual’s positive symptoms of functioning (e.g., cognitive, emotional, and behavioural factors) can act as buffers against the onset of mental illness and contribute to a state of flourishing in life. My specific research areas include the scientific study of hopeful thinking, the measurement of well-being, and the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural treatments to alleviate the symptoms of mental illness and promote the symptoms of mental health.
My interests include
psychosocial support for cancer patients including via the internet and through support groups.
Family care-giving in chronic illness & disability (pain, schizophrenia, cystic fibrosis, ageing).
Work stress in human service professionals and its management and prevention, emotional work, measurement of quality of work performance, multi-disciplinary collaboration in health care.
Psychological development in youth and adulthood, including unemployment, parenting skills, work-home balance.
Psychological treatments for high prevalence disorders such as anxiety & depression in general practice settings; integrated primary mental health care services.
Social & Organisational Research Centre
My major research interests are in the areas of social psychology and discourse. Most of my research in this area has focused specifically on the peculiarities of racist discourse in Australia. More recently I have been involved in research pertaining to public understandings of science. This has included examining both media and public debates around climate change and scientific advances in genomics.
My research interests are primarily in the area of qualitative and critical health psychology. In particular, I have a strong interest in public health and health psychology, with a focus on issues related to risk and prevention. I am also particularly interested in gendered health issues.
My interests include gambling and the role of cognitive and behavioural factors; foster care; programs relating to children with challenging behaviours; adolescent gambling.
My interests lie with the assessment, training and behaviour management of people with intellectual or other disabilities. Speed of information processing associated with intellectual disability, ageing and brain damage, and organisational psychology particularly, organisational behaviour.
Investigating how to improve the quality of interaction between health-service providers and clients in face-to-face consultations (e.g., medical, psychological and genetics counselling contexts) and health-care helpline interactions. Elite sport & high performance achievement that includes projects with the Australian Institute of Sport, AFL and SANFL Clubs in areas of psychological skills training, leadership, recruitment and learning.
Research interests include conducting a discourse analysis of Hansard transcripts from the NSW parliament on the debates over surrogacy held in late 2010 and a discourse analysis of the construction of the arguments will facilitate an understanding of how claims are made about and for children and surrogates.
My research aims to contribute to our understanding of the factors in the workplace that impact upon individual well-being and organisational performance. My specific research activities can be grouped as follows: person-organisation fit, organisational culture and organisational values, effective leadership and emotional intelligence, and factors contributing to individual and organisational performance.
Assessments of eyewitness identification evidence play a central role in the legal process. Every time an identification procedure is used investigators, judges and jurors must assess the reliability of the witnesses’ identification decision (or lack of decision). My research addresses the factors affecting the reliability of these assessments. I am also interested in the applying of theories of judgment and decision making to the legal process to improve the decisions made by investigators, judges and jurors.
My research area is the scientific study of forgiveness, a construct whose potential as a legitimate alternative prosocial response to a perceived injustice until recently has been overlooked in psychology. Given the present international socio-political climate, there is now, more than ever, a need to better understand how forgiveness works, what motivates it, what it means to people, what are its costs and benefits, how it is developed, the conditions under which it is most likely to occur, its social influences, its role in groups, and its relationship to justice.