Affective influences social thinking and behaviour: A social neuroscience approach. Affective states have a major influence on how people think and behave in everyday life. However, the psychological and neural mechanisms producing these effects remain incompletely understood. This project will investigate how external situations and internal cognitive and neurological mechanisms interact to facilitate or inhibit affective influences on judgments and behaviour. The project will also develop and ....Affective influences social thinking and behaviour: A social neuroscience approach. Affective states have a major influence on how people think and behave in everyday life. However, the psychological and neural mechanisms producing these effects remain incompletely understood. This project will investigate how external situations and internal cognitive and neurological mechanisms interact to facilitate or inhibit affective influences on judgments and behaviour. The project will also develop and test an innovative information processing theory of affective influences, and develop new empirical methods for measuring the cognitive and behavioural consequences of affect. Studies will also investigate the influence of affect on clinical, organisational, educational and health outcomes, and on various real-life behaviours.
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Growing up too quickly? Body objectification in adolescent and pre-adolescent girls (teens and tweens). The premature sexualisation of girls is seen as a major public health issue in Australia by government, welfare agencies and the general public alike. While the sexually objectified presentation of children in the media is well documented and unarguable, the consequences for individual psychological well-being are not. The empirical data base provided by the present project will allow the ide ....Growing up too quickly? Body objectification in adolescent and pre-adolescent girls (teens and tweens). The premature sexualisation of girls is seen as a major public health issue in Australia by government, welfare agencies and the general public alike. While the sexually objectified presentation of children in the media is well documented and unarguable, the consequences for individual psychological well-being are not. The empirical data base provided by the present project will allow the identification of girls who might be particularly vulnerable (or resilient) to the effects of objectification and sexualization, as well as suitable targets for intervention. Thus the research seeks to contribute to the well-being of adolescent and pre-adolescent girls (National Research Priority No. 2).
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The many faces of threat: An investigation of animal, interpersonal and intergroup threat. Threat to personal safety can take a number of guises, a snake in the grass, an angry neighbour or, increasingly often in our modern world, a stranger who looks different. The present project will investigate the manner in which we respond to these threats, whether these responses can be modulated and what determines the threatening nature of an event. A better understanding of how we react to real or p ....The many faces of threat: An investigation of animal, interpersonal and intergroup threat. Threat to personal safety can take a number of guises, a snake in the grass, an angry neighbour or, increasingly often in our modern world, a stranger who looks different. The present project will investigate the manner in which we respond to these threats, whether these responses can be modulated and what determines the threatening nature of an event. A better understanding of how we react to real or perceived threats, in particular those involving other humans, will aid our understanding of human behaviour in an ever faster changing environment, both in our region and more broadly. Read moreRead less
Deservingness and emotions. The project will address a key neglected area in the psychology of emotion, namely on how different emotions relate to perceptions that outcomes such as success or failure are deserved or undeserved. It will add to leadership on this issue and contribute to Australia's worldwide reputation for research on social justice and deservingness. The project will have implications for applied areas of national significance that include health-related issues and issues concern ....Deservingness and emotions. The project will address a key neglected area in the psychology of emotion, namely on how different emotions relate to perceptions that outcomes such as success or failure are deserved or undeserved. It will add to leadership on this issue and contribute to Australia's worldwide reputation for research on social justice and deservingness. The project will have implications for applied areas of national significance that include health-related issues and issues concerned with national safety, given the fact that emotions like sympathy can determine helping behaviour, and emotions like resentment can trigger revenge and conflict.Read moreRead less
Social psychological, personality, and neural processes underlying anger, aggression, and health. The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates the cost of assault, sexual assault, and homicide in Australia at over $2.5 billion per annum. Despite these enormous costs, very little is known about the cognitive and neural mechanisms guiding these phenomena. This research will also provide cues regarding risk for domestic violence. Understanding domestic violence is especially significant bec ....Social psychological, personality, and neural processes underlying anger, aggression, and health. The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates the cost of assault, sexual assault, and homicide in Australia at over $2.5 billion per annum. Despite these enormous costs, very little is known about the cognitive and neural mechanisms guiding these phenomena. This research will also provide cues regarding risk for domestic violence. Understanding domestic violence is especially significant because it is the leading cause of homicide among women in Australia. The insights gained from this research may lead to substantial social (e.g., stronger social fabric, reduced crime) and economic benefit (e.g., reduced spending on healthcare and crime).Read moreRead less
When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way ....When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way for positive social change. This is not just an academic exercise, but a chance to expose and tackle a form of racism to which the broader public and our own profession appears to turn a blind eye. Moreover, as we expect this research to yield timely and influential discoveries, it will help maintain Australia's position as a world leader in the field of social psychology.Read moreRead less
Bolstering commitment to positive social change through group-based interaction. Building on an impressive series of preliminary results, this research uses small group interaction to bolster commitment to work towards long-term goals. The methods explored in the proposal have the potential to boost commitment in the public, private, and community sectors by identifying the key factors responsible for sustaining long-term change. The research is relevant for efforts to combat racism, and to incr ....Bolstering commitment to positive social change through group-based interaction. Building on an impressive series of preliminary results, this research uses small group interaction to bolster commitment to work towards long-term goals. The methods explored in the proposal have the potential to boost commitment in the public, private, and community sectors by identifying the key factors responsible for sustaining long-term change. The research is relevant for efforts to combat racism, and to increase community support for international development and environmental sustainability. Benefits are expected both in terms of the promotion of positive attitudes in society and in overcoming apathy within organisations.Read moreRead less
Persuasion through numbers: How majority and minority groups can change peoples’ attitudes and be agents of innovation and social change. Project develops a social psychological understanding of how people process, and are influenced by, persuasive arguments endorsed by majority and minority groups. New techniques examine which source (majority vs. minority) is associated with most message processing, the consequence of message processing to attitude change, and factors that affect the ability/ ....Persuasion through numbers: How majority and minority groups can change peoples’ attitudes and be agents of innovation and social change. Project develops a social psychological understanding of how people process, and are influenced by, persuasive arguments endorsed by majority and minority groups. New techniques examine which source (majority vs. minority) is associated with most message processing, the consequence of message processing to attitude change, and factors that affect the ability/motivation to engage in message processing. Project extends theory by developing a framework that is tested across new paradigms (including rare group studies). Results will increase understanding of when, and how, majorities and minorities change attitudes (and when they fail) which is valuable for practitioners and policy-makers involved in managing change.Read moreRead less
Impaired jury decision-making: The impact of stereotypes in the Australian court room. There have been calls for reforms and overhauls of the jury system in Australia because of concerns about the ability of jurors to reach objective verdicts and concerns about the costs associated with the jury system; however the consequences of these proposed changes for jury functioning are not well understood. This research will provide a better understanding those factors that contribute to impaired jury d ....Impaired jury decision-making: The impact of stereotypes in the Australian court room. There have been calls for reforms and overhauls of the jury system in Australia because of concerns about the ability of jurors to reach objective verdicts and concerns about the costs associated with the jury system; however the consequences of these proposed changes for jury functioning are not well understood. This research will provide a better understanding those factors that contribute to impaired jury decision-making, helping to avoid the very real risk of any changes to the jury system resulting in profound and unpredictable changes to the functioning of the legal system. By doing so, the concerns of people calling for drastic reforms can be addressed without socially and economically expensive overhauls of the jury system.Read moreRead less
What makes unwritten rules work? A framework for understanding normative influence. Societies are regulated primarily by norms, which are unwritten, informal rules for appropriate behaviour. Governments, religious and cultural groups, and even families can all actively campaign to change people's standards or norms for behaviour. However, often people ignore the normative messages. As one example, child obesity rates in Australia continue to grow, despite years of campaigns on this issue. S ....What makes unwritten rules work? A framework for understanding normative influence. Societies are regulated primarily by norms, which are unwritten, informal rules for appropriate behaviour. Governments, religious and cultural groups, and even families can all actively campaign to change people's standards or norms for behaviour. However, often people ignore the normative messages. As one example, child obesity rates in Australia continue to grow, despite years of campaigns on this issue. Sometimes normative campaigns can even increase the problems they're trying to solve. For example, some research shows children targeted with anti-drug messages are more likely to abuse drugs. This research tests why normative campaigns fail, and how to solve the problem.Read moreRead less