The structure and dynamics of social contact for human disease transmission models. The methodological advances of this project will enable new insights in important social research. They will not only add significantly to national capacity in the modelling of complex social systems but they will also yield practical scientific outcomes in a significant policy domain in Australia and overseas. In Australia, response to diseases such as HIV, HCV and TB need new approaches, and the threat of pan ....The structure and dynamics of social contact for human disease transmission models. The methodological advances of this project will enable new insights in important social research. They will not only add significantly to national capacity in the modelling of complex social systems but they will also yield practical scientific outcomes in a significant policy domain in Australia and overseas. In Australia, response to diseases such as HIV, HCV and TB need new approaches, and the threat of pandemic influenza is significant. Read moreRead less
Antisocial behaviour in young Australian adults: Social and economic influences. Antisocial behaviour is prevalent in Australia and imposes large social and economic costs. Currently, much of the crime prevention research has been conducted overseas. The findings of this study will provide important insights into the development of antisocial behaviour from childhood and adolescence through into young adulthood in the Australian context. By better understanding how factors such as unemployment, ....Antisocial behaviour in young Australian adults: Social and economic influences. Antisocial behaviour is prevalent in Australia and imposes large social and economic costs. Currently, much of the crime prevention research has been conducted overseas. The findings of this study will provide important insights into the development of antisocial behaviour from childhood and adolescence through into young adulthood in the Australian context. By better understanding how factors such as unemployment, alcohol-related entertainment, and sporting participation influence antisocial behaviour in young adulthood, prevention and early intervention programs can be developed to target specific subgroups. In this way spending on criminal justice systems can be reduced and a safer, more harmonious community can be fostered.Read moreRead less
What factors influence the development of antisocial behaviour in Australian adolescents? Antisocial behaviour is prevalent in Australia and imposes large social and economic costs on our communities. Once entrenched, antisocial behaviour and related problems often continue throughout life. Currently, much of the research in this area has been conducted overseas. The findings of this study will provide important insights into the development of antisocial behaviour from childhood to adolescence ....What factors influence the development of antisocial behaviour in Australian adolescents? Antisocial behaviour is prevalent in Australia and imposes large social and economic costs on our communities. Once entrenched, antisocial behaviour and related problems often continue throughout life. Currently, much of the research in this area has been conducted overseas. The findings of this study will provide important insights into the development of antisocial behaviour from childhood to adolescence in the Australian context. By better understanding how antisocial behaviour develops, prevention and early intervention programs can be developed to target specific subgroups. In this way spending on juvenile and adult criminal justice systems can be reduced and a safer, more harmonious community can be fostered.Read moreRead less
Competent but Less Likeable: Social Stereotypes and Strategic Choices in Negotiation. Women may be disadvantaged by the greater opportunities for negotiating employment conditions that Work Choices provides. Relative to their male peers, women receive lower starting salaries and smaller increases. This is costly for women, who leave the workforce with less financial security. The gender gap is also costly for organisations, who face increased dissatisfaction and turnover. Woman can improve the ....Competent but Less Likeable: Social Stereotypes and Strategic Choices in Negotiation. Women may be disadvantaged by the greater opportunities for negotiating employment conditions that Work Choices provides. Relative to their male peers, women receive lower starting salaries and smaller increases. This is costly for women, who leave the workforce with less financial security. The gender gap is also costly for organisations, who face increased dissatisfaction and turnover. Woman can improve their outcomes through negotiation, but the assertive tactics that improve their economic outcomes are likely to generate social reprisals in the workplace. This project will benefit employers and employees alike, by identifying strategies that assist women to improve their economic outcomes while buffering them from social reprisals.Read moreRead less
The Dynamics of Trust in Negotiation: Implications for Strategy and Outcomes. Despite the benefits of cooperation, negotiators frequently choose competitive strategies. This reduces their ability to build enduring solutions that meet both negotiators' needs. In this project, we investigate the role of trust in fostering cooperation. Although trust is a pre-requisite for cooperation, negotiation research is yet to systematically explore how trust is built, sustained and violated. We test h ....The Dynamics of Trust in Negotiation: Implications for Strategy and Outcomes. Despite the benefits of cooperation, negotiators frequently choose competitive strategies. This reduces their ability to build enduring solutions that meet both negotiators' needs. In this project, we investigate the role of trust in fostering cooperation. Although trust is a pre-requisite for cooperation, negotiation research is yet to systematically explore how trust is built, sustained and violated. We test how first impressions establish trust and how patterns of communication sustain trust. We also test how salient events punctuate negotiations and alter trust. Our goal is to identify those processes that facilitate trust and cooperation in negotiation.Read moreRead less
When Targets Seek to Disconfirm Expectations: Possible Future Interactions and Target Awareness as Moderators of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy has been demonstrated in a series of experimental studies in which "perceivers" are led to hold erroneous expectations about "targets" with whom they interact and subsequently come to believe that targets have confirmed their expectations (perceptual confirmation). Objective raters have demonstrated that targets often do confi ....When Targets Seek to Disconfirm Expectations: Possible Future Interactions and Target Awareness as Moderators of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy has been demonstrated in a series of experimental studies in which "perceivers" are led to hold erroneous expectations about "targets" with whom they interact and subsequently come to believe that targets have confirmed their expectations (perceptual confirmation). Objective raters have demonstrated that targets often do confirm expectations with their actions (behavioural confirmation). However, targets do not always succumb to perceivers' expectations. The research proposed here seeks to examine the active role that targets may take in creating confirmation or disconfirmation by adding a temporal context to interactions, making targets aware of expectations, and manipulating properties of expectations.Read moreRead less
A Relational Model of Strategic Choice in Negotiation. Poorly managed negotiations have negative consequences for both individuals and organisations. They create negative emotions, damage relationships, and may require costly and time-consuming third-party interventions. An important, yet neglected, aspect of negotiations is the underlying relationship between the parties. In this project, we examine how risks to the underlying relationship, specifically, perceived trustworthiness or its lack, ....A Relational Model of Strategic Choice in Negotiation. Poorly managed negotiations have negative consequences for both individuals and organisations. They create negative emotions, damage relationships, and may require costly and time-consuming third-party interventions. An important, yet neglected, aspect of negotiations is the underlying relationship between the parties. In this project, we examine how risks to the underlying relationship, specifically, perceived trustworthiness or its lack, affect negotiators' strategy choices. Each of the risks that we identify can be offset by selecting appropriate strategies. We develop and test a model that helps negotiators identify these risks and make strategic choices that protect their interests without damaging the relationship. Read moreRead less
Currencies of Exchange: Social Utility Functions and Strategic Decisions in Negotiation. Negotiators' strategy choices are influenced by their concern about economic and social outcomes. As negotiation relationships develop, social outcomes such as reputation become increasingly influential. However, individuals differ in their willingness to trade reputation for financial gain. We investigate two factors, negotiation context and underlying relationship, that affect the relative weights assigne ....Currencies of Exchange: Social Utility Functions and Strategic Decisions in Negotiation. Negotiators' strategy choices are influenced by their concern about economic and social outcomes. As negotiation relationships develop, social outcomes such as reputation become increasingly influential. However, individuals differ in their willingness to trade reputation for financial gain. We investigate two factors, negotiation context and underlying relationship, that affect the relative weights assigned to economic and social outcomes. We link differences in these weights to differences in negotiators' strategy choices and study how weights and behaviours change over time. This enables us to identify the elements of negotiation best practice, which allows negotiators to protect both their economic and reputational outcomes. Read moreRead less
Evidence-based improvement of statistical inference practices in psychology and other disciplines. The commonest ways that many researchers currently draw conclusions from their data have been shown to be inefficient, and often used incorrectly. This project will develop new, better statistical representations and software tools for data analysis. It will evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of these. Wide adoption of these techniques and tools will enhance the international reputation ....Evidence-based improvement of statistical inference practices in psychology and other disciplines. The commonest ways that many researchers currently draw conclusions from their data have been shown to be inefficient, and often used incorrectly. This project will develop new, better statistical representations and software tools for data analysis. It will evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of these. Wide adoption of these techniques and tools will enhance the international reputation and competitiveness of Australian psychological science. Adoption by Australian researchers across the social and behavioural sciences, and in other disciplines including medicine, economics and ecology, will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Australian research, with consequential wide-ranging benefits to the Australian community.Read moreRead less
The Role of Colour and Luminance in Spatial Location. How does the brain form our impression of the world? Black and white images appear normal to us. However, colour images without luminance variation have little depth, suggesting that the brain does not process colour in the same way as luminance. A series of fresh experiments examine how colour and luminance are utilised for seeing the depth and position of objects. The results will help us to understand how the first stages of visual process ....The Role of Colour and Luminance in Spatial Location. How does the brain form our impression of the world? Black and white images appear normal to us. However, colour images without luminance variation have little depth, suggesting that the brain does not process colour in the same way as luminance. A series of fresh experiments examine how colour and luminance are utilised for seeing the depth and position of objects. The results will help us to understand how the first stages of visual processing in the brain shape our sense of the world, and help develop theories of human vision, as well as animal and machine models of vision.Read moreRead less