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
Cultural Dynamics of Narratives: Micro and Macro Implications of Narrative Transmission. Stories circulated in everyday conversations may have global implications by exerting a subtle cultural influence on social actions. Stories about martyrdom and wartime heroics, for instance, describe what goals a protagonist pursues in what way in what context. We propose that in communicating such stories people affirm and re-affirm for each other what they should do under what circumstances. The exchange ....Cultural Dynamics of Narratives: Micro and Macro Implications of Narrative Transmission. Stories circulated in everyday conversations may have global implications by exerting a subtle cultural influence on social actions. Stories about martyrdom and wartime heroics, for instance, describe what goals a protagonist pursues in what way in what context. We propose that in communicating such stories people affirm and re-affirm for each other what they should do under what circumstances. The exchange of these stories can result in the formation and transformation of a large-scale cultural grouping, which may have significant socio-political implications such as extremist terrorism and intercultural clashes. We test these propositions in experiments and computer simulations.Read moreRead less
The Formation and Maintenance of Stereotypes through Communication. Stereotypes are culturally shared beliefs about social groups. Although many stereotypes may be formed on the basis of hearsay, and often maintained through our everyday conversations, little is known about how they are formed, maintained, and transformed through interpersonal communications. This project examines this question with a view to developing a social psychological theory of how culturally shared beliefs may be formed ....The Formation and Maintenance of Stereotypes through Communication. Stereotypes are culturally shared beliefs about social groups. Although many stereotypes may be formed on the basis of hearsay, and often maintained through our everyday conversations, little is known about how they are formed, maintained, and transformed through interpersonal communications. This project examines this question with a view to developing a social psychological theory of how culturally shared beliefs may be formed, maintained, and transformed, especially when they can have undesirable consequences such as prejudice and discrimination.Read moreRead less
Dehumanization: Understanding the attribution of lesser humanness to others. The proposed research will contribute to an improved understanding of the subtle ways in which humanness is denied to members of some social groups. These processes contribute to intergroup antagonism and intolerance, and to a failure to take adequate moral account of other people's suffering. Understanding dehumanization can enhance our ability to recognize and overcome its manifestations in public life and the communi ....Dehumanization: Understanding the attribution of lesser humanness to others. The proposed research will contribute to an improved understanding of the subtle ways in which humanness is denied to members of some social groups. These processes contribute to intergroup antagonism and intolerance, and to a failure to take adequate moral account of other people's suffering. Understanding dehumanization can enhance our ability to recognize and overcome its manifestations in public life and the community. Scientifically, the proposed work will contribute to the nation's reputation as a world leader in the psychological study of intergroup relations.Read moreRead less
Body image concerns during pregnancy and the post-partum: What are the predictors and consequences? This research will address ARC Research Priority Area 2: promoting the health and wellbeing of mothers, and also supporting mothers? abilities to give their children a healthy start to life. We will assess the response of Australian women to body changes during pregnancy and the postpartum in order to determine whether findings overseas are applicable and can be enhanced in Australian women. In ad ....Body image concerns during pregnancy and the post-partum: What are the predictors and consequences? This research will address ARC Research Priority Area 2: promoting the health and wellbeing of mothers, and also supporting mothers? abilities to give their children a healthy start to life. We will assess the response of Australian women to body changes during pregnancy and the postpartum in order to determine whether findings overseas are applicable and can be enhanced in Australian women. In addition, given that at least one in 10 pregnant women will develop post-partum depression, a thorough understanding of early warning signs of risk for post-natal depression is necessary to relieve the suffering of many Australian women.
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The social and cognitive functions of affect. Dealing with affective problems represents a major challenge in clinical, health, organisational and counselling psychology. Yet the role that affective states play in thinking, judgments and many everyday social behaviours remains poorly understood.. This project will produce direct national and community benefit by developing a new, integrative theory of affective influences on thinking and action, and exploring the functions and processing consequ ....The social and cognitive functions of affect. Dealing with affective problems represents a major challenge in clinical, health, organisational and counselling psychology. Yet the role that affective states play in thinking, judgments and many everyday social behaviours remains poorly understood.. This project will produce direct national and community benefit by developing a new, integrative theory of affective influences on thinking and action, and exploring the functions and processing consequences of affect in everyday settings. The real-life consequences of affect infusion in applied areas will also be explored. The project will also contribute to Australia's research capability by training doctoral and postdoctoral students, and fostering international research collaboration.Read moreRead less
The structure and content of self-knowledge: When and how are implicit and explicit measures related and what do they tell us? Research has found clear links between individuals' beliefs about themselves and emotion, motivation, and behaviour. These beliefs also play a role in the development of and recovery from psychological illness. However, understanding has been limited by the use of explicit measures, which rely on our ability to 'know' everything about ourselves, and our willingness to di ....The structure and content of self-knowledge: When and how are implicit and explicit measures related and what do they tell us? Research has found clear links between individuals' beliefs about themselves and emotion, motivation, and behaviour. These beliefs also play a role in the development of and recovery from psychological illness. However, understanding has been limited by the use of explicit measures, which rely on our ability to 'know' everything about ourselves, and our willingness to disclose. We investigate how explicitly and implicitly measured self-knowledge affect emotion, motivation, and behaviour. As a result, we redress a major criticism of this research, and facilitate a greater understanding of the role of self-knowledge, including aspects that we are not able to articulate, in psychological well-being.Read moreRead less
Implicit transmission of embodied culture. Is a culturally diverse, yet socially integrated community possible? In multicultural societies such as Australia, this is a pressing and significant question. To form and maintain a vibrant and prosperous community in the face of globalization, it is essential to understand the fundamental processes by which cultures are formed and transformed in everyday social activities. This project examines one such process, implicit cultural transmission, propose ....Implicit transmission of embodied culture. Is a culturally diverse, yet socially integrated community possible? In multicultural societies such as Australia, this is a pressing and significant question. To form and maintain a vibrant and prosperous community in the face of globalization, it is essential to understand the fundamental processes by which cultures are formed and transformed in everyday social activities. This project examines one such process, implicit cultural transmission, proposed to function in the nonconscious transmission of cultural information. Understanding the dynamics of this subtle, yet pervasive, mode of cultural influence is central to a full appreciation of how one's own culture and those of others' integrate and flourish.Read moreRead less
Combining Community Based Social Marketing and Technological Innovation to Combat Wood-Smoke Pollution in Regional Australia. There is considerable evidence to suggest that wood smoke pollution represents a serious health threat. This project will provide valuable information about the relative effectiveness of social marketing and technology-based interventions to reduce wood smoke pollution, and how these interventions may be combined to maximise their impact. The resulting improvements in ai ....Combining Community Based Social Marketing and Technological Innovation to Combat Wood-Smoke Pollution in Regional Australia. There is considerable evidence to suggest that wood smoke pollution represents a serious health threat. This project will provide valuable information about the relative effectiveness of social marketing and technology-based interventions to reduce wood smoke pollution, and how these interventions may be combined to maximise their impact. The resulting improvements in air quality may produce substantial health benefits for the residents of Australian communities that depend heavily on wood as a domestic heating fuel during winter months. Read moreRead less
Time and timelessness in Aboriginal societies as exemplified in Ngarinyin body-imagery. My project is an investigation of northern Kimberley trading practices, arguing against some pervasive views in the Aboriginalist literature which cast Aboriginal people and cultures as emphasising timelessness and de-emphasising human creativity. Kimberley trading/sharing practices, I suggest, show that exchanges (at various levels of formality) between groups and individuals are locally experienced as an ac ....Time and timelessness in Aboriginal societies as exemplified in Ngarinyin body-imagery. My project is an investigation of northern Kimberley trading practices, arguing against some pervasive views in the Aboriginalist literature which cast Aboriginal people and cultures as emphasising timelessness and de-emphasising human creativity. Kimberley trading/sharing practices, I suggest, show that exchanges (at various levels of formality) between groups and individuals are locally experienced as an active and ongoing participation in the creation of the bodies of kin and of the country itself. This is done in a way which actively participates in, rather than merely reproduces, the creative travels of the first ancestral beings. Phenomenology and psychoanalysis theoretically inform my approach.Read moreRead less