Determining the neural mechanisms of visual stimuli and motor responses. This project aims to determine how we select actions to visual cues rapidly, unconsciously and automatically. Learning associations between visual stimuli and motor responses is part of normal development and continues throughout life. Rapid deployment of these actions is often critical for safety yet we have limited knowledge of how the human brain does this. This project will use neuroimaging tools to characterise the spa ....Determining the neural mechanisms of visual stimuli and motor responses. This project aims to determine how we select actions to visual cues rapidly, unconsciously and automatically. Learning associations between visual stimuli and motor responses is part of normal development and continues throughout life. Rapid deployment of these actions is often critical for safety yet we have limited knowledge of how the human brain does this. This project will use neuroimaging tools to characterise the spatial and temporal neural architecture underlying these processes and determine how the dorsal and ventral streams of visual processing, specialised for motor control and recognition respectively, interact in vision-based actions as these actions become learned.Outcomes will provide new frameworks for driving improvement in any domain in which goal-directed actions depend on the rapid processing of visual information, including human-machine interfaces for defence, economic development, education, health, science and technology.Read moreRead less
Motor control of the upper airway muscle genioglossus. This project aims to evaluate a recent proposal about the motor control of the upper airway muscle Genioglossus. The upper airway muscles, the most complex in the human body, are critical for breathing and speaking, but are not well understood. Genioglossus draws the base of the tongue forward to maintain airway patency. This project will study genioglossus during wakefulness and sleep in normal healthy individuals. It is anticipated that th ....Motor control of the upper airway muscle genioglossus. This project aims to evaluate a recent proposal about the motor control of the upper airway muscle Genioglossus. The upper airway muscles, the most complex in the human body, are critical for breathing and speaking, but are not well understood. Genioglossus draws the base of the tongue forward to maintain airway patency. This project will study genioglossus during wakefulness and sleep in normal healthy individuals. It is anticipated that the project will suggest improved avenues for treatment of sleep related respiratory disorders.Read moreRead less
Understanding the physiological changes accompanying arousal from sleep. This project aims to investigate neural memory in upper airway dilator muscles. Following brief awakening from sleep (arousal), upper airway dilator muscle activity is elevated for 20–30 seconds despite inhibitory stimuli being present. The cause for the elevated activity is unknown. This project aims to investigate whether a form of neural memory contributes to the elevated activity. It expects to demonstrate that arousal ....Understanding the physiological changes accompanying arousal from sleep. This project aims to investigate neural memory in upper airway dilator muscles. Following brief awakening from sleep (arousal), upper airway dilator muscle activity is elevated for 20–30 seconds despite inhibitory stimuli being present. The cause for the elevated activity is unknown. This project aims to investigate whether a form of neural memory contributes to the elevated activity. It expects to demonstrate that arousal can induce a neural memory that is not inhibited by usual stimuli. The findings are expected to increase our understanding of normal human functioning but may also have implications for conditions where upper airway muscles are important such as dysphagia, sleep apnea and numerous other sleep disorders.Read moreRead less
From fluid intelligence to crystallised expertise: an integrative Bayesian approach. Intelligence is correlated with learning but uncorrelated with most aspects of expertise. Why is this so? Why does the role of intelligence diminish as one becomes more expert at a task? This project examines a broad range of cognitive tasks to provide a concise mathematical description of how intelligence relates to expertise.
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