Reducing Cyberbullying: Turning Bystanders into Constructive Defenders. This project aims to develop a theoretically driven internet-based training program to reduce cyberbullying among adolescents. It expects to discover how to turn passive bystanders (onlookers) into active constructive defenders who help to stop cyberbullying and assist those being cyberbullied. Expected outcomes include developing the first theoretical model of bystanders in the cyberbullying context and practical evidenced ....Reducing Cyberbullying: Turning Bystanders into Constructive Defenders. This project aims to develop a theoretically driven internet-based training program to reduce cyberbullying among adolescents. It expects to discover how to turn passive bystanders (onlookers) into active constructive defenders who help to stop cyberbullying and assist those being cyberbullied. Expected outcomes include developing the first theoretical model of bystanders in the cyberbullying context and practical evidenced-based methods to increase constructive bystanding. The provision of an accessible training program for use in schools will produce significant benefits for the well-being of Australian youth by reducing cyberbullying and increasing the civility of Australian youth.
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Approaching the Out group Unlocks Intergroup Contact's Benefits for Society. Extensive research on group desegregation shows that intergroup contact (face-to-face interactions between people of opposing groups) should be encouraged for harmonious group relations; such contact maximises social integration, self-esteem, health, and productivity. However, these benefits are often missed as people actively avoid intergroup contact. This research introduces a theoretically- and empirically-grounded t ....Approaching the Out group Unlocks Intergroup Contact's Benefits for Society. Extensive research on group desegregation shows that intergroup contact (face-to-face interactions between people of opposing groups) should be encouraged for harmonious group relations; such contact maximises social integration, self-esteem, health, and productivity. However, these benefits are often missed as people actively avoid intergroup contact. This research introduces a theoretically- and empirically-grounded typology of contact approach-avoidance that aims to: identify personal and situational determinants driving out-group approach in natural settings; delineate outcomes of out-group approach for psychological processes critical to intergroup relations; and, indicate new interventions for encouraging intergroup contact.Read moreRead less
Square Eyes or All Lies? Understanding Children's Exposure to Screens. This project will examine Australian parents’ number one concern about their children’s health and behaviour – their interactions with electronic screens. Current screen time guidelines are based on low-quality evidence and lack the nuance required to address this complex issue. This project will use innovative technology to resolve these weaknesses. Wearable cameras will measure what children are doing on screens, and where, ....Square Eyes or All Lies? Understanding Children's Exposure to Screens. This project will examine Australian parents’ number one concern about their children’s health and behaviour – their interactions with electronic screens. Current screen time guidelines are based on low-quality evidence and lack the nuance required to address this complex issue. This project will use innovative technology to resolve these weaknesses. Wearable cameras will measure what children are doing on screens, and where, when, and how long they are doing it. The project will also investigate how screen time impacts children’s development and how it is influenced by their environment. This evidence will benefit children by improving screen time guidelines, and help parents understand the impact of screen time on children’s development.
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A new look at perceptual expertise: the attentional Gestalt framework. This project aims to propose and rigorously test a new, mechanistic framework for understanding how training and experience alters our capacity to perceive and engage in skilled visual processing. The project intends to explain why trained visual experts often rapidly perceive things that elude novices. Expected outcomes of the project include new knowledge about the key mechanistic features that underlie skilled visual perfo ....A new look at perceptual expertise: the attentional Gestalt framework. This project aims to propose and rigorously test a new, mechanistic framework for understanding how training and experience alters our capacity to perceive and engage in skilled visual processing. The project intends to explain why trained visual experts often rapidly perceive things that elude novices. Expected outcomes of the project include new knowledge about the key mechanistic features that underlie skilled visual performance. Intended benefits of this knowledge include the development of artificial systems and improved training environments to facilitate and enhance human expert visual processing.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100436
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$397,639.00
Summary
Identifying Factors to Optimise Teachers’ Psychological Functioning at Work. High stress and low wellbeing among teachers are known to result in considerable health costs for teachers, academic costs for students, and financial costs for schools. Yet, a disproportionate number of teachers suffer from poor psychological functioning. This project seeks to lay the groundwork to enhance teachers’ functioning at work. Using large-scale international and Australian data, along with cutting-edge biopsy ....Identifying Factors to Optimise Teachers’ Psychological Functioning at Work. High stress and low wellbeing among teachers are known to result in considerable health costs for teachers, academic costs for students, and financial costs for schools. Yet, a disproportionate number of teachers suffer from poor psychological functioning. This project seeks to lay the groundwork to enhance teachers’ functioning at work. Using large-scale international and Australian data, along with cutting-edge biopsychological data, this project expects to unearth salient personal and contextual factors that reduce stress and boost wellbeing among teachers. It is expected that this will provide a comprehensive evidence-base and essential theoretical insights for optimising teachers’ psychological health and effective functioning at work.Read moreRead less
Investigating voluntary and involuntary intergroup contact . Extensive research suggests that interactions between people of opposing groups - intergroup contact - reduce prejudices and improve social cohesion. Yet these benefits may not be realised if intergroup contact is actively avoided, passively received, or mandated. Drawing from social psychology and human geography, this project aims to establish the conditions under which voluntary contact occurs and how voluntary (vs. involuntary) int ....Investigating voluntary and involuntary intergroup contact . Extensive research suggests that interactions between people of opposing groups - intergroup contact - reduce prejudices and improve social cohesion. Yet these benefits may not be realised if intergroup contact is actively avoided, passively received, or mandated. Drawing from social psychology and human geography, this project aims to establish the conditions under which voluntary contact occurs and how voluntary (vs. involuntary) intergroup contact shapes diversity experiences and impacts social attitudes, trust, and civic participation. With data from multiple settings and participant populations, this project has the potential to inform interventions and policies that deliver harmonious, healthy and productive communities.Read moreRead less
Ready, steady, go: Infant motor development and cognition. This project aims to examine the changes in and relationships between cognition and motoric abilities during infancy. The project will utilise well-established and innovative measures of memory flexibility and motor development to generate new knowledge about the complex relationship between action, perception, and cognition. The expected outcomes will provide significant benefits such as increased scientific and public knowledge on earl ....Ready, steady, go: Infant motor development and cognition. This project aims to examine the changes in and relationships between cognition and motoric abilities during infancy. The project will utilise well-established and innovative measures of memory flexibility and motor development to generate new knowledge about the complex relationship between action, perception, and cognition. The expected outcomes will provide significant benefits such as increased scientific and public knowledge on early development and an evidence base on the normal stages of infant development, relevant for health policy.Read moreRead less
Enhancing lifeguard performance: A multidisciplinary approach. This project aims to improve the timely identification of swimmers at risk of drowning by drawing on a range of theoretical, empirical, and methodological approaches from the disciplines of organisational psychology, human factors, cognitive science and computer science. Lifeguards are vital for maintaining public safety at aquatic venues, however despite their presence, fatal and non-fatal drownings occur every year with little know ....Enhancing lifeguard performance: A multidisciplinary approach. This project aims to improve the timely identification of swimmers at risk of drowning by drawing on a range of theoretical, empirical, and methodological approaches from the disciplines of organisational psychology, human factors, cognitive science and computer science. Lifeguards are vital for maintaining public safety at aquatic venues, however despite their presence, fatal and non-fatal drownings occur every year with little known about the factors that affect vigilance, scanning and sustained attention in such a complex, dynamic environment. Expected outcomes of the project include evidence-based solutions for selecting, training and maintaining the performance of lifeguards that account for both organisational and individual factors. These will improve Australia’s ability to build social capital in both urban and rural centres by providing the safest possible community swimming pools.Read moreRead less
When, why, and how well do we regulate other people's emotions? This project aims to understand when and why people attempt to regulate others' emotions, and to evaluate which regulation processes are most effective. We will study regulation attempts as they occur over minutes, days, and months in interactions between romantic couples and between nurse co-workers. This project extends the study of emotion regulation to others’ emotions as well as one’s own. The major project output will be an ev ....When, why, and how well do we regulate other people's emotions? This project aims to understand when and why people attempt to regulate others' emotions, and to evaluate which regulation processes are most effective. We will study regulation attempts as they occur over minutes, days, and months in interactions between romantic couples and between nurse co-workers. This project extends the study of emotion regulation to others’ emotions as well as one’s own. The major project output will be an evidence-based theory of extrinsic regulation. Project benefits include applications of this new knowledge to programs and policies that reduce negative emotions and stress in healthcare workers and couples, reducing workplace burnout, on-the-job errors, relationship breakdown and their associated economic costs.Read moreRead less
Brain systems implicated in alcohol-related aggression. Alcohol has many adverse effects on social behaviour and emotion regulation. Aggressive behaviour is one of the most common social behaviours that intoxicated people display. Using neuroimaging and brain stimulation technology, this project aims to identify how alcohol disrupts brain networks implicated in anger and emotion regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include discovery of how the brain responds to social provocation, suppo ....Brain systems implicated in alcohol-related aggression. Alcohol has many adverse effects on social behaviour and emotion regulation. Aggressive behaviour is one of the most common social behaviours that intoxicated people display. Using neuroimaging and brain stimulation technology, this project aims to identify how alcohol disrupts brain networks implicated in anger and emotion regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include discovery of how the brain responds to social provocation, supports emotion regulation, and produces aggressive behaviour when intoxicated. Benefits include identifying how the intoxicated brain contributes to the millennia-old phenomenon of alcohol-related aggression and how brain stimulation may protect against aggression.Read moreRead less