Planning, Communication, and Collaboration in Cognitive Systems: A Constructive Approach. Change is a constant and unavoidable characteristic of the current and foreseeable business environment. Currently systems cope poorly with change and as a result they are not sufficiently dependable and adaptable to support business agility and innovation. The aim of this project is to advance the start-of-the art and to lay a new foundation for dependable and adaptable cognitive systems that can plan, com ....Planning, Communication, and Collaboration in Cognitive Systems: A Constructive Approach. Change is a constant and unavoidable characteristic of the current and foreseeable business environment. Currently systems cope poorly with change and as a result they are not sufficiently dependable and adaptable to support business agility and innovation. The aim of this project is to advance the start-of-the art and to lay a new foundation for dependable and adaptable cognitive systems that can plan, communicate and collaborate in complex and dynamic environments.Read moreRead less
Auditory spatial perception during head movements. Orienting to stimuli frequently involves eye and head movements. This improves localisation, yet brings attendant problems (eg, blurring). These problems are well understood in vision, but not in audition, despite evidence for common neural mechanisms. We will examine auditory (and visual) localisation during head movements, showing head movements produce auditory suppression and spatial distortions (analogous to visual saccadic effects). This w ....Auditory spatial perception during head movements. Orienting to stimuli frequently involves eye and head movements. This improves localisation, yet brings attendant problems (eg, blurring). These problems are well understood in vision, but not in audition, despite evidence for common neural mechanisms. We will examine auditory (and visual) localisation during head movements, showing head movements produce auditory suppression and spatial distortions (analogous to visual saccadic effects). This will demonstrate the malleability of auditory spatial perception and the impoverished sensitivity of audition during head and self-motion. Knowledge of these distortions will inform applications such as cockpit design, where orienting to auditory signals is common, and other human/computer interfaces.
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The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinemen ....The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinement of the brain's innate ability to generate predictions about the sensory environment. The resulting insights could improve understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.Read moreRead less
Risky Futures: Toward a Computational Process Model of Risky Inter-Temporal Choice. A lot is known about people’s preferences. People like their rewards now. Most would prefer $10 today than $20 in one month. Risk is also unattractive; a certain $10 is more attractive than a 50 per cent chance of receiving $25. Surprisingly, much less is known about the interaction between delay and risk. That is, relatively little is known about whether people prefer $10 now, or a 50 per cent chance of $50 in ....Risky Futures: Toward a Computational Process Model of Risky Inter-Temporal Choice. A lot is known about people’s preferences. People like their rewards now. Most would prefer $10 today than $20 in one month. Risk is also unattractive; a certain $10 is more attractive than a 50 per cent chance of receiving $25. Surprisingly, much less is known about the interaction between delay and risk. That is, relatively little is known about whether people prefer $10 now, or a 50 per cent chance of $50 in one month. This project will use a combination of experiments and cognitive modelling to examine all three types of choice. The outcome will be a novel computational model that will elucidate the complex interaction between delay and risk, thereby answering an enduring question in the literature: are risk and delay psychologically equivalent?Read moreRead less
Social cognitive change in late adulthood. This project aims to develop and test a model of how normal adult ageing affects the ability to perceive and interpret social cues, a critical predictor of social competency and well-being, and identify the most important determinants of any age-related changes. This project predicts that older adults who have the greatest difficulties perceiving and interpreting social cues will also have the poorest social function and well-being, so better understand ....Social cognitive change in late adulthood. This project aims to develop and test a model of how normal adult ageing affects the ability to perceive and interpret social cues, a critical predictor of social competency and well-being, and identify the most important determinants of any age-related changes. This project predicts that older adults who have the greatest difficulties perceiving and interpreting social cues will also have the poorest social function and well-being, so better understanding the mechanistic factors that drive resilience and risk for these difficulties is expected to have direct and important implications for Australia’s growing older adult community.Read moreRead less
The antecedents and outcomes of affective and cognitive readiness for organisational change. This project aims to understand employees' readiness for organisational change. It identifies positive beliefs and positive emotional experiences as key aspects of readiness for change. The project focuses on individuals' personality, workplace characteristics, and characteristics of organisational change events as influencing readiness for change.
Unifying decisions from experience and description. The project aims to answer an enduring question: are separate theories required for decisions from experience and description? For some decisions, potential outcomes and probabilities are known – a gamble offering a 10 per cent chance to win $100 or a 90 per cent chance of nothing, for example. For many others, there is no ‘look-up table’ of probabilities and outcomes and so we must learn them via experience. Intriguingly, risky choices made on ....Unifying decisions from experience and description. The project aims to answer an enduring question: are separate theories required for decisions from experience and description? For some decisions, potential outcomes and probabilities are known – a gamble offering a 10 per cent chance to win $100 or a 90 per cent chance of nothing, for example. For many others, there is no ‘look-up table’ of probabilities and outcomes and so we must learn them via experience. Intriguingly, risky choices made on the basis of described or experienced information differ markedly. This project examines why this divergence occurs. The project plans to test an innovative approach that unifies both types of decisions into a single theoretical framework and provides a suite of empirical and modelling results.Read moreRead less
Toward a unified account of adaptive decision making: learning to search, stop and decide. The quality of decision making, our own and those with influence over us is a fundamental concern. The centrality of this issue means that it is crucial to understand the cognitive processes underlying human decision making. This project will deliver new insights into these processes and make key recommendations for improving decision making.
How do people make uncertain predictions? Exemplar-based and category-based approaches to inductive inference. This project is an innovative experimental and field study of how people reason under uncertainty. The project will broaden our understanding of human reasoning and enhance the reputation of Australian cognitive science.
Time discounting in late career financial and activity planning. A new career decision model of retirement activity and financial planning will be tested that combines hyperbolic delay discounting with exponential interest growth, while also examining the impact of risk framed in terms of changing goverment tax legislation and uncertain health. The role of expertise and simulated training in reducing time discounting will be examined, and results combined to form a late career web assistance pro ....Time discounting in late career financial and activity planning. A new career decision model of retirement activity and financial planning will be tested that combines hyperbolic delay discounting with exponential interest growth, while also examining the impact of risk framed in terms of changing goverment tax legislation and uncertain health. The role of expertise and simulated training in reducing time discounting will be examined, and results combined to form a late career web assistance program. Improving predictions of the decision to retire will benefit individuals, financial planners, investors and employing organisations.Read moreRead less