Improving eyewitness identification accuracy using free-report lineups. There is major national and community interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. This research addresses the accuracy of eyewitness identification tests. Specifically, we investigate whether developing lineup procedures that separate out witnesses who are unsure of their response will prevent erroneous identifications. Progress on this issue makes an important contribution to decisions about the ideal lin ....Improving eyewitness identification accuracy using free-report lineups. There is major national and community interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. This research addresses the accuracy of eyewitness identification tests. Specifically, we investigate whether developing lineup procedures that separate out witnesses who are unsure of their response will prevent erroneous identifications. Progress on this issue makes an important contribution to decisions about the ideal lineup procedure, thereby preventing innocent people from being prosecuted and perpetrators being free to re-offend. Additionally the international collaboration on the project will increase the visibility of Australian social science research and provide crucial development opportunities for young Australian scientists.Read moreRead less
Identifying the bad guy with deadlined confidence judgments. There is major interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. Identity tests are commonly used in such investigations, but eyewitness decision accuracy is still unacceptably low. While eyewitness memory research has already contributed significantly to the development of procedures that improve the diagnosticity of identification decisions, our proposal offers radical new alternatives that can significantly improve diag ....Identifying the bad guy with deadlined confidence judgments. There is major interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. Identity tests are commonly used in such investigations, but eyewitness decision accuracy is still unacceptably low. While eyewitness memory research has already contributed significantly to the development of procedures that improve the diagnosticity of identification decisions, our proposal offers radical new alternatives that can significantly improve diagnosticity. In refining and evaluating these alternatives we will boost the profile of Australian science research and provide rich international training environments for young Australian and overseas scientists.Read moreRead less
Interviewing eyewitnesses: Enhancing output quantity and diagnosing accuracy. Although there has been general international agreement that open-ended police interviews (e.g., the Cognitive Interview) enhance output quantity and accuracy, it is also well documented that police investigators often depart from these procedures in order to probe for additional information. An approach to eyewitness interviewing that allows police to elicit greater detail while able to assess likely accuracy not only ....Interviewing eyewitnesses: Enhancing output quantity and diagnosing accuracy. Although there has been general international agreement that open-ended police interviews (e.g., the Cognitive Interview) enhance output quantity and accuracy, it is also well documented that police investigators often depart from these procedures in order to probe for additional information. An approach to eyewitness interviewing that allows police to elicit greater detail while able to assess likely accuracy not only has the potential to be widely adopted but would also provide a major breakthrough in the investigation of crimes and other incidents where interview data are so critical. This in turn would further enhance the profile of Australian (and UK) forensic science.Read moreRead less
Uncovering the processes underlying human category learning. There is a pervasive belief that complex tasks can somehow be learned via a 'smart' implicit or procedural learning mechanism, which operates independently of memory and attention. This idea has important implications for our understanding of cognition. If true, there seems little point in providing explicit instruction in such tasks, and efforts to do so are, at best, wasted time and, at worst, detrimental to the learning process. Th ....Uncovering the processes underlying human category learning. There is a pervasive belief that complex tasks can somehow be learned via a 'smart' implicit or procedural learning mechanism, which operates independently of memory and attention. This idea has important implications for our understanding of cognition. If true, there seems little point in providing explicit instruction in such tasks, and efforts to do so are, at best, wasted time and, at worst, detrimental to the learning process. This project will provide much-needed scrutiny of this idea and will help not only to re-orient our understanding of how we deal with complex information, but will also highlight issues about data interpretation that are fundamental for the research and wider communities.Read moreRead less
Eyewitness identification: Metacognitive influences on choosing behaviour. There is major national and community interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. This research addresses the two most significant problems associated with the conduct of eyewitness identification tests: mistaken identifications of innocent suspects and failure to identify guilty suspects when they are present in the lineup. Progress on the latter problem - which results in offenders avoiding detection ....Eyewitness identification: Metacognitive influences on choosing behaviour. There is major national and community interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. This research addresses the two most significant problems associated with the conduct of eyewitness identification tests: mistaken identifications of innocent suspects and failure to identify guilty suspects when they are present in the lineup. Progress on the latter problem - which results in offenders avoiding detection - would be a major contribution with national impact. As well as the obvious implications for the conduct of lineups, the international collaboration on the project will increase the visibility of Australian social science research and provide crucial development opportunities for young Australian scientists.Read moreRead less
Are two processes one too many? An investigation of the viability of the dual-process model of recognition memory. Memory is the glue that holds together our lives and personal identities. While psychologists are developing better and more sophisticated accounts of how it works, many deep questions remain. The present research examines some of these questions in relation to how memory can be decomposed into its component processes and how we are to understand these processes. An appropriate unde ....Are two processes one too many? An investigation of the viability of the dual-process model of recognition memory. Memory is the glue that holds together our lives and personal identities. While psychologists are developing better and more sophisticated accounts of how it works, many deep questions remain. The present research examines some of these questions in relation to how memory can be decomposed into its component processes and how we are to understand these processes. An appropriate understanding of these questions is vital to the development of interventions (both psychological and pharmacological) designed to halt or even reverse memory decline associated with normal aging and age-associated brain disease (such as Alzheimer disease).Read moreRead less
Developing a generative transformational theory of visual perception. This project will develop and test a generative, transformational computer model of visual perception, based on fractal encoding. This uses a powerful similarity metric to select transformations, that, when applied to image elements, generate a replica of the image. The model can detect and analyse structure in regular and semi-regular images, even when embedded in noise. This approach provides an explanation for several perce ....Developing a generative transformational theory of visual perception. This project will develop and test a generative, transformational computer model of visual perception, based on fractal encoding. This uses a powerful similarity metric to select transformations, that, when applied to image elements, generate a replica of the image. The model can detect and analyse structure in regular and semi-regular images, even when embedded in noise. This approach provides an explanation for several perceptual phenomena and illusions. It can reconcile opposed theories of perception and provide a unifying perspective on perception and cognition. Practical applications include the automatic recognition of objects in imagery and the detection of structure in complex data.Read moreRead less
Evaluating models of category learning that use general feature-based representations. Three competing models of human category learning will be evaluated by comparing their behaviour to human performance on an experimental task where each model makes qualitatively different predictions. A series of theoretical and algorithmic advances will be undertaken to ensure each of the category learning models uses the same feature-based representation. Because the three models propose very different lear ....Evaluating models of category learning that use general feature-based representations. Three competing models of human category learning will be evaluated by comparing their behaviour to human performance on an experimental task where each model makes qualitatively different predictions. A series of theoretical and algorithmic advances will be undertaken to ensure each of the category learning models uses the same feature-based representation. Because the three models propose very different learning processes, their comparison will give insight into the basic cognitive process of categorisation. The algorithms for generating feature representations and modelling human category learning will also have potential for application in data visualisation and information handling systems.Read moreRead less
Developing an integrative theoretical account of some basic mechanisms and limiting factors in human perception and cognition. The principal factors limiting cognitive performance are widely considered to be information processing speed, working memory capacity, and the effective control of cognitive processes. The proposed programme aims to develop and test a unifying theory relating these to two of the most basic achievements of the brain - discrimination and identification. This will help us ....Developing an integrative theoretical account of some basic mechanisms and limiting factors in human perception and cognition. The principal factors limiting cognitive performance are widely considered to be information processing speed, working memory capacity, and the effective control of cognitive processes. The proposed programme aims to develop and test a unifying theory relating these to two of the most basic achievements of the brain - discrimination and identification. This will help us to understand the underlying basis of differences and changes in cognitive performance. The outcomes have implications for the design, analysis and interpretation of studies of perception, judgement, memory and intelligence. The research also has applied relevance to neuropsychology, information handling and the design of system interfaces.Read moreRead less
Psychological User Profiling in the Telecommunications Industry. Recording user behaviour allows businesses to learn about their customers. This is particularly important in telecommunications, since the core business involves a large number of users who vary considerably from one another. This project combines psychological insights with modern statistical methods to develop a psychologically plausible user profiling framework, accounting for the idiosyncratic usage patterns of customers, and t ....Psychological User Profiling in the Telecommunications Industry. Recording user behaviour allows businesses to learn about their customers. This is particularly important in telecommunications, since the core business involves a large number of users who vary considerably from one another. This project combines psychological insights with modern statistical methods to develop a psychologically plausible user profiling framework, accounting for the idiosyncratic usage patterns of customers, and the way in which they change over time. The profiles will be tied to marketing prospects through interviews and surveys. Applied benefits include the ability to predict, understand and act upon user behaviour. The project also adds substantially to theories of memory, individual differences and decision-making.Read moreRead less