Speed of Information Processing Across the Ages: the Structure of Cognitive Abilities in Children, Adults, and the Elderly. Does speed information processing determine intelligence? The study addresses this question by examining the structure of cognitive abilities and speed of processing in children, adults, and the elderly. The project will advance theory by testing whether speed of processing mediates developmental cognitive change during childhood and old age. Outcomes include contributing t ....Speed of Information Processing Across the Ages: the Structure of Cognitive Abilities in Children, Adults, and the Elderly. Does speed information processing determine intelligence? The study addresses this question by examining the structure of cognitive abilities and speed of processing in children, adults, and the elderly. The project will advance theory by testing whether speed of processing mediates developmental cognitive change during childhood and old age. Outcomes include contributing to a complete model of cognition, laying the foundations for a future major longitudinal study which will provide evidence on the direction of causality between speed of processing measures and cognitive abilities, and provide norms for a computerised, commercial test battery.Read moreRead less
Individual Differences in Orientations to Risk and Uncertainty. The main goal of this research project is to extend and integrate three individual-differences approaches to predicting and explaining human judgement and decision making (JDM) and risk-taking behaviours (RTB) under uncertainty: Cognitive-capacity, preferences and dispositions, and dual cognitive process approaches. It will achieve this by studying the joint impact of cognitive style, capacities, and RTB/JDM dispositions on performa ....Individual Differences in Orientations to Risk and Uncertainty. The main goal of this research project is to extend and integrate three individual-differences approaches to predicting and explaining human judgement and decision making (JDM) and risk-taking behaviours (RTB) under uncertainty: Cognitive-capacity, preferences and dispositions, and dual cognitive process approaches. It will achieve this by studying the joint impact of cognitive style, capacities, and RTB/JDM dispositions on performance in appropriate JDM tasks. JDM and RTB are at the root of managing uncertainty, human adaptiveness and rationality. This project will also extend our knowledge of gender differences in JDM and RTB, and lay foundations for systematic cross-cultural studies on this topic.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
Youth and violence: Occurrence, epidemiology and function. The expected national benefits that will arise from this project will include significant advances to policy and practice in the field, which will impact on service users and service providers at both individual and community levels. The project will foster research excellence and develop inter agency collaborations, thus advancing Australia's research and clinical leadership in the field. Taken altogether, this project has a strong pote ....Youth and violence: Occurrence, epidemiology and function. The expected national benefits that will arise from this project will include significant advances to policy and practice in the field, which will impact on service users and service providers at both individual and community levels. The project will foster research excellence and develop inter agency collaborations, thus advancing Australia's research and clinical leadership in the field. Taken altogether, this project has a strong potential to lead to further collaborations focussing on research priorities of national and international significance and to contribute to resources leading to better outcomes for young people. Read moreRead less
Who may judge a book by its cover? This project aims to build a model of how and why people vary in their impressions of others and in the accuracy of these impressions. People readily form impressions of others from their faces and these impressions influence crucial decisions: election results, court case outcomes and partner choices. To build this model, the project will apply twin data and construct a psychometric test to measure variation in facial impressions. The research is expected to l ....Who may judge a book by its cover? This project aims to build a model of how and why people vary in their impressions of others and in the accuracy of these impressions. People readily form impressions of others from their faces and these impressions influence crucial decisions: election results, court case outcomes and partner choices. To build this model, the project will apply twin data and construct a psychometric test to measure variation in facial impressions. The research is expected to lead to insights into this aspect of social perception, and to identify the sources of atypical or inaccurate facial judgements. This has applications in health contexts (to identify social impairment) and in security contexts (for personnel selection).Read moreRead less
Can Some Positive Emotions Increase Anger? The project will test the idea that high approach-motivated positive emotions (desire, determination) will intensify anger, whereas low approach-motivated positive emotions (satisfaction, amusement) will reduce anger. Anger and high approach-motivated emotions are similar in that they impel the person to move toward, or to approach. Thus, high approach-motivated positive emotions may blend with anger and make it more intense. The project is significant ....Can Some Positive Emotions Increase Anger? The project will test the idea that high approach-motivated positive emotions (desire, determination) will intensify anger, whereas low approach-motivated positive emotions (satisfaction, amusement) will reduce anger. Anger and high approach-motivated emotions are similar in that they impel the person to move toward, or to approach. Thus, high approach-motivated positive emotions may blend with anger and make it more intense. The project is significant because it aims to suggest, contrary to past ideas, that some positive emotions may increase anger. The project is innovative conceptually and methodologically as it aims to reveal that some positive emotions may increase anger-related responses.Read moreRead less
Developing a process model of emotion management using experience sampling. Little is known about the underlying processes of emotional intelligence, as existing research uses descriptive structural models rather than explanatory process models. This project aims to produce a within-person process model of emotion management, the cornerstone skill of emotional intelligence. The project aims to: test the model with experience sampling; test the causal direction of the model with experimental mani ....Developing a process model of emotion management using experience sampling. Little is known about the underlying processes of emotional intelligence, as existing research uses descriptive structural models rather than explanatory process models. This project aims to produce a within-person process model of emotion management, the cornerstone skill of emotional intelligence. The project aims to: test the model with experience sampling; test the causal direction of the model with experimental manipulations; and, develop a training program to test whether the causal processes can be manipulated. This process model is expected to represent a major theoretical breakthrough for emotional intelligence research and to pave the way for evidence-based training programs.Read moreRead less
Integrating between-person and within-person approaches to personality in the workplace. Personality tests are used to predict well being and productivity at work and are often used for personnel decisions within organisations in developed countries, including Australia. The treatment of personality as a fixed set of traits that produce similar responses across situations ignores human variability across situations which is needed for design of interventions to make humans happier and more effec ....Integrating between-person and within-person approaches to personality in the workplace. Personality tests are used to predict well being and productivity at work and are often used for personnel decisions within organisations in developed countries, including Australia. The treatment of personality as a fixed set of traits that produce similar responses across situations ignores human variability across situations which is needed for design of interventions to make humans happier and more effective at work. The results of tests of the integrated model of personality will be used to design interventions for the development of responses that lead to greater well being and effectiveness of managers in work settings.Read moreRead less
Enhancing Hypnotic Responding with Oxytocin. Although hypnosis has been studied for over a 100 years, little is understood about the neuroscience of hypnosis. This project represents the first investigation of the neural mechanisms underpinning hypnosis. At an applied level, this project has the potential to markedly increase the capacity for Australians to benefit from medical and psychological hypnosis. Hypnosis has been shown to assist in many medical and psychological conditions, and by d ....Enhancing Hypnotic Responding with Oxytocin. Although hypnosis has been studied for over a 100 years, little is understood about the neuroscience of hypnosis. This project represents the first investigation of the neural mechanisms underpinning hypnosis. At an applied level, this project has the potential to markedly increase the capacity for Australians to benefit from medical and psychological hypnosis. Hypnosis has been shown to assist in many medical and psychological conditions, and by developing the means to increase hypnotic responding, this project can directly enhance the physical and psychological health of Australians.Read moreRead less
The impact of emotional intelligence and styles of conflict resolution on performance in high and low stress situations. Research from 1980 reveals that organizations in Australia do not deal well with conflict (Hollis & Cunnington, 1980). Recent research has revealed similiar shortcomings within Australian organisations (Lewis et al., 1997). Improving the effectiveness of individuals in resolving conflict is vital for organisational effectiveness in both the private and public sectors. In par ....The impact of emotional intelligence and styles of conflict resolution on performance in high and low stress situations. Research from 1980 reveals that organizations in Australia do not deal well with conflict (Hollis & Cunnington, 1980). Recent research has revealed similiar shortcomings within Australian organisations (Lewis et al., 1997). Improving the effectiveness of individuals in resolving conflict is vital for organisational effectiveness in both the private and public sectors. In particular, functional conflict can contribute to organisational innovation, creativity and productivity. The understanding gained about the links between emotions and conflict resolution in this research will assist in identifying and improving the skills that contribute to better conflict resolution and consequentially better performance within organisations.Read moreRead less