Keeping track: The effect of distraction on attention to moving objects. This is basic research with broad societal implications. We constantly balance the attention demands of achieving a goal (e.g., driving) in the midst of competing environmental demands (e.g., attention-grabbing advertising). Billions of dollars are spent trying to make our roads safer, but basic research is critical to inform policy and design. There are three main benefits in identifying distractions that impair performanc ....Keeping track: The effect of distraction on attention to moving objects. This is basic research with broad societal implications. We constantly balance the attention demands of achieving a goal (e.g., driving) in the midst of competing environmental demands (e.g., attention-grabbing advertising). Billions of dollars are spent trying to make our roads safer, but basic research is critical to inform policy and design. There are three main benefits in identifying distractions that impair performance on a task that requires attention to moving objects. It will: (1) develop a method for exploring attention demands on real-world experiences (e.g., driving); (2) inform policy decisions on safer environments; and (3) provide a basis for minimising distractions in environments for people with attentional difficulties.Read moreRead less
Mental imagery and visual working memory. Remembering information “in mind” is severely limited by restrictions in capacity, duration and precision. The limits on capacity and precision in visual working memory remain unclear. Likewise, the search for the neural correlates of visual working memory has produced conflicting results. This proposal will show that the limits in precision, capacity and the neural correlates of visual working memory are driven by visual mental imagery. By showing that ....Mental imagery and visual working memory. Remembering information “in mind” is severely limited by restrictions in capacity, duration and precision. The limits on capacity and precision in visual working memory remain unclear. Likewise, the search for the neural correlates of visual working memory has produced conflicting results. This proposal will show that the limits in precision, capacity and the neural correlates of visual working memory are driven by visual mental imagery. By showing that mental imagery is the missing link to a comprehensive understanding of working memory, This project will show that mental imagery strength limits how much visual information can be held "in mind”. This work will unify two heated scientific debates and produce a complete map of working memory.Read moreRead less
Poor social functioning in schizophrenia: understanding its causes and developing better treatments. This project will advance knowledge of the thinking processes and the associated neural changes that cause the lifelong social disability which characterises schizophrenia. Findings will, in turn, contribute to better identifying young people, at risk of developing schizophrenia, and inform the design of new interventions and treatments.
Moral reasoning and mental illness: towards a model of moral judgment and moral accountability. This research examines capacities for moral judgment in people with schizophrenia, some of whom act on their delusional beliefs and commit crimes. Findings will, in turn, inform legal and philosophical consideration of the moral accountability of mentally ill defendants, and advance theoretical knowledge of healthy moral decision making.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100396
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,000.00
Summary
What are the active ingredients of successful shared remembering? Older couples remember more together than apart, but little is known about mechanisms underlying such collaborative benefits. Collaborative remembering may have therapeutic value in age-related cognitive decline and dementia, providing cost-effective, readily-available memory support. However there are several 'active ingredients' that may underlie collaborative benefits and not all of these will be equally effective or translatab ....What are the active ingredients of successful shared remembering? Older couples remember more together than apart, but little is known about mechanisms underlying such collaborative benefits. Collaborative remembering may have therapeutic value in age-related cognitive decline and dementia, providing cost-effective, readily-available memory support. However there are several 'active ingredients' that may underlie collaborative benefits and not all of these will be equally effective or translatable into therapy. This project aims to identify and evaluate these active ingredients, teasing apart 'what', 'who' and 'how'. Testing younger and older couples, healthy and in early stages of decline, this project aims to generate new knowledge and provide a basis for future therapies utilising collaborative remembering.Read moreRead less
Examination of the cognitive and biological circuitry underlying social-cognitive training in first episode psychosis. There is a national need to develop more effective interventions that improve the social lives of those with psychotic disorders. This project identifies key markers underlying the benefits of social-cognition training. These outcomes will establish a theoretical and practical framework of critical markers that can be used to improve social outcomes.
Memory consolidation - Integrating cognitive science and neuroscience approaches to how we remember and how we forget. How can we forget what happened yesterday, but vividly remember our first kiss? Neuroscientists think the brain has a special mechanism to strengthen memories with time, but many psychologists disagree. The project aims to bring the brain and the mind closer together, using the cutting-edge combination of brain imaging and psychological modelling.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100499
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,087.00
Summary
The body in interaction – the impact of tracking the human body on visual object processing. For efficient and safe interactions with the world, our brain needs to constantly process the location and posture of the body as well as the characteristics of surrounding objects. Central questions in the field of cognitive science consider how tracking the human body influences object perception and which mechanisms support this perception in action. This project will use innovative virtual hand techn ....The body in interaction – the impact of tracking the human body on visual object processing. For efficient and safe interactions with the world, our brain needs to constantly process the location and posture of the body as well as the characteristics of surrounding objects. Central questions in the field of cognitive science consider how tracking the human body influences object perception and which mechanisms support this perception in action. This project will use innovative virtual hand technology to investigate the impact of body actions on concurrent visual perception. A better understanding of the demands that the body, in interaction, poses on our perceptual system will help to improve the design of complex work environments, such as computer interfaces and control panels.Read moreRead less
From autobiographical memory to collective memory: An interdisciplinary study of individual and group cognition. Remembering our past is crucial to our identity and well-being, both as individuals and in groups. Investigating the role of social groups in memory, this project offers 4 benefits: (1) it builds Australia's capacity for high-level, innovative memory research; (2) it pioneers an interdisciplinary approach, genuinely integrating philosophy and psychology, to strengthen Australia's inte ....From autobiographical memory to collective memory: An interdisciplinary study of individual and group cognition. Remembering our past is crucial to our identity and well-being, both as individuals and in groups. Investigating the role of social groups in memory, this project offers 4 benefits: (1) it builds Australia's capacity for high-level, innovative memory research; (2) it pioneers an interdisciplinary approach, genuinely integrating philosophy and psychology, to strengthen Australia's international reputation in these fields; (3) it identifies social supports for healthy remembering, thus 'Promoting and Maintaining Good Health' ('Ageing well, ageing productively'); (4) it offers fresh, sophisticated ways to address public debates about the role of memory in productive, fulfilling lives, 'Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric'.Read moreRead less
Using written language to probe speech recognition models. Speech recognition models fall into two principal classes, with fundamentally different processing architectures. Feedback models (e.g. TRACE, McClelland & Elman, 1986) allow lexical knowledge to exert top-down control over phonemic analysis. Feedforward models (e.g. Merge, Norris, McQueen & Cutler, 2000) assume that information flow is entirely bottom-up. Our project adopts an innovative approach to testing between these model classe ....Using written language to probe speech recognition models. Speech recognition models fall into two principal classes, with fundamentally different processing architectures. Feedback models (e.g. TRACE, McClelland & Elman, 1986) allow lexical knowledge to exert top-down control over phonemic analysis. Feedforward models (e.g. Merge, Norris, McQueen & Cutler, 2000) assume that information flow is entirely bottom-up. Our project adopts an innovative approach to testing between these model classes, by examining the influence of written-word knowledge on speech perception. To distinguish the models, contrasts must test different processing levels and examine strategy effects. TRACE favors broad effects with limited strategic influence; Merge favors lexical effects that are necessarily sensitive to strategic factorsRead moreRead less