The recognition of human body shape in infancy. Newborn infants have expectations about human faces and it is hypothesised that this early knowledge allows them to identify and begin to engage with other humans. While faces are central to identification of and communication with others, human bodies are also highly informative and expressive, yet to date there is almost no research on infants? expectations about human bodies. This proposal details six studies that will systematically explore a ....The recognition of human body shape in infancy. Newborn infants have expectations about human faces and it is hypothesised that this early knowledge allows them to identify and begin to engage with other humans. While faces are central to identification of and communication with others, human bodies are also highly informative and expressive, yet to date there is almost no research on infants? expectations about human bodies. This proposal details six studies that will systematically explore and document the development of infants? expectations about human bodies, and will further test the theory that infants? earliest social interactions are dependent upon representations of the human face and body.Read moreRead less
Maternal input and theory of mind development in infancy and early childhood. When parents talk to their children, they influence their development both by what they say and how they say it. Building on previous ARC-funded work, this project will examine how and to what extent parents converse about mental states with their children, as well as investigating the influence of such parental talk on the child's socio-cognitive understanding of others' minds and emotions. Results promise to supply ....Maternal input and theory of mind development in infancy and early childhood. When parents talk to their children, they influence their development both by what they say and how they say it. Building on previous ARC-funded work, this project will examine how and to what extent parents converse about mental states with their children, as well as investigating the influence of such parental talk on the child's socio-cognitive understanding of others' minds and emotions. Results promise to supply important insights into the complex interaction of biology and socialisation in normal development, and will also serve as a foundation for future interventions to help children who are at risk for social problems.Read moreRead less
Social Influences on Five Key Steps in Understanding Mind for Children with Autism, Deafness or Typical Development. Via new knowledge on five crucial steps in the growth of social understanding, our findings will serve the ARC's Research Priority #2 to promote good health and a healthy start in life. We will discover what kinds of parenting, social interaction and conversation foster optimal progress through the steps for typical children, and how the delays discovered in our earlier research ....Social Influences on Five Key Steps in Understanding Mind for Children with Autism, Deafness or Typical Development. Via new knowledge on five crucial steps in the growth of social understanding, our findings will serve the ARC's Research Priority #2 to promote good health and a healthy start in life. We will discover what kinds of parenting, social interaction and conversation foster optimal progress through the steps for typical children, and how the delays discovered in our earlier research among those with autism or deafness can be offset or overcome. Also, Australia's position as a world leader in scientific studies of child social cognition will be further strengthened by our methodological and theoretical contributions.
Read moreRead less
Objects or agents: Early development of knowledge about human hands. It has long been known that human faces are especially interesting to infants, and our recent ARC-funded work demonstrated that infants' knowledge about human faces emerges long before knowledge of the whole human body shape. Like faces, hands are often the focus of action and communication between infants and their peers or caregivers. The purpose of the proposed studies is therefore to investigate whether human hands are sim ....Objects or agents: Early development of knowledge about human hands. It has long been known that human faces are especially interesting to infants, and our recent ARC-funded work demonstrated that infants' knowledge about human faces emerges long before knowledge of the whole human body shape. Like faces, hands are often the focus of action and communication between infants and their peers or caregivers. The purpose of the proposed studies is therefore to investigate whether human hands are similar to faces in being highly salient and subject to precocious learning in infancy. The proposed studies will test this hypothesis, and will lay the foundation for new techniques that could foster improved social understanding in young children whose developmental disorders make face-to-face interaction aversive. Read moreRead less
Ageing and self-regulation. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important national goal is ageing well and ageing productively. Our preliminary research suggests that self-regulation may be a significant problem for older Australians. The proposed research will provide a clearer picture of when and why older adults have difficulties regulating their behaviour, and which older adults are particularly susceptible to lapses in self-control. If older adults do hav ....Ageing and self-regulation. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important national goal is ageing well and ageing productively. Our preliminary research suggests that self-regulation may be a significant problem for older Australians. The proposed research will provide a clearer picture of when and why older adults have difficulties regulating their behaviour, and which older adults are particularly susceptible to lapses in self-control. If older adults do have difficulties self-regulating, and if these self-regulation failures incur health, financial and social costs, by gaining a clearer understanding of this problem, the proposed research will take an important step in improving the lives of older Australians. Read moreRead less
Everyday cognition in older adulthood: Mechanisms contributing to the age-prospective memory paradox. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important goal is ageing well and ageing productively. The proposed research will clarify why older adults perform extremely well on prospective memory (PM) tasks based in everyday environments, but very poorly on PM tasks that take place in the controlled situation of the laboratory. Advancing our understanding of why this ....Everyday cognition in older adulthood: Mechanisms contributing to the age-prospective memory paradox. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important goal is ageing well and ageing productively. The proposed research will clarify why older adults perform extremely well on prospective memory (PM) tasks based in everyday environments, but very poorly on PM tasks that take place in the controlled situation of the laboratory. Advancing our understanding of why this 'paradoxical' pattern of age effects occurs will help clarify how other aspects of everyday cognition in older adulthood may be optimised, and consequently take an important step in improving the lives of older adults. The results will also inform development of rehabilitation strategies for clinical groups who present with PM difficulties. Read moreRead less
Ageing, Inhibition, and Social Control - steps towards improving the lives of older adults. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important national goal is ageing well and ageing productively. The proposed research will extend our preliminary findings on ageing and social inappropriateness to provide a clearer picture of when and why this occurs, and among whom. The proposed research will also examine the mental and physical health consequences of social inappro ....Ageing, Inhibition, and Social Control - steps towards improving the lives of older adults. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important national goal is ageing well and ageing productively. The proposed research will extend our preliminary findings on ageing and social inappropriateness to provide a clearer picture of when and why this occurs, and among whom. The proposed research will also examine the mental and physical health consequences of social inappropriateness longitudinally. If cognitive losses do lead to social losses, with attendant negative health consequences, by gaining a clearer understanding of this problem, the proposed research will take an important step in improving the lives of older adults.Read moreRead less
Assessment of Executive Function in Children and Adults. This project aims to develop tests for executive function that are better grounded in the theory of cognitive processes, have sound measurement properties, and are more efficient, than existing measures. Executive functions entail planning, self-evaluation and adaptation to novel situations. Executive function deficits are found in children and adults who have suffered injury to the frontal regions of the brain, in some ageing adults, and ....Assessment of Executive Function in Children and Adults. This project aims to develop tests for executive function that are better grounded in the theory of cognitive processes, have sound measurement properties, and are more efficient, than existing measures. Executive functions entail planning, self-evaluation and adaptation to novel situations. Executive function deficits are found in children and adults who have suffered injury to the frontal regions of the brain, in some ageing adults, and in certain clinical groups such as autistics. Ability to cope with complexity is a factor in executive functioning, and this will be assessed utilising a new approach to analysis of cognitive complexity.Read moreRead less
Development of rapid, online motor control in children. Movement is the primary means by which young children develop understanding of the world. The studies described in this project will provide important insights into the development of movement skill in children and the underlying causes of motor impairment. In particular we aim to understand how thought and action are coordinated in children, supporting the ability to perform more efficient movements. Hence, our work will inform the traini ....Development of rapid, online motor control in children. Movement is the primary means by which young children develop understanding of the world. The studies described in this project will provide important insights into the development of movement skill in children and the underlying causes of motor impairment. In particular we aim to understand how thought and action are coordinated in children, supporting the ability to perform more efficient movements. Hence, our work will inform the training and practice of movement educators and physical therapists, transcending some of the myths of clinical theory. This work will have important implications for identifying and training children at risk for motor impairment. Read moreRead less
A Method for Analysis of Complexity in Cognitive Processes: Applications to Prediction of Industrial Workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in human and animal cognition. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It will have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and a ....A Method for Analysis of Complexity in Cognitive Processes: Applications to Prediction of Industrial Workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in human and animal cognition. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It will have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and appropriate pedagogies determined. It also has application to human factors, especially industrial performance and decision making. It will advance on currrent methods because it enables workload to be analysed and predicted, so that it can be factored into job and system design. Read moreRead less