Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101181
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$384,183.00
Summary
How Do Our Past Decisions Affect Our Present Decisions? – An Innovative Model. Decisions under time pressure made in the past have a tendency to affect our current decisions. This phenomenon is often termed ‘sequential effects’. Typically, sequential effects are explained by positing the existence of a psychological mechanism that is specifically aimed at resolving conflicting information. The aim of this project is to develop a computational model that produces sequential effects naturally. Inn ....How Do Our Past Decisions Affect Our Present Decisions? – An Innovative Model. Decisions under time pressure made in the past have a tendency to affect our current decisions. This phenomenon is often termed ‘sequential effects’. Typically, sequential effects are explained by positing the existence of a psychological mechanism that is specifically aimed at resolving conflicting information. The aim of this project is to develop a computational model that produces sequential effects naturally. Innovatively, this model would remove the need for an explicit conflict monitoring mechanism. This project is significant because it progresses our understanding of how humans deal with conflict. The expected outcome is a comprehensive, quantitative account of sequential effects in human decision making.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100129
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,943.00
Summary
A model based approach to investigating short-term memory: exploiting response time distributions. Working memory is one of the most fundamental and well studied aspects of human cognition. The project plans to develop and test a computational modelling framework into which fundamental theories of short-term memory can be placed. This unique approach will offer a deeper understanding of the underlying components of working memory.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100772
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,414.00
Summary
Response Time Constraints on Category Learning. Theories of associative learning and decision-making are among the most mathematically well developed in psychology. However, theories of learning do not account for the time course of decision-making, and theories of decision-making do not account for how decision-relevant information is learned. This project will develop an integrated theoretical framework linking core principles of associative learning theories with sequential sampling models of ....Response Time Constraints on Category Learning. Theories of associative learning and decision-making are among the most mathematically well developed in psychology. However, theories of learning do not account for the time course of decision-making, and theories of decision-making do not account for how decision-relevant information is learned. This project will develop an integrated theoretical framework linking core principles of associative learning theories with sequential sampling models of the time course of decision-making. The new theory will provide a quantitative account of how incremental associative learning processes drive changes in cognitive representations that, in turn, account for known changes in the time course of decision-making.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101301
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Cognitive Models of Human Decision-making in Cybersecurity Settings. This project aims to study human decision-making by attackers, defenders and users, in a cyber-security setting. Cognitive modelling of these decisions will play a central role in understanding and optimising the safety of cyberspace. This project will involve three components: new behavioural experiments focusing on cybersecurity situations of prevention and detection; cognitive models to understand and predict how people make ....Cognitive Models of Human Decision-making in Cybersecurity Settings. This project aims to study human decision-making by attackers, defenders and users, in a cyber-security setting. Cognitive modelling of these decisions will play a central role in understanding and optimising the safety of cyberspace. This project will involve three components: new behavioural experiments focusing on cybersecurity situations of prevention and detection; cognitive models to understand and predict how people make decisions in such settings; and the evaluation of these models against behavioural data using Bayesian statistical methods. This will then be applied to operational problems that will involve, determining optimal security policies, automated behaviour in adversarial situations, and individualised training.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100543
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$308,260.00
Summary
Paid work in cash-for-care: Australia in comparative perspective. The project seeks to build an evidence base to address the public policy problem of how to develop a sustainable workforce in the publicly-funded disability sector based on quality jobs for care workers and flexible high-quality care. Under new social care arrangements, money for care is allocated directly to vulnerable people to purchase their own services. Cash-for-care changes the organisation of paid care work in ways that pos ....Paid work in cash-for-care: Australia in comparative perspective. The project seeks to build an evidence base to address the public policy problem of how to develop a sustainable workforce in the publicly-funded disability sector based on quality jobs for care workers and flexible high-quality care. Under new social care arrangements, money for care is allocated directly to vulnerable people to purchase their own services. Cash-for-care changes the organisation of paid care work in ways that pose significant risks for workers and for the development of sustainable social care workforces. This project intends to examine outcomes for care workers under cash-for-care and to identify regulatory strategies for creating quality work for paid care workers in flexible, high-quality care systems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101340
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,103.00
Summary
A new state of the art for understanding dynamic self-regulation. This project aims to develop and test a novel mathematical model that explains how people manage competing demands on their time and effort in a dynamic and uncertain environment. The project will use an integrative approach, bringing recent advances in mathematical psychology to bear on a problem of widespread interest within industrial and organisational psychology. The expected outcome is a quantitative theory that achieves a l ....A new state of the art for understanding dynamic self-regulation. This project aims to develop and test a novel mathematical model that explains how people manage competing demands on their time and effort in a dynamic and uncertain environment. The project will use an integrative approach, bringing recent advances in mathematical psychology to bear on a problem of widespread interest within industrial and organisational psychology. The expected outcome is a quantitative theory that achieves a level of precision, generality, and testability that is unmatched in the field. The project will provide the basic research that is needed to extend mathematical models of self-regulation to complex tasks involving rapid decision making.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100015
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,996.00
Summary
Understanding attitudes toward ambiguity: A multidimensional framework. This project aims to develop a comprehensive psychological framework and effective measures for assessing attitudes to ambiguity. Using empirical work and quantitative modelling, it will address the multidimensional nature of ambiguity, and likely individual and cultural differences. Attitudes to ambiguity strongly influence people's judgments and the expected outcomes from this project will enhance theoretical understandin ....Understanding attitudes toward ambiguity: A multidimensional framework. This project aims to develop a comprehensive psychological framework and effective measures for assessing attitudes to ambiguity. Using empirical work and quantitative modelling, it will address the multidimensional nature of ambiguity, and likely individual and cultural differences. Attitudes to ambiguity strongly influence people's judgments and the expected outcomes from this project will enhance theoretical understandings and measurement tools for psychological research in decision making. This project aims to provide significant benefits by developing novel strategies for improving decision making in contexts of ambiguity.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100667
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$328,000.00
Summary
How “known unknowns” become known: How do people encode unpredictability? As Donald Rumsfeld noted, there are 'known unknowns’. That is to say, people are seemingly capable of learning that some things cannot be reliably predicted. This learning underpins decisions from the trivial (whether to pack a jacket) to the life-defining (whom to marry). An aberrant form of this learning may also underlie mental health disorders. Yet the mechanisms of such learning have been largely overlooked by cogniti ....How “known unknowns” become known: How do people encode unpredictability? As Donald Rumsfeld noted, there are 'known unknowns’. That is to say, people are seemingly capable of learning that some things cannot be reliably predicted. This learning underpins decisions from the trivial (whether to pack a jacket) to the life-defining (whom to marry). An aberrant form of this learning may also underlie mental health disorders. Yet the mechanisms of such learning have been largely overlooked by cognitive scientists and thus are poorly understood. The project, which is based on significant pilot data, aims to examine when and how people learn about unpredictability, and what the cognitive, memorial, neural and affective consequences of this learning are.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101742
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$306,770.00
Summary
Reconciling rival visions for Indigenous development in remote Australia. In the contemporary debate concerning how to address the poverty and disadvantage of Indigenous Australians living in remote regions, Noel Pearson and Jon Altman are two of the central intellectual figures. This project will compare and evaluate their rival visions for Indigenous development in remote regions of Australia. It aims to overcome the unproductive polarisation that currently characterises debate over Indigenous ....Reconciling rival visions for Indigenous development in remote Australia. In the contemporary debate concerning how to address the poverty and disadvantage of Indigenous Australians living in remote regions, Noel Pearson and Jon Altman are two of the central intellectual figures. This project will compare and evaluate their rival visions for Indigenous development in remote regions of Australia. It aims to overcome the unproductive polarisation that currently characterises debate over Indigenous affairs policy in Australia by clarifying the points of disagreement, correcting mischaracterisations and revealing unacknowledged common ground. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101393
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Neurobiological mechanisms of decision under uncertainty. The purpose of this project is to understand the behavioural and brain mechanisms underlying decision under uncertainty. This research will uncover the effect that normal variation in brain networks has on choice and contribute to a better understanding of disorders linked to intolerance of uncertainty.