Development and evaluation of an Australian adult health literacy program for socially disadvantaged adults attending Tertiary and Further Education (TAFE). Improving health literacy, basic literacy and numeracy skills are national priorities in Australia. This project will develop and evaluate a health literacy program to help socially disadvantaged adults improve their health knowledge, language literacy and numeracy skills and feel empowered to participate in decisions about their health.
Learning and choosing in a complex world. How do people make choices in a complex world? Making good choices requires expertise, but people must often forego rewards in order to acquire this knowledge. This is the essence of an "explore-exploit dilemma": to maximise rewards across a long time frame, people must take the time to explore and learn now. Empirically, this project aims to unify much of the existing psychological literature and extend it to cover richer, more complex problems. Theoret ....Learning and choosing in a complex world. How do people make choices in a complex world? Making good choices requires expertise, but people must often forego rewards in order to acquire this knowledge. This is the essence of an "explore-exploit dilemma": to maximise rewards across a long time frame, people must take the time to explore and learn now. Empirically, this project aims to unify much of the existing psychological literature and extend it to cover richer, more complex problems. Theoretically, the project aims to use tools from machine learning to compare human decision making to optimal planning models.Read moreRead less
A new approach to understanding decision making. Mathematical theories of decision-making have helped us understand many aspects of psychology (such as ageing, gambling, psychological disorders and consumer decisions). This project will extend these theories to a new level of finer-grained analysis, opening up new possibilities for understanding cognition and behaviour.
Misinformation: Evidence evaluation in an alternate fact reality . This project aims to understand why people believe misinformation. Misinformation causes some people to adopt implausible beliefs. These beliefs pose a significant challenge for society because they can result in behaviours that negatively impact personal and public safety. By combining surveys, qualitative analysis, and systematic experimentation, this project will identify differences in evidence evaluation and persuasiveness b ....Misinformation: Evidence evaluation in an alternate fact reality . This project aims to understand why people believe misinformation. Misinformation causes some people to adopt implausible beliefs. These beliefs pose a significant challenge for society because they can result in behaviours that negatively impact personal and public safety. By combining surveys, qualitative analysis, and systematic experimentation, this project will identify differences in evidence evaluation and persuasiveness between people who believe misinformation and those who do not. It is anticipated that our novel approach will build knowledge about misinformation effects and will reduce associated harms by expanding our understanding of how to communicate effectively with people who are persuaded by misinformation.Read moreRead less
Economically efficient green logistics through cyber physical systems. Economically efficient green logistics through cyber physical systems. This project aims to realize green logistics by researching how to run diesel-powered heavy-duty milk trucks economically and efficiently on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and demonstrating to logistics companies that LNG conversion will reduce operating costs and emissions. Transportation systems account for 18% of Australia's carbon emissions, and diesel-po ....Economically efficient green logistics through cyber physical systems. Economically efficient green logistics through cyber physical systems. This project aims to realize green logistics by researching how to run diesel-powered heavy-duty milk trucks economically and efficiently on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and demonstrating to logistics companies that LNG conversion will reduce operating costs and emissions. Transportation systems account for 18% of Australia's carbon emissions, and diesel-powered logistics vehicles are a major contributor. However, converting these trucks to LNG requires strong evidence to convince logistics companies of the benefits of shifting to green logistics. An increase in logistics productivity is expected to increase Australia’s gross domestic product by $2 billion, while this research should also provide vital data on sustainability issues and LNG conversions.Read moreRead less
Improving novice drivers' speed and hazard management. The aim of the study is to extend the evidence-based approach we have developed for speed management (cognitive integration speed management training) to hazard management, thereby developing cognitive integration hazard management training for young drivers. Hence, this study is specifically designed to curb the alarming trend in young driver fatalities on Australian roads. The results of the research will provide clear direction to road au ....Improving novice drivers' speed and hazard management. The aim of the study is to extend the evidence-based approach we have developed for speed management (cognitive integration speed management training) to hazard management, thereby developing cognitive integration hazard management training for young drivers. Hence, this study is specifically designed to curb the alarming trend in young driver fatalities on Australian roads. The results of the research will provide clear direction to road authorities and driver training providers as to effective training strategies to improve young driver training, and ultimately improve road safety with this vulnerable population.Read moreRead less
The independent and combined effects of front-of-pack food labelling systems and health claims on consumers' food-related beliefs and behaviours. Recent developments in food labelling policy are changing the nature of the food environment. This project aims to allow the Australian government to capitalise on its investments in food labelling and health claims policies by investigating the independent and combined effects of front-of-pack labelling systems and health claims on adults' and childre ....The independent and combined effects of front-of-pack food labelling systems and health claims on consumers' food-related beliefs and behaviours. Recent developments in food labelling policy are changing the nature of the food environment. This project aims to allow the Australian government to capitalise on its investments in food labelling and health claims policies by investigating the independent and combined effects of front-of-pack labelling systems and health claims on adults' and children's food-related beliefs and behaviours. Three different forms of front-of-pack labelling systems and three types of health claims will be tested in varying combinations to identify the effects on different consumer segments, especially those of lower socioeconomic status. This approach aims to show how different forms of nutrition information are processed and traded-off during decision making.Read moreRead less
Gaining control of the future: The cognitive development of foresight. Because humans can anticipate their limitations, they can act in the present to shape their future for the better.
This project aims to chart four key developmental processes by which children gain this control over their future
outcomes. It will use novel experimental paradigms to map children’s growing ability to compensate for their limits
with strategic planning, and to improve their future capacities by acquiring new kno ....Gaining control of the future: The cognitive development of foresight. Because humans can anticipate their limitations, they can act in the present to shape their future for the better.
This project aims to chart four key developmental processes by which children gain this control over their future
outcomes. It will use novel experimental paradigms to map children’s growing ability to compensate for their limits
with strategic planning, and to improve their future capacities by acquiring new knowledge and innovating
technical solutions. The cognitive underpinnings of these critical behaviours are still poorly understood. This
project will therefore provide the essential empirical foundation for fostering the development of wiser, more
skilled, and more innovative young people.Read moreRead less
Eyes on the prize: Investigating attentional economics. We spend our lives surrounded by stimuli relating to reward and risk (adverts, games, social media etc). Recent research suggests that learning about reward and risk influences our attention, often despite our best efforts. This project will build on recently developed procedures using eye-tracking to investigate how learning about reward and risk modulates what we pay attention to, and what we ignore. Findings will be used to develop compu ....Eyes on the prize: Investigating attentional economics. We spend our lives surrounded by stimuli relating to reward and risk (adverts, games, social media etc). Recent research suggests that learning about reward and risk influences our attention, often despite our best efforts. This project will build on recently developed procedures using eye-tracking to investigate how learning about reward and risk modulates what we pay attention to, and what we ignore. Findings will be used to develop computational models of ‘attentional economics’ that account for, and predict, when we will be distracted by reward- and risk-related stimuli. This research will enhance the world-class status of Australian cognitive psychology, and will shed light on processes implicated in addiction and related behaviours.Read moreRead less
Context dependent flower choice in honey bees. This project aims to discover the strategies honey bees use when choosing between multiple flowers. The choices that honey bees make about which flowers to visit and which to avoid has significant impacts on crop yields, the spread of invasive weeds, and the conservation of native plants. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the fields of behavioural and pollination ecology through a combination of field experiments and modelling. Expec ....Context dependent flower choice in honey bees. This project aims to discover the strategies honey bees use when choosing between multiple flowers. The choices that honey bees make about which flowers to visit and which to avoid has significant impacts on crop yields, the spread of invasive weeds, and the conservation of native plants. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the fields of behavioural and pollination ecology through a combination of field experiments and modelling. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capacity in the field of pollination ecology, and new insight into flower preferences in the world’s most important commercial pollinator. This should provide significant benefits to food production and security as one third of the world’s crops benefit from insect pollination.Read moreRead less