Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101570
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,038.00
Summary
The cognitive basis of anxiety-linked heightened negative expectancies. Problems with anxiety tear at the social and economic fabric of our nation. Individuals with an elevated vulnerability to experience high levels of anxiety display a heightened tendency to expect that the future will be emotionally negative. The current project will test compelling new hypotheses concerning the cognitive mechanisms that causally underpin such negative expectancies, using cutting-edge cognitive methodologies ....The cognitive basis of anxiety-linked heightened negative expectancies. Problems with anxiety tear at the social and economic fabric of our nation. Individuals with an elevated vulnerability to experience high levels of anxiety display a heightened tendency to expect that the future will be emotionally negative. The current project will test compelling new hypotheses concerning the cognitive mechanisms that causally underpin such negative expectancies, using cutting-edge cognitive methodologies that permit not only the sensitive assessment, but also the direct manipulation, of these mechanisms. The findings generated will exert major scientific impact, and will directly contribute to our national strategic efforts to improve the mental well-being of our citizens, and to build healthy and resilient communities.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL170100167
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,295,215.00
Summary
Differentiating the cognitive basis of unproductive versus productive worry. This project aims to delineate the individual differences in cognitive functioning that distinguish between the tendency to experience unproductive versus productive worry. For some people, worry severely compromises well-being, while for others worry yields significant benefits by fostering preparatory behaviours that protect against misfortune. Using innovative and compelling hypotheses, as well as laboratory and fiel ....Differentiating the cognitive basis of unproductive versus productive worry. This project aims to delineate the individual differences in cognitive functioning that distinguish between the tendency to experience unproductive versus productive worry. For some people, worry severely compromises well-being, while for others worry yields significant benefits by fostering preparatory behaviours that protect against misfortune. Using innovative and compelling hypotheses, as well as laboratory and fieldwork approaches, this project will deliver the capacity to assess, predict, and explain the individual differences in unproductive and productive worrying that underpin variability in resilient responding to situations in which adaptive action can mitigate real-world risk. This project will have major scientific impact, generating influential publications concerning the cognitive distinctions between productive and unproductive worry that will position Australia as a global leader in this field.Read moreRead less
Reading facial expressions from real and virtual humans. This project aims to advance understanding of human emotional communication and improve human rapport with the virtual humans and avatars that are rapidly infiltrating our social world. Using two unique stimulus sets - naturalistic human expressions and highly realistic virtual faces - together with powerful genetic, experimental, and individual differences designs, the project expects to answer previously intractable questions in emotion ....Reading facial expressions from real and virtual humans. This project aims to advance understanding of human emotional communication and improve human rapport with the virtual humans and avatars that are rapidly infiltrating our social world. Using two unique stimulus sets - naturalistic human expressions and highly realistic virtual faces - together with powerful genetic, experimental, and individual differences designs, the project expects to answer previously intractable questions in emotion science, as well as deliver tangible outcomes, such as new psychological tests to better understand human social connection. This should provide significant benefits, by improving emotion communication and offering a new perspective on how artificial intelligence can best serve human social needs.
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Multidimensional autistic traits and attention in healthy adults. This project aims to develop a new, comprehensive measure of six major dimensions of autistic traits in healthy adults. High levels of autistic traits are associated with atypical patterns of attention in healthy adults. However autistic traits are multidimensional, with some dimensions weakly correlated, and few studies have assessed sensory sensitivity, a key trait dimension. This project will investigate the specific relationsh ....Multidimensional autistic traits and attention in healthy adults. This project aims to develop a new, comprehensive measure of six major dimensions of autistic traits in healthy adults. High levels of autistic traits are associated with atypical patterns of attention in healthy adults. However autistic traits are multidimensional, with some dimensions weakly correlated, and few studies have assessed sensory sensitivity, a key trait dimension. This project will investigate the specific relationships of autistic traits to key attentional phenomena including left-visual-field bias, attention to detail at the expense of integrative processing, and the attraction of attention to emotional stimuli. Linking behavioural and cognitive features of autistic traits will inform models of the development of autism.Read moreRead less
Engaging the over 50s to ensure the sustainability of our blood supply. Australia faces blood shortages as our population ages and demand for blood-product derived treatments increase. Donors aged over 50 donate more regularly with fewer adverse events than younger donors, yet comprise under 24% of blood donors. This multi-method project aims to investigate how those aged over 50 understand and engage with blood donation in the context of ageing, and how their involvement can be managed to maint ....Engaging the over 50s to ensure the sustainability of our blood supply. Australia faces blood shortages as our population ages and demand for blood-product derived treatments increase. Donors aged over 50 donate more regularly with fewer adverse events than younger donors, yet comprise under 24% of blood donors. This multi-method project aims to investigate how those aged over 50 understand and engage with blood donation in the context of ageing, and how their involvement can be managed to maintain psychosocial wellbeing. This project expects to generate new knowledge in recruiting, retaining, and deferring older blood donors. Expected outcomes include tailored, validated resources that may significantly benefit Australia by effectively engaging older adults to ensure the sustainability of the blood supply.Read moreRead less
Informing intervention responses to violent offenders through data linkage. The project aims to capitalise on new data access capacity to improve knowledge on violent offender pathways and criminogenic needs, such as acquired brain injury, to reduce offending and re-offending. Violence is a major social and health issue nationally and internationally. While there has been substantial investment in treatment/prevention campaigns, rates of violence remain high. Using diverse linked administrative ....Informing intervention responses to violent offenders through data linkage. The project aims to capitalise on new data access capacity to improve knowledge on violent offender pathways and criminogenic needs, such as acquired brain injury, to reduce offending and re-offending. Violence is a major social and health issue nationally and internationally. While there has been substantial investment in treatment/prevention campaigns, rates of violence remain high. Using diverse linked administrative data, we will identify key risk factors and times in trajectories, as well as effective treatment/justice responses. Expected benefits include evidence-based recommendations and engagement with policymakers targeting recidivism, offender screening, treatment, and coordinated violence prevention policy and practice.Read moreRead less
STEM education: Student attitudes, teacher relationships & emotional climate. This project aims to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outcomes in schools, especially among females. This study will develop and validate a questionnaire to assess classroom emotional climate and investigate its mediating influence on teacher-student interactions and students’ effective outcomes. Focus groups will provide input into the interpretation and triangulation of questionnaire f ....STEM education: Student attitudes, teacher relationships & emotional climate. This project aims to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outcomes in schools, especially among females. This study will develop and validate a questionnaire to assess classroom emotional climate and investigate its mediating influence on teacher-student interactions and students’ effective outcomes. Focus groups will provide input into the interpretation and triangulation of questionnaire findings and permit causal inferences. Expected outcomes include practical, research-based guidance to teachers for enhancing classroom emotional climate and motivating further study in STEM disciplines.Read moreRead less
Improving teacher assessment using exemplars and online moderation. This project aims to assess the dependability of teacher judgement using psychometric scaling and online moderation. The project will use an innovative approach to connect achievement standards and judgement-practice for middle-year students in Australian education system. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of scaled work samples exemplifying A-E standards of achievement, refined methods for the consistency ....Improving teacher assessment using exemplars and online moderation. This project aims to assess the dependability of teacher judgement using psychometric scaling and online moderation. The project will use an innovative approach to connect achievement standards and judgement-practice for middle-year students in Australian education system. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of scaled work samples exemplifying A-E standards of achievement, refined methods for the consistency and comparability of assessment decisions, and a new approach to moderating teacher judgements. This project should provide significant benefits in building teachers’ assessment capabilities, shaping policy and teacher preparation.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less
Taking eDNA underground: transforming assessment of subterranean ecosystems. This project aims to improve Environmental Impact Assessment and monitoring of subterranean ecosystems by developing a rigorous, credible and practicable environmental DNA assessment framework. Resource companies in Western Australia are mandated to assess groundwater biodiversity under Environmental Protection legislation. Current surveys are time-consuming (expensive) and biased toward common taxa. For regulators, sta ....Taking eDNA underground: transforming assessment of subterranean ecosystems. This project aims to improve Environmental Impact Assessment and monitoring of subterranean ecosystems by developing a rigorous, credible and practicable environmental DNA assessment framework. Resource companies in Western Australia are mandated to assess groundwater biodiversity under Environmental Protection legislation. Current surveys are time-consuming (expensive) and biased toward common taxa. For regulators, stakeholders and industry involved in this project we will provide real-world information and cost savings through innovation in understanding patterns in species boundaries and detection of subterranean fauna. The outcomes will be directly applicable to monitoring subterranean ecosystems across Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less