Approaching the Out group Unlocks Intergroup Contact's Benefits for Society. Extensive research on group desegregation shows that intergroup contact (face-to-face interactions between people of opposing groups) should be encouraged for harmonious group relations; such contact maximises social integration, self-esteem, health, and productivity. However, these benefits are often missed as people actively avoid intergroup contact. This research introduces a theoretically- and empirically-grounded t ....Approaching the Out group Unlocks Intergroup Contact's Benefits for Society. Extensive research on group desegregation shows that intergroup contact (face-to-face interactions between people of opposing groups) should be encouraged for harmonious group relations; such contact maximises social integration, self-esteem, health, and productivity. However, these benefits are often missed as people actively avoid intergroup contact. This research introduces a theoretically- and empirically-grounded typology of contact approach-avoidance that aims to: identify personal and situational determinants driving out-group approach in natural settings; delineate outcomes of out-group approach for psychological processes critical to intergroup relations; and, indicate new interventions for encouraging intergroup contact.Read moreRead less
Square Eyes or All Lies? Understanding Children's Exposure to Screens. This project will examine Australian parents’ number one concern about their children’s health and behaviour – their interactions with electronic screens. Current screen time guidelines are based on low-quality evidence and lack the nuance required to address this complex issue. This project will use innovative technology to resolve these weaknesses. Wearable cameras will measure what children are doing on screens, and where, ....Square Eyes or All Lies? Understanding Children's Exposure to Screens. This project will examine Australian parents’ number one concern about their children’s health and behaviour – their interactions with electronic screens. Current screen time guidelines are based on low-quality evidence and lack the nuance required to address this complex issue. This project will use innovative technology to resolve these weaknesses. Wearable cameras will measure what children are doing on screens, and where, when, and how long they are doing it. The project will also investigate how screen time impacts children’s development and how it is influenced by their environment. This evidence will benefit children by improving screen time guidelines, and help parents understand the impact of screen time on children’s development.
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Leadership, social identity and the dynamics of influence in intergroup relations: A new understanding of social continuity and social change. Understanding how social change occurs (or continuity prevails) and the role of leadership in this process is paramount to any social system (e.g. nation, state, organization, team). This project provides a new social psychological understanding of leadership and social change dynamics, including when more radical leaders and social relations emerge, as w ....Leadership, social identity and the dynamics of influence in intergroup relations: A new understanding of social continuity and social change. Understanding how social change occurs (or continuity prevails) and the role of leadership in this process is paramount to any social system (e.g. nation, state, organization, team). This project provides a new social psychological understanding of leadership and social change dynamics, including when more radical leaders and social relations emerge, as well as how different groups become more united around a common cause. Given ethnic, religious, social and political diversity of Australian society, these questions are fundamental to strengthening Australia's social fabric. This research also has cross-disciplinary applications, builds international collaborations, and supports emerging Australian research talent.Read moreRead less
The two faces of leadership: Constructive and destructive leadership and their consequences for employees. This proposal is designed to strengthen Australia’s social and economic fabric by enhancing understanding of the impact of both constructive and destructive leadership on follower and organisational outcomes. This research enables us to identify ways in which organisations can reduce tangible (e.g., low production levels, reduced performance) and intangible losses (e.g., reduced psychologic ....The two faces of leadership: Constructive and destructive leadership and their consequences for employees. This proposal is designed to strengthen Australia’s social and economic fabric by enhancing understanding of the impact of both constructive and destructive leadership on follower and organisational outcomes. This research enables us to identify ways in which organisations can reduce tangible (e.g., low production levels, reduced performance) and intangible losses (e.g., reduced psychological health), which have wider societal implications. Our focus on developing a training program to build constructive leadership and minimise destructive leadership is a key strategy designed to promote a healthier and more productive work environment.Read moreRead less
Developing employee well-being and performance through transformational leadership. This proposal contributes to the ARC priority area of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. A key national benefit of this research is increasing understanding of how specific leadership behaviours improve employees' well-being and performance.This research also identifies which followers are most responsive to leadership and in what contexts these behaviours are most effective. This information i ....Developing employee well-being and performance through transformational leadership. This proposal contributes to the ARC priority area of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. A key national benefit of this research is increasing understanding of how specific leadership behaviours improve employees' well-being and performance.This research also identifies which followers are most responsive to leadership and in what contexts these behaviours are most effective. This information is critical as it enables development of selection and training packages specifically designed to provide leaders with the skills needed to build employee well-being and performance.Read moreRead less
Intergroup emotions and prejudice toward obese people. This project will analyse how intergroup emotions (such as disgust, anger, contempt) influence prejudice toward obese people. These insights will have theoretical implications for our understanding of what drives obesity stigma. It will also have practical implications for identifying ways to reduce the prevalence of prejudice toward obese people.
Do theory of mind delays explain children's social problems? Theory of mind—our capacity to understand what other people think and feel—grows significantly in the preschool and early school years. This is recognised as a crucial period for social development yet 30 years of research has not yet answered these basic questions: Do children with relatively advanced theories of mind also excel at navigating the everyday world of friendship and peer group dynamics at school? And conversely, do develo ....Do theory of mind delays explain children's social problems? Theory of mind—our capacity to understand what other people think and feel—grows significantly in the preschool and early school years. This is recognised as a crucial period for social development yet 30 years of research has not yet answered these basic questions: Do children with relatively advanced theories of mind also excel at navigating the everyday world of friendship and peer group dynamics at school? And conversely, do developmental delays in acquiring a theory of mind explain some of the peer problems that children with autism or deafness face? The proposed longitudinal project aims to be the first to supply a comprehensive and causally convincing answer to these core questions.Read moreRead less
Outcomes of collective action: After the blockade, what next? The project intends to study how collective actors react when conventional or radical collective action succeeds or fails. If a democratic protest rally is ignored by authorities, does support for violence increase? If a turbulent riot attracts favourable media attention and concessions, does this increase the likelihood of future riots or undercut them? This project aims to answer these questions. It plans to test a new, theoreticall ....Outcomes of collective action: After the blockade, what next? The project intends to study how collective actors react when conventional or radical collective action succeeds or fails. If a democratic protest rally is ignored by authorities, does support for violence increase? If a turbulent riot attracts favourable media attention and concessions, does this increase the likelihood of future riots or undercut them? This project aims to answer these questions. It plans to test a new, theoretically integrative model of collective action and the intergroup dynamic, using a mixed-methods approach including experiments, small group research and longitudinal field surveys. Project outcomes may provide an evidence basis for policy-makers' debates about trajectories of radicalisation and deradicalisation, and for recommendations about engagement and negotiation of tactics for activists, political parties, and nongovernment organisations.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101159
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,556.00
Summary
Understanding the role of hemispheric communication in the human brain. A crucial question in cognitive neuroscience regards how humans integrate perceptual information to understand and interact with our environment. This project aims to identify neural processes that operate competitively and cooperatively within the left and right hemispheres to understand how the human brain integrates information for perception. This project expects to generate new insight into the nature of hemispheric com ....Understanding the role of hemispheric communication in the human brain. A crucial question in cognitive neuroscience regards how humans integrate perceptual information to understand and interact with our environment. This project aims to identify neural processes that operate competitively and cooperatively within the left and right hemispheres to understand how the human brain integrates information for perception. This project expects to generate new insight into the nature of hemispheric communication and perceptual decision making. This should provide significant benefits by understanding how the two brain hemispheres process different visual information yet communicate efficiently to allow seamless interface with the world.Read moreRead less
Insights from brain imaging to study the neural basis of cognition. This project aims to address a major challenge - the need for a better understanding of the basis for human cognition. Humans have a unique capacity for diverse, complex, thought and behaviour. To achieve this our brains need to rapidly and flexibly reconfigure, directing attention to different aspects of the world moment-to-moment as we think and act. The project will combine innovative analysis methods with state-of-the-art n ....Insights from brain imaging to study the neural basis of cognition. This project aims to address a major challenge - the need for a better understanding of the basis for human cognition. Humans have a unique capacity for diverse, complex, thought and behaviour. To achieve this our brains need to rapidly and flexibly reconfigure, directing attention to different aspects of the world moment-to-moment as we think and act. The project will combine innovative analysis methods with state-of-the-art neuroimaging and brain stimulation to understand how key brain regions drive this process. Insights from this project will link brain activation to behaviour, improve insights from brain imaging, and contribute a better understanding of the neural basis of cognition. Such insights can ultimately benefit the development of evidence based approaches to key areas of public concern such as health and education.Read moreRead less