Attentional mechanisms in the relationship between sleep disruption and academic outcomes in Australian school children. This project will assess the impact of sleep problems on attention and academic performance in primary school children. The project will investigate typically developing children and children with developmental disorders over 18 months. The research will advance knowledge of the interplay between sleep, attention and learning across development.
The initiation, development, and maintenance of alcohol/tobacco use in adolescents: The role of associative memory. Alcohol abuse and tobacco misuse are common in Australian adolescents and its long-term health consequences are well established. Models of drug-related memory association predict drug use in adults. However, memory association models have not been applied to smoking behaviour, or to understanding adolescent alcohol/tobacco use over time. It is expected that memory associations ....The initiation, development, and maintenance of alcohol/tobacco use in adolescents: The role of associative memory. Alcohol abuse and tobacco misuse are common in Australian adolescents and its long-term health consequences are well established. Models of drug-related memory association predict drug use in adults. However, memory association models have not been applied to smoking behaviour, or to understanding adolescent alcohol/tobacco use over time. It is expected that memory associations will predict the development of alcohol/tobacco use and misuse, after accounting for viable alternative explanations of the association. Understanding the role that memory associations have in the development of alcohol/tobacco use should inform prevention programs for at-risk adolescents.Read moreRead less
The developmental origins of tool innovation. Solving new problems by making new tools, or using old tools in new ways, is a hallmark of our species. Theoretical and experimental enquiry into children’s developing socio-cognitive abilities conflicts with recent research suggesting young children are poor tool innovators. This project will be the first to confidently disambiguate our knowledge about whether children are capable of tool innovation by systematically investigating their abilities us ....The developmental origins of tool innovation. Solving new problems by making new tools, or using old tools in new ways, is a hallmark of our species. Theoretical and experimental enquiry into children’s developing socio-cognitive abilities conflicts with recent research suggesting young children are poor tool innovators. This project will be the first to confidently disambiguate our knowledge about whether children are capable of tool innovation by systematically investigating their abilities using a new comprehensive battery of tasks, novel test conditions and the integration of data from industrialised and indigenous communities in Australia and Southern Africa. This research will provide the broadest insights yet into the development of a key feature of the human condition.Read moreRead less
Over-imitation, trial-and-error learning and the inter-generational transmission of information. This project will investigate how cultural knowledge is developed and transmitted from one generation to the next through imitation and trial-and-error learning. Testing children from industrialised and indigenous communities will provide unique data, generate new knowledge and provide a foundation for developing new educational approaches.
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
A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. This project aims to determine the best and most cost-effective way to help 12–15 year olds re-engage with school when they become at-risk for dropping out, by conducting a gold-standard randomized-control trial. 20% of Australians fail to attain a Year 12 or equivalent certificate, often for preventable reasons. Dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, have psychological ....A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. This project aims to determine the best and most cost-effective way to help 12–15 year olds re-engage with school when they become at-risk for dropping out, by conducting a gold-standard randomized-control trial. 20% of Australians fail to attain a Year 12 or equivalent certificate, often for preventable reasons. Dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, have psychological, social, and health problems, and end up in prison. This project could influence implementation of programmes and policy related to youth dropout, promote youth economic, social and physical wellbeing, and decrease their chance of committing crimes and becoming a social burden.Read moreRead less
School Bullies and Victims: The Influence of Children's Groups. School bullying is commonly displayed in Australian schools with serious effects for the victims. This project will enhance our understanding of the influence of children's social groups on school bullying and victimization. Increasing understanding of this devastating social phenomenon will provide a basis for developing focused intervention strategies that are directed at both bullies and victims. In turn, this will improve the le ....School Bullies and Victims: The Influence of Children's Groups. School bullying is commonly displayed in Australian schools with serious effects for the victims. This project will enhance our understanding of the influence of children's social groups on school bullying and victimization. Increasing understanding of this devastating social phenomenon will provide a basis for developing focused intervention strategies that are directed at both bullies and victims. In turn, this will improve the learning context for all students, enhance the environment in which teachers work, and strengthen the fabric of communities by contributing to the development of harmony and cooperation between people.Read moreRead less
Risk factors for the development of paediatric anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders are common and debilitating forms of disability affecting Australian children. This project blends strategic basic research with clinical application to advance our understanding of the causes of these disorders. By examining underlying child- and parent-based mechanisms by which children at greatest risk for these disorders transition to anxiety-disordered status, this project will lead to improved prevention an ....Risk factors for the development of paediatric anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders are common and debilitating forms of disability affecting Australian children. This project blends strategic basic research with clinical application to advance our understanding of the causes of these disorders. By examining underlying child- and parent-based mechanisms by which children at greatest risk for these disorders transition to anxiety-disordered status, this project will lead to improved prevention and treatment strategies, which will improve the lives of affected children and their families and significantly reduce the financial burden on the Australian health care system.Read moreRead less
Theory of mind and everyday social behaviour in children with autism, deafness and typical development. Via new insight into the social-cognitive underpinnings of children's peer relationships, we will assist national research priorities to promote child health and limit adverse costs of disability. Our findings will also advance Australia's world leadership in the science of developmental psychology: Building both on our international team's novel social cognition discoveries and proven success ....Theory of mind and everyday social behaviour in children with autism, deafness and typical development. Via new insight into the social-cognitive underpinnings of children's peer relationships, we will assist national research priorities to promote child health and limit adverse costs of disability. Our findings will also advance Australia's world leadership in the science of developmental psychology: Building both on our international team's novel social cognition discoveries and proven successes researching and publishing together, we are ideally poised for scientific discovery, world-class research leadership/ research training, and for fostering a collaborative research network of key international significance, while guiding policies and intervention to help Australia's typically-developing and disabled children.Read moreRead less
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