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
Assessing the national productivity impacts of chronic ill health. The project aims to address one of the biggest gaps in health and productivity research by designing a novel composite national metric that will rank lost productivity due to chronic illness The project brings together tax/transfer modelling, health modelling and epidemiological modelling specialists to develop a highly innovative microsimulation model: Health&WorkMOD to then quantify the costs of health-related productivity loss ....Assessing the national productivity impacts of chronic ill health. The project aims to address one of the biggest gaps in health and productivity research by designing a novel composite national metric that will rank lost productivity due to chronic illness The project brings together tax/transfer modelling, health modelling and epidemiological modelling specialists to develop a highly innovative microsimulation model: Health&WorkMOD to then quantify the costs of health-related productivity loss. The proposed model, an international first, will be a powerful tool to comprehensively model the cost impacts of illness and simulate policy options related to health and productivity. This will provide answers to critical policy questions for government with potential significant economic benefits.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
Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outc ....Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outcome. This new knowledge will enhance the world-class status of Australian cognitive psychology. Moreover, it should provide significant benefits through improving our ability to predict and shape behaviour, and shedding light on the role of biases in healthy cognition and in the context of compulsive behaviours.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
Inequality, Prosperity and the Australian Welfare State. This project aims to clarify contested understandings of Australian inequality and the role of economic and social policies in addressing policy challenges going forward. The objective of the project is to generate significantly improved knowledge of inequality in Australia using innovative approaches of data splicing, decomposition, simulation and backcasting to fill research gaps and resolve contested interpretations. We aim to provide a ....Inequality, Prosperity and the Australian Welfare State. This project aims to clarify contested understandings of Australian inequality and the role of economic and social policies in addressing policy challenges going forward. The objective of the project is to generate significantly improved knowledge of inequality in Australia using innovative approaches of data splicing, decomposition, simulation and backcasting to fill research gaps and resolve contested interpretations. We aim to provide a benchmark and robust framework against which policy development after the current crisis can be evaluated. This project aims to provide significant benefits, keeping Australia at the forefront of research on inequality and public policy, strengthening links between researchers and policy makers.
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Child poverty, labour markets and social transfers. This project aims to discover how earnings and social transfers determine the living standards of disadvantaged families with children, and the constraints that wage rates and employment patterns place on social transfer structures. This project will compare the family incomes of disadvantaged children and how the interaction of wage rates, employment and social policies affect them. It will compare Australian outcomes to those in OECD and midd ....Child poverty, labour markets and social transfers. This project aims to discover how earnings and social transfers determine the living standards of disadvantaged families with children, and the constraints that wage rates and employment patterns place on social transfer structures. This project will compare the family incomes of disadvantaged children and how the interaction of wage rates, employment and social policies affect them. It will compare Australian outcomes to those in OECD and middle income countries. This project expects to understand which labour market and social policies combine to lead to the best economic outcomes for disadvantaged families and children.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
Exploration, Generalisation and the Development of Learning Traps. This project addresses three fundamental questions about human decision-making; 1) how does exploratory choice lead to “learning traps”, persistent patterns of poor decision-making that cause us to miss rewards and experience losses? 2) how does susceptibility to traps change with age? 3) what strategies prevent traps or facilitate escape? The project will advance our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying adult and ....Exploration, Generalisation and the Development of Learning Traps. This project addresses three fundamental questions about human decision-making; 1) how does exploratory choice lead to “learning traps”, persistent patterns of poor decision-making that cause us to miss rewards and experience losses? 2) how does susceptibility to traps change with age? 3) what strategies prevent traps or facilitate escape? The project will advance our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying adult and child decision-making, using innovative experimental paradigms and computational modeling. Expected outcomes include a novel computational model that explains developmental change in trap formation. The results will guide strategies for improved decision-making in educational, financial, and social settings.Read moreRead less