School of Psychology Events

Psychology Colloquium: Professor Peter McEvoy (School of Psychology, Curtin University)
2021-05-07 15:00 - 16:00 (Australia/Sydney)
Professor Peter McEvoySchool of Psychology, Curtin University
Title: Can imagery-based techniques enhance outcomes from cognitive behaviour group therapy for social anxiety disorder? Outcomes from a randomised controlled trial
Abstract: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common mental disorders, and it can have severely detrimental impacts on an individual’s ability to reach their social and occupational potential. People with SAD have a core fear of evaluation from others, which is associated with a range of maintaining factors such as negative thoughts and images relating to social threat, avoidance and safety behaviours, self-focused attention, negative core beliefs about the self and others, and anticipatory and post-event processing (i.e., rumination). This colloquium will outline the rationale for incorporating mental imagery into CBT before describing some of the imagery ‘enhancements’ used in this new treatment. A range of published and unpublished primary and secondary cognitive, behavioural, affective, and psychophysiological outcomes will be reported from a recently completed randomised controlled trial comparing the ‘imagery enhanced’ to a more traditional CBT approach.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Stephan Lewandowsky (School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol)
2021-04-30 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Stephan LewandowskySchool of Psychological Science, University of Bristol
Title: Resisting the Knowledge Dementors: The Truth about “Post-Truth”
Abstract: We are said to live in a “post-truth” era in which “fake news” has replaced real information, denial has compromised science, and the ontology of knowledge and truth has taken on a relativist element. I argue that to defend evidence-based reasoning and knowledge against those attacks, we must understand the strategies by which the post-truth world is driven forward. I depart from the premise that the post-truth era did not arise spontaneously but is the result of a highly effective political movement that deploys a large number of rhetorical strategies. I focus on three strategies: The deployment of conspiracy theories, the use of “micro-targeting” and “bots” online, and agenda-setting by attentional diversion. I present evidence for the existence of each strategy and its impact, and how it might be countered.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Anand Gururajan (School of Psychology, University of Sydney)
2021-04-23 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Anand GururajanSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney
Title: Novel Insights into the Neurobiology of Stress-Induced Psychiatric Disorders
Abstract: Stress disorders such as major depression and PTSD are some of the most common psychiatric disorders and their prevalence has increased significantly against a background of growing global turmoil. I will present my research findings which have utilised a multidisciplinary research strategy to elucidate the role of non-coding transcriptomic and the epitranscriptomic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of these disorders and how they might be harnessed to develop new diagnostics and next-generation therapeutics.

Psychology Colloquium: Laureate talks by Prof David Alais & Prof Bart Anderson (School of Psychology – University of Sydney)
2021-04-16 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us for a special two-part colloquium, with Laureate talks by two grant winners in our School:
Prof David Alais (ARC Discovery Project, co-CI Prof Frans Verstraten) Title: “Multisensory perception in active observers”. Project Summary: Perception and action are usually studied separately, often under limited, non-ecological conditions. Recent evidence shows both functions are intrinsically linked and mutually influence each other. This project exploits new technologies to study dynamic perception in free-moving observers in real and virtual multisensory environments. The project will establish the mechanisms underlying the perception/action link and reveal how perceptual stability is achieved despite dynamic input that changes with action. It will generate new understanding of how the brain integrates its twin functions of perceiving the multisensory world and acting upon it, and will generate useful knowledge for virtual, remote and robotic applications.
Prof Bart Anderson (ARC Discovery Project) Title: “Emergent cues underlying the perception of shape, colour, and material”. Project Summary: The goal of this project is to identify the information the visual system uses to extract the three-dimensional structure and material composition of objects. This project aims to generate an advanced understanding of the information that supports these perceptual abilities and to advance our understanding how this information is learned from exposure to natural scenes. The findings of this work are expected to benefit our understanding of the human visual system, and to provide insights into the information needed to advance the development of deep neural networks (machine learning) that exploit the same information used by humans to guide our behavior and recognize objects and materials.

Psychology Colloquium: Laureate talks by A/Prof Carolyn MacCann & Prof Mark Dadds (School of Psychology – University of Sydney)
2021-03-26 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us for a special two-part colloquium, with Laureate talks by two grant winners in our School:
A/Prof Carolyn MacCann (ARC Discovery Project, co-CIs Dr Rebecca Pinkus, A/Prof Helena Nguyen, A/Prof Anya Johnson) Title: “When, why, and how well do we regulate other people’s emotions?”. Project Summary: This project aims to understand when and why people attempt to regulate others’ emotions, and to evaluate which regulation processes are most effective. We will study regulation attempts as they occur over minutes, days, and months in interactions between romantic couples and between nurse co-workers. This project extends the study of emotion regulation to others’ emotions as well as one’s own. The major project output will be an evidence-based theory of extrinsic regulation. Project benefits include applications of this new knowledge to programs and policies that reduce negative emotions and stress in healthcare workers and couples, reducing workplace burnout, on-the-job errors, relationship breakdown and their associated economic costs.
Prof Mark Dadds (NHMRC MRFF Neurological Disorders, co-CIs Dr Lucy Tully, Prof Valsa Eapen, Prof Bruce Tonge) Title: “Evaluation of a new brief intervention for childhood autism spectrum disorders”. Project Summary: Autism (ASD) is a complex lifelong disorder that involves social impairments and major challenges for caregivers. Research shows that parent mediated interventions can have a significant impact on maximising outcomes for these children. Surprisingly, there are no interventions currently available that address core ASD symptoms, behaviour disturbances, and parental well-being in one intervention, despite research showing that these outcomes are interdependent and amenable to change. Resourceful parents may be able to access each component individually, but they would have to attend different agencies, often university-based research trials, and could not access them as an integrated intervention. As separate interventions, they would add up to approximately 20-40 sessions, whereas we have pilot data indicating an integrated intervention could produce effects in ~12 sessions. In addition, current interventions for core symptoms were developed in the USA/UK, and have prohibitive costs for training/accreditation. As a result, there continues to be widespread implementation of ineffective or unsupported interventions for ASD in the Australian community. There is an urgent need to develop, evaluate and disseminate an integrated parenting intervention for children with ASD that: 1) is empirically-supported, time-limited and cost-effective; 2) addresses the interdependent domains of child and parent functioning within the one intervention; and 3) can be delivered during the child’s early critical development. We have developed a brief parent-mediated intervention that produces positive change, is consistent with new priorities of the NDIS, and has the potential to transform the landscape of interventions available for children with ASD early in life. We will conduct a large randomised controlled trial in preparation for national roll-out of the intervention and contribute new knowledge about how elements of treatment interact to influence outcomes for children with ASD.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Melissa Sharpe (Department of Psychology, UCLA)
2021-03-19 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Melissa SharpeDepartment of Psychology, UCLA
Title: The cognitive (lateral) hypothalamus
Abstract: The lateral hypothalamus is generally thought of as a switch that drives feeding. The idea is that if you turn on your lateral hypothalamus, you will instantaneously start eating whatever is in front of you. However, we have recently shown that this nucleus is critical for learning about the information that predicts food. This might seem like a small advance. But we were excited about this because it could mean that the lateral hypothalamus is involved in lots of other forms of learning that we haven’t thought about yet. Indeed, in this talk I will discuss data that show the lateral hypothalamus can even be recruited to learn about fearful events. Further, while the lateral hypothalamus is critical for learning about rewarding and fearful outcomes, this nucleus actively opposes learning about information that is not directly relevant to motivationally-significant outcomes (e.g. learning to associate neutral cues together). This research suggests that the lateral hypothalamus biases learning towards motivationally-significant information, and away from information that is not predictive of something important. This has led to two research directions in my lab: one that investigates how the lateral hypothalamus is integrated into the traditional fear circuit, and another that examines how changes to hypothalamic circuits present in psychological disorders might alter the balance of learning about relevant information.

Psychology Colloquium: Laureate talks by Dr Caitlin Cowan & Dr Stephanie Wong (School of Psychology – University of Sydney)
2021-03-12 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us for a special two-part colloquium, with Laureate talks by two NHMRC Investigator Grant winners in our School:
Dr Caitlin Cowan – Title: “The developing microbiome as a predictor and modulator of mental health risk and resilience: A translational gut-brain axis approach to improving childhood mental health”. Project Summary: A child’s development sets the pathway for their adult functioning. Mental health is no exception, with the majority of psychological disorders having their roots in childhood or adolescence. Currently, our gold-standard treatments for childhood psychopathologies are effective for only half of individuals, meaning there is a dire need for new approaches to this problem. My project will test the hypothesis propose that gastrointestinal microorganisms (collectively known as the microbiome) contribute to psychological risk or wellbeing by shaping the gut-brain axis during critical periods of development.
Dr Stephanie Wong – Title: “Challenging behaviours in dementia: mechanisms, assessment and interventions”. Project Summary: When most people hear about dementia, memory loss is often the first thing that comes to mind. However, memory impairment is only one symptom of dementia. Other symptoms, such as apathy, eating disturbances, socially inappropriate behaviour and poor financial judgment, are also common. These behavioural symptoms account for high levels of carer burden, greater functional decline and reduced quality of life. The neurobiological mechanisms of these symptoms are not well understood, and existing treatments show limited efficacy. My research program will examine how maladaptive reward processing mechanisms give rise to diverse behavioural symptoms in dementia, while also developing and implementing new assessment and intervention approaches in patients and carers. This research will enhance knowledge and health outcomes in the therapeutic management of behavioural symptoms in dementia and will be applicable to challenging behaviours arising from other forms of brain injury and neurodegeneration. In the absence of disease-modifying treatments or cures, such advances are urgently needed to improve the prognosis and quality of life of people living with dementia.

Psychology Colloquium: Grant winners’ celebration plus laureate talk by Prof Louise Sharpe (School of Psychology – University of Sydney)
2021-03-05 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us this Friday 5 March for a special two-part colloquium:
A celebration of the School’s ARC, NHMRC and MRFF grant winners. Join us in congratulating our colleagues who were awarded significant research funding in 2020.
The first in our series of laureate talks given by grant winners – Prof Louise Sharpe, who, with co-investigators A/Prof Ben Colagiuri, Dr Jemma Todd and A/Prof Hamish MacDougall, was awarded an ARC Discovery Project.
Grant title: To focus on pain or not to focus: WHEN is the question
Grant summary: The experience of pain is a ubiquitous experience, and persistent pain is common and causes enormous personal and societal burden. Anyone who has been in severe pain will understand that pain captures attention, but the role that attention plays in increasing pain perception is poorly understood. This project will test a new conceptual model that calls for a change in the paradigm underlying research into attention and pain. We will use novel experimental tasks in virtual reality environments to address these important gaps in our knowledge. The project will significantly advance our fundamental understanding of the role of attention in pain perception and pave the way for translational research to reduce the substantial burden pain causes.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Anne Swinbourne (College of Healthcare Sciences – James Cook University)
2020-11-20 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Anne SwinbourneCollege of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University
Title: The interface of psychology, natural hazards and extreme events
Abstract: The CSIRO/BoM State of the Climate 2020 report delivers an expected message: Australia is undergoing, and will continue to experience, long-term climate change. This will interact negatively with Australia’s preexisting vulnerability to extreme weather events and change the country’s natural hazard risk profile. As compared to the last 50 years, fire seasons are longer, tropical cyclones are less frequent but more intense, and coastal communities are more often experiencing impacts due to inundation and erosion. The report states that coordinated, scientifically informed economic, social and environmental decision-making by governments, industries and communities is required to meet future challenges.
All of the recommendations in the report, and in similar reports, emphasise the importance of human behaviour in preparing for and mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events. Human behaviour is the remit of psychology. However, stereotypically, psychology professionals are portrayed as working at the level of the individual or, at most, the community. It is therefore reasonable to ask how psychology and psychologists can contribute to, and interface with, higher-level bodies making decisions about how to manage extreme events and natural hazards. This colloquium will present a snapshot of Australia’s disaster management landscape, examine current models of disaster management and consider the role of the psychology professional within these frameworks.
*And yes, there will be data.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Vince Polito (Department of Cognitive Science – Macquarie University)
2020-11-13 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Vince PolitoDepartment of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University
Title: Placebo or Panacea? Experiences and Beliefs of People who Microdose Psychedelics
Abstract: Psychedelics are making their way back into mainstream science. High profile research teams are publishing findings in top journals showing that psychedelics can be used to better understand cognition, perception, neurobiology, psychopathology and wellbeing. At the same time there is increasing interest and acceptance of these substances amongst the general public.
One topic that has emerged strongly into popular culture is the phenomenon of “microdosing” – taking extremely low doses of a psychedelic substance, most typically LSD or psilocybin. A microdose can be 1/10th or less of a recreational dose and users will often microdose regularly every 3 or 4 days over an extended period of time. Due to the very low dose, microdosers do not usually report the dramatic cognitive and perceptual changes that typically characterise psychedelic experiences, rather immediate effects are reported to be very subtle and sometimes barely noticeable. Despite this microdosers make a wide variety of claims for the benefits of microdosing, including improved vitality, positive mood, increased attention and greater creativity. Although microdosing has exploded in popularity in recent years, there has been very little empirical research on this topic and the accuracy of these claims has not been tested.
Our team conducted the first systematic observational study of the effects of microdosing in healthy participants. Over a period of six weeks, 63 regular microdosers provided baseline, daily, and post-study ratings of a broad range of psychological and wellbeing measures. I’ll report what did and did not change for this group, talk about the role of placebo in the use of psychedelics, and try to answer the question of what really happens when people microdose.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Robert Heirene (School of Psychology – University of Sydney)
2020-11-06 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Robert HeireneGambling Treatment & Research Clinic, Brain & Mind Centre & School of Psychology, University of Sydney
Title: How can we minimise the harms associated with online gambling? Insights from the account data of 40,000 gamblers and a randomised control trial of message prompts
Abstract: Gambling online presents several unique risks to consumers including constant availability, high speed and uninterrupted play, and the ability to gamble in private. Despite these risks, online gamblers also have access to a number of novel features that can facilitate self-directed harm-minimisation efforts unavailable to customers of land-based gambling venues—they can track their expenditure through betting statements, set limits on deposits or losses, and and temporarily deactivate their accounts for 24 hours or more. However, little is known about the number of people who actually use these tools and their efficacy as harm reduction strategies. We aimed to address these gaps in understanding in two studies. In the first, and we collected account data for almost 40,000 customers from six online gambling sites in Australia to understand the number and characteristics of people using these responsible gambling tools. In the second, we carried out a large, naturalistic randomised controlled trial of message prompts encouraging the uptake of a limit setting tool and evaluated the effects of these limits on indicators of risky gambling. Findings from both studies increase the understanding of how we can encourage positive behaviour change and reduce harm in the online gambling context.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Laura Bradfield (School of Life Sciences – UTS)
2020-10-30 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Laura BradfieldSchool of Life Sciences, UTS
Title: Contextual regulation of reinstatement involving choice
Abstract: Relapse to substance use disorder, overeating, or other maladaptive actions following abstinence and/or therapy is commonly modelled in animals, however, the majority of these studies employ procedures that are either Pavlovian, or involve only a single instrumental response. Therefore, the mechanisms of relapse in situations involving choice between multiple actions and outcomes are less well-understood. To address this question, we investigated the contextual modulation of outcome-selective reinstatement. In Experiment 1, rats were trained to press a left and a right lever for a pellet and a sucrose outcome, respectively (counterbalanced) in context A. Extinction on both levers then took place in either context A or B, followed by testing in context A or B. This rendered 4 groups in total: AAA, AAB, ABA, and ABB. On test, animals received ‘free’ deliveries of pellets or sucrose and their subsequent lever presses recorded. Group AAA reinstated selectively on the lever that had previously earned the presented outcome (e.g. pellet presentation reinstated pressing on the pellet lever, sucrose on the sucrose lever). Surprisingly, animals in group ABB also demonstrated intact outcome-selective reinstatement (reinstated > nonreinstated), suggesting that outcome-response (O-R) contingency knowledge had transferred across contexts. In contrast, animals in groups AAB and ABA responded equally on both levers (i.e. reinstated = nonreinstated), suggesting that extinction learning, unlike O-r learning, was context-dependent. Experiment 2 was conducted identically, except that rats received two sessions of extinction and were tested one day later rather than immediately. This time, all groups demonstrated evidence of intact outcome-selective reinstatement, regardless of context. Together, these findings support the notion that any contextual modulation of instrumental responding involving choice is transient, and occurs immediately after new learning but not when that learning is well-established.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Khandis Blake (School of Psychological Sciences – University of Melbourne)
2020-10-23 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Khandis BlakeSchool of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne
Title: On the causes and consequences of female sexualisation: A nature/nurture approach that incorporates female agency.
Abstract: The last decade has seen an increasing interest in the saturation of popular Western culture by representations of sex. What drives the proliferation of female sexualisation, and is this something that advantages—or disadvantages—women? In a series of studies combining insights from social psychology, economics, gender studies, and biology, I examine the causes and consequences of female sexualisation, especially as they pertain to women’s agency. I will show that sexualisation is rooted not just in cultural conditions, but also in patterns of endogenous hormones and degrees of socioeconomic inequality. Using this evidence, I argue that sexualisation can express a form of female agency that facilitates social climbing and status-enhancement for women. That is not to say that sexualisation entails no risks for women. I will also show that sexualisation activates intra- and inter-personal psychological processes in others, and that these processes increase the risk of women suffering harm. I synthesise these paradoxical findings to provide a functional account of female sexualisation, highlighting the value of integrating competing disciplinary perspectives to understand complex gendered phenomena.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Oren Griffiths (College of Education, Psychology and Social Work – Flinders University)
2020-10-16 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Oren GriffithsCollege of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University
Title: Effects of non-contingency on learning, attention and effort
Abstract: Learned helplessness is one of the most widely recognized findings that psychology has produced in the public sphere. Much of the empirical work on this topic has focused on questions related to how repeated failure produces broadly generalizable decrements in motivation and performance. By contrast, relatively little work has looked at how people learn than an event is unpredictable when faced with non-contingency. This talk focuses on how this learning takes place, what the consequences of such learning are, and whether learning that a particular stimulus is unpredictable is qualitatively distinct to classic learned helplessness effects. We used a mix of behavioural, gaze fixation and pupil dilation measures, and conclude that environmental factors may play an important role in governing the consequences of exposure to non-contingency (in addition to cognitive attributions).

Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Naomi Sweller (Department of Psychology – Macquarie University)
2020-10-02 15:00 - 16:00
A/Prof Naomi SwellerDepartment of Psychology, Macquarie University
Title: I (might!) listen, but I’m also watching: Effects of gestures on learning and communication
Abstract: We often think of “communication” as meaning verbal interactions only, or perhaps the effect of a smile or a frown. Less frequently considered are the hand gestures that can co-occur with speech. These movements, made either a speaker or a listener with their hands or arms, can have sizeable effects on learning. We learn more when we watch others’ gestures than from speech alone, and producing our own gestures can similarly benefit task performance. In this presentation we will look at when gestures might be beneficial to learning and communication, as well as discussing the effects of different types and sub-types of gestures on a variety of tasks. We will look at the effects of task difficulty, as well as individual differences such as age and cognitive ability. Finally, we will look at when perhaps gestures might not be beneficial, including some rather counter-intuitive findings of negative effects of gesture production on learning.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Jemma Todd (School of Psychology – University of Sydney)
2020-09-25 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Jemma ToddSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney
Title: Cognitive biases in pain and health: A dynamic perspective
Abstract: It is important to attend to potential threat in the face of danger: doing so may save your life. However, there are plenty of instances when our cognitive bias system can go awry. Individuals with chronic pain often continue to interpret pain as threatening, with the pain capturing their attention to the detriment of other life goals and despite no ongoing danger. Whilst research has come far in identifying unhelpful cognitive biases, the measures typically used do not adequately account for the dynamic nature of these biases. These biases can be adaptive or unhelpful depending on the circumstance, and are likely to shift with motivation, context, and threat perception. In this presentation, I will explore the challenges of assessing cognitive biases. I will draw on my recent research in pain and other areas such as diabetes and anxiety, to highlight some directions forward in the field of cognitive bias research.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Alana Fisher (Matilda Centre – University of Sydney)
2020-09-18 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Alana FisherThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney
Title: Advancing shared decision-making in mental health and alcohol/other drug use conditions
Abstract: Shared decision-making is widely-endorsed as the ‘gold standard’ approach to making healthcare decisions. Shared decision-making involves clinicians, patients (and others, e.g., family) partnering together to discuss the available healthcare options and make a decision that is both evidence-based and consistent with the patient’s values and preferences. Most of the research has focussed on medical conditions such as cancer, however, recent years have seen a shift towards better understanding and applying shared decision-making for people with mental health conditions, such as depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. The recent literature demonstrates that shared decision-making is preferred by most people with mental health conditions, and delivers similar benefits to patients including satisfaction with care, and better adherence to chosen treatments. Given that mental health conditions often co-occur with at-risk alcohol and other drug (AOD) use (up to 3 in 4 people presenting to AOD treatment services), we need to advance our knowledge of shared decision-making in this comorbid population who often present with more complex and severe needs, and face potentially more complex decisions about their treatment and management. With reference to my PhD and early postdoctoral research work, I will present an overview of i) shared decision-making within the context of mental health conditions, ii) novel directions in shared decision-making through the development and evaluation of patient decision-support interventions for people with co-occurring mental health and AOD conditions.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Iain McGregor (School of Psychology & Lambert Initiative – University of Sydney)
2020-09-11 15:00 - 16:00
Professor Iain S. McGregorThe Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
School of Psychology and Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Title: Cannabis-based medicines: current use and future promise
Abstract: This talk will highlight recent research from the Lambert Initiative around the current legal use of medicinal cannabis (MC) products in Australia for the treatment of conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, and autism, as well as the widespread use of illicit cannabis for self-medication of chronic pain and various psychiatric conditions. Current collaborative clinical trials will also be described showing beneficial effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in intractable youth anxiety (ORYGEN, Melbourne), preliminary positive signs for THC/CBD in Tourette syndrome (Wesley Hospital, Brisbane) and investigation of CBD effects in alcohol withdrawal, methamphetamine dependence and early psychosis. Our recent experimental work investigating the effects of vaporised cannabis on driving and cognitive function will be described. Current preclinical drug discovery programs will also be discussed outlining multiple bioactive molecules from the cannabis plant and various synthetic derivatives with strong therapeutic potential. This is an exciting and pivotal time for cannabis-based medicines in Australia with scope for cannabis-derivatives to become mainstream pharmacotherapies for a number of difficult-to-treat conditions.

Psychology Colloquium: COVID-19 research projects (several speakers from our own School)
2020-09-04 15:00 - 16:00
Members of our own School will present brief overviews of their COVID-related research projects:
Dr Micah Goldwater: Causal and moral reasoning about COVID-19 in the USA
A/Prof Sabina Kleitman: Individual differences in coping and behaviour with COVID
A/Prof Sally Gainsbury: COVID and gambling
Dr Ilan Dar-Nimrod: The impact of COVID on intimate relationships
A/Prof Paul Rhodes: Cultural aspects of COVID distress; Zoom therapy implementation during COVID
Ms Grace Wei: COVID and dementia
Dr Joanne Shaw: COVID and treatment decision-making in cancer; barriers and enablers to the use of telehealth for psycho-oncology consultations
The Zoom webinar link will be circulated to School of Psychology staff and students. Others interested in attending, please contact sophie.ellwood@sydney.edu.au to request the link.

Psychology Colloquium-free week – program commencing in Week 2
2020-08-28 15:00 - 16:00

CANCELLED – Psychology Colloquium: TBA (TBA)
2020-05-29 15:00 - 16:00, 2020-05-22 15:00 - 16:00, 2020-05-15 15:00 - 16:00, 2020-05-08 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker: TBATitle: TBA
Abstract: TBA

CANCELLED – Psychology Colloquium: Dr Ann Meulders (KU Leuven)
2020-05-01 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker: Dr Ann Meulders (KU Leuven)
Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA

CANCELLED – Psychology Colloquium: Emeritus Professor Robert (Bob) Boakes (University of Sydney)
2020-04-24 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker: Emeritus Professor Robert (Bob) Boakes (University of Sydney)Title: The monkey, the lettuce leaf, sugar and disappointment: From translation to discovery
Abstract: For some years our group has run translational experiments to study metabolic and cognitive impairments in rats that have drunk large amounts of a sugar solution. Metabolic problems have included development of large amounts of visceral fat, while the cognitive changes include poor performance on spatial learning and memory tasks. We have also studied recovery from the impact of sugary drinks when the rats no longer had access to such solutions. To model a human change from, say, classic Coca Cola to Diet Coke, we have switched rats from a sugar to a saccharin solution. Although the saccharin solutions were ones that are normally liked by rats, in these sugar->saccharin ‘switch’ experiments intakes remained unexpectedly low. Consequent experiments confirmed that we had stumbled upon an unusually persistent successive negative contrast effect. It seems that, when expecting a delicious drink and instead experiencing something that isn’t quite as nice, disappointment supports conditioning of a lasting aversion to the new drink.

CANCELLED – Psychology Colloquium: Dr Emma Alleyne (University of Kent)
2020-04-03 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker: Dr Emma Alleyne (University of Kent)Title: ‘Taking it out on the dog’: Why adults abuse animals
Abstract: One of the most acute and distressing animal welfare problems is abuse carried out by adults. There are difficulties to detect, intervene, and prevent animal cruelty incidents due to the very nature of animals as ‘voiceless victims’. As a result, even when complaints are made, convictions are rare and we are left with a limited evidence base to inform practice. Despite these challenges, there is a growing field of research to develop a greater understanding of the factors associated with animal abuse, the motivations underpinning this behaviour, and the treatment needs of abusers. In this talk I will present a series of empirical studies examining the social, psychological, and behavioural factors related to animal abuse propensity and behaviour. These studies explore both distal and proximal factors that give insight into why and in what context individuals might harm animals. I will also present these findings within the context of theory development and future directions for research.

CANCELLED – Psychology Colloquium: Dr Samuel Mehr (Harvard University)
2020-03-27 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker: Dr Samuel Mehr (Harvard University)Title: Psychological functions of music in infancy
Abstract: In 1871, Darwin wrote, “As neither the enjoyment nor the capacity of producing musical notes are faculties of the least use to man … they must be ranked among the most mysterious with which he is endowed.” Infants and parents worldwide engage their mysterious musical faculties eagerly and frequently, unlike any other species, and have done so throughout recorded history. Why should this be? In this talk I propose that infant-directed song functions as an honest signal of parental investment. Three lines of work support this proposal. First, I show that the genomic imprinting disorders Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes, which cause an altered psychology of parental investment, are associated with an altered psychology of music. Second, I analyze ethnographic texts and audio recordings with tools of data science, finding that vocal music appears in 100% of a representative sample of human societies and is reliably associated with the care of infants and children therein. Moreover, infant-directed songs are recognizable by massive cohorts of naïve listeners, a result driven by acoustic features of the singing that consistently differentiate the infant-directed songs from other songs, worldwide. Last, I show that infants are sensitive to these reliably-occurring acoustic features: despite their unfamiliarity, infants are calmed by foreign lullabies. These findings converge on a psychological function of music in infancy that may underlie more general features of the human music faculty, laying the foundation for a comprehensive psychology of music.

CANCELLED – Psychology Colloquium: Dr Nicky Quinn (Macquarie University)
2020-03-20 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker: Dr Nicky Quinn (Macquarie University)
Title: Applying behavioural science to government policy
Abstract: In psychology, we take many principles of behavioural science as given. We know that we regularly make decisions that are ‘bad’ for us or irrational, we fail to follow through with even our strongly-held good intentions, and we show a range of biases in the way we interpret information. Although these principles are well understood in psychology, this way of approaching human behaviour is more novel in some areas of government policy making. This is problematic given that government policy is often the end place in the research translation pathway for the evidence we generate in academia. After conducting research and working in and with government for four years, I will be presenting on the application of ‘behavioural insights’ to government policy, and running randomised-controlled trials to test government policy and programs. This will include a series of trials we ran over the last few years, including in reducing the over-prescription of antibiotics, helping the unemployed back to work, reducing sexual harassment, and in attempting to reducing discrimination.

CANCELLED – Psychology Colloquium: Dr Laura Bradfield (UTS)
2020-03-13 15:00 - 16:00
Speaker: Dr Laura Bradfield (UTS)Title: Hippocampal dysregulation causes transient deficits in decision-making: consequences for old age and Alzheimer’s disease
Abstract: The hippocampus is a central component of learning and memory systems in the brain, but its role in decision-making has received comparatively little attention. We found that, similar to its role in learning and memory, the hippocampus regulates goal-directed decision-making in a temporally transient manner. Specifically, we chemogenetically inactivated the dorsal CA1 region of the hippocampus in rats during outcome devaluation testing: the gold-standard test of goal-directed action in rodents. We found that such inactivation impaired goal-directed decisions on this test if it occurred immediately after initial training, but not after extended training or after a one week temporal window had passed. As degeneration of the hippocampus is observed in old age and in Alzheimer’s disease, we next investigated whether a similar temporal transience in decision-making impairments would be observed in aged mice, and a J20 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Indeed we found that outcome devaluation performance was impaired after initial training in both aged and J20 mice relative to wildtype controls, but that this deficit could be overcome with additional training. Aged J20 mice showed an additional deficit in outcome-selective reinstatement. We further found strong relationships between neuroinflammatory markers in the dorsal CA1 region and goal-directed decision-making performance. Experiments investigating a causal connection between local neuroinflammation and goal-directed decision-making impairments are currently ongoing.
