BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//School of Psychology Events - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:School of Psychology Events
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for School of Psychology Events
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Australia/Sydney
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20210403T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20211002T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20220402T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20221001T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20230401T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20230930T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20240406T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20241005T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221014T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221014T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T044758Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T044758Z
UID:88-1665759600-1665763200@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: No Colloquium
DESCRIPTION:  \n \n \n \n 
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-no-colloquium/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221021T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221021T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045000Z
UID:91-1666364400-1666368000@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Affective Neuroscience\, Professor Elaine Fox\, University of Adelaide
DESCRIPTION:Professor Elaine Fox\, Head of School\, School of Psychology\, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences\, University of AdelaideBio:\nElaine Fox\, PhD\, is a psychologist and author and became Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide\, Australia in early 2022. Originally from Dublin\, most of her academic career has been in the UK. Following a 5-year period working at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand after her PhD studies in Dublin\, she moved to the UK to take up a Senior Lectureship at the University of Essex in 1994. Promoted to Professor in 2000\, she became the Head of the School of Psychology and Centre for Brain Science there from 2007 to 2011. She moved to take up a Professorship of Psychology and Affective Neuroscience at the University of Oxford in 2012 and became a Fellow at University College\, one of Oxford’s oldest colleges shortly afterwards.\nElaine is a leading scholar on the science of resilience\, wellbeing and mental health and her work was awarded with a prestigious European Research Council Advanced Investigator fellowship from 2013-2019 to set up a large study at the University of Oxford investigating why some people are emotionally vulnerable (to anxiety\, depression\, & addictions) while others are resilient. She was appointed to a national role by the UK Department of Research and Innovation in 2019 as the Impact & Public Engagement Co-ordinator for eight UKRI-funded Mental Health Networks\, which she held alongside her Oxford Professorship until her move to Australia in February 2022.\nApart from her academic work\, Elaine is an engaging writer and speaker with a passion for the science behind how our mind works.  Her first book RAINY BRAIN SUNNY BRAIN describes the fascinating science and stories behind why some of us are optimistic and resilient while others take a more pessimistic slant on things. Translated into more than 20 languages\, it is a bestseller in several countries. Her new book SWITCHCRAFT: Harnessing the Power of Mental Agility to Transform Your Life is being published worldwide in 2022. Switchcraft is a highly accessible introduction to the science of flexibility and explains why it so critical to become as mentally agile as we can. It is packed full of helpful ways to cope with a complex and uncertain world. Like having your own personal life coach\, Switchcraft shows you how you can not only survive\, but also thrive in a constantly changing and uncertain world.\nAbstract:\nThe CogBIAS longitudinal study provides a rich dataset on mental health\, wellbeing\, and resilience through adolescence. Data was collected from a starting sample of 504 and a wide range of variables were assessed when adolescents were approximately 13 (n=504)\, 14.5 (n=450) and 16 (n=411) years of age. Investigations using growth mixture modelling revealed four distinct developmental trajectories for anxiety and depressive symptoms and we found that these trajectories were closely related to changes in cognitive biases\, specifically interpretational and memory biases. Further analysis evaluated the role of cognitive biases in resilient functioning\, which was measured in terms of ‘better than expected levels of functioning’ in response to significant adversity. Once again\, cognitive factors were associated with resilient functioning. Specifically\, selective biases in memory and resilient functioning were found to be reinforcing mechanisms across the different assessment points. Finally\, a moderated network modelling analysis revealed that good mental health – flourishing – was associated with higher levels of positive memory and interpretation biases and with lower levels of negative memory biases. Of particular interest\, network connectivity decreased with higher positive mental health ratings. We conclude that cognitive biases\, negative and positive\, are important emotion regulation mechanisms that underpin resilience\, good mental health as well as anxiety and depression symptoms in a cohort of adolescents.\nThis is a Hybrid event so you can join in person or via the Webinar link below:\nHEYDON LAURENCE LECTURE THEATRE 217 (DT ANDERSON) (You are encouraged to please wear a mask if attending in person)\nWebinar Link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/s/84533278727
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-affective-neuroscience-professor-elaine-fox-university-of-adelaide/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221028T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221028T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045000Z
UID:92-1666969200-1666972800@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: The Sally Andrews Lecture on Cognitive Psychology. The magic of reading: How vision and language interact to transform inkmarks into ideas.  Dr Aaron Veldre\, University of Sydney & Macquarie University
DESCRIPTION:Dr Aaron Veldre\, Research Associate\, School of Psychology\, University of SydneyBio:\nDr Aaron Veldre is a postdoctoral research associate in the School of Psychology at The University of Sydney and the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University. His research uses eye tracking\, computational modelling\, and behavioural paradigms to investigate the cognitive processes underlying language comprehension. He currently works on two ARC-funded projects investigating the coordination of vision\, attention\, and linguistic processing during online reading in younger and older adults\, and on the development of a complete computationally implemented model of reading.\nAbstract:\nReading is a remarkable acquired skill that is fundamental to educational and vocational success in modern societies. But it is a relatively recent cultural invention—writing systems have existed for less than 6000 years and literacy has only been a widespread skill for about 200 years. Reading is therefore not part of our genetic blueprint and relies on neural systems that evolved for other purposes. A complete theory of reading needs to describe how perceptual\, linguistic\, and oculomotor processes are precisely coordinated to support the rapid extraction of meaning from print. In this talk\, I will present evidence from a series of recent studies characterizing how readers allocate attention in the fovea and parafovea to identify words and decide when and where to move their eyes. I will also describe work investigating the impact of ageing that provides insight into the balance between perceptual and linguistic processes during reading.\nThis is a Hybrid event so you can join in person or via the Webinar link below:\nHEYDON LAURENCE LECTURE THEATRE 217 (DT ANDERSON) (You are encouraged to please wear a mask if attending in person)\nWebinar Link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/s/89638045313
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-the-sally-andrews-lecture-on-cognitive-psychology-the-magic-of-reading-how-vision-and-language-interact-to-transform-inkmarks-into-ideas-dr-aaron-veldre-university-of-sydne/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221104T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221104T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045000Z
UID:93-1667574000-1667577600@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Kiley Seymour: This talk will not take place as scheduled and has been postponed until 2023.
DESCRIPTION:Dr Kiley Seymour\, Senior Lecturer in Psychological Science\, Western Sydney University \nBio:\nMy research aims to advance both our basic understanding of human brain function and brain dysfunction through the development\, application\, and translation of innovative neuroscientific methods. I combine visual psychophysics and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI and MR-Spectroscopy) to investigate the neural basis of conscious visual perception and the brain mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness\, such as those experienced in psychosis (e.g.\, hallucinations and delusions). Recently\, my interests have extended to the field of neurolaw\, where I aim to examine the degree to which the Australian system of criminal justice is compatible with the lessons of modern neuroscience.\nThis is a Hybrid event so you can join in person or via the Webinar link below:\nHEYDON LAURENCE LECTURE THEATRE 217 (DT ANDERSON) (You are encouraged to please wear a mask if attending in person)\nZoom Webinar Link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/s/82022571425
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-kiley-seymour-this-talk-will-not-take-place-as-scheduled-and-has-been-postponed-until-2023/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221111T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20221111T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045000Z
UID:94-1668178800-1668182400@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Towards domain-general predictive coding: Linking motor and sensory attenuation using TMS and EEG\, Dr Dominic Tran\, University of Sydney
DESCRIPTION:Dr Dominic Tran\, University of Sydney.I will briefly discuss my DECRA application on response inhibition and then I wanted to share some exciting data recently collected in the lab on predictive coding:\nThe brain’s response to sensory input is modulated by prediction. For example\, sounds that are produced by one’s own actions\, or those that are strongly predicted by environmental cues\, elicit an attenuated auditory evoked potential measured with EEG. It is thought that this form of sensory attenuation to stimulation produced by one’s own actions is the reason we are unable to tickle ourselves. We examined whether the neural response to direct stimulation of the brain is attenuated by prediction in a similar manner using combined EEG and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied over the primary motor cortex. The findings provide compelling evidence that predictive coding is governed by domain-general properties across distinct neural systems and has shared mechanisms responsible for all forms of predictive learning.\nBio:\nDr Tran conducts research in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience. His research expertise is in learning\, memory\, and cognition and uses behavioural and neurophysiological methods (e.g.\, transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography) to investigate the relationship between brain and behaviour.  Dr Tran is interested in understanding how our past experiences shape our beliefs\, actions\, and habits. Dominic is also an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) recipient.\n \nThis is a Hybrid event so you can join in person or via the Webinar link below:\nHEYDON LAURENCE LECTURE THEATRE 217 (DT ANDERSON) (You are encouraged to please wear a mask if attending in person)\nZoom Webinar Link:  https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/s/87311249955
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-towards-domain-general-predictive-coding-linking-motor-and-sensory-attenuation-using-tms-and-eeg-dr-dominic-tran-university-of-sydney/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230301T000000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230301T000000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045124Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045124Z
UID:95-1677628800-1677628800@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Consent\, assent\, and competence determination in dementia care
DESCRIPTION:Dr Hojjat Soofi\, University of SydneyBio:\nDr Hojjat (Hoji) Soofi is a Lecturer in Bioethics at Sydney Health Ethics (School of Public Health\, Faculty of Medicine and Health). He is a pharmacist by training and an early career bioethics researcher. He received his PhD and MRes in bioethics from Macquarie University in October 2021 and April 2018\, respectively. He is also an alumnus of Erasmus Mundus Master of Bioethics (KU Leuven\, Radboud University Nijmegen\, and the University of Padua). Before joining Sydney Health Ethics in January 2023\, he was an MQCR Postdoctoral Fellow at Macquarie University Research Centre for Agency\, Values\, and Ethics (CAVE).\nAbstract:\nI present a strand of my current research program on ethics in dementia care. It involves investigating issues around competence determination. I aim to develop a hybrid externalist/internalist account of competence determination. The account would be externalist in the sense that welfarist considerations can be relevant to judgments of competence inasmuch as they trigger pursuing further evidence of the values of people with dementia. That is\, the riskier a decision appears to be\, the more stringent the standards of appraising evidence are to be applied. The prosed account would also have internalist elements: the aim is to investigate the individuals’ internal aspects of decision-making and identify what they value (most). I then connect these to another direction of my research on assent: I present an argument to the effect that decisional incompetence should not be conflated with (and does not entail) the inability to ‘assent’ to care.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-consent-assent-and-competence-determination-in-dementia-care/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230308T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230308T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045124Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045124Z
UID:96-1678276800-1678280400@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Susan Nolan: Sex\, Gender Expression\, and Gender Identity: Embracing Variability\, Ending Discrimination\, and Enhancing Psychological Well-Being
DESCRIPTION:Dr Susan Nolan (Seton Hall University (USA); University of New South Wales (Australia))Bio:\nSusan Nolan is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Seton Hall University (USA). She is Past President of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology\, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. Susan is conducting a project on global psychology higher education at the University of New South Wales from January through May 2023 as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. She was also a Fulbright Scholar in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015-2016\, and received the Fukuhara Award for Advanced International Research and Service from the International Council of Psychologists.\nSex\, Gender Expression\, and Gender Identity: Embracing Variability\, Ending Discrimination\, and Enhancing Psychological Well-Being\nA recent Pew survey found that although about 90% of people in the U.S. report that they know someone who is gay\, lesbian\, or bisexual\, only about 40% report knowing someone who is transgender. The percentage of people who report knowing someone who is intersex seems to be even lower. Although parallel data in other countries are scarce\, the pattern is likely to be similar in other Western countries. As psychology instructors and researchers\, we can expand our discussions of the variability among humans in terms of sex\, gender expression\, and gender identity in introductory and advanced psychology courses as well as in our research. This presentation will explore ways in which instructors might incorporate research\, as well as stories of people from underrepresented groups\, with the goal of reducing stigma and increasing understanding\, awareness\, and empathy. There is an urgent need for discussions of these and related topics due to the far-reaching psychological repercussions of prejudice and discrimination.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-susan-nolan-sex-gender-expression-and-gender-identity-embracing-variability-ending-discrimination-and-enhancing-psychological-well-being/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230315T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230315T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045124Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045124Z
UID:97-1678881600-1678885200@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Katharina Helming: Mentalizing and the problem of coordination
DESCRIPTION:Dr Katharina Helming (Department of Philosophy at Leipzig University)Abstract\nCommon knowledge\, that is the ability to know things together\, underlies uniquely human forms of coordination. However\, there is a puzzle in the existing literature about how to characterize this kind of knowledge. Traditionally philosophers propose that common knowledge requires the ability to compute higher-orders of embedded knowledge states (i.e. I know that you know that I know that you know and so forth at infinitum that X). However\, more empirically oriented accounts suggest that recursive mindreading is cognitively too demanding and thus not a plausible basis for human coordination. Instead\, common knowledge is said to be achieved either on the basis of short-cuts or an arbitrary cut-off within the spiral of embedded knowledge states. But on such accounts\, it remains an open question if and when (after how many steps) certainty about knowing things together can be achieved. The aim of this talk is to propose a new solution to this debate. By drawing on empirical literature across fields such as developmental\, social and comparative psychology as well as linguistics I will investigate how people actually solve coordination tasks. A review of the literature shows that there is a reoccurring structure of embedded knowledge states that people use to cooperate successfully in different areas. More specifically\, empirical data suggests that people actively generate three levels of embedded knowledge coordinate. Such tertiary structures are known as a “three way handshake” in computer science and can be redescribed as a mutual acknowledgment about content in social interactions. It is concluded that certainty about knowing things together in coordination is achieved based on a non-arbitrary cut-off within embedded knowledge states. The broader implications for the evolution of social cognition are discussed on this basis.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-katharina-helming-mentalizing-and-the-problem-of-coordination/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230323T160000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230323T170000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045124Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045124Z
UID:99-1679587200-1679590800@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:(Special time/place!) Psychology Colloquium: Prof Richard Lucas: Can Happiness Change?
DESCRIPTION:SPECIAL TIME (THURSDAY 4-5PM) AND PLACE (SUSAN WAKIL HEALTH BUILDING) CLICK HERE TO REGISTERProf Richard Lucas (Michigan State University)\nAbstract\nFor many years\, psychologists have debated whether or not happiness is impacted by our life circumstances. Some argue that life events\, such as getting married or becoming unemployed\, affect our happiness\, whereas others argue that happiness is more or less fixed — regardless of what’s happening in our lives\, our happiness is determined by our personality. The scientific results are messy and often contradictory. In this talk\, I take a critical look at the science of happiness\, identify flaws in the scientific record\, and present new results from studies following large\, representative samples of people over many years. These results show that happiness isn’t fixed – it can and does change in response to changing life circumstances\, often in ways that match people’s intuitions. A more rigorous science of happiness is vital to developing better public policy\, interventions\, and tools for people to increase their own happiness.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/special-time-place-psychology-colloquium-prof-richard-lucas-can-happiness-change/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230405T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230405T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045124Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045124Z
UID:98-1680696000-1680699600@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Lindsay Squeglia: Adolescent Alcohol and Cannabis Use: Using Neuroscience to Inform Treatment and Outreach
DESCRIPTION:Dr Lindsay Squeglia (Medical University of South Carolina)Abstract\nAdolescent alcohol and cannabis use is pervasive and affects the developing brain. Substance use prevention and treatment efforts are typically underutilized and only modestly effective. Utilizing neuroscience in prevention and treatment efforts can make tangible differences in substance use outcomes. Findings from recent neuroscience-informed adolescent substance use treatment interventions will be presented\, as well as promising results from a youth-focused\, neuroscience-based outreach and educational program.\nBiography\nDr. Squeglia is an Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina\, co-Director of the Youth Collaborative\, and current Fulbright Scholar at University of Sydney. Her research focuses on: (1) understanding the effects of substance use on brain development and (2) using neuroscience to improve adolescent substance use disorder interventions.\nhttps://education.musc.edu/MUSCApps/facultydirectory/Squeglia-Lindsay
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-lindsay-squeglia-adolescent-alcohol-and-cannabis-use-using-neuroscience-to-inform-treatment-and-outreach/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230419T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230419T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045139Z
UID:100-1681905600-1681909200@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Fiona Kumfor: The role of social cognition in neuropsychology
DESCRIPTION:A/Prof Fiona Kumfor (USYD)Abstract\nHistorically\, neuropsychologists have focused on examining traditional cognitive domains such as attention\, memory and visuospatial ability. However\, people with some neurological conditions can perform well on traditional neuropsychological tests\, despite having difficulties in everyday life. This is particularly the case in frontotemporal dementia\, where the earliest changes are in behaviour and personality. In this talk\, I will discuss the potential role of tests of social cognition in improving the diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia. I will also outline how social cognition impairment manifests in everyday life. Finally\, I will discuss how this work might be applied in other neurological conditions which are also characterised by changes in behaviour and personality.\nBio\nFiona Kumfor is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology\, a NHMRC Career Development Fellow and a Clinical Neuropsychologist. Her work focuses on improving the diagnosis\, management and quality of life of people living with neurological conditions\, especially younger-onset dementia. She has published >90 papers and has received >$5.2M in funding. She is currently member-at-large for the International Neuropsychological Society and Vice-President of the Australasian Society for Social and Affective Neuroscience.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-a-prof-fiona-kumfor-the-role-of-social-cognition-in-neuropsychology/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230426T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230426T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045139Z
UID:101-1682510400-1682514000@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Ashleigh Morse & Iseult Cremen: Behavioural insights in practice: using evidence to improve the delivery of public services
DESCRIPTION:Ashleigh Morse & Iseult Cremen (NSW Department of Customer Service)\nAbstract\nPolicymakers in Australia and the world over are increasingly using evidence and data to guide policy decisions. The NSW Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) partners with NSW Government agencies to use the latest evidence and data to help them deliver better services to citizens. We combine evidence from behavioural sciences and behavioural economics with the experience of service agencies and customers to identify and evaluate what works\, when and why to change behaviour. \nAshleigh Morse and Iseult Cremen from the NSW BIU will show how behavioural insights has been used to drive better customer experience and improved outcomes in key Government priorities over the past decade. Using case studies from the NSW Behavioural Insights Unit\, they will illustrate the evolution of behavioural insights from ‘nudges’ to data-driven solutions to support regulation and policy design.\nBios\nDr Ashleigh Morse is a Senior Behavioural Advisor in the NSW Behavioural Insights Unit\, where she has worked since March 2022. She completed her Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) at Sydney University in 2012\, and her PhD in behavioural neuroscience in 2017. In her PhD\, she investigated the role of delta-opioid receptors on cholinergic interneurons in the nucleus accumbens shell in mediating specific Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer (PIT). She then worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Wassum Lab at the University of California\, Los Angeles\, where she used optogenetics and activity-dependent gene expression techniques to locate specific reward memories in the basolateral amygdala. Ash left academia and spent two years working in the Sydney office of the Behavioural Insights Team\, where she learned to apply a range of research methods to public policy areas from education to justice. She then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Matilda Centre for Research in Substance Use and Mental Health (USyd) to develop a new model of care to help emergency services workers in NSW manage alcohol and other drug use.\nDr Iseult Cremen is a project manager at the NSW Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU). Iseult is currently leading the BIU’s work on Gender and Behavioural Insights. Prior to her role in the NSW Government\, Iseult worked as a behavioural science consultant and researcher at both The Behavioural Architects and The Behavioural Insights Team in Sydney\, working on a range of behavioural challenges with public sector clients. Iseult has led field experiments and research projects in the areas of gender and diversity\, transport\, energy and the environment\, industry and health.\nIseult has long been passionate about behaviour change for good using experimental and empirical research approaches. She holds a BA and a PhD in Psychology from Trinity College Dublin. Iseult chose to pursue a career in behavioural insights due to its applicability to real-world contexts and exploring outcomes using in-context evaluations.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-ashleigh-morse-iseult-cremen-behavioural-insights-in-practice-using-evidence-to-improve-the-delivery-of-public-services/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230503T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230503T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045139Z
UID:102-1683115200-1683118800@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Stefan Volk: Last Place Aversion: Relative Status Striving of Low Status Individuals
DESCRIPTION:A/Prof Stefan Volk (USYD Business School)\nAbstract\nMost modern workplaces place high value on teamwork in advancing the goals of the organization\, and much research effort has been devoted to understanding and optimizing organizational and team dynamics and behavior. A notable conflict within organizational goals is incentivizing employees to improve both individual and team performance whereas in reality it is not always possible to improve personal status without a cost to the team or organization or vice versa. Desire for personal improvement and ascending in status can be achieved by adding value through extra effort\, or by cheating and can have positive or negative impacts on the individual\, team and organization. While the dynamics of how individuals strive to improve their status when ranked in the middle of a team\, or to retain their status when ranked at the top of a team\, has been studied before\, little research to date has investigated status striving in relation to individuals ranked at the bottom of a team – i.e. what people do to get out of last place. Thus\, it is unclear what behavioural strategies individuals would use to improve their status relative to the team\, such as putting in extra effort\, or cheating. Further\, it is thus far unknown whether conflict between individual and team status affects their status striving – i.e. whether individuals would be willing to put in more effort or sacrifice their teammates in order to get out of last place – and whether these behaviours can be modified.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-a-prof-stefan-volk-last-place-aversion-relative-status-striving-of-low-status-individuals/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230510T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230510T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045139Z
UID:103-1683720000-1683723600@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Sophie Li: Sleep Ninja®: An app to help teens improve their mood with a better nights sleep
DESCRIPTION:Dr Sophie Li (Black Dog Institute)\nAbstract\nRates of depression are increasing among adolescents. A novel way to reduce depression is by improving sleep. We evaluated whether an app-based intervention for insomnia improved sleep and depression\, and whether changes in insomnia mediated changes in depression. We conducted a 2-arm single-blind randomised controlled trial at the Black Dog Institute. Adolescents 12–16 years (N=264) experiencing insomnia symptoms were randomly allocated to receive Sleep Ninja\, an app-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy program for insomnia\, or to an active control group involving weekly text message sleep tips. Assessments took place at baseline\, 6 weeks (post-intervention) and 14 weeks (post-baseline). Co-primary outcomes were symptoms of insomnia and depression at post-intervention (primary endpoint). Intent-to-treat analyses were conducted. The results of the RCT will be presented\, along with secondary analyses of the data aimed at examining rumination as a potential mediator between insomnia and depression symptoms.\nBio\nDr Li is a Clinical Psychologist and Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Black Dog Institute. Her current research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying psychopathology and treatment effects\, including the effect of transdiagnostic factors such as repetitive negative thinking\, sleep disturbance and technology use on disorder development and treatment. She recently led the evaluation of Sleep Ninja®\, a smartphone app for adolescent insomnia and also led the development of ClearlyMe®\, a cognitive-behavioural therapy smartphone app for adolescent depression and anxiety\, which is currently under evaluation. Dr Li also works as a clinical psychologist in private practice.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-sophie-li-sleep-ninja-an-app-to-help-teens-improve-their-mood-with-a-better-nights-sleep/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230517T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230517T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045139Z
UID:104-1684324800-1684328400@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Celia Harris: Memory Scaffolding: From Theory to Practice
DESCRIPTION:Dr Celia Harris (Western Sydney University)\nAbstract\nTheoretical approaches from philosophy and cognitive science emphasise how experience\, cognition\, memory\, and self are embedded within and distributed among the social and material environment. This ‘scaffolding’ perspective implies that the characteristics of the social and material environment are critical for cognition. This perspective provides new avenues for supporting people to age well\, by maintaining and even enhancing cognitive\, psychological\, and social functioning. In this talk\, I discuss evidence from lab-based and field-based research on the ways in which the social and material environment can support memory as we age\, including recent extensions to interventions within aged care.\nBio\nCelia Harris is Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow at the MARCS Institute for Brain\, Behaviour\, and Development at Western Sydney University. She was awarded her PhD in 2010 from Macquarie University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre on Autobiographical Memory Research at Aarhus University\, Denmark\, before returning to Macquarie as a Macquarie University Research Fellow and then an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Fellow. Celia’s research focuses on memory in context\, aiming to better understand the processes involved in bringing memories to mind and how memory retrieval can be supported by our social and technological environment. She aims to use new knowledge of retrieval mechanisms to develop innovative ways of supporting memory in contexts where it is needed most\, like aged care and dementia care settings.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-celia-harris-memory-scaffolding-from-theory-to-practice/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230524T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230524T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045154Z
UID:105-1684929600-1684933200@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Nathan Holmes: How does the brain integrate sensory and emotional information?
DESCRIPTION:Dr Nathan Holmes (UNSW)\nAbstract\nAnimals and people integrate information acquired at different times when responding to novel situations or problems. For example\, after being attacked by a boy at school\, a child may become fearful of places where the boy had been previously encountered; and after learning the relationship between a particular sound and danger\, an animal may become fearful of places where it had previously heard that sound. In the laboratory\, this type of integration can be studied using sensory preconditioning protocols in which animals (rats) integrate innocuous sensory information acquired at time 1 (e.g.\, a sound is paired with a light) with emotional information acquired at time 2 (e.g.\, the light is paired with brief but aversive foot shock) and\, thus\, express fear to a stimulus that was never paired with danger at time 3 (e.g.\, the sound). The project that I will describe uses sensory preconditioning protocols to examine how the brain integrates sensory and emotional information. Specifically\, I will present a series of experiments which show that the way in which rats integrate sensory and emotional information depends on characteristics of the stimuli to which they are exposed (e.g.\, their familiarity) and has consequences for learning about the danger. These experiments are part of a larger research program which aims to advance our understanding of how fear is processed in the mammalian brain. The findings will be discussed with respect to this program and different theories of information processing.\nBio\nNathan Holmes is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Senior Scientia Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales. He is interested in how the mammalian brain processes different types of information; and how motivational states\, like fear\, change the way the brain processes information. Specifically\, Nathan examines how fear influences the processing of innocuous information (e.g.\, the relation between a sound and a light); how fear spreads across a network of linked memories; and how an established fear memory is updated to include new information. The aim of his research is to develop a theory of how fear influences information processing in the brain\, with a particular focus on cells and circuits of the medial temporal lobe.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-nathan-holmes-how-does-the-brain-integrate-sensory-and-emotional-information/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230811T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230811T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045154Z
UID:106-1691766000-1691769600@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Ashley Luckman: Investigating reason-based decision-making in the attraction effect and its dimensional extensions
DESCRIPTION:Dr Ashley Luckman (University of Exeter)\nAbstract\nReason-based accounts of decision-making\, such as Query Theory\, have been successfully applied to a range of binary preferential choice phenomena\, such as default\, framing and immediacy effects. In a series of Experiments we explore the role reasons play in multi-alternative choice\, particularly the attraction effect. In Experiment 1 we find reasons supporting the target option were generated earlier and in greater quantity than those supporting the competitor\, as predicted by Query Theory. This replicates in Experiment 2\, when we extend the attraction effect to more complicated stimuli with more attributes. In Experiment 3\, we investigated the causal relationship between reasoning and choices by exogenously manipulating the order in which participants generated their reasons. As predicted\, the size of the attraction effect was a function of this query order manipulation. Finally we explore the structure of the reasons people generate\, and how they relate to attentional processes measured through mouse-tracking/lab methods.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-ashley-luckman-investigating-reason-based-decision-making-in-the-attraction-effect-and-its-dimensional-extensions/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230818T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230818T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045154Z
UID:107-1692370800-1692374400@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Mac Shine: Noradrenergic modulation of brain network topology and energy landscape dynamics mediates conscious resolution of perceptual ambiguity
DESCRIPTION:A/Prof Mac Shine (University of Sydney)\nAbstract\nPerception is thought to rely upon evolving activity within a recurrent\, distributed thalamocortical network whose interconnections are modulated by bursts of noradrenaline. To test this hypothesis\, we leveraged a combination of pupillometry\, fMRI and recurrent neural network modelling of an ambiguous figures task. Shifts in the perceptual interpretation of an ambiguous image were associated with peaks in pupil diameter\, implicating noradrenergic gain alteration in the perceptual switch. We trained a 40-node recurrent neural network to perform a similar perceptual categorisation task\, manipulated the gain of the RNN to mimic the effect of noradrenaline and observed an earlier perceptual shift as a function of heightened gain. We then used a dimensionally-reduced form of the RNNs activity to develop two novel predictions: perceptual switches should occur with peaks in low-dimensional brain state velocity and with flattened energy landscape dynamics. We used whole-brain fMRI data to confirm these predictions. These results confirm the core role of the noradrenergic system in the large-scale network reconfigurations that mediate perception.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-a-prof-mac-shine-noradrenergic-modulation-of-brain-network-topology-and-energy-landscape-dynamics-mediates-conscious-resolution-of-perceptual-ambiguity/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230825T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230825T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045154Z
UID:108-1692975600-1692979200@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Laura Bradfield: Striatal and hippocampal neuroinflammation has unique consequences for neuron-glia interactions and action selection
DESCRIPTION:Dr Laura Bradfield (UTS)\nAbstract\nNeuroinflammation has been observed in the striatum and hippocampus of individuals with psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases to different extents\, but whether this causes the behavioural disturbances experienced by such individuals or is simply another symptom of their disease is unknown. In our lab we have begun to piece together causal evidence from studies in rats and mice that neuroinflammation in the dorsal striatum\, ventral striatum\, and dorsal hippocampus alters goal-directed action and choice behaviours in a region-specific manner. Specifically\, we injected the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide in each region to induce neuroinflammation in separate cohorts of animals and then tested them on a range of behavioural assays. Rats with dorsomedial striatal neuroinflammation demonstrated aberrant intact goal-directed control in a range of conditions under which control animals did not\, such as when fed a high-fat high-protein home chow\, or after training that otherwise induced habits. By contrast\, ventral striatal neuroinflammation abolished goal-directed action control. In dorsal hippocampus\, neuroinflammation produced an acceleration of goal-directed action control in females and a facilitation of Pavlovian approach behaviour in male mice. Immunohistochemical analyses linked the expression of astrocytes but not microglia in the striatum to changes in behaviour\, whereas both microglia and astrocyte expression in dorsal hippocampus were associated with behavioural changes. Consistent with these findings\, chemogenetically altering the activity of astrocytes in both striatal regions abolished goal-directed action control\, whereas this was only partially true for the dorsal hippocampus. Evidence from cell culture experiments confirmed that the activation of both microglia and astrocytes caused neuronal excitation in hippocampal neurons. Together\, these results reveal that region-specific differences in neural-glial interactions that result from neuroinflammation lead to different profiles of choice behaviour in a manner that could give insight into the mechanisms underlying psychiatric diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-laura-bradfield-striatal-and-hippocampal-neuroinflammation-has-unique-consequences-for-neuron-glia-interactions-and-action-selection/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230901T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230901T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045154Z
UID:109-1693580400-1693584000@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Alexis Whitton: How artificial intelligence-enhanced adaptive trials can accelerate personalised mental health treatment research
DESCRIPTION:Dr Alexis Whitton (UNSW)\nAbstract\nIn the face of escalating rates of depression among young people\, effective and scalable treatments are urgently required. Although a range of different interventions have been found to be effective\, the pivotal question is Which treatments yield the greatest benefit\, and for whom?\nThis talk explores a new approach to answering this question\, describing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven adaptive trials to deliver more efficient and personalised treatments. Compared to traditional randomised controlled trials\, AI-driven adaptive trials require fewer participants\, reach a conclusion earlier\, and can identify interactions between intervention effects and individual characteristics\, making them a powerful trial design for personalised treatment research.\nThe ’Vibe Up’ trial is the first application of AI-driven adaptive trial methodology in digital psychological therapy research. Over 12 sequential ‘mini-trials’\, >1200 university students with elevated symptoms of depression\, anxiety and stress were allocated to receive one of three digitally-delivered psychological or behavioural therapies – mindfulness\, physical activity\, sleep hygiene – or an ecological momentary assessment control. AI-driven response adaptive randomisation was used to optimise allocation of participants to each trial arm. Over the 12 sequential mini-trials\, an underlying mathematical model learned which intervention was most effective for individuals with different symptom profiles. Results indicated that treatment effects differed significantly between subgroups of individuals\, supporting a personalised treatment approach. Importantly\, treatment effects estimated by the AI model were found to differ from the clinical predictions made by an independent sample of mental health clinicians.\nThis talk will distil key insights gained from the Vibe Up study\, and spotlight the potential of AI-driven adaptive trials in personalising scalable interventions for common mental health conditions.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-alexis-whitton-how-artificial-intelligence-enhanced-adaptive-trials-can-accelerate-personalised-mental-health-treatment-research/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230908T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230908T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045209Z
UID:110-1694185200-1694188800@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Prof Tim Slade: The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use: an overview and deep dive
DESCRIPTION:Prof Tim Slade (USYD)\nAbstract\nThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use promotes excellence\, innovation and collaboration by bringing together world-leading researchers\, clinicians\, people with lived experience and community to share skills\, synergise data\, harness new technologies and trial innovative programs to prevent and treat mental and substance use disorders. This talk will provide a brief overview of the centre\, it’s major activities and some exciting projects planned and currently underway. I will then focus more specifically on one of our epidemiology projects\, a prospective observational cohort study tracking the young adult outcomes of those supplied alcohol by their parents. Parental supply of alcohol is a relatively common practice in Australia\, believed by some parents to be an effective means of teaching their children to drink responsibly. Contrary to this common belief\, research suggests that parental provision of alcohol to adolescents is associated with elevated risk of subsequent alcohol use severity and problems. What remains unclear is what mechanisms connect parental supply of alcohol to later alcohol-related harms. In a critical step toward identifying prevention targets\, this study used causal mediation analysis\, employing robust methods to minimise risk of bias\, to test potentially causal mediators of the relationship between parental supply of alcohol and subsequent harms among adolescents. The implications of the findings for prevention of alcohol related harms will be discussed.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-prof-tim-slade-the-matilda-centre-for-research-in-mental-health-and-substance-use-an-overview-and-deep-dive/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230915T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230915T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045224Z
UID:118-1694790000-1694793600@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Rebecca Collie: Motivational Drivers of Social-Emotional Competence
DESCRIPTION:A/Prof Rebecca Collie (UNSW)\nAbstract\nDecades of research underscores the significance of student motivation for promoting positive academic outcomes. Now\, growing awareness is emerging regarding the role of motivational drivers in shaping social-emotional outcomes. In this talk\, Associate Professor Rebecca Collie will discuss the role of one motivational driver\, perceived social-emotional competence (perceived-SEC). Perceived-SEC reflects an individual’s sense that they can enact socially and emotionally competent thoughts\, behaviors\, and emotions (Collie\, 2020). Emerging research is demonstrating that perceived-SEC is linked with important social\, emotional\, and academic outcomes. Rebecca will discuss her recent research looking at perceived-SEC among students\, as well as in relation to occupational outcomes among teachers.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-a-prof-rebecca-collie-motivational-drivers-of-social-emotional-competence/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230922T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230922T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045209Z
UID:111-1695394800-1695398400@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Professor Sally Andrews Memorial Lecture on Cognitive Psychology: Prof Susan Hespos: Origins of concepts: what infants can tell us about human cognition
DESCRIPTION:Prof Susan Hespos (Western Sydney University)\nAbstract\nHuman cognition is striking in its brilliance and adaptability. To gain an understanding of our species’ extraordinary cognition we investigate the origins and development of these abilities in infants. How do infant’s initial abilities change with experience\, and what conditions foster or impede learning? Answers to these questions shed light not only on infants and children\, but on people in all cultures because these abilities develop early and never go away. I will present data on what preverbal infants understand about objects\, substances (like liquid or sand)\, and the processes they use to compare events. These factors underlie the everyday cognition for people of all ages\, in all societies. By starting with babies\, researchers gain insights into infants themselves and into older children’s prodigious capacities for learning. These insights form the foundation that guide our thoughts and actions as adults. Characterizing these cognitive processes could have a transformative impact on artificial intelligence by enabling machines to ‘learn’ in the same way we do.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-professor-sally-andrews-memorial-lecture-on-cognitive-psychology-prof-susan-hespos-origins-of-concepts-what-infants-can-tell-us-about-human-cognition/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230929T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20230929T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045209Z
UID:112-1695999600-1696003200@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Daniel Bennett: Take the money and run: investigating the decision to ‘cash out’ of a risky bet
DESCRIPTION:Dr Daniel Bennett (Monash University)\nAbstract\nContemporary sports-betting products offer a raft of novel in-play betting features designed to incentivise customer engagement. Among these\, one prominent feature available on most interactive betting platforms is ‘cash out’. The cash-out feature allows customers who have wagered on an event to forgo their stake in the event prior to its conclusion in exchange for a (discounted) early payout. In spite of its ubiquity in the world of sports betting\, it remains unknown how and why bettors use this feature\, as well as whether the mere availability of a cash-out option affects betting behaviour. In this talk I will report the results of several recent experiments using a novel experimental gambling task in which participants were offered the option to cash out of their risky bets. Briefly\, results suggest (a) that the availability of a cash-out option may incentivise participants to place larger wagers\, and (b) that individual differences in use of the cash-out feature are associated with inter-individual differences in self-reported impulsivity in unexpected ways. Although I will focus on the application of these findings to gambling\, they also have bearing on a broader class of financial decisions\, namely those in which the owner of a risky asset must weigh the guaranteed immediate returns of selling the asset against the potential costs and benefits of retaining it into the future.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-daniel-bennett-take-the-money-and-run-investigating-the-decision-to-cash-out-of-a-risky-bet/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231006T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231006T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045209Z
UID:113-1696604400-1696608000@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Marta Garrido: The Insight of Blindsight
DESCRIPTION:A/Prof Marta Garrido (University of Melbourne)\nAbstract\nMuch of what we know about brain circuitry for human vision comes from neuroimaging studies and investigations on people with brain damage. A remarkable example are the studies in blindsight patients\, who despite being blind after injury to their primary visual cortex (V1)\, display remarkable visual abilities. Indeed\, blindsight patients can navigate through obstacles\, detect motion\, and correctly identify emotion in unseen faces. A possible explanation for this apparent paradox is that visual information is conveyed from subcortical structures to other cortical regions\, bypassing V1. In this talk\, I will present converging evidence from a diverse range of neuroimaging techniques and large data sets\, which show this is the case for behavioural salient stimuli charged with motion and emotion information (McFadyen et al.\, 2019 and Rowe et al.\, 2023). I propose that the brain circuitry underpinning such residual vision\, albeit without awareness\, relies on brain shortcuts. These shortcuts may be a means for expediency of information processing and a useful alternative for the preservation and rehabilitation of critical visual functions after brain insult (McFadyen et al.\, 2021).
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-a-prof-marta-garrido-the-insight-of-blindsight/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231013T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231013T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045209Z
UID:114-1697209200-1697212800@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Betty Luu: Confronting Whiteness in Developmental Psychology: Impacts on Ethnic Minority Families in the Australian Child Welfare System
DESCRIPTION:Dr Betty Luu (USYD)\nAbstract\nThis talk considers the pervasiveness of Western models of thinking in relation to child development and parenting practices\, and its impact on child welfare practices for ethnic minority families in Australia. It highlights key projects I have been involved in at the Research Centre for Children and Families that spurred my thinking about how culture and cultural diversity are conceptualised in the child protection and out of home care context. I first summarise the findings from a casefile review of adoptions from out-of-home care finalised by the Supreme Court in 2017 to show the critical role practitioners and adoptive parents play in shaping the attitudes of children and young people have toward ‘contact’ with their families of origin and their cultural identities. Alongside reflections of my experience as a second-generation Chinese-Australian working within academic research settings\, these culminated in a co-written chapter in the Handbook of Critical Whiteness to critique the discipline of psychology with calls for further considerations about the influence of White dominant frameworks of development on approaches to supporting vulnerable families\, focusing on ethnic minority families in the Australian child welfare system. Cultural competence is critical to improving research and practice: to know what aspects of a child and family’s culture are relevant for consideration to ensure safety and wellbeing.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-betty-luu-confronting-whiteness-in-developmental-psychology-impacts-on-ethnic-minority-families-in-the-australian-child-welfare-system/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231020T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231020T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045224Z
UID:115-1697814000-1697817600@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Kate Storrs: Learning about the world by learning about images
DESCRIPTION:Dr Kate Storrs (University of Auckland)\nAbstract\nComputational visual neuroscience has come a long way in the past 10 years. Deep neural networks can recognise objects with near-human accuracy\, and predict brain activity in the ventral visual cortex better than any previous models. However\, vision is far from explained. Our most successful models have been supervised to recognise objects in images using ground-truth labels for millions of examples. Brains have no such access to the ground truth\, and must instead learn directly from sensory data. Unsupervised deep learning\, in which networks learn statistical regularities in their data by compressing\, extrapolating or predicting images and videos\, presents a more ecologically feasible alternative. We have been using unsupervised deep learning\, combined with computer-rendered artificial environments and psychophysics experiments\, as a framework to understand how brains learn rich scene representations without ground-truth information about the world. I will explore how unsupervised networks trained on environments of 3D rendered objects with varying shape\, material and illumination\, spontaneously come to encode these properties of the environment in their internal representations. More strikingly\, they can predict\, on an image-by-image basis\, patterns of errors made by human observers. Unsupervised deep learning may provide a powerful framework for exploring how perceptual dimensions and categories arise.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-kate-storrs-learning-about-the-world-by-learning-about-images/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231027T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231027T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045224Z
UID:116-1698418800-1698422400@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Karly Turner: Investigating the psychological and neural links between habitual\, impulsive and compulsive behaviours
DESCRIPTION:Dr Karly Turner (UNSW)\nAbstract\nIt has been suggested that habits spiral out of control to produce compulsive behaviours\, such as those experienced in people with addiction and OCD\, and this process has been associated with higher levels of impulsivity. However\, studying habits in the lab has been challenging and there is limited preclinical evidence for specific stimulus-response associations. To facilitate the translational dissection of the psychological and neural underpinnings of habits\, we recently developed a novel paradigm to measure explicit and specific stimulus-response behaviours in rats. Using this task\, we can dissociate impaired goal-directed control from habits\, which is critical for understanding behaviour relevant to mental health disorders. In addition\, this behaviour is persistent despite negative feedback\, reflecting a core feature of compulsivity. In a separate series of experiments\, we have also established a link between habits and high levels of impulsivity. Using fibre photometry and optogenetics\, we have begun examining the role of the nucleus accumbens in impulsive actions. By developing new knowledge about the psychological and neural processes that support habits\, impulsive and compulsive behaviours\, we hope to advance the development of more effective interventions.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-karly-turner-investigating-the-psychological-and-neural-links-between-habitual-impulsive-and-compulsive-behaviours/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231103T150000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231103T160000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045224Z
UID:117-1699023600-1699027200@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:Psychology Colloquium: Dr Mike Kendig: Effects of diet on cognition in animal models and humans
DESCRIPTION:Dr MIke Kendig (UTS)\nAbstract\nProcessed foods rich in fat\, sugar and salt now form a substantial part of the modern diet of most countries around the world\, including Australia. Studies in human and rodents indicate that in addition to negative effects on physical health\, high-fat\, high-sugar foods are associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. However\, such foods are rarely eaten exclusively\, and more commonly form part of diverse diets that vary over the short- and long-term. The cognitive effects of high-fat\, high-sugar foods eaten under these conditions are less well understood. Here I will review our work on the effects of intermittent access to (a) 10% sucrose solution\, and (b) a high-fat\, high-sugar ‘cafeteria’ diet on cognition and behaviour in rats\, and the relationship of cognitive effects to changes in gut microbiota composition. The results of a clinical trial of sugar drink reduction in young healthy adults will also be presented.
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/psychology-colloquium-dr-mike-kendig-effects-of-diet-on-cognition-in-animal-models-and-humans/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231110T090000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20231110T163000
DTSTAMP:20260413T073126
CREATED:20250507T045239Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T045239Z
UID:120-1699606800-1699633800@psychology-events.sydney.edu.au
SUMMARY:HDR Symposium
DESCRIPTION:School of Psychology staff and postgraduate students are welcome and encouraged to attend. \nTime\nGiven name\nSurname\nPresentation\nSupervisor \n9.00\nWelcome\n \n \n  \n9.10\nAdrienne\nTurnell\nResearch Plan – PhD\nMark Dadds \n9.30\nHe (Hester)\nXiao\nResearch Plan – PhD\nCarolyn Maccann \n9.50\nSarah\nWalker\nFinal – PhD\nCarolyn Maccann \n10.10\nEllen\nShi\nResearch Plan – PhD\nFiona White \n10.30\nYuan (Sue)\nJi\nResearch Plan – PhD\nIlan Dar-Nimrod \n10.50\nBreak\n \n \n  \n11.00\nRachael\nYu\nResearch Plan – PhD\nSharon Naismith \n11.20\nIsabelle\nKaiko\nFinal – PhD\nMuireann Irish \n11.40\nFederica\nConti\nFinal – PhD\nMuireann Irish \n12.00\nThomas\nNicholl\nFinal – PhD\nMaree Abbott \n12.20\nJordan\nMartenstyn\nFinal – MCP/PhD\nCaroline Hunt \n12.40\nLunch\n \n \n  \n13.20\nEsther\nChan\nResearch Plan – PhD\nSuncica Lah \n13.40\nArabella\nVaughan\nFinal – PhD\nDamian Birney \n14.00\nMing\nLim\nFinal – PhD\nDamian Birney \n14.20\nBenjamin Kai\nNi\nFinal – PhD\nSabina Kleitman \n14.40\nLillian\nDarke\nFinal – PhD\nHelen Paterson \n15.00\nBreak\n \n \n  \n15.10\nShu\nChen\nFinal – PhD\nEvan Livesey \n15.30\nTessa\nRooney\nFinal – PhD\nBenedict Colagiuri \n15.50\nWinston\nTan\nFinal – PhD\nBenedict Colagiuri \n16.10\nJacob\nCoorey\nResearch Plan – MPhil\nDavid Alais \n16.30\nEnd
URL:https://psychology-events.sydney.edu.au/event/hdr-symposium/
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR