School of Psychology Events

Psychedelics: A New Frontier in Addiction Therapeutics
2025-05-27 11:00 - 12:00 (Australia/Sydney) | BMC lecture theaetre, Level 5, Brain and Mind Centre
Brain and Mind Centre visiting seminar with Dr Jamie Peters

27 May | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Level 5, BMC Lecture Theatre, In-person
Followed by Q&A and Networking.
Dr Jamie Peters is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, (England), in Neurobiology. Her work focuses on preclinical behavioural pharmacology using rodent self-administration models of addiction, optogenetic and chemogenetic dissection of neural circuit function, neural circuitry and mechanisms underlying extinction memory, and the intersection of aversion and reward in systems neuroscience.
Register here

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Sophie Green (University of Leeds)
2025-05-23 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Sophie Green (University of Leeds)

Optimising complex interventions in cancer using novel experimental designs

Abstract

Complex interventions are typically evaluated using a randomised controlled trial (RCT). While RCTs are suitable for establishing the overall effectiveness of an intervention, they tell us little about which individual components of an intervention drive its success (or failure). The Multiphase Optimisation Strategy (MOST) is an engineering inspired framework designed to optimise complex interventions. By using highly efficient, fully powered experimental designs, MOST guides the optimisation of interventions that are more effective, efficient, affordable and scalable. Crucially, MOST offers potential to understand how and why interventions work, helping to accelerate scientific progress.

In this talk, Sophie will introduce the MOST framework, highlighting its benefits and the innovative experimental designs it advocates. She will illustrate these concepts by drawing on examples from a large programme of research aimed at developing and optimising a behavioural intervention to support medication adherence in women with breast cancer (the ROSETA trial), guided by the MOST framework. Sophie will also discuss exciting future applications of MOST, including the potential to optimise psychological interventions—such as those targeting fear of cancer recurrence—to deepen our understanding of their mechanisms of effect.

Bio

Dr Sophie Green is a senior research fellow at the University of Leeds UK, with an academic background in behavioural science and psychology and a clinical background as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner. Sophie’s overarching research interests focus on the development, optimisation and evaluation of behavioural and psychological interventions to support people living with cancer. Sophie has worked across a number of randomised controlled trials and optimisation trials, predominantly focused on improving medication adherence and quality of life in women with breast cancer. She is currently funded by a National Institute of Health Research Development and Skills Enhancement Award, within which she is exploring how secondary analyses of optimisation trials can enhance our understanding of how complex interventions work and for whom.

Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Garner Clancey (USYD Law)
2025-05-16 15:00 - 16:00 | Old Geology Lecture Theatre, Edgeworth David Building (A11)
A/Prof Garner Clancey (USYD Law)
Abstract
This presentation will discuss (in brief) contemporary crime and justice trends. Criminal justice agencies (police, courts, corrections) are struggling with diverse issues, many which would benefit from collaboration with universities. Experiences gained in recent years through work of the fledgling University of Sydney Justice Collaboration will be discussed, with particular focus on what this might mean for the School of Psychology staff and students. The trials, tribulations and opportunities for criminal justice industry engagement and whole-of-university responses to criminal justice issues will be discussed.
Bio
Dr Garner Clancey, Associate Professor of Criminology, University of Sydney Law School and Director, University of Sydney Justice Collaboration.
Before joining the University of Sydney Law School in 2011, Garner worked in criminal justice agencies (including Juvenile Justice NSW and the NSW Police Force) between 1992-2002 and worked as a crime prevention consultant between 2002-2010. Garner also taught crime prevention, policing, juvenile justice, security and criminology courses at five other Australian universities between 2000 and 2011. Garner is working closely with industry partners and colleagues from across the University of Sydney to tackle various practical and systemic challenges impacting criminal justice systems.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Branka Spehar (UNSW)
2025-05-09 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Branka Spehar (UNSW)

Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Kelly Clemens (UNSW)
2025-05-02 15:00 - 16:00
A/Prof Kelly Clemens (UNSW)

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Alice Mason (University of Bath)
2025-04-11 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Alice Mason (University of Bath)

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Robert (Bobby) Zachariae (Aarhus University)
2025-04-04 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Robert (Bobby) Zachariae (Aarhus University)

Psychology Colloquium: CANCELLED
2025-03-28 15:00 - 16:00

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Susanne Narciss (Dresden TU)
2025-03-21 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Susanne Narciss (Dresden TU)

Psychology Colloquium: EMCR Firetalks – Dr Zoe Menczel Schrire, Dr Sarah Barakat & Dr Jessica Leake
2025-03-14 15:00 - 16:00

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Luke Hyde (University of Michigan)
2025-03-07 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Luke Hyde (University of Michigan)

Psychology Colloquium: Denison Program Showcase
2025-02-28 15:00 - 16:00

Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Tracy Morison (Massey University)
2024-11-01 15:00 - 16:00
A/Prof Tracy Morison (Massey University)Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA.
Bio: TBA.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Christina Perry (Macquarie University)
2024-10-25 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Christina Perry (Macquarie University)Title: “Incubation of Craving” – investigating changes to brain and behaviour during alcohol abstinence in rats
Abstract: Alcohol-associated cues can produce intense craving in people with alcohol use disorder, which in turn can lead to relapse. Such cues may come in the form of advertising, places where a person used to drink, or indeed any environmental stimulus that may have been present during prior drinking. These episodes of cue-driven craving are reported to increase in intensity over the first months of abstinence, a phenomenon termed “incubation of craving”. Neural mechanisms of incubation have been reasonably well-researched in rodent models of psychostimulant drug relapse, however almost no studies have looked at this in the context of alcohol. Our research seeks to meet this gap by training rats to lever press for alcohol, and then measuring changes in cue-induced relapse to alcohol-seeking across a four week abstinence period. We have conducted whole-brain analysis of neural activation and preliminary neural tract tracing, as well investigating the psychological mechanism for the time-dependent increase in alcohol-seeking. In addition, we are researching ways of reducing the increase in relapse propensity, including through voluntary wheel-running exercise. The aim of this project is to be able to identify risk factors for relapse following intervention for alcohol use disorder, as well as develop long-term strategies to reduce this risk.
Bio: Christina Perry is a senior lecturer and research fellow at Macquarie University. She completed my PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, before moving to Melbourne to work as a post-doc in the Behavioural Neuroscience division at Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, working with Andrew Lawrence and Jee Hyun Kim. Her primary research interest has always been addiction, particularly why relapse is such a pervasive problem for substance use disorders. In 2015 she was awarded an early career fellowship from the Society for Mental Health Research, then in 2016 a dementia research development fellowship from NHMRC/ARC. These allowed her to develop an independent program of research, looking at how chronic alcohol use interacts with the normal cognitive changes that occur with ageing, and how this impacts on the prospect of rehabilitation. In 2021, she moved back to Sydney, to work with Prof. Jen Cornish at Macquarie University. She currently leads two major government-funded projects that seek to understand the neurobiology of substance use disorder, and of regulation of defensive responses. Her research uses complex behavioural paradigms combined with sophisticated neuroscience techniques to understand the biological basis of motivated behaviour.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Brian O’Toole (USYD)
2024-10-18 15:00 - 16:00
Psychology Colloquium: Dr Brian O’TooleTitle: TBA
Abstract: TBA.
Bio: TBA.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Kelly Garner
2024-10-11 15:00 - 16:00
Psychology Colloquium: Dr Kelly Garner (UNSW)Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA.
Bio: TBA.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Virginia Slaughter (UQ)
2024-09-27 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Virginia Slaughter (UQ)Title: Do humans imitate from birth?
Abstract: Imitation in human newborns is widely cited as evidence of an inborn Mirror Neuron System that underpins human social behaviour, even though its existence has been debated for decades. The possibility that newborns do not imitate was reinvigorated in recent years by research from our lab at the University of Queensland. In this talk I will present original data from the largest-ever longitudinal study of newborn imitation and the first-ever meta-analysis. I will also discuss findings from infant EMG experiments which further challenge the claim that newborn humans can imitate. All of this leads to alternative accounts of the development of imitation and its role in human sociality.
Bio: Virginia Slaughter is Professor of Psychology and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Queensland, Australia. Her research focuses on social and cognitive development in infants and young children, with particular emphasis on social behaviour in infancy, theory-of-mind development and the acquisition of peer interaction skills. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Will Ngiam (University of Adelaide)
2024-09-20 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Will Ngiam (University of Adelaide)Title: Multivariate decoding of visual attention and memory – is what we see, what we remember?
Abstract: The ability to select relevant information and maintain it in mind – our attention and working memory respectively in broad strokes – is central to perception and cognition. In hopes of better understanding of these processes, philsophers, cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists have been trying to model how inforation is represented in mind and brain.
My talk will focus on two deceptively simple questions: what is a visual object and how are they remembered? First, I will provide a brief overview of multivariate classification of neuroimaging data with machine learning – a trending analysis method that has shown promise in unveiling representations in the brain. I will present two EEG research projects using this method – the first involves understanding how the features of a moving object are remembered, and the second involves how our learning and experience influence how we represent items in mind.
Bio: Will is an alum of the School of Psychology, completing his undergraduate Honours degree here before his PhD with Alex Holcombe in 2019. He went abroad for his postdoc, working with Edward Awh and Edward Vogel at the University of Chicago, before recently returning back to Australia and joining the University of Adelaide as a Lecturer. Will has started the Perception, Attention, Learning and Memory (PALM) Lab, where he hopes to design novel psychophysical experiments to inform computational models of attention and memory and linking those models to patterns of neural activity – all in the hopes of better understanding human cognition.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Will Harrison (University of the Sunshine Coast)
2024-09-13 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Will Harrison (University of the Sunshine Coast)Title: Seeing More with Less: Efficient sensory coding with and without eye movements
Abstract: It is often difficult to understand perceptual and cognitive processes from a scientific point of view. Unfortunately, I think we often mistake our difficulty in understanding a problem with the complexity of the problem itself. For example, it may feel intuitive to conclude that the brain must use complex algorithms to coordinate action and perception solely because we, as scientists, have difficulty understanding how such phenomena come about. But what if the brain is much simpler?
Recently I’ve been trying to understand the minimum computational requirements for various perceptual and cognitive tasks. Efficient coding theory tells us that nervous systems should use as few resources as possible to convey the most amount of information. Put differently, the brain is lazy: if one neuron can code two pieces of information with high fidelity, it would be wasteful to have this information replicated by a second neuron. By combining ideas from efficient coding with psychophysical experiments and computational modelling, I have found efficiencies within the mammalian visual system that promote perceptual inference, with and without eye movements.
Bio: Dr Will Harrison is a cognitive neuroscientist who is interested in how the brain transforms visual information into conscious thoughts and memories. He received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Queensland in 2013, and has completed postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard Medical School, the University of Cambridge, and the Queensland Brain Institute. He has published dozens of papers in top international journals, focusing on how people perceive and remember objects in their peripheral vision, how eye movements affect what we see, and how the human brain uses the structure of natural environments to guide perception. Dr Harrison uses a variety of methodologies, include psychophysics, neuro-imaging, and computational modelling.

Psychology Colloquium: HDR Prize Ceremony, with presentations by Dr Roslyn Wong, Dr Anastaia Suraev & Dr Kelly Dann
2024-09-06 15:00 - 16:00
H. Tasman Lovell Memorial Medallion for the Best PhD Thesis in the School of Psychology for 2023Awarded to Dr Roslyn Wong for Anticipatory prediction during online language processing.
Faculty of Science Prize for Outstanding PhD Thesis for 2023
Awarded to Dr Anastaia Suraev for From Prohibition to Prescription: The Role of Cannabinoids in Sleep.
2024 APS Award for Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology
Nomination of Dr Kelly Dann for Cognitive Flexibility and Everyday Function in Anorexia Nervosa.
School of Psychology Publications Prize for 2023
Alexander Sulfaro
Baby Foo
Biya Tang
Cosette Saunders
Daelin Coutts-Bain
Hayley Donohue
Jessica Barker
Roberta Chen
Roslyn Wong
Sarah Barakat
Tessa Rooney

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Paul Rhodes (USYD)
2024-08-30 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Paul Rhodes (USYD)Title: Eco-psychology: a critical paradigm in the climate emergency
Abstract: This presentation makes the argument that mainstream psychological practice is not equipped to respond to distress associated with the climate emergency. This is because the field focusses on individual pathology, rather than ecological context. It remains reticent about activism and politics and is ontologically aligned with the Anthropocene, a new era in which the human species is creating an observable effect in the geological record, to the detriment of the planet and its life forms. An introduction is provided to ecopsychology, its history and philosophy, a movement that has sought to subvert and transform mainstream psychology over the last three decades. Ecopsychology still offers an opportunity for mainstream psychology to alter its approach in the face of the climate emergency. Six studies conducted by the Ecological Emotions Research Lab will be presented as exemplary of eco-psychological inquiry.
Bio: Paul Rhodes is a Professor in the Clinical Psychology Unit and co-leads the Ecological Emotions Research Lab with historian Dr Jamie Dunk. His research at present focusses on community-based responses to climate emotion, peer work and youth suicide prevention, arts translation and social prescription and issues related to cultural responsiveness and safety. Paul is also Chair of the Aboriginal Strategy Committee for the School of Psychology as a proud ally, and Coordinator of a new Unit of Study, Multiple Discourses in Mental Health co-designed and co-led by consumer/ex-patient/survivors of the mental health system. In his spare time he is a practising artist at Lennox St Studios and has exhibited extensively in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Jelena Brcic (University of the Fraser Valley)
2024-08-23 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Jelena Brcic (University of the Fraser Valley)Title: Reported Psychological Growth Following Work in Extreme and Unusual Environments: Role of Perceived Stress and Coping
Abstract: There are psychological, biological, and sociological constructs that emerge within extreme and unusual environments (EUE) that cannot be studied elsewhere. Post-Experience Change (PEC), which is significantly modelled after Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), is one such aspect. PTG it is defined as a positive psychological change as a result of psychological struggle ensuing trauma. Changes can be experienced in perceptions of self, changes in interpersonal relationships, and in the meaningfulness of life (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996; Triplett et al., 2012). We believe that prolonged experiences in EUEs, which are not traumatic but are meaningful, can have a positive impact and lead to life changes experienced by expedition members.
To understand the full deployment experience, growth possibilities, and to identify the situational impact on the personnel in EUEs, a study of stress perception and coping strategies is essential. Work in this domain of stress and coping has been plentiful across many EUEs (Leon, Sandal, & Larsen, 2011; Nicolas et al., 2013; Suedfeld et al., 2009, 2012, 2015).
This presentation will examine stress, coping, and PEC in expedition members from three different EUE groups: long-duration astronauts, winter-over crew working on an Environment Canada weather station in Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, and rescue teams from BC Search and Rescue and Royal Canadian Search and Rescue organizations. Discussion will be around the impact of mission duration, the extremeness and uniqueness of the environment, and the type of positive impact the experiences had on expedition members.
Bio: Dr. Jelena Brcic is an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley’s School of Business. She is an expert in the study of teams in extreme “workplaces”; among which are the International Space Station, the Canadian Artic, and the BC wilderness. Dr. Brcic is trying to understand how these extreme teams deal with adversity, maintain resilience, build their own culture, and solve problems. Informed by her research, she also teaches classes on how to build great teams in typical organizations and how to lead happy, satisfied employees. When she isn’t working, she is exploring the local beaches and mountains with her husband, two boys, and a Labrador Retriever named Buzz.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Andrew Lawrence (Florey)
2024-08-16 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Andrew Lawrence (Florey)Title: Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors as a Novel Treatment Target for Alcohol Use Disorder
Abstract: Despite the large socioeconomic burden of alcohol use disorders (AUD), therapeutic treatment options are limited. There is a need to characterise the underlying neurochemistry driving alcohol seeking to identify and evaluate novel treatment targets. To this end we conducted genome-wide RNA sequencing in the striatum from humans with AUD and healthy controls and concurrently examined receptor expression in the corresponding brain regions in rat following chronic alcohol consumption/withdrawal. In the brains from humans with AUD we found reduced expression of muscarinic M4 receptors, which was limited to the putamen. In line with this, expression of the same receptor was decreased in the rat dorsolateral striatum (plus other regions). These findings have been extended to mouse striatum by a collaborating laboratory. Further, administration of an M4 Positive Allosteric Modulator to target M4 receptors reduced alcohol self-administration and relapse, without effects on natural reward consumption or sedation. Collectively, our data identify a novel treatment target for AUD. We are in the process of trying to translate this finding.
Bio:
Professor Andrew Lawrence is a Senior Principal Research Fellow & Deputy Director at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health where he runs the Addiction Neuroscience laboratory. Andrew has published over 300 original articles & reviews, with >14,800 citations (H index 64). Andrew was Treasurer of the Australian Neuroscience Society (2002-2008), President of the Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (2014-16) & is currently President-elect of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurochemistry and an Honorary Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society for “sustained excellence and leadership in pharmacology”. To date Andrew has delivered 11 plenary lectures such as the 2017 Lawrie Austin lecture at Australasian Neuroscience Society and the 2021 Plenary at the Japanese Society for Neurochemistry. He was recently invited to speak at the 2024 Gordon Research Conference on Alcohol and the Nervous System. Andrew’s research leadership extends to being a passionate mentor, many of his students/postdocs are now in successful academic appointments around the world. He embraces diversity and inclusion and has striven to create a safe and supportive environment where people can flourish. As a behavioural neuropharmacologist, Andrew studies basic mechanisms relevant to addiction and motivated behaviour patterns. He is recognised for developing rodent models to understand the neurochemical basis of drug-seeking and drug-induced adaptations. His lab’s focus is to identify and validate new therapeutic targets for drug and alcohol abuse.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Ben Newell (UNSW)
2024-08-09 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Ben Newell (UNSW)Title: The many uncertainties of climate change: A psychological perspective
Abstract: The one thing that is certain about climate change is that it is happening. The extent of its impacts, our ability to adapt, to mitigate and to plan are, however, all inherently uncertain. This is unfortunate because uncertainty can often cloud perception and undermine action. In this talk I will present work examining variants of uncertainty that have relevance for understanding psychological reactions to climate change. This includes experiments assessing how the projections of climate models are interpreted, how uncertain thresholds affect decisions in simulated climate negotiations, and how climate risk information affects judgments in simulated online property searches. The diversity of these problems highlights the challenges faced by any single discipline in addressing the challenges of climate change. I will advocate for the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and illustrate how such collaborations can precipitate policy, and ultimately behavioural change.
Bio: Ben Newell is Professor of Cognitive Psychology in the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney, and Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response. His research focuses on the cognitive processes underlying judgment, choice and decision-making. His role in the new Institute is to drive an interdisciplinary research agenda bringing together expertise from behavioural science, climate science, economics, actuarial science, law and governance to address the risks and opportunities of climate change. He has published multiple articles at the intersection of psychology and climate change, with particular focus on the understanding of uncertainty and risk. Ben is lead author of the books Straight Choices: The Psychology of Decision Making, and Open Minded: A Search for Truth about the Unconscious Mind. Ben is a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA), and the Chief Medical Officer’s advisory group for the National Health and Climate Strategy.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Michael Bowen (USYD)
2024-08-02 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Michael Bowen (USYD)Title: KNX100 and other small molecules that could: Developing prosocial compounds for disorders of the brain and mind
Abstract: Challenges with social motivation, interactions, and communication are central to many disorders of the brain and mind, and are major barriers to improved functioning in others. For example, in substance use disorders, impairments in social functioning can hinder successful engagement in programs where social factors are crucial, such as the Community Reinforcement Approach and Alcoholics Anonymous. Despite their pervasiveness, there are no approved pharmacotherapies specifically targeting social symptoms. KNX100 is a novel, now clinical-stage small molecule, discovered at the University of Sydney through a phenotypic screen that identified its prosocial effects and modulation of social circuits in the brain. KNX100 is being developed by the University of Sydney spinout company, Kinoxis Therapeutics, in close partnership with the University under a major multi-year research partnership. In preclinical models, KNX100 is showing transdiagnostic potential for treating substance use disorders, and for reducing agitation and aggression in neurological and psychiatric conditions. KNX100’s novel mechanism of action involves inhibiting neuronal hyperactivity in the nucleus accumbens shell and increased activity in the prodynorphin-dynorphin-kappa opioid receptor pathway in this brain region, a system at the nexus of motivation, socioemotional behaviour, and stress. Current programs are exploring KNX100’s clinical efficacy for treating several substance use disorders, and agitation and aggression in dementia. In its other major program, Kinoxis has partnered with multinational pharmaceutical company Boehringer-Ingelheim to discover and develop, in close partnership with researchers at the University, novel small molecules targeting the oxytocin receptor, one of the most important social systems in the brain.
Bio: Michael Bowen is Professor of Translational Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology in the School of Psychology and Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, and co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Kinoxis Therapeutics, a biotech company developing novel therapeutics for disorders of the brain and mind. Michael was co-inventor of the Kinoxis lead compound, KNX100, which is being developed for the treatment of substance use disorders and agitation and aggression in dementia. KNX100 is in clinical development under a US FDA IND and has successfully complete phase 1 clinical trials. In addition to the KNX100 program, Kinoxis Therapeutics has a preclinical program developing novel small molecules targeting the oxytocin receptor. Michael’s team is supported by funding from industry, the US NIH/NIDA, Australian NHMRC, and philanthropy. In recognition of his work discovering and developing novel therapeutics and for his achievements translating and commercialising research, Michael has received numerous honours, including the 2021 Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for New Innovators, the 2016 Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher, the 2016 International Behavioral Neuroscience Society Early Career Award, the inaugural NSW Premier’s Prize for Early Career Researcher of the Year in 2015, and being inducted into the World Economic Forum’s Young Scientists Community in 2016.

Psychology Colloquium: James Bates, Dave Trudinger, Selena Ledger and Eva Koromilas
2024-05-24 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Dave Trudinger & Mr James Bates (NSW Department of Customer Service)Sludge: are there measurable psychological costs from administrative burden? A NSW and global perspective
Abstract
You’ve heard of nudges, but have you heard of sludge? The NSW Behavioural Insights Unit is leading the world on tackling sludge – the unnecessary and unjustified frictions that put a tax on citizen time and prevent equitable access to services. At this colloquium, we will present the NSW Sludge Audit Method – our approach to measuring and quantifying sludge which has now been adopted by the OECD. We will talk about how we developed and are expanding our method, and invite collaboration from academics on research opportunities to understand and measure the psychological costs of administrative burden.
Bios
Eva Koromilas – Eva Koromilas is a Manager in the NSW Behavioural Insights Unit with a background in behavioural economics. She leads the team’s sludge program of work which is aimed at measuring and reducing administrative burden and improving access to services. She has led the design and development of the NSW Sludge Audit Method and its application across NSW services.
Selena Ledger – Selena Ledger is a Senior Data Analyst in the NSW Behavioural Insights Unit with a background in psychology. She has specific skills in evaluation design and has contributed to the development of the NSW Sludge Audit Method as a tool to help practitioners measure sludge.
James Bates – James Bates is the Chief Data Officer and Executive Director of Customer, Data & Insights at the NSW Department of Customer Service. The NSW Department of Customer Service was formed in 2019 with a mission to put customers and community at the centre of government decision making and service delivery. James’ team supports that mission by using data, insights and evidence to improve community outcomes through more effective policy development, program design and service delivery. James has been with the NSW public sector for 15 years, working in a variety of implementation and policy roles.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Eliane Deschrijver
2024-05-17 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Eliane Deschrijver (USYD)Unequal resource division occurs in the absence of group division and identity
Abstract
The seminal minimal group experiment has shown that discrimination can follow from intergroup relations and social identity. A large body of research evidenced that people discriminate against members of their out versus ingroup, even if groups and identities were assigned on the basis of one’s dot guessing style, aesthetic judgement or a chance outcome. But is group and social identity assignment required for unequal resource division to arise here? We show via Bayesian models in 6 pre-registered experiments (>900 subjects) that unequal resource division strategies persist against a single person that demonstrates a different versus the same quantity estimate, painting preference, or even coin flip (Experiments 1-3), with 43.1% more money awarded for sameness relative to difference conditions (Experiments 4-6). These findings open up the possibility that one key driver of discrimination may exist in a neural mechanism of interindividual comparison that treats difference more negatively than sameness. Theoretical implications, ongoing work, and future aspirations for understanding cognitive and brain systems of discrimination will be discussed.
Bio
Dr Eliane Deschrijver is a senior neuroscientist and a DECRA fellow at the University of Sydney. She works on the nexus of social neuroscience, experimental psychology, philosophy of mind and social psychology, and has an added interest in sociology. Over the past few years, her thinking has focussed on how the brain processes a difference between one’s own world view and that of another person, independent of what the disagreement is about. She has theoretically argued that such a difference may come with a conflict signal in the brain, which is negatively valenced and may lead to behavioral change. She is now investigating what this concept of “sheer difference” may mean for our understanding of discrimination. Breaking with the singular focus of social neuroscientists on the brain, she believes that the most thorny social-cognitive scientific issues deserve an exceedingly interdisciplinary future approach, in particular by enticing philosophers of mind and social psychologists into the debate.

Psychology Colloquium: Prof Carolyn MacCann
2024-05-10 15:00 - 16:00
Prof Carolyn MacCann (USYD)Emotional intelligence and emotion regulation
Abstract
The way we deal with emotions is important for our well-being, social relationships, and performance at work and school. This talk focuses on two key concepts that affect how we deal with emotions: emotional intelligence and emotion regulation. Emotional intelligence is a set of skills or capacities you have, usually defined as the ability to accurately perceive, understand, and regulate emotions. Emotion regulation is the process by which you influence the type and intensity of emotions that you or others feel and express. In this presentation, I will discuss evidence from meta-analyses and empirical studies linking emotional intelligence, emotion regulation, and life outcomes. This includes a large-scale meta-analysis on the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance (k = 1,246, N = 42,529) and emerging research on how people regulate others’ emotions (extrinsic emotion regulation). I will present a framework for the strategies people use to regulate others’ emotions, and consider cultural differences in these strategies and their effects.
Bio
Carolyn MacCann is a Professor in the School of Psychology at The University of Sydney. Her research addresses how emotion-related characteristics lead to work success, educational success, and greater mental health and well-being. Two major concepts in her research are emotional intelligence abilities and emotion regulation processes. She develops psychometric tests to assess these and other related concepts. She also focuses on the mechanisms and pathways by which emotional intelligence and emotion regulation lead to life success. Her research tends to be cross-disciplinary, cutting across psychology, education, and business.

Psychology Colloquium: Dr Erin Goddard
2024-05-03 15:00 - 16:00
Dr Erin Goddard (UNSW)Visual feature binding and colour constancy: similar processes?
Abstract
Different regions in visual cortex show specialisation for encoding different visual features, giving rise the question of how these features are ‘bound together’ to create a unitary percept of each object. I will show recent work based on classification of magnetoencephalography (MEG) data where we found that information about separate colour and shape information preceded information about their conjunction in occipital cortex. This may reflect feedback to occipital regions being required for feature binding, which would be consistent with a role for attention, as suggested by behavioural work (e.g. visual search). While this ‘binding problem’ has been investigated for at least 30 years, more recently I investigated whether a process similar to feature binding might be involved in the separation of surface and illuminant properties in colour constancy. I will present behavioural work where we tested this idea, and found that, like feature binding, the perceptual separation of surface and illuminant properties appears to rely on a slower, limited capacity process.
Bio
Erin Goddard is currently a Scientia Lecturer at UNSW, Sydney. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney, including honours in physiology (rather than psychology, which meant that for years afterwards Sally Andrews greeted her as ‘the girl who made the wrong decision!’), then a PhD in the School of Psychology, completed in 2011. After postdocs in Sydney and at McGill University, Canada, she moved to UNSW in 2020. Her research focusses on visual perception, with a focus on colour vision. She uses a combination of behavioural and neuroimaging (fMRI, MEG, EEG) methods in her research.

Psychology Colloquium: A/Prof Vincent Laurent
2024-04-26 15:00 - 16:00
A/Prof Vincent Laurent (UNSW)Cholinergic regulation of fear by the basal forebrain
Abstract
The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the infralimbic (IL) region of the medial prefrontal cortex are heavily implicated in fear regulation. These two regions receive dense cholinergic projections from the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) and/or the horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca (HDB), which are both located in the basal forebrain. The present experiments examined whether these projections regulate the formation and extinction of fear memories, as well as the capacity of these memories to renew when context cues are manipulated. This was achieved by employing a Pavlovian fear protocol and optogenetics in transgenic rats. Silencing NBM-to-BLA cholinergic projections during fear conditioning weakened the fear memory produced by this conditioning and eliminated its renewal after extinction. A similar outcome was obtained when silencing HDB-to-BLA or HDB-to-IL cholinergic projections during extinction. These findings indicate that basal forebrain cholinergic signalling in the BLA and IL plays a critical role in fear regulation by promoting strength and durability of fear memories. This leads to the proposal that the function of basal forebrain cholinergic signalling is to protect fear memories from erasure when they are extinguished.
Bio
Vincent Laurent is an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales. His general field of research is behavioural neuroscience, and he is interested in understanding how we learn about environmental stimuli that predict aversive or appetitive events, how the predictive relationships between these stimuli and events are updated when circumstances change, and how they are used to inform our choices and decisions. His work combines behavioural tasks in rodents and modern neuroscience tools to manipulate specific brain regions and neuronal populations.
