Discipline: Psychology

Internalised sexual prejudice is typically conceptualised as a single construct (i.e., "I don't like being gay/bi"). However, the evidence suggests that the story is substantially more complex than this - for instance, consider the gay man who likes being gay themselves but is embarrassed by the gay community, or a wishes other gay men were less flamboyant while being flamboyant themselves. This exploratory research will involve conducting interviews with people to identify facets of internalised sexual prejudice (and their origins - e.g., disentangling religion-based from gender ideology from culture, etc).

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Joel Anderson; joel.anderson@acu.edu.au

Heterosexual women experience fewer orgasms than both their male partners and their sexual minority women counterparts. A likely contributor to this is the role that their male partners play. Supporting this proposition is the findings from a recent report from the Kinsey Institute stating that men overestimate their partners frequency of orgasm, and the methods which facilitate achieving orgasm. We are interested in exploring factors the role of masculinity threat (the extent to which men reassert their masculinity when their manhood is threatened) in their orgasm rates of their partners. For example, does receiving feedback during sex induce a masculinity threat? Do marital aids induce a similar threat effect? This work will be experimental using a 'hypothetical partner' paradigm (e.g., 'imagine your partner did XXX during sex').

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Joel Anderson; joel.anderson@acu.edu.au

Globally, three major current concerns in the youth mental health field include the rapid rise in reported rates of mental health disorders in youth over recent years, problems in gaining access to care when its needed, and ensuring that interventions are effective. In terms of the increased rates of mental health disorders, a popular explanation is that social media has had a detrimental impact, especially on the wellbeing of young teenage girls. However, significant uncertainty remains about the causes of this worldwide trend. This project will explore how young people and professionals explain this dramatic rise in mental healthcare problems.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: John Gleeson; john.gleeson@acu.edu.au

The project will explore the relationship between experiences and internalisation of stigma, and the extent to which people identify with "non diet" and/or "fat communities". The student involved in this project will conduct a systematic literature review of the evidence of IWS changes as a function of non-weight management psychological interventions. For the empirical report, you will contribute to data collection for a project including a number of variables that would allow you to choose a research question. Here are some examples projects could focus on:

1. effect of following influencers of higher body weight on belongingness and, as a result, on experiences and internalisation of stigma.
2. validating a measure of identity salience for individuals identifying as "overweight" or "fat". This measure was developed by Jordan Hinton and validated in an LGBTQ+ sample. We would now want to validate it in people of higher weight.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia; xochitl.delapiedadgarcia@acu.edu.au

I am interested in investigating whether internalised weight stigma decreases as a function of weight loss and whether this decrease is accompanied by a similar change in anti-fat attitudes (as we suspect this might not be the case). The student involved in this project will conduct a systematic literature review on the evidence of IWS changes as a result of weight loss/management interventions. We will then collect data from clients of a bariatric clinic, comparing IWS between participants who are yet to begin treatment and participants who have lost at least 5% of their body weight.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia; xochitl.delapiedadgarcia@acu.edu.au

Moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (m-sTBI) leads to poor outcomes due to chronic deficits in cognitive, motor, and psychosocial functions. These long-term functional outcomes are often difficult to treat and predict, in which patients face a lifetime of deficits impacting their quality of life.

Motor and cognitive deficits are the most prominent long term symptoms following m-sTBI (Rabinowitz & Levin, 2014). These deficits are believed to be the underlying causes of the psychological (e.g., depression and anxiety) and social (e.g., poor socialisation skills and atypical behaviour) impairments and therefore are important to target to help further understand and potentially improve patient outcomes (Fleminger & Ponsford, 2005).

Despite the heterogeneity of deficits faced, the literature mainly focuses on cognitive deficits following m-sTBI (for a review, see Goh et al., 2021; Mollayeva et al., 2019). This proposed honours project will examine the impact of motor and psychosocial deficits on long-term outcomes in patients with m-sTBI.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Adam Clemente; adam.clemente@acu.edu.au

Qualitative analysis of interviews with drinkers after they take a night off drinking or drink to a desired level. What were the challenges? What were the benefits?

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Chris Cheers; chris.cheers@acu.edu.au

Qualitative analysis of interviews with individuals about the idea of "sober curious" and the attitudes toward moderate drinking.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Chris Cheers; chris.cheers@acu.edu.au

Examination of the predictive effect of age, sexuality, gender, socio-economic circumstance and location on negative attitudes toward non-drinkers (this project involves analysis of pre-existing data).

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Chris Cheers; chris.cheers@acu.edu.au

In another project I will be seeking to understand the extent that people's access to the social determinants of health-the conditions into which people are born, grow, work, live, and age-affect their basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration and therefore their ability to thrive. The aim will be to speak to ways in which groups, communities, and societies can support people to live happier, fuller lives.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Emma Bradshaw; emma.bradshaw@acu.edu.au

This study will examine the psychological factors contributing to turnover in the helping professions, applying the Job Demands-Resources model and Self-Determination Theory to understand staff well-being and attrition. The aim is to assess how autonomy, respect, and work-related well-being affect intentions to stay, aiming to develop interventions that enhance job satisfaction and retention across the sector. This project will involve both a cross-sectional study and a meta-analysis.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Emma Bradshaw; emma.bradshaw@acu.edu.au

There is a small, but growing, proportion of the population who have adopted non-monogamy as their dating or sex orientation and/or live in a non-monogamous relationship configuration. Little is known about the effects that this transition to non-monogamy has on the health and wellbeing of the individual, and the process by which the wellbeing is impacted. This quantitative project will be based in the social identity model of identity change and will explore the loss of social relationships (non-romantic/sexual) that an individual had before becoming non-monogamous in parallel to the inevitable gain of new social relationships following becoming non-monogamous and explore how these parallel mediating factor compete to explain identity and wellbeing factors.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Joel Anderson; joel.anderson@acu.edu.au

Overview: Investigates the development of STEM interest among children and its influence on choosing STEM majors.

Objectives: Examine the development of interest and self-beliefs in STEM during childhood and adolescence and explore the psychosocial factors influencing STEM field choices, with a focus on gender disparities.

To address the issue, this proposed study will utilize data collected by the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which gathered nationally representative data from two cohorts (N = 10,000) every two years and has more than 20 years of follow-up data from ages 0-1 years.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Jiesi Guo; jiesi.guo@acu.edu.au

Orgasm inequality for women is a growing area of scientific interest. This project will approach understanding the orgasm gap from the lesser studied angle of orgasm faking. Based in goal-pursuit theory, we will explore whether shame (in not achieving orgasm) and expectation (the desire to work towards achieving orgasm) exacerbate or attenuate a self-fulfilling prophecy-cycle of orgasm faking, and which factors moderate this cycle (including sexual experience, internalised sexual prejudice, etc).

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Joel Anderson; joel.anderson@acu.edu.au

The orgasm gap is typically explored in a quantitative way comparing heterosexual and lesbian women's experiences of achieving (or not) orgasm. Bisexual women are a group who can offer unique insights into the potential mechanisms within orgasm science (insights from their experiences with both male and female partners). This project will involve conducting interviews of focus groups with bisexual women to explore the similarities and differences in orgasm-factors (satisfaction, frequency of achievement, faking frequency) that bisexual women experience as a function of the gender of their partner/s.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Joel Anderson; joel.anderson@acu.edu.au

Internalised sexual prejudice (ISP) is typically measured using self-report survey measures. These are limited by a range of biases, including the participant's impression management (not wanting to look prejudiced) and self-enhanced deception (not realising that they actually are prejudiced towards the self). This project proposes the establishment of an implicit measure (a computerised association task) to see if ISP can be measured at the non-conscious level, thus circumventing these self-report biases. The analysis will involve exploring the correlations of the implicit and self-report measures of ISP, measures of impression management, and a range of other relevant constructs, including mental health, sexual satisfaction, body image concerns, etc.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Joel Anderson; joel.anderson@acu.edu.au

Globally, three major current concerns in the youth mental health field include the rapid rise in reported rates of mental health disorders in youth over recent years, problems in gaining access to care when its needed, and ensuring that interventions are effective. In terms of better access to treatment, digital mental health applications have emerged as one potential part of the solution. However, many questions remain about the most effective way to utilise these tools so that meaningful change occurs in the daily lives of young people. This project will utilize an existing data set from MOST (a novel system developed with my colleagues from Orygen) to investigate key processes in the MOST system. Specifically, these projects will draw upon the construct of therapeutic alliance to measure its link with outcomes for clients who are using MOST. Findings will have important implications for tailoring digital therapy to individual users to effect meaningful change and such findings could contribute to improving digital mental health interventions.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: John Gleeson; john.gleeson@acu.edu.au

Literature pertaining to the relationship between religious beliefs and attitudes towards the LGBTQA+ community is relatively recent, and currently expanding. Recent research suggests that there are different ways that people can think about God (e.g., a benevolent, loving figure or a punitive, authoritarian figure), and that these differing cognitive representations have alternate outcomes. Specifically, those who believe that God is benevolent are more likely to act in a more prosocial manner, whereas those who believe that God is authoritarian are more likely to be less prosocial. These cognitive representations have previously been used to research attitudes towards several minority groups (e.g., religious and ethnic outgroups), with the finding that 'positive' representations are associated with lower prejudice compared to 'negative' representations. To date, no studies have researched the impact of multiple cognitive representations of God on attitudes towards the LGBTQA+ community. This project aims to bridge this gap, by evaluating the predictive powers of individuals' ideas of God on attitudes towards the LGBTQA+ community. This study will be an online survey design and will use quantitative statistical analyses.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Tayla Kapelles; tayla.kapelles@acu.edu.au

This project will explore individual differences (e.g., personality, attachment, attitudes to relationships) of people in previous, current, or desired non-traditional intimate relationships. There are substantial literatures on heterosexual couples and growing literatures on sexual minority relationships (e.g., gay or lesbian couple) and minority relationships (e.g., consensually non-monogamy; Gupta et al., 2023) including research comparing these relationships (e.g., Cox et al., 2021; Shaw, 2018). However, less is known about the characteristics of individuals choosing non-traditional relationships (e.g., personality, attachment, motivation; Lecuona et al., 2021; Wood et al., 2021). This project will involve a systematic review individual differences identified in the literature associated that have been found to be associated with non-traditional relationships. In addition, a large sample survey of people in intimate non-traditional relationships will be undertaken to assess if the findings of the review can be replicated.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Leah Kaufmann; leah.kaufmann@acu.edu.au

Research has indicated an association between ADHD symptoms in adults and depression and disordered eating. Furthermore, it appears that depression may be an important mediator in the relationship between ADHD symptoms and disordered eating. The aim of this project is to explore the relationship between ADHD symptoms and adults' eating behaviours, considering a wide range of both adaptive and problematic eating behaviours, as well as preferences for 'core' and 'non-core' foods.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Kimberley Mallan; kimberley.mallan@acu.edu.au

Children's diet and health outcomes are influenced by a range of factors, including family factors such as feeding practices used. In this project I would like to continue on from previous work and investigate: what influence anti-fat attitudes, parents' own eating behaviours and social media use may have on feeding practices used, and how these factors can potentially also influence children's food preferences, eating behaviours or dietary intake. There is scope to tailor your research question to your personal interests and for more than one student to participate in this project.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Kimberley Mallan; kimberley.mallan@acu.edu.au

Road traffic accidents account for 30% of all child injury deaths in Australia (Australian Institute for Health and Welfare, 2022). Hazard perception (the ability to perceive and anticipate roadway hazards; Horswill, 2015) is a critical road safety skill, however, children are yet to effectively develop safe hazard perception due to age and lack of experience. One way of understanding child hazard perception is by examining their visual perception behaviours such as eye and head movements. Previous research has typically used computer-screen hazard perception tasks, however, these methods lack ecological validity. This project aims to use 360-video in a virtual reality head-mounted display to assess the visual perception behaviours of child pedestrians. By better understanding the decision making of children when they are crossing the road it is hoped the findings from this project will lead to the development of training programs to help keep kids safer. This project therefore aims to answer two research questions: (1) Establish the validity of an immersive 360-degree video virtual reality task for pedestrians and (2) Understand the behaviours of children including eye-movements, head movements, and decision making when making road crossing decisions

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Thomas McGuckian; thomas.mcguckian@acu.edu.au

Is cannabis dependence associated with alterations in the cerebral cortex, and do these abnormalities worsen with heavier use and the occurrence of mental health problems? This question is yet to be answered as the literature to date provides inconsistent results. This project relies on advanced MRI tools to capture measures of cortical integrity (eg thickness, gyrification) in people with cannabis dependence. This project will also explore the relationship of cortical measures with chronicity of cannabis use (i.e., how much and how often) as well as symptoms of mental health problems (e.g. stress, anxiety, depression and psychosis).

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Eugene McTavish; eugene.mctavish@acu.edu.au

Research suggests an increase in child anxiety disorders in Australia, post COVID, however access to psychological support and treatment is limited. Literature suggests that parental accommodations relating to childhood anxiety works to maintain and increase anxiety, rather than desired effect of reassuring and reducing anxiety in children. Emerging research suggests that targeting parents in the treatment of childhood anxiety is proving at least as effective as child focused treatment. The aim of this study is to explore the range of accommodations used by parents and families, and the relationship between parental distress levels, child anxiety symptoms, and use of accommodations, in parents of primary school aged children, in Australia.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Annette Mutimer; annette.mutimer@acu.edu.au

There is a growing and unmet demand for registered psychologists across sectors, including education, prison, private, public, and NGO. The growth of the 5+1 pathway to registration has coincided with this increased demand. Anecdotally, provisionally registered psychologists who are completing their 6th year internship year (the +1 component of the 5+1 pathway) are increasingly being called upon to fill this gap. Anecdotal feedback from interns and MPP course coordinators/convenors across Australia suggests that the 6th year internship sector offers disparate experiences for MPP graduates, with some reporting positive as well as negative experiences. Providing positive and well supported 6th year internships is crucial to ensuring that graduates develop the required competencies and remain in the profession. Yet we have no data on MPP graduates' internship experiences or intention to remain in the sector once the internship is completed. This is the first study to document provisional psychologists' experiences of their 6th year internships and their intention to remain in the sector.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Elizabeth Pizarro; elizabeth.pizarro@acu.edu.au

This research project aims to investigate the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and Machiavellianism, a personality trait characterized by manipulation, coldness, and exploitation of others. Previous studies have often measured Machiavellianism as a single construct, neglecting its bidimensional nature which includes Machiavellian views (cynicism and untrusting world outlook) and Machiavellian tactics (manipulation of others). However, recent research suggests that understanding Machiavellianism as a bifactor model could provide a more nuanced understanding of its association with antisocial behaviors like IPV perpetration. Thus, this project seeks to explore whether there are differences in the relationship between different forms of IPV perpetration (i.e., physical, psychological, cyber) and Machiavellian views versus tactics.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: A/Prof. Megan Willis, Megan.Willis@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

In recent years, online dating has surged in popularity, emerging as the most common way for individuals to find romantic partners. However, this shift in dating culture has brought to light harmful dating behaviours such as ghosting and breadcrumbing that are commonly reported by online dating users. Ghosting refers to the abrupt cessation of communication by one party without explanation or warning, leaving the other person feeling abandoned and confused. Breadcrumbing, on the other hand, involves intermittently sending flirtatious or suggestive messages to keep someone interested without any intention of pursuing a genuine relationship. This research project aims to investigate the prevalence of experiencing and perpetrating these behaviours within the realm of online dating and the associated impacts on affected individuals.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: A/Prof. Megan Willis, Megan.Willis@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

Anthropogenic climate change is caused mostly by greenhouse gases (GHG). Meat production is one of the major emitters of GHG. As such one major contribution that individuals can do to mitigate climate change is through dietary change, specifically reduction in meat consumption. Meat attachment has emerged as one the strongest predictors of intention to reduce meat consumption. Understanding how meat attachment can be weakened and, consequently, reduce meat consumption is important and one of the main aims of this project. By working on this project, you will become familiar with literature on the psychology of climate change mitigation behaviour and conduct experimental work using methods to investigate it.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Luisa Batalha, Luisa.Batalha@acu.edu

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

The consequences of climate change in terms of destruction and disruption to the natural environment and people's lives can have a serious impact on mental health. As a new phenomenon, this new type of anxiety has been given different but related labels, such as eco-anxiety or climate anxiety. The phenomenon refers to a worry, or fear related to the ecological crisis. Research suggests that eco-anxiety can be an instigator for climate action, whereas other studies show that eco-anxiety can lead to climate paralysis. This project aims to investigate when eco-anxiety is related to action vs apathy. By working on this project, you will become familiar with literature on eco-anxiety, the psychology of climate change mitigation behaviour and conduct experimental work using methods to investigate it.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Luisa Batalha, Luisa.Batalha@acu.edu

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

Misophonia is a mental health disorder whereby people experience strong emotional or physical responses to certain noises or stimuli. They may experience things like intense anger, irritation, and severe anxiety in response to hearing specific sounds, such as chewing, breathing, and tapping. People with Misophonia have also been found to experience intrusive thoughts and images that relate specifically to the sounds that bother them. Appraisals of intrusive thoughts and images in other disorders have been found to impact people's responses to them. This project is looking at the relationship between people's experiences of Misophonia related intrusive thoughts and images and their appraisals of them.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Natalie Windsor, Natalie.Windsor@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

Misophonia is a mental health disorder whereby people experience strong emotional or physical responses to certain noises or stimuli. They may experience things like intense anger, irritation, and severe anxiety in response to hearing specific sounds, such as chewing, breathing, and tapping. People with Misophonia have also been found to experience intrusive thoughts and images that relate specifically to the sounds that bother them. Intolerance of Uncertainty has been seen to impact levels of symptoms within anxiety related disorders. This project is looking at the relationship between people's experiences of Misophonia related intrusive thoughts and images, their levels of intolerance of uncertainty and their responses to their intrusive thoughts and images (e.g., levels of distress, impact on daily life).

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Natalie Windsor, Natalie.Windsor@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

The overarching goal of Dr Challlinor's projects is to bring joy to seniors living in aged care. You will evaluate the effectiveness of a digital tool at improving the wellbeing of staff, residents, and loved ones in of those in aged care. In particular, increasing the meaningfulness of connection with older Australians. In this project you will get exposure to the intricacies of working with vulnerable populations, in particular and people with dementia diagnoses. This project will be a lot of fun and you will be part of a bigger team including aged care facilities and a social enterprise start-up company.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Dr Kirsten Challinor, Kirsten.Challlinor@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

This longitudinal research project aims to investigate the relationship between hoarding and bereavement over time. The study will assess individuals who have experienced significant loss, measuring their levels of grief, depression, hoarding behaviours, and loneliness at two time points, one year apart. By conducting surveys at these intervals, the project seeks to understand how grief impacts on accumulation, difficulties in discarding, and clutter over time. Findings will inform therapeutic interventions to support bereaved individuals struggling with hoarding, aiming to enhance mental health outcomes and improve their quality of life.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: A/Prof Keong Yap, Keong.Yap@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

This project explores the factors influencing athlete burnout among adults involved in competitive sport. The study examines the role of self-compassion, emotion regulation, sports anxiety, depression, anxiety, and stress in predicting burnout among athletes. The aim is to provide insights into factors associated with increased risk of burnout. This information may be used in the future to develop of athlete specific mental health interventions. The student researcher will learn about research design, participant recruitment, data collection, and statistical analysis, gaining insights into the relationships between psychological wellbeing variables and athlete burnout, enhancing their understanding of mental health in sports.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Ben Weir, Benjamin.Weir@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

Pregnancy-related anxiety (PrA) is increasingly recognised as a distinct form of anxiety experienced in the antenatal period. Pregnancy-specific fears and worries that focus on areas such as one's own health, baby's well-being, childbirth, and appearance-related concerns, are key features of this anxiety. PrA is a strong predictor of adverse maternal and child outcomes (e.g., postnatal depression, low infant birth weight, and shorter gestation). The development of psychometrically sound measures to screen for this form of anxiety in both women and men (i.e., Pregnancy-related Anxiety Scale [PrAS], and Paternal Pregnancy Anxiety Scale [PPrAS], developed by R. Dryer and colleagues) have allowed researchers to examine the factors that increase and alleviate risks for this anxiety. Honours students have the opportunity to join research projects on perinatal mental health (for both women and men) that Rachel Dryer is currently conducting.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: A/Prof. Rachel Dryer, Rachel.Dryer@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

Road trauma has been increasing in recent years in Australia, with a 6.3% increase in road fatalities in 2023. It is more important now than ever to understand the driver behaviours that contribute to these crashes. Hazard perception (the ability to perceive and anticipate roadway hazards; Horswill, 2015) is a critical road safety skill, with evidence suggesting that this skill develops with age, cognitive development, and experience. Tests of hazard perception are an important component of driver licencing in many Australian states, however these tests are limited in their representativeness of real-world driving. Furthermore, these tests often conflate hazard perception and gap acceptance which are two separate behaviours. This project aims to use cutting-edge virtual reality technology to differentiate these two behaviours in an immersive 360-degree roadway environment. Understanding the potential predictors of these behaviours, such as physical and cognitive skills, is important for the development of potential training programs to help keep all drivers safe.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Dr. Joanne Bennett, Joanne.Bennett@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield

Australia has a rapidly ageing population. In 2022 only 16% of the population was over the age of 65 years, this will grow to more than 22% by 2026. The ability for older adults to remain mobile significantly impacts of their overall wellbeing. Unlike previous generations, the baby boomers are more likely to want to travel independently by retaining their driver licence. Given research has consistently demonstrated that ageing has a detrimental effect on driving safety, preparing older adults for stopping driving is necessary. To date there has been little research into the perspectives of older adults as to how they prepare for driving cessation, and what their needs will likely be when they stop driving. This project therefore aims to understand the perspective of older Australians on transport as they age, and how we can best support their changing mobility needs. Students will be trained in conduct questionnaires and focus groups and will learn both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Project supervisor(s) and contact email address: Dr. Joanne Bennett, Joanne.Bennett@acu.edu.au

Campus where project is available: Strathfield