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Postgraduate research topics
Postgraduate students at the Department of Psychology have many research areas to choose from.
Current Doctoral research topics
Top
| Research topics | PhD student | Supervisor/s details |
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Social Group Dynamics in Infancy
Understanding the factors that contribute and/or influence social interaction which shape infants' development.
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Anantharaman,Sweta
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Process evaluation of the SAFE adolescent programmes for Maori and Pacific youth who are sexually abusive
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Ape-Esera,Luisa Shontel Erani
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Speech errors and speech therapy for children with severe to profound hearing loss
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Asad,Areej Nimer Sadiq
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Parents Discriminatory Attitude Towards Women and its Relationship with the Self-esteem of their Children.
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Ashraf,Momina
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The Effects of Post-Reinforcer Events on Preference Pulses: Implications for the Law of Effect
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Banicevich,Michelle Elaine
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Stepmother Experience of Relationship with Stepchildren
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Bartle,Adrienne Patricia
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Successful Completers of Sex Offender Treatment.
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Bartle,Hamish McKenzie
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An analysis and evaluation of key elements for enhancing the effectiveness of health promoting messages in fictional television series.
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Bavin,Lynda-Maree Margaret
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Behavioural Psychology
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Bensemann,Joshua Ljubo
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Lights, camera, action research: A university-school collaboration exploring the potential of photography and film production for environmental sustainability
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Blythe,Charlotte Sarah
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Using Markov probability chains to evaluate the relationship between behaviors.
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Brand,Denys
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Life-long Learners: Enhancement of International Key Competencies and Student Engagement in School
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Brudevold Iversen,Tessa
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A longitudinal investigation into early brain changes and cognitive functioning in people with early Huntington's Disease
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Bruneau-Herman,Priscilla Sasha
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Comparing Actographic measures of eleven-year old childrens' physical activity and sleep quality with neuropsychological test scores and behavioural questionnaires.
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Budd,Christopher Simon
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Interviewing suspects: An in-depth analysis of interviewing skills within the New Zealand Police Force
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Cain,Amanda Gillian Jennifer
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Refugee Youth Experience of Mental Health Services within New Zealand.
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Choummanivong,Chaykham
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A Fatigue Management Group Intervention in Stroke Patients.
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Clarke,Annabel Elizabeth
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A best practice package: Early intervention for whanau violence.
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Cooper,Erana Louise
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What do reinforcers do to behaviour?
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Cowie,Sarah Jane
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Postnatal depression and relapse
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Cowie,Susan Joyce
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Experiences of Maori Parents and Maori Stepparents in Stepfamilies
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Curtis-Clark,Angela Moana
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Evaluation of Te Whetu Tawera's Reduction of Violence Programme.
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de Wattignar,Sarah Elizabeth
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Factors that influence individual differences in youth development program outcomes
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Deane,Kelsey Lauren
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Investigating outcomes of Manukau police 'Cops in schools' Programme
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Dowling,Christopher James
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Mental Wellbeing of New Zealand-raised Pacific People
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Fa'alogo Lilo,Christina Uapo
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A randomised control trial of two treatment modalities for Performnace Anxiety and their impact on participants
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Farnsworth-Grodd,Virginia Anne
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Creating 'Kids Rich in Character': Effectiveness of a game play approach in primary schools
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Farrant,Daniel Edward
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Altruistic offending
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Feigin,Svetlana
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Mild traumatic brain injury in New Zealand: a population-based incidence and outcomes study
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Feng,Vivien Baoyan
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Children's End of Life Care
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Gaab,Erin Mary
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Genetic Influences on Handedness and Cerebral Asymmetries in Identical and Non-identical Twins.
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Haberling,Isabelle Silvia
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The Cognitive Neuroscience of Synaesthesia
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Hearne,Lindsay Joy
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Violence Attitudes: Attitudes towards punishment
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Howells,Elizabeth Joan
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Experiences of the New Zealand Justice System for Children Witnesses in Child Sexual Abuse Trials.
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Hunt,Kessiah Frances
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Disturbing Dreams of Dying People
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Iordache,Sandu Mircea
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Plasticity of Functional Lateralisation and Interhemispheric Communication: Implications for Surgical Candidates
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Iwabuchi,Sarina Jennifer
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CHF: Enhancing Patient Understanding to Improve Adherence.
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Jago,Lana Anne
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Processing of Pitch Variations in Music and Language: from the perspective of congenital amusia
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Jiang,Cunmei
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Refugee Childrens Adjustment into New Zealand Community
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Judson,Caroline Dorothy
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Psychosis
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Kampen,Jamie Michelle
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Developing a multidimensional model and measure of ethnic identity measure that can reliably predict behavioural outcomes.
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Kim,Beatrice Theodora
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Knowledge Attribution and Theory of Mind in the New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides)
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Knaebe,Brenna Elyse
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Alzheimer's Disease and EEG Correlates of Memory Change
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Koulikova,Alevtina
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Long-term potentiation of human visual-evoked potentials
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Kung,Eva
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The influence of commonly occurring polymorphisms on synaptic plasticity and memory processes
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Lamb,Yvette Nicole
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He pepi he taonga: Maori perspectives on fertility, reproduction and pregnancy
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Le Grice,Jade Sophia
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Vocal disorders in teachers: Prevalence, risk factors and vocal loading
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Leao,Sylvia Helena Souza
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Speech and language therapy: Speech development of Mandarin-English bilingual children in New Zealand
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Lee,Tai-Ying
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Adolescent females with conduct disorder: Experiences of pregnancy
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Lim,Stacey Pei Gee
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The role of alpha oscillations in visual processing: Evidence from signal detection and visuospatial attention experiments using EEG.
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Limbach,Katharina
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Perceptual processing in autistic spectrum disorder
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Lodhia,Veema
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Social networks in schools: Investigating social influence in physical activity, healthy eating and sustainable transport.
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Long,Jennifer Anne
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Making Incredible Years Parenting Program Accessible to Pasifika
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Maiava,Margaret Max
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Evaluation of an Intervention with Step Couples.
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Mansell,Penelope Jane
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The Role of the Anterior Hippocampus in Successful Encoding of Imagined Future Events
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Martin,Victoria Chantal
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Evaluation of the Genesis Project in South Auckland for adolescent offenders
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Mati,Elizabeth Siasaga
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Psychosis: Changes in self experience prior to first psychotic episode
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Maxwell,Angus Anderson
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The relationship between childhood truama and abuse and later psychological problems in childhood and adolescence
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Mayne,Rachael Meryl
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Study model predicting various forms of mental illness
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McCombe,Daniel Joseph
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Resilience in clinical psychologists and clinical psychology students.
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McCormick,Katherine Annabel Ace
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An investigation of the relationship between language function and quality of life in aphasia
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McLellan,Karen Marie
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The Effectiveness of Relationship Self-Regulation.
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McNeil,Sarah Jane
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The evolution of complex cognition: specialists or generalists
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Medina Rodriguez,Felipe Salvador
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Meaning of Self-Harm in Adolescent Girls.
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Mendiola,Casey Alexandra
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The reinforcement effect: A timing or signaling process?
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Miranda Dukoski,Ludmila
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A Qualitative Investigation into Stepchildren's Experiences of Stepparent Authority
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Mitchell,Jessica Mary
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Effect of relationship on social learning in the parrot
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Mottley,Kieron
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Investigating Gender Differences in Schizophrenia
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O'Callaghan,Jennifer Marie
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Gender Differences in Schizophrenia: A New Zealand Study
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Ogden,Elizabeth Louise
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Body Image of Women 50-60 Years of Age
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Ong,Michelle Wang Hung Hung Gedang
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Language laterality and creativity in schizotypy.
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Park,Haeme Riva Paige
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Interhemispheric Transfer Times in Schizophrenics Compared to Matched Control Subjects.
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Parr,Georgina
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Teleportation in Virtual Environments - Spatial Navigation's Final Frontier
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Patten,Bradley Jay
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Determining Human Odour Thresholds: Effects of Process and Personal Factors on Threshold Estimations
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Peng,Mei
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• Re-defining social worldview beliefs as schemas: Debelopment and validation of a new measure for one component of the Duel Process Model.
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Perry,Ryan Martin
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Applied Behaviour Analysis Specific focus on the comparison of current methods and calibration for assessing quality of direct observation data
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Phillips,Katrina Jane
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Engaging Maori children and whanau in culturally responsive Mental Health Services
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Pomare,Pikihuia Patricia
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Autobiographical memory and sense of personal identity in Alzheimer's Disease
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Prebble,Sally Catherine
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Intra-familial relationships of the sibling(s) of a child who has survived childhood-cancer
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Riddick,Eleanor June
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The Effect of Visual Attention on Repetition Blindness.
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Roberts,Reece Pierre
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Anxiety and Depression in Cancer Patients' Post Treatment
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Rogers,Loshni
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Modern Mnemonics: Examining the Mechanisms Behind the Effects of Lateral Saccadic Eye Movements on Memory
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Ryckman,Nathan Allen
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Speech and Language Characteristics in Cochlear Implanted Children Compared with Children with Normal Hearing
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Salmani,Masoomeh
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Exploring relationships between attachment style, gender and mental health in a community mental health center
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Sampson,Maria Elisabet
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The utility of time and motion study methods to determining representative observation samples in behaviour analysis.
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Sharp,Rebecca Anne
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Visual Orienting.
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Shin,Myoung Ju
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Developmental and Psycho-Social Functioning after Heart Surgery in Infants.
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Stewart,Kate Ellen
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Sensory Analysis of Taste
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Stocks,Miriam Alison
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The effects of cognitive behavioural treatment on symptoms of tinnitus.
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Strachan,Marie Anne
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Exploring the potential benefits of work engagement and of its crossover effects for training
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Sungkur,Jageshwar
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Process Evaluation of the Maori Youth Programme at SAFE.
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Tamihere,Christina Ross Wikitoria
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Relationship between parents' cooperative behaviour with children's cooperative behaviours in different ethnic groups.
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Tavazo,Hedieh
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Testing contentment as a positive emotion to improve self-regulation capacity during health behaviours
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Taylor,Tamasin Ariana
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Young peoples experiences of psychotherapy: a narrative approach
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Thomas,Kelly Linnell
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The effect of the BDNF val66met polymorphism on different memory systems
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Thompson,Christopher Scott
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Facilitation of clinical decision making for temporal lobe epilepsy utilising functional magnetic resonance imaging
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Thorpe,Callum Macdonald
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Stage Challenge: What are the ingredients of a "natural high"?
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Trayes,Jan Kristin
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A Qualitative Study of Maori Womens' Experiences in Mental Health Services (Maori Understandings, Identity, and Help Seeking Behaviours).
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Tricklebank,Gemma Patricia
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Episodic simulation of future experiences: evolutionary and neural perspectives
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Van Mulukom,Valerie
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Qualitative interview on the approaches and experiences of young people who have undertaken psychological interventions at the Kari Centre.
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Wang,Ting-Ya
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Therapy for Maori Mental Health Service users.
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Wharewera,Julie Maria
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Well - being and therapy uptake for children who have been abused
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Wolstenholme,Sarah Anne
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Sensorimotor Integration Facilitated by Musical Training.
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Wu,Che-Rong Carolyn
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A Grounded Theory study of the experiences of marital separation of first-generation Chinese immigrants living in New Zealand
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Zhao,Yunfei
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Current Masters topics
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| Research topics | Masters student | Supervisor/s details |
|---|---|---|
| Asian Identity in New Zealand: A longitudinal study | Au,Link | Chris Sibley |
| Supervisors effects on new staff | Shevaun Lomas | Helena Cooper-Thomas |
| The effect of biofeedback training on risky decision-making in the lowa Gambling Task | Bull,Peter Nicholas | Donna Rose Addis &Lynette Tippett |
| Leadership skill development in adults with intellectual disability. | Chu,Jimmy Chih-Chun | Oliver Mudford |
| Human longterm potentiation and mild cognitive impairment | Collins,Hannah | Ian Kirk |
| A Neural Exploration of the Role of SES in Economic Decision Making: Using electroencephalography (EEG) data, the decsion making process of groups differing in socio-econimic status (SES) will be examined in relation to support for economic policies and economic decision making in general. | Melissa Pauling-Kotch |
Ian Kirk |
| Perception and visual impairment. | Creighton,Aaron Shand | Barry Hughes |
| Laterality of visuospatial processing in expert musicians. This study will comprise functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion sensor imaging of expert musicians. | Ewens,Laura Anne | Lynette Tippett |
| Examining the relationship between the N2pc and the Ptc of the evoked potential | Henare,Dion Terry | Paul Corballis |
| The effects of high probability request sequence in class wide administration. | Hui,Yiu Wing (Edwin)` | Angela Arnold Saritepe |
| University students' engagement with learning; relationships between tertiary student' conceptions and beleifs of learning assessment and their actual study behaviours. | Jun,Chae Ok | Elizabeth Peterson (Primary) Gavin Brown (Co-Supv) |
| Employee Engagement in a brand new Council | Surpiya Siddiqui |
Helena Cooper-Thomas |
| Investigation of granger causality in fMRI data analysis | Benjamin Smith |
Ian Kirk |
| Individual difference in noise annoyance | Lee,Sin Ying |
Michael Hautus (Primary) Daniel Shepherd (Co-Supv) |
| A comparison of point allocation contingencies in the Good Behaviour Game using explicit "Don't" rules: Rule violation versus Differential Reinforcement of Other behaviour (DRO). | Lodge-Osborn,Janine Joy | Annette Henderson (Primary) Joanne Walker (Co-Supv) |
| Exploring dorsal attention stream hypothesis | Jaimie Wilkie |
Tony lambert |
| Early Development in Collaboration and Competition | Low,Rachel Shu Tyng | Annette Henderson |
| Positive Parenting Programme: Working with Maori families and organisations in providing positive parenting skills enhancing the triple P programme and the benefits in stopping child abuse. | Luisi,Amelia Harata | Erana Cooper |
| A comparison of retronasal and orthonasal thresholds | McClelland,Amber Denise | Michael Hautus |
| Assessing the validity of descriptive functional behaviour assessment procedures by means of a comparison to experimental functional analysis | Paul Burton |
Angela Saritepe |
| Everyday Prejudice in Aotearoa New Zealand | Wootton,Elizabeth Waimarie | Virginia Braun (Primary) Erana Cooper(Co-supv) |
| The influence of traditional bereavement rituals on the psychosocial aspects of grieving in Othodox Christian immigrants from Macedonia in Australia and NZ | Zorica Gruneska |
Quentin Atkinson |
| Behavioural and electrophysiological correlations with anatomical substrates during a recognition memory task | Mckay,Nicole Sarah | Ian Kirk |
| Stimulus Equivaleure and the Development of Reading Compreheusion Skills | Wendy Lau |
Angela Saritepe |
| Behaviour Analysis of Bizarre Speech Among Adults with Schizophrenia | Chelsea Otto |
Oliver Mudford |
| Help-seeking for emotional worries: An investigation with New Zealand secondary school students | Meyer,Sarah Joy | Elizabeth Peterson |
| E-training of behavioural skill for carers of people with disabilities | Toni Anne Sy |
Oliver Mudford |
| Diverse interactions and identity influence in the workplace. | Muller,Rosalind | Margaret Wetherell & Brigid Carroll |
| Positive outcomes for Maori youth | Hinekura Hollis | Niki Harré |
| Perception of Timbre in Musicians, Non-mucians & Audiiphiles: Using EEG to investigate differences in the perception of musical tumbre in 3 groups of people (as above) | Helena Elizabeth Struthers |
V Lim/J Hamm |
| Examination of the behaviours 'insiders' i.e. Supervisors, coworkers and mentors performing relation to newcomers and how these linik to new comer sociaolisation and organisational outcomes | Shevaun Kathleen Lomas |
H Cooper-Thomas |
| Long Term Potentiation and Mental Rotation | Quek,Ko Jin | Jeff Hamm |
| Test whether students have similar prosocial attitudes and behaviours to their peers and whether student influence future prosociality of their peers. | Troutwine,Matthew Philip | Quentin Atkinson |
| Comparison of long-term potentiation in visual and auditory cortices. | Wilson,Jessica Frances | Jeff Hamm |
| Assessing an integrated positive framing training programme for effective onboarding. | Wolfgramm,Penni Peyton | Helena Cooper-Thomas |
| Brain Mechanism in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Related Therapy | Gharahdaghi,Nazanin | Suzanne Purdy |
| To examine pre-existing prejudie and stereotypes of individuals working in the mental health field to stimuli associated with various mental illness. | Hodgkinson,Chloe Joanna | Oliver Mudford |
| Examining Chinese immigrants' atttudes towards work and benefits in New Zealand | Hu,Sandra | Danny Osborne |
| Offenders with intellctual disabilities. | John,Anthony William | Oliver Mudford |
| An Analysis of teaching strategies for intraverbals in children with autism. | Love,Sarah Larissa | Angela Arnold Saritepe |
| Assessment and reduction of vocal stereotypy | Selway,Cara Justine | Angela Arnold Saritepe |
Proposed Masters topics
Top
Below is a list of potential Masters projects for 2012. Please note: the list is only indicative of staff that may be taking on Masters students and projects that may be available in 2012; it is not intended to be definitive nor exhaustive, but simply a resource for prospective students. Students are still welcome to refer to the handbook and contact other prospective Masters supervisors with relevant research interests.
| Research topic | Supervisor/s details |
|---|---|
| Students interested in evolutionary psychology are encouraged to contact me to discuss possible research projects. Current topics include: 1) the evolution of language; 2) the evolution of cooperation; 3) how culture shapes cooperation and prosociality in humans; 4) social networks and social norms; 5) environmental sustainability; 6) questions of human genetic and cultural origins. | Quentin Atkinson q.atkinson@auckland.ac.nz |
| My research interests are in Industrial Work and Organisational (IWO) Psychology, in particular organisational socialisation, person-organisation fit, psychological contract, employee engagement, and work wellbeing. In the main, I conduct research with organizations, using employee surveys. Conditions: I prefer that students have taken postgraduate courses in IWO Psychology so that they have a good grasp of relevant content knowledge, especially Psych 760 and Psych 761. I recommend that students take Psych 744 to improve their research skills. Students must be available for group research meetings approximately weekly. If you are interested in doing research with me, please contact me so that we can discuss this further. | Helena Cooper Thomas h.cooper-thomas@auckland.ac.nz |
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I welcome contact from students interested in the cognitive neuroscience of visual perception, attention, and awareness. Interested students should approach me to discuss projects of mutual interest. Possible topics include – but are not limited to: |
Paul Corballis |
| Topics in the broad areas of (1) gender and sexuality and (2) gender based violence. | Nicola Gavey n.gavey@auckland.ac.nz |
| I am available for supervising behavioral research in the topics in object identification or visual attention. Come see me to discuss potential projects | Jeff Hamm j.hamm@auckland.ac.nz |
| Possible topics include sensory testing of food products, improving the scientific methods used to measure sensory properties, studying response bias in perceptual tasks, auditory psychophysics, electrophysiological correlates of noise sensitivity, and many others. | Michael Hautus m.hautus@auckland.ac.nz |
| The development of children's understanding of linguistic and/or social conventions Infants' understanding of and engagement in collaborative action How does relevance affect children's word learning? |
Annette Henderson a.henderson@auckland.ac.nz |
| How finger movements reveal how Braille is read Research in any area of cognitive psychology directed to the links between perception, cognition and motor control. |
Barry Hughes b.hughes@auckland.ac.nz |
| Testing the dorsal stream attention hypothesis: This project will involve using behavioural, EEG, and possibly fMRI methods to test the hypothesis that visual objects which trigger a shift of attention are encoded via the dorsal visual stream, while conscious perception of the same objects is mediated by encoding in the ventral visual stream Processing of emotional facial expressions: This project will involve using equipment that monitors eye position, together with a technique called gaze contingent display control to investigate the role of peripheral vision in encoding the emotional expression of faces |
Tony Lambert t.lambert@auckland.ac.nz |
| The number of masters theses I can supervise is limited, although not fixed. Students with genuinely strong interest in their topics who achieve good grades in PGDipSci or Arts have the best chance of obtaining the supervisor of choice. Topics will be in either Developmental Disabilities (DDs) or applied behaviour analysis (but preferably both). I am more than happy to supervise topics that include populations other than DDs, but students would have to obtain access to those populations themselves. Essential to discuss with me before starting to find a non-DD setting, if that is what you want. In 2012 I will be interested particularly in supervising topics that have a strong orientation towards "methods in ABA", regardless of the population. |
Oliver Mudford o.mudford@auckland.ac.nz |
| My main research interests are in the area of social psychology, with a particular focus on communication, interpersonal influence, close relationships and social influences on the self, including emotion, wellbeing, self-regulation and self-esteem. I work on a range of topics with my postgraduate students that fall within this general area. Recent student projects at masters level have included (a) attachment, life events and depressed mood, (b) punishment, reward and influence success, (c) psychological benefits of fiction, such as regulating depressed mood and developing empathy, (d) sexism and relationship preferences, (e) the role of positive behaviour in boosting felt-security within relationships, (f) the impact of negative relationship events on people’s self-evaluations, esteem and self-regulation, (g) proactive relationship maintenance within familial relationships, and (h) the effectiveness of influence strategies within organizational settings | Nickola Overall n.overall@auckland.ac.nz |
| Educational psychology, beliefs and expectations, student achievement, motivation and engagement, positive psychology | Elizabeth Peterson e.peterson@auckland.ac.nz |
| I have six general areas of research interest and supervision. These can be broadly labelled as follows: (a) personality and prejudice, (b) stereotyping and discrimination, (c) sexism and gender inequality, (d) intergroup relations in New Zealand, (e) social dominance and political ideology, and (f) identity and psychological wellbeing. Among other things, I am also the lead researcher for the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS). This is a representative longitudinal study that assesses change and stability in the personality, social attitudes, and values of roughly 6500 New Zealanders each year. The NZAVS aims to track changes in various social psychological and health factors for up to the next 20 years. I am open to supervising thesis research analyzing the NZAVS data to answer questions relating to any of the broad areas of social psychology (e.g., prejudice, intergroup relations, personality, personal relationships), and also some specific topics relating to health, wellbeing and clinical psychology (mainly those concerned with modelling national trends in health and clinical outcomes). Please come and talk to me in person if you would like to chat more about a possible thesis topic in these or related areas. You can also take a look at the NZAVS website (listed in the ‘research groups and areas’ page) to get a better idea of what this national sample is all about and possible topic options using data from the study. |
Chris Sibley
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Proposed Bachelor (Honours) topics
Top
Below is a list of potential Bachelor (Honours) projects for 2012. Please note the list is only indicative of staff that may be taking on Bachelor (Honours) students and projects that may be available in 2012; it is not intended to be definitive nor exhaustive, but simply a resource for prospective students. Students are still welcome to refer to the handbook and contact other prospective Bachelor (Honours) supervisors with relevant research interests.
If you are interested in one of the topics listed below, please contact the staff directly to discuss possible research topics or check the staff’s webpage for more information on research interests and publications.
| Projects on offer in 2012 (subject to change) | Supervisor | Any additional requirements |
|---|---|---|
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Topics in the cognitive neuroscience of memory, with a focus on autobiographical and episodic memory. Possible topics include: 1. The relationship between autobiographical memory and identity in young and/or older adults |
Donna Rose Addis | Having completed PSYCH 202 and/or PSYCH 305 is preferred. Also recommend doing PSYCH 714 or 721, and Psych 744. Interested students should contact me to discuss possible research topics. |
| 1. Evolution of human cooperation: Large-scale cooperation is crucial to tackling the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, yet we understand very little about how cooperative norms emerge and evolve over long time periods. This project will identify predictors of cooperation across cultures and how these factors change through time. 2. Evolution of language - Like species, languages evolve. Different features of language evolve at different rates. Understanding what predicts rates of language evolution can tell us about how the mind processes language and the key forces shaping language diversity around the globe. This project examines these questions using word corpora and psycholinguistic data together with empirical estimates of rates of language change and dialect variation. 3. The human story - How are modern populations related to one another and where did they come from? This project will use human population genetic data to shed light on the origin of modern humans and our colonization of the globe. 4. Social networks and social norms - This project will involve working as part of a team to investigate how social norms and behaviours around sustainability spread through the social network of a central Auckland school. |
Quentin Atkinson | Please have a look at some of my published work to see if you are interested (See: http://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/quentin-atkinson and contact me to discuss possible research topics. Should ideally take PSYCH 725 and PSYCH 317 |
| Māori mental health topics to be confirmed | Erana Cooper | Interested students should contact the lecturer for details of the project: e-mail your queries to el.cooper@auckland.ac.nz |
| My research interests are in Industrial Work and Organisational (IWO) Psychology, in particular organisational socialisation, person-organisation fit, psychological contract, employee engagement, and work wellbeing. In the main, I conduct research with organizations, using employee surveys. | Helena Cooper-Thomas | I prefer that students take postgraduate courses in IWO Psychology so that they have a good grasp of relevant content knowledge, especially PSYCH 760 and PSYCH 761 but also PSYCH 737 and PSYCH 762. I recommend that students take PSYCH 744 to improve their research skills. Students must be available for group research meetings approximately weekly. If you are interested in doing research with me, please contact me so that we can discuss this further. |
| Topics in the cognitive neuroscience of visual perception and attention. Possible projects include: 1. Electrophysiology of target selection and distractor suppression in visual search. The project will explore the neural generators and functional significance of several lateralized ERP components that have been associated with the visual target selection and maintenance, and distractor suppression. 2. Competition for representation in the human visual system. The project will use event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to explore the conditions under which visual stimuli compete for representation in the brain. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a technique for studying the functional architecture of the visual system |
Paul Corballis | Interested students should contact me to discuss requirements for this project. Some experience with elementary computer programming and/or data analysis would be helpful, but is not a strict requirement |
| Ongoing research in the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour Research Unit. Probably investigating choice in pigeon subjects, but there is also some possibility of a project on stimulus equivalence with human participants. | Doug Elliffe | Must take PSYCH 711, and must make contact with me in advance. Must be available for 2 hours 1-2 days/week throughout the year to help run lab experiments. |
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1. Project related to ongoing critical psychology research on pornography 2. Analysis of textbook representations of rape (possible) |
Nicola Gavey | 1. Enrol in PSYCH 743 and PSYCH 755, and to be available to attend research group meetings and/or Gender & Critical Psychology Group meetings. 2. PSYCH 319 or a related course would be an asset, although not essential. 3. Please contact me to discuss the projects, and your interests and aptitudes. |
| 1. Language evolution in Asia and the Pacific. 2. The evolution of religious beliefs and practices. |
Russell Gray | Students should contact Russell Gray to discuss. e-mail your queries to rd.gray@auckland.ac.nz |
| My research interests are in Indigenous and Maori worldviews and communities, resilience, liberation psychology, applied social psychology, poverty and wellbeing. I explore the relevance and application of Māori and other Indigenous cultural concepts for understanding contemporary relationships and peoples’ efforts to cultivate a positive sense of self and place. In particular my research is action-oriented where not only does theory and research inform practice, but practice also shapes the refinement of theory and research. | Shiloh Groot | It is recommended that you have taken PSYCH 717. Interested students should contact Dr Groot to discuss the details of the project. |
| It is thought that mental rotation is involved in deciding if a rotated picture would face left or right if the object were upright. Because response times increase as a function of the object’s orientation, it is believed that we mentally rotate, or transform, the stimulus to the upright in order to decide if the front is on our left or right. Mental rotation is thought to proceed through the shortest direction to the upright, and so response time functions are generally symmetrical about 1800. Often ignored, however, is the fact that in this task objects that face left are responded to more quickly when rotated clockwise as compared to when they are rotated the same amount counter-clockwise. Right facing objects show the opposite, with faster response times for counter-clockwise orientations compared to clockwise orientations. The project in my lab will be investigating this interesting asymmetry in the response time function and attempting to develop an explanation for this lack of symmetry in the response time function. | Jeff Hamm | Students should be comfortable with statistical analysis and having completed PSYCH 201 and/or PSYCH 303 would be a benefit. Those interested should contact Dr. Hamm to discuss the project. |
| 1. Creating a sustainable school: students will be part of team investigating the impact of a sustainability project at a central Auckland school. This project may involve the analysis of data previous collected by the project or an experiment investigating how environmental behaviours spread through social networks. 2. Making a Difference (MAD): MAD is a programme for secondary school students who show environmental leadership. This project will involve interviewing a selection of participants to discover how the programme has supported them and what environmental projects they are currently involved in. |
Niki Harré | Students must enrol in PSYCH 717 Psychology and Sustainability. Projects will be negotiated at the end of this year or beginning of next year. If you apply for my supervision it is important you are willing to work on either of the projects listed, or related projects in the area of sustainability, youth and activism. For all projects you will need to be willing to travel within Auckland, but you don’t need your own transport. |
| Possible topics include sensory testing of food products, improving the scientific methods used to measure sensory properties, studying response bias in perceptual tasks, auditory psychophysics, electrophysiological correlates of noise sensitivity, and many others. | Michael Hautus | Students who would like to join in an ongoing programme of research in sensory science should discuss available topics with Michael before applying. Students will be required to attend and participate in fortnightly research meetings, and will need to take PSYCH 740. |
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1. The development of children's understanding of linguistic and/or social conventions 2. Infants' understanding of and engagement in collaborative action 3. How does relevance affect children's word learning? |
Annette Henderson | Students who are interested in these topics must meet with Annette prior to completing their application. Students who wish to work on one of these projects ideally should have taken PSYCH 326 (PSYCH 207 is strongly recommended, but not necessary). Students working on these projects will also be expected to enroll in PSYCH 722. Working in this area will involve working with parents, infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers. Thus, it is likely that students working on these projects will be need to run studies at various times throughout the week (this might include early mornings, evenings, and/or weekends). Students must be available for one lab group meeting and one individual meeting with me per week. |
| Cognitive mechanisms and control of braille reading |
Barry Hughes |
Students should be enrolled in PSYCH 746. Students who are potentially interested in this area should contact me to discuss. Background and interest in cognitive psychology which ideally should include at least one of PSYCH 201 or PSYCH 303. |
| Neuroscience: Topics to be confirmed | Ian Kirk | Students should contact Ian Kirk to discuss possible research topics. email your queries to i.kirk@auckland.ac.nz |
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1. Testing the dorsal stream attention hypothesis: This project will involve using behavioural, EEG, and possibly fMRI methods to test the hypothesis that visual objects which trigger a shift of attention are encoded via the dorsal visual stream, while conscious perception of the same objects is mediated by encoding in the ventral visual stream 2. Processing of emotional facial expressions: This project will involve using equipment that monitors eye position, together with a technique called gaze contingent display control to investigate the role of peripheral vision in encoding the emotional expression of faces. |
Tony Lambert | I would like students to take: PSYCH 714, PSYCH 721 and PSYCH 746. |
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Topics broadly situated within the areas of intergroup relations and political psychology. The specific research topics may include, but are not limited to: 1. The relationship between different explanations for poverty and people’s willingness to help the less fortunate. |
Danny Osborne | It is recommended students have taken PSYCH 204 and/or PSYCH 311. It is also strongly recommended that students take PSYCH 731 and PSYCH 744 (or related courses). All students who are interested in these (or related) topics should email Danny (d.osborne@auckland.ac.nz) before applying to the program. |
| Projects will focus on communication and influence in intimate relationships, including how people try to maintain their relationships and the costs and benefits of conflict resolution strategies. You will be working on a large observational study which involves recording people's conflict interactions, assessing on-line cognitions and emotions, and coding interactions for the presence of different communication strategies. Analyses will focus on either predictors of communication, such as attachment orientations, sexist attitudes, gender and commitment, or the immediate and longitudinal consequences of specific communication behaviours, such as successful influence, problem resolution, relationship quality and break-up. Other potential projects examine the impact of social support on health and wellbeing. |
Nickola Overall | It is recommended that students have taken PSYCH 204 and (in particular) PSYCH 311. Students must take PSYCH 716 (Social Psychology and Interpersonal Processes) and I also recommend PSYCH 744 (Experimental Design and Quantitative Analysis). Students must also be available for group meetings and workshops one afternoon a week. Please contact Nickola to discuss potential projects prior to the application date. |
| Projects will focus on factors that influence student learning and achievement with a particular focus on student characteristics, attributes, beliefs and possibly learning or problem solving style. | Elizabeth Peterson | Students must take PSYCH 722 and it is recommended that they take PSYCH 744. Students who are interested should email me to arrange to discuss this further. |
| Ongoing research in the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour Research Unit using pigeons as experimental subjects. Present studies currently involve assessing variables influencing the persistence of behaviour. | Christopher Podlesnik | Must take PSYCH 711, and must make contact with me in advance. Must be available for 2 hours 1-2 days/week throughout the year to help run lab experiments. |
| Perception and production of emotional prosody in speech - We are interested in the effects of neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease and aphasia on affective prosody. This study will examine different aspects of auditory affective prosody including prosody perception and the perceptual and acoustic characteristics of affective speech in people with aphasia and controls. |
Suzanne Purdy & Lynette Tippett |
It is recommended but not essential that you have taken PSYCH 313. Interested students should e-mail sc.purdy@auckland.ac.nz |
| 6-7 possible honours topics to choose from: 1. How can we measure psychological distress in New Zealand? This study will validate and provide normative data for a measure non-specific psychological distress, anxiety and rumination in the New Zealand population using data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study ‘(NZAVS)’. The study will also look as specific differences across gender, age and ethnic groups in psychological distress in the New Zealand population. 2. How many New Zealanders are using facebook, and is facebook use linked to psychological outcomes? This study will analyse data from the NZAVS to look at the use of facebook in a nationally reprehensive New Zealand sample, and document trends across cohorts. The study will also examine psychological correlates and outcomes associated with facebook use in the population. 3. What do New Zealanders value? The study will look at the social values held by New Zealanders, such as values of equality, authority, tolerance, and respect for elders, using data from the NZAVS. The study will also look at possible change in the values held by New Zealanders over the last three years, and across different groups in New Zealand society. 4. What predicts identification with multiple ethnic groups? This study will look specifically at people in the NZAVS who identified with multiple ethnic groups and examine whether identification with multiple group memberships changes over time. The study will try to determine what factors might predict change in the identification with only one ethnic group, or with multiple ethnic groups, and test whether this is linked to psychological health and wellbeing in different contexts 5. Does income predict life satisfaction, and if so for whom? This study will use data from the NZAVS to examine the extent to which income is linked with various measures of subjective wellbeing and health. The study will determine at which point income reaches a point of diminishing returns in predicting subjective wellbeing. The study will also explore whether the link between income and life satisfaction holds constant for different group in society, or whether income is more strongly linked to wellbeing for some groups relative to others. 6. What predicts the wellbeing and acculturation of Asian immigrants in New Zealand? This study will use data from the NZAVS to look specifically at Asian immigrants living in New Zealand. The study will look at the factors that buffer or ameliorate the psychological health, wellbeing, and acculturative stress of Asian peoples in New Zealand society. 7. How do women’s and men’s body images differ? And do differences in body image predict difference is psychological health, rumination and eating behaviour? This study will use data from the nationally representative NZAVS dataset to look at men’s and women’s levels of satisfaction with their bodies depending on their BMI and income. The research will examine possible gender differences and the power of social roles in the extent to which concerns about body image predict psychological wellbeing, eating behaviour and self-esteem for people within different BMI ranges. |
Chris Sibley | Required courses are PSYCH 744 and PSYCH 731. Students should come and talk to me in person to discuss the topic and details |
| Broad interests in critical masculinities research, or critical health research. Specifically, male embodiment practices (e.g., sport, exercise, hair removal); the intersection of masculinities and culture/media (particularly around the RWC); or men’s experiences of health/illness related issues. | Gareth Terry | Contact Gareth Gerry if you are interested in working with him. |
| 4 potential topics: Neural basis of ADHD and dyslexia; predictors and correlates of reading achievement in adolescents who were small for gestational age; migraine in adolescence: understanding genetic & environmental risk factors; headache as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease: Dunedin study cohort data. |
Karen Waldie | Having completed PSYCH 202 and/or PSYCH 305 is preferred. Also recommend doing PSYCH 714 or 721, and Psych 744. Interested students should contact me to discuss possible research topics. |
| Research related to emotion in public life, for instance topics such as: Affective practices in media representations of NZ national identity; Affective practices and understandings of social class in NZ; Emotions in institutions and workplaces investigated through analysis of emotional displays in interactions; The organisation of emotion and memory in narrative. |
Margaret Wetherell | Students will need to take Psych 726 special topic and ideally 743 and be familiar with basic discourse analysis approaches. |
