School of Psychology

School of Psychology

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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/103031

This collection contains Honours, Masters and Ph.D by coursework theses from University of Adelaide postgraduate students within the School of Psychology. The material has been approved as making a significant contribution to knowledge.

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Open Access
Breaking Through the Façade: The Effects of the Own Race Advantage and Surgical Face Masks on Age Estimation and Facial Recognition Ability
(2022) Phillis, Isabelle; School of Psychology
This study examined the effect of surgical face masks and own-race advantage in age estimation accuracy and facial recognition of masked and unmasked strangers. To do so, participants completed an age estimation task of Black and White strangers, with half of the strangers masked and the other half unmasked. Following this, a facial recognition task asked participants to identify which strangers they had previously estimated the ages of. Results indicated that individuals tend to be inaccurate in their estimates of unmasked strangers by a Median of 6.26 years. Face masks were shown to harm age estimation ability of own-race strangers, with inaccuracy increasing by about 3 years when strangers were White. This suggests an own-race disadvantage is present in age estimation of masked strangers. Results also indicate that face masks reduce an individual's facial recognition ability of once-seen strangers. This is particularly the case when strangers are Black, as White people are more prone to say they do not recognise a stranger when they are Black and masked. This suggests that an own-race advantage exists when recognising the face of a once-seen masked stranger. These findings have important forensic implications, as they suggest that it may be harder for eyewitnesses to accurately estimate the age of offenders who wear masks during offending. This effect may be exacerbated if both the offender and eyewitness are White. Furthermore, it may be more difficult for eyewitnesses to later recognise previously masked offenders from a line-up, particularly if an offender is from a different race.
Open Access
Demographic influencers on the relationship between physical activity and mental health in Australian youth
(2022) Querzoli, Adele; School of Psychology
Few adolescents currently meet the recommendations for physical activity (PA) despite evidence supporting its wide-ranging benefits including the mitigation of chronic mental health conditions. This study aimed to examine the relationship between PA and mental health in a large sample of Australian adolescents, and to assess the impact of age, gender and socioeconomic status on this relationship. 28,424 high school students (Mage = 14.8, SD = 1.5; 39.3% male, 58.6% female, 2.0% other) responded to an online survey assessing demographics, lifestyle activities (including PA), symptoms of depression and anxiety, general life satisfaction, hope and avoidance coping. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) higher frequency of PA is predictive of better mental health outcomes for adolescents, (2) a lower frequency of PA in females and those who identify as non-binary is predictive of poorer mental health outcomes, (3) PA declines as a function of age across adolescence and this reduction is predictive of poorer mental health outcomes amongst older adolescents, (4) PA is reduced with lower SES and this reduction is predictive of poorer mental health outcomes. Results revealed that more frequent PA predicts better mental health outcomes for adolescents. Adolescents of female and non-binary gender engaged in less frequent PA and experienced poorer mental health and wellbeing compared to males. Frequency of PA declined with age and older adolescents reported poorer mental health, and frequency of PA was reduced in adolescents of lower SES. There was a negative moderating impact of SES and female gender on the relationship between PA and mental health. Findings from this study will determine the demographic profiles of adolescents whose wellbeing can be most improved by higher PA engagement and inform targeted implementation of school-based interventions. Keywords: physical activity, adolescents, mental health, wellbeing, gender, non-binary, age, socioeconomic status
Open Access
A Qualitative Exploration of The Impact of Family Functioning on Young Adults of Hazara Afghan Refugee Background in Australia
(2022) Rahimi, Freshta; School of Psychology
Hazara Afghans are the most persecuted ethnic group of Afghanistan, and since the Taliban seized control over Afghanistan in August 2021, they have increased the global refugee population, leading to an extra intake to Australia. Recent studies have found family instability in refugee families to be a core feature of the early settlement period, however there is a lack of culturally specific research in the field. In particular, the experiences of family functioning and its impact on the wellbeing of Hazara young adults, remain unknown. This qualitative study included 11 Hazara young adults, aged 18-30 years old, who had been living in Australia for at least five years. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and thematic analysis identified five themes: Lack of Communication, Stigma and Lack of Mental Health Awareness, Parent-Child Relationships, Acculturation, Gender Roles and Parental Expectations and finally, Autonomy, Control and Identity Development. These findings were discussed within the context of Bronfenbrenner's (1977) ecological theory as well as the Circumplex Model of Family Functioning. The thesis points to unique differences in the Hazara culture that remain unaccounted for in traditional and western-oriented models of family functioning and highlights the need for more culturally applicable models and service provision. Keywords: Hazara Afghan; family functioning; post-resettlement; psychological wellbeing; circumplex model
Open Access
The Relationship Between Cultural Identity, Family Support, Mental Health and Self-efficacy in Asian Migrant Children Living in Australia
(2022) Ratnasingam, Monica; School of Psychology
The aim of migration is to improve the quality of one's life. However, migrants often experience cultural differences, language barriers, socio-economic disadvantages, inadequate services in the host country, and racial prejudice. These experiences contribute to detrimental impacts on migrants' health. Migrant children are no exception. They experience typical developmental obstacles of puberty and identity formation in addition to novel migration related challenges of shifts in family relationships and identity confusion. Thus, migrant children are susceptible to stress, anxiety, and poor mental health. With a focus on Asian migrant children in Australia, this study aims to explore the relationship between cultural identity, family support, self-efficacy and mental health. 48,591 children aged 7 to 18 (M = 12.25 and SD = 2.71) attending Australian schools completed an online survey assessing mental health, self-efficacy, and family support, and were subsequently divided into groups based on combinations of self-reported birthplace and nationality. Moderation analyses were conducted to examine the role of family support in the relationships between cultural identity, mental health and self-efficacy. Results of this study demonstrated the relevance of dual cultural identity, nationality as a strong predictor of self-efficacy, and birthplace as a strong factor in determining mental health and self-efficacy. Low levels of family support were a moderator between cultural identity and mental health while high levels of family support were not a moderator for groups whose participants were born in Asia. However, between cultural identity and self-efficacy, varied levels of family support were significant across all groups. Keywords: cultural identity, family support, mental health, self-efficacy, Asian migrant children, Australia
Open Access
Long-Term Mental Health Outcomes of Children Exposed to Natural Disasters
(2022) Ravesteyn, Sarah; School of Psychology
Natural disasters often occur in Australia and are projected to increase due to climate change. Studies suggest that exposure to natural disasters impact a child's mental health, however the short-and long-term mental health outcomes are unclear. Anxiety and depression are a global issue for children and adults alike yet are under-researched in longitudinal studies on children and natural disasters. Using longitudinal data collected from children exposed to the 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfires we investigated children's behaviours, using the Rutter Parent Questionnaire, 26 months post-fires, and their adult anxiety and depression scores 30 years later, via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. There were no statistically significant differences in adult anxiety and depression scores between the exposed children and a matched cohort not exposed to the fires. However, short-term effects were shown to be that those children exposed to the bushfires were at a statistically higher risk of exhibiting disordered behaviour when compared to the matched group. Finally, it was found that the group exposed to the Ash Wednesday Bushfires who exhibited disordered behaviour shortly after the bushfires were at higher risk for long-term anxiety and depression outcomes, before and after adjusting for other known risk factors. This study adds to the research on the short-term outcomes on children's mental health post-disaster, and long-term adult anxiety and depression when exposed to a natural disaster as a child. The research highlights the importance of early post-disaster interventions for those children presenting with problematic behaviours. Keywords: Natural disaster, bushfire, children, anxiety, depression
Open Access
The Impact of Facial Expressions Directed Towards Infants and its Link to Early Language Development
(2022) Rayner, Charlotte; School of Psychology
As infants age, their emerging ability to extract rich information becomes more adapted to their social environment. In particular, parents communicate through emotional expressions with young infants, and in turn, by verbal language with older infants. That is, for infants, emotional expression and language acquisition are two parts of a developing communication system. Consequently, it is essential for caregivers to be aware of the effect contextual cues, such as facial expressions, have on infant language acquisition. A substantial proportion of past studies regarding the influence of emotional expressions have relied heavily on posed facial expressions. However, their idealised and unrealistic nature may be unrepresentative of spontaneous affective expressions that an infant would see in day-to-day life. Thus, naturalistic approaches are crucial for gaining a complete understanding of everyday interactions related to language experiences. This study conducted a secondary data analysis by examining a large, longitudinal dataset of egocentric head-mounted camera videos, the SAYCam Corpus, through Automatic Facial Expression Analysis (FEA). Mixed effect models were applied to determine if the Valence and Expressiveness of parent expressions influenced gesture and language development over a 2-and-a-half-year period. Although significant associations between language and expressions were present, the effects of these were small. Furthermore, this study provides crucial examination of how an infant's environment can play an active role in enhancing their early language.
Open Access
Health Professionals' Knowledge of and Experiences Identifying and Responding to Reproductive Coercion Among Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis
(2022) Reeves, Georgia; School of Psychology
Reproductive coercion, which can involve contraceptive sabotage, pregnancy pressure, and/or pregnancy control, is a form of abuse predominately experienced by females. Despite rates of reproductive coercion appearing to be rising, little is known about health professionals' knowledge and ability to navigate this important issue. Consequently, this research aimed to explore health professionals' knowledge of reproductive coercion and how they screen, identify and respond to it. Five databases were searched; after appropriate screening and quality appraisal, nine high-quality studies from three countries, comprising 221 participants, were included in the research. A meta-aggregative meta-synthesis approach resulted in three synthesised findings related to the research aims. Key findings suggest that health professionals have limited knowledge about reproductive coercion, consequently leading to poor screening and identification, which is more evident in culturally diverse patients. Findings also suggest that responding effectively to reproductive coercion is complex, and health professionals have exhausted the minimal resources available to them. These findings further suggest that reproductive coercion is a multifaceted problem that leads to adverse reproductive outcomes which hinder a person's bodily autonomy and their right to reproductive freedom. Health professionals are ill-equipped to manage the issue alone and rely on multiple resources to assist patients experiencing reproductive coercion. Future research would benefit from a stronger emphasis on the different types of resources needed for health professionals to tackle reproductive coercion effectively.
Open Access
Trapped Between Worlds: University of Adelaide Student Experiences With Australian Border Closures During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(2022) Rogers, Julianne; School of Psychology
Prior to 2020, the last complete Australian international and state border closures occurred over a century ago during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), the Australian Commonwealth and state governments restricted all non-essential travel, despite the unknown impact of those closures on contemporary, globalised populations. Recent quantitative research has established border closures are associated with reports of very high distress, particularly for university students. This qualitative study provides insight into the experiences that students currently studying at the University of Adelaide attributed to Australian border closures. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse data from interviews with 15 students (domestic and international) ranging in age from 22-52 (undergraduate and post-graduate). Findings indicated participants impacted by border closures were separated from loved ones, employment, studies, and the pursuit of valued goals. These losses were associated with being in an uncertain state of ""limbo"" and various emotional struggles such as anxiety, stress, isolation, shame, and anger. Positive experiences reported include increased time with immediate family, learning new coping skills, and a sense of post-traumatic growth. Using the disaster recovery theory of social resilience, barriers of support are discussed. These findings illustrate that although participants managed their struggles, universities and governments must consider students as a part of the Australian community who may not have a safety net, such as family support, and plan alternate modes of support in times of disaster.
Open Access
The effects of sustained guided imagery pratice on general stress, academic stress and academic motivation among first-year university students: A preliminary randmised control trial.
(2022) Shaju, Ann Maria; School of Psychology
Guided imagery is a relaxation technique used to reduce stress and anxiety levels. Several studies have indicated that guided imagery is effective as a stress reduction technique in various contexts and populations. the effectiveness of guided imagery as a stress-reduction technique in various contexts across different populations. However, little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of guided imagery practice in reducing academic stress among university students. Also, only few studies have examined the effects of sustained guided imagery practice (i.e., beyond a single session). The current study was a randomised control trial, in which participants were randomised to listen to 5-to-10-minute audios featuring guided imagery (treatment; n = 15) or breathing relaxation exercises (control; n = 18) for seven days. The audios were administered alongside single-item measures of general stress. Academic stress was assessed on Days 1 and 7, and, on Day 7, participants additionally completed tasks that reflected academic motivation. Linear mixed modelling analyses indicated a greater reduction in general stress in the imagery group from Day 1 to Day 7, but descriptive statistics indicated that this was largely due to stress being marginally statistically significantly higher at baseline in the imagery group (due to chance). The trajectory of academic stress and the degree of academic motivation did not differ across groups. Testing all participants in the same seven-day period would help reduce chance-based anomalies in the study.
Open Access
Base-rates, fast and slow: Testing single-process and dual-process models of reasoning
(2022) Sikora Przibilla, Alexander; School of Psychology
Dual-process theories of cognition hold that human reasoning is driven by two distinct forms of processing; Type 1 processing which is fast, intuitive, and based on heuristics, and Type 2 processing which is slow, rule based, and requires working memory. Dual-process theories have been used to explain people's tendency to neglect or underweight important base-rate information, relying instead on heuristics-based stereotype information to guide reasoning judgements. However, recent research employing formal model-testing approaches has begun to challenge these theories, finding that a single-process account can also explain a wide range of reasoning data. Such model-testing approaches have yet to be applied to classic base-rate reasoning tasks. The current study employed signed difference analysis (SDA) to test competing dual- and single-process theories, instantiating them as signal detection models and examining their predictions for human performance in a base-rate reasoning task. In an online experiment, 120 participants completed a base-rate task that varied in a number of factors relevant to dual- process assumptions, including time pressure. Results indicated that manipulations of time pressure and base-rate discrepancy affected participants' sensitivity to base-rate information. These effects were consistent with a dual-process account, however the results from SDA indicated that a single-process model could not be ruled out in favour of a dual-process model. This finding shows that single-process theories may provide a viable account of how people reason with base-rate information, further challenging the widespread acceptance and application of dual-process theories.
Open Access
The Influence of Cues to Consensus Quality on Belief Revision and Information Sharing Behaviour
(2022) Simmonds, Benjamin; School of Psychology
With the rise of social media has come a rise in the accessibility of health-related information from a variety of sources, which may vary in accuracy and agreement. To navigate conflicting information, people are often required to rely on readily available cues to consensus. However, it remains unclear which consensus cues can make information persuasive. It is also unclear whether an expert minority is sufficient to outweigh a conflicting majority view that is presented by laypeople. To explore these questions, an adult sample (N = 101) drawn from Amazon's Mechanical Turk was exposed to eight health claims within a mock Twitter platform. Participants made belief ratings for each claim before and after exposure to a series of Pro and Con response tweets to the claim, measuring belief revision. Participants were also prompted to choose one response to "retweet", measuring sharing behaviour. The expertise of some of the tweet authors varied within subjects but between trials. Within trials, certain tweet authors and arguments were frequently repeated. Results showed that in the absence of expert authors, participants favoured stances supported by a larger number of tweets. When experts were present, however, experts were favoured even when outnumbered in tweet quantity. These findings were consistent across both measures of belief revision and sharing behaviour. However, no significant effect on sharing behaviour was found when considering author or argument frequency. These findings are important in understanding how socially acquired information (and misinformation) shifts opinion and is spread, and the role that experts can play.
Open Access
The Prevalence and Burden of Depressive Disorders in Australia from 1990 to 2019: Findings from the GBD 2019
(2022) Sloan, Mikayla; School of Psychology
Major depressive disorder and dysthymia are common mental disorders that are prevalent across the world and significantly contribute to disease burden. The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) has identified depressive disorders as a significant contributor of non- fatal health loss in Australia and global populations previously. An updated review is critically important to assess the current prevalence and burden of depressive disorders in Australia and examine how this has changed over time, so that policy can be informed by this data. The GBD 2019 was used to examine the prevalence and burden of depressive disorders from 1990 to 2019 by age, sex, year, location and sociodemographic index. Non-fatal burden was measured by years lived with disability and total burden was measured by disability- adjusted life years. The burden of depressive disorders attributable to behavioural risk factors was estimated by age, sex and year in Australia. 95% uncertainty intervals were reported around all estimates. The findings show that among mental disorders, depressive disorders were the highest leading cause of non-fatal burden in Australia in 2019, accounting for 6.9% of total years lived with disability. Between 1990 and 2019, there was no significant change in the age-standardised rate of prevalent cases (0.36%) and years lived with disability (-0.095%) of depressive disorders in Australia. YLDs attributable to intimate partner violence, bullying victimisation and childhood sexual abuse were highest among young adults. This thesis is beneficial to inform national mental health initiatives and understand where more investment into psychological services is necessary in Australia.
Open Access
Exploring Green Exercise and Well-Being: The Role of Nature Connection, Access, and Socioeconomic Status
(2022) Smith, Courtney; School of Psychology
Physical activity in nature, known as green exercise, is associated with numerous positive well-being outcomes, but the underlying mechanisms within this relationship remain largely unknown. Growing research has indicated that nature connection may be a factor that contributes to enhanced well-being. Further, the role of nature access and socioeconomic status have not been previously explored in the relationship between green exercise, nature connection and well-being. Therefore, the current study explored whether nature connection mediates the relationship between green exercise and well-being, and whether this mediated relationship was moderated by nature accessibility and socioeconomic status. Participants (N = 223) recruited via student samples and on-campus advertisements completed an online survey assessing various aspects of participants' physical activity, nature engagement and well-being. Results of correlational analysis revealed positive associations between duration of green exercise, nature connection and well-being. However, nature connection was not a significant mediator of the relationship between green exercise and well-being. In addition, nature access and socioeconomic status were not significant moderators in the strength of the relationship between green exercise and nature connection - though the results of these interactions were trending in the predicted direction. While inconsistent with the hypotheses, these findings may contribute to emerging trend in research that suggests nature connection is more reliably associated certain aspects of well-being only. Future research is needed to better understand mechanisms for increasing well-being via green exercise, and whether there are differences in access amongst social groups. Keywords: green exercise, nature connection, well-being, nature accessibility, socioeconomic status
Open Access
The Role of Online Gaming on Learning Engagement levels in Australian Secondary Students and the Moderative Impact of Anxiety on this Relationship
(2022) Smith, Stephanie; School of Psychology
Many adolescents are Online Gaming which makes their Learning Engagement levels at school increasingly challenge with shifted attention. Many studies have researched the effects of gaming on engagement. However, there has been a gap in literature measuring the effects of Anxiety, and the negative ramifications from excessive online gaming levels in secondary students. The current study measured the relationship between online gaming and Australian secondary students' learning engagement levels and if anxiety acted as a moderator on this relationship. A total of 17,082 Australian secondary students were administered with the Resilience Survey in 2021. Participants provided demographic data such as age, grade, gender, and their suburb/postcode. Other items included engagement levels and daily online gameplay. Anxiety was measured using the GAD-2 scale. There were statistically significant findings of a negative association between online gaming and learning engagement, where higher levels of online gaming were associated with lower levels of learning engagement. Anxiety was found to moderate this relationship with higher levels of anxiety being predictive of higher levels of online gaming and lower levels of learning engagement. Limitations of our study include the cross-sectional nature limiting the causal effects of our variables and the directions of our associations. Anxiety and engagement levels were measured at one point in time which does not account for changes over the academic year. In addition, only one gaming item was used to measure frequency of gameplay. Potential future studies could measure possible coping effects and include various gaming items related to genre and platforms. The next step would consider how to improve this relationship between online gaming and learning engagement to improve adolescent wellbeing and introduce measures that can decrease the impact of anxiety that predicts this relationship. Keywords: Online Gaming, Learning Engagement, Anxiety, Adolescents.
Open Access
Disability and Employment in Australia: Talk-Versus-Action
(2022) Spurrier, Harry; School of Psychology
People with disability number 1 billion people globally and 4.4 million in Australia, thus making up one of the world's largest minority groups. Only 42% of Australians with disability are employed, compared to 80% of the non-disabled population, and many employed people with disability are subject to underemployment. Employment can provide stability, autonomy, and purpose, and most people with disability indicate wanting employment. Yet employment statistics have not changed significantly in the last 3 decades. An inductive content analysis was conducted on six semi-structured interviews with a unique sample of people with lived experience of disability and their position as an employer. This study explored the talk-versus-action problem in the disability employment gap through understanding mental concepts of disability and how these compare to current hiring and retainment operations. It also assessed benefits and limitations of possible solutions for aligning these concepts to actualised change in hiring and retaining practices. Findings showed that there is no "fix-all" solution to the employment gap and that there is a need for an inclusive solution that still upholds the individuality of disability. This could involve a mix of homogenous programs that have enough depth to account for changes in the heterogeneity of disability. A framework was developed to assist employers to iteratively reflect on their concepts of disability and current hiring practices, whilst implementing new programs in their own organisation. This will help contextualise disability and employment but allows iteration and flexibility so as not to simplify this complex phenomenon.
Open Access
Scam or not? Examining how people determine the legitimacy of SMSes
(2022) Stilwell, Angus; School of Psychology
Over recent years, an increase in cybersecurity breaches via SMS scams, or "smishing'; an SMS containing a malicious link or file (ACCC, 2022) has occurred. Despite data breaches often involving some form of human error, limited research has investigated human and behavioural aspects of smishing detection. Therefore, this study examined individuals' SMS scam detection, by investigating what features are used to evaluate their legitimacy. The study also examined the extent to which legitimacy assessments are affected by key external and individual difference factors; time pressure and participants' Information Security Awareness (ISA). Participants rated the legitimacy of SMS stimuli under either Fast (seven seconds) or Slow (21 seconds) stimulus presentation duration conditions. SMS stimuli varied in Sender legitimacy, Grammatical errors, and URL legitimacy. Participants also completed the Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q) (Parson's et al., 2017) to measure their ISA, and were divided into High versus Low ISA groups. Results indicated that people are sensitive to Sender legitimacy, Grammatical errors, and URL legitimacy, with Sender and Grammar altering the effect of URL. Additionally, time pressure increased legitimacy perception of scam and legitimate stimuli, and high ISA improved sensitivity in stimuli containing all scam features. Overall, this study contributes to the smishing literature by providing insight into how features, ISA and time pressure affect smishing detection. These results have implications in a literature, organisational, and public setting, of which may help to provide a safer mobile phone cyber-environment. Keywords: Smishing; scams; features; information security awareness; dual-process theory; heuristics
Open Access
The Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE): Factor Structure and Associations With Well-Being, Il-Being, and Academic Performance
(2022) Tan, Nicole Li Aun; School of Psychology
Perfectionism can be understood as a multidimensional personality trait that consists of two- higher order factors: perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. While the former is generally associated with positive outcomes and the latter with the negative, there is a persistent overlap of adverse outcomes that requires attention. Research suggests that this could be due to measures of perfectionistic strivings being confounded with healthy strivings of excellence, termed "excellencism". The newly developed Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE) was explored in a sample of 248 Australian university students to address the issue. The study investigated the scale's factor structure and its associations with well-being, ill-being, self- reported ATAR, and gender. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the two- factor structure of the SCOPE. Measures of well-being were more generally associated with excellencism and the measures of ill-being with perfectionistic strivings. Excellencism accounted for 15% of variance in academic performance, whereas perfectionistic strivings accounted for 4%. The pursuit of high standards was more associated with well-being in males and ill-being in females. The results support excellencism and perfectionistic strivings as distinct constructs and the validity of the SCOPE. The findings suggest that the entanglement of these two constructs may mask the maladaptive nature of perfectionistic strivings. This study implies the need to assess the nature of perfectionistic strivings separated from and in reference to excellencism. It was proposed that excellencism could be applied into the intervention and prevention of perfectionism.
Open Access
The Role of Gender and Embarrassment in Help-Seeking for Cancer Symptoms
(2022) Tottman, Georgia; School of Psychology
Early detection of cancer provides the best chance of successful treatment and survival, and can be achieved by seeking medical help promptly after noticing physical symptoms. Identifying barriers to prompt help-seeking is important in developing effective interventions to overcome such barriers and improve overall cancer outcomes. Current evidence concerning gender differences in help-seeking for cancer symptoms is mixed and the role of embarrassment as a barrier has only been qualitatively established. The aim of this study was to quantitatively determine the effect of gender and embarrassment on help- seeking for symptoms indicative of cancer. A total of 168 participants were presented with three vignettes in a mixed quasi-experiment, where symptom invasiveness (low, mid, and high) was manipulated. Participants were asked to respond to measures of intention to seek help, anticipated time to consultation, and symptom medical embarrassment. Participants also responded to an (adapted) established measure of general medical embarrassment (including bodily embarrassment and judgement concern). Contrary to expectations, intention to seek help did not significantly differ according to gender or symptom invasiveness. However, anticipated time to consultation was significantly slower for females for the low invasiveness symptom. Intention to seek help was negatively correlated to symptom medical embarrassment, but not bodily embarrassment and judgement concern. The findings suggest that a gender-neutral approach to health promotion may be appropriate, bringing cost and efficiency benefits. In addition, findings also suggest that it is important to increase awareness about the role that embarrassment plays in help-seeking for cancer symptoms.
Open Access
"Even if acting in extremis..." The Construction of Guilty Behaviour in Wrongful Convictions: A Thematic Discourse Analysis of Court Transcripts
(2022) Turner, Ellie; School of Psychology
Wrongful convictions have devastating consequences on the lives of those convicted, their friends, families and the wider community. In the United States alone it has been estimated that 41,000 additional crimes could occur annually when the wrong person is jailed. Research demonstrates that law enforcement professionals such as police officers, lawyers, judges, and juries can develop tunnel vision when approaching criminal cases, leading to instances of interpreting evidence with a preconceived notion of guilt. How such interpretations of suspect behaviour are discursively constructed within court proceedings is yet to be explored. This study aims to fill said gap in the literature by conducting a thematic discourse analysis of wrongful conviction court transcripts. Four cases of wrongful convictions that discussed suspect behaviour, located in Australia and the United States, were analysed through a social constructionist lens to understand how the social world of the courtroom allows for the construction of behaviour as guilty. The thematic analysis generated two overarching themes: Behaviour Described Within the Framework of Guilt When it Could Easily be Described as Innocent and The Same Argument Made by Drawing From Contradictory Ideas. The discourse analysis explored the techniques utilised to construct behaviour as guilty. Results from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how construction of behaviour as guilty can lead to unfair and incorrect assessments which contribute to wrongful convictions. Keywords: wrongful convictions, tunnel vision, thematic discourse analysis, fact construction, court room transcripts
Open Access
Caregiver Faces During Naturalistic Infant Crying
(2022) Tuza, Alexander; School of Psychology
Caregiver-infant communications are often dominated by facial expressions, considered essential in maintaining mutual affect and coordinating emotional co-regulation (Gianino & Tronick, 1988; Trevarthen & Aitken, 2001). Despite infants being well studied by psychology, many of the observations made in controlled experiments or qualitative studies have yet to be examined outside of psychology laboratories. To this end, this study aimed to explore (1) the face presentation behaviours of caregivers interacting with their crying infants, and (2) the patterns of facial emotional expressions they used while doing so. Secondary analysis was undertaken on the SAYCam Dataset (Sullivan et al., 2021), comprising three infants and over 477 hours of infant-perspective, head-mounted videocamera footage. Infant cries were identified using Seewave in R, and manually verified as crying. Facial expressions were detected and analysed using iMotions integrated Affectiva AFFDEX, then manually reviewed for false positives and extended by coding for additional variables. Mixed effects models were used to account for random variance. Results of the first two models suggest that while caregivers did not present their faces differently during crying compared to non-crying periods, less face presentation was found before crying. The second two models did not find a general pattern of caregiver emotional expressions towards infants during crying. Different levels of positive valence were observed across crying periods, and different patterns of emotion categories against cry pitch. Taken together, these results suggest infant-caregiver interactions are far less typical, and each dyadic relationship far more individual, than is often observed in controlled experiments. Keywords: infants, intersubjectivity, emotional expressions, crying, fussing

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