Psychology collection
The Department of Psychology offers some of the most popular and highly-rated undergraduate courses at Otago. It provides excellent preparation of students for careers in research and the profession of Psychology. Students from the postgraduate programme have achieved national and international recognition and awards and a number have gone on to positions in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, UK and the USA.
For further information go to the Department of Psychology.
Recent Deposits
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Is Goal-Conflict Specific Rhythmicity a Clinically Valid Biomarker for an Anxiety Syndrome?
Anxiety disorders are the most common group of mental disorders in Aotearoa New Zealand. Despite the high disease burden associated with anxiety disorders, there are currently no objective biomarkers that can aid their ... -
The Role of Empathy and Parent Mental State Talk in Theory-of-Mind Development: A Longitudinal Investigation
Theory of mind is an important aspect of social understanding and the development of this skill is of much interest. Theory of mind describes the ability to infer the mental states of others and apply this knowledge. Despite ... -
Memory Verification Decisions
Autobiographical memories are precious, they shape our identity, guide our thinking and behaviour, and facilitate social bonds in both helpful and unhelpful ways. However, our memory does not function like a video-recorder ... -
Subjective well-being buffers the effects of social exclusion and expression of in-group favouritism in real groups
Human beings are social animals. People need to connect with one another in order to thrive and survive. Yet people are socially excluded by others on a daily basis. A growing body of research reveals that such outcomes ... -
Lifestyle Behaviours as Predictors of Health: Understanding the Importance of Sleep, Diet and Physical Activity on Mental Health and Well-Being
There is now considerable evidence supporting the notion that sleep, diet, and physical activity can benefit mental health and well-being individually. Previous literature suggests young adults who sleep between seven- ... -
Eliciting information from adults: quality, quantity, and their willingness to disclose to an avatar interviewer
Avatars—digital representations of humans—may be a useful tool in a wide range of areas, such as education, advertising, communication, and health. The overarching goal of the present research was to examine the use of ... -
The benefits of belonging: National belonging as a resource for mental health and a potential buffer against the effects of ostracism for young and older adults
People develop strong emotional connections with the places they inhabit, similar to the connections formed between caregivers and infants. Moreover, as we get older, places come to form part of our identity. Taking a ... -
Effects of Secreted Amyloid Precursor Protein-Alpha Peptide Fragments on Glutamate Receptor Subunit Trafficking in the Rat Hippocampus
Glutamate receptors play a key role in synaptic plasticity mechanisms and are critical for learning and memory function. Deficits in synaptic plasticity and glutamate receptor functioning are observed in disease states ... -
Maternal Reminiscing during Middle Childhood: Associations with Infant and Child Temperament
The way that mothers engage in conversation with children about the past is associated with key developmental outcomes such as memory, language, and narrative skills, as well as emotional understanding (Fivush, 2019; Salmon ... -
Under Surveillance: Does Global Positioning System (GPS) Monitoring of Offenders Really Work and What Does the Dynamic Risk Assessment Offender Re-Entry (DRAOR) Really Tell Us?
Appropriate supervision and risk assessments are critical in offender management, but require effective tools and accurate risk assessments to guide decisions and interventions appropriately. This research sought to ... -
Two approaches for fostering self-regulatory competencies in home-based early childhood education and care: exploring benefits for children’s developing self-regulatory and socio-emotional competencies through the transition to school
Home-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a unique early childhood environment in which learning can take place to foster skills important for early school adjustment. The present studies examined the impact ... -
A Comparative Analysis of Emotion Recognition: Young Versus Older Adults Across Gender and Cultures
The purpose of this research was to investigate emotion recognition in adults across age, gender and culture. Using the six basic emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise as stimuli, the aim is ... -
Dysfunction in the anterior cingulate cortex and the ventral tegmental area in relation to decision making and motivation in an animal model of schizophrenia
Difficulties in decision-making and motivation can impact functional outcomes in schizophrenia. Two brain regions that play a role in decision-making and motivation are the ACC and VTA, with both showing dysfunction in the ... -
Value coding in the pigeon nidopallium caudolaterale
Until recently, the avian brain has remained relatively unexplored by neuroscientists. However, as reports of evidence of high-order behaviour in birds has increased, the avian brain is increasingly becoming a model of ... -
First-Generation University Students: University Experiences and Outcomes
Gaining a university qualification has the potential to reduce socioeconomic inequalities through several economic and social benefits of studying beyond secondary school. Students who are the first in their family to ... -
Direct and Mediated Relationships of Schizotypy with Suicidal Anticipation and Dread
Common and severe mental disorders, including those on the schizophrenia spectrum, are associated with an elevated risk for suicide. There is also strong evidence that suicide is associated with risk for mental disorder. ... -
Involvement of the Prelimbic cortex and Nucleus accumbens in the interaction between attention and motivation
Schizophrenia is a major neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population. In New Zealand this means that around 30,000-45,000 individuals are affected (Murray, 1996). Individuals diagnosed with ... -
Memory function in borderline personality disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a severe psychiatric condition that involves impairment in multiple areas of psychological functioning including disturbed cognition, impulsivity, and intense unstable relationships. ... -
“The Key for Giving Out Our Life Story”: Explorations of Longitudinal Research Participants’ Constructions of the Data-Sharing Debate
Sharing the data upon which scientific findings are based has been gaining traction in social science research. Current literature suggests that while data-sharing policies should be tailored to suit the populations they ... -
An empirical test of the minimalism theory of theory of mind development
Introduction. The Minimalist account of theory of mind (ToM) development contends that ToM develops through exposure to repeated behaviours and, later, mental state utterances. Patterns in these actions and utterances are ...