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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Exploring the role of psychological flexibility in the management of fatigue-related disability in rheumatic disease
Fatigue is one of the most debilitating symptoms of rheumatic disease. Despite advances in medical treatments, fatigue persists for many people with rheumatic disease and remains a major contributor to functional disability. ... -
Best Practice Guidance for Working with Transgender Community Members in Health Professional Teaching
The relationship between teaching staff and transgender community members is integral for the success of education sessions that these community members contribute to. In order for good learning outcomes for students, and ... -
The Role of Self-Compassion in Influencing First-Year Students' Mental Health
In a recently published report, the New Zealand Student Association reported that 56% of tertiary students across New Zealand had considered dropping out at some point during their time at university. Major triggers for ... -
It's not Black and White: Examining the Underlying Motives Behind Prejudice and Discrimination
Research concerned with evaluating the motivational basis of intergroup discrimination has tended to focus on the role of self-esteem. Decades of research has, however, failed to find a consistent association between these ... -
Conscious decisions to move and cortical movement preparation: which comes first?
The idea that conscious decisions determine our actions has been challenged by a report which suggested that the brain starts preparing for a movement before the conscious decision to move (Libet et al., 1983). Since they ... -
Elucidating the Relationship between Psychopathic Personality Traits and Fearlessness: A Reconsideration of the Low-fear Hypothesis
Deficits in fear have long been posited as an important etiological factor in the development of psychopathy, a personality disorder characterized by severe interpersonal and social impairments masked by an outward appearance ... -
Social problem solving and language skills in children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often have difficulties interacting socially with peers and adults. The research in this thesis explored the social problem solving skills and social functioning ... -
Design and evaluation of a mobile decision support system for screening neurodevelopmental disorders
New Zealand has the highest rate of youth suicide in the developed world. Young persons with ADHD and ASD, amongst other neurodevelopmental disorders, are at greater risk for depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide ... -
Keep Calm and Belong to be Strong: Social identity developed through an Adventure Education Programme foster resilience in Māori and New Zealand European youth.
Research on the Social Cure has demonstrated the undeniable importance of belonging to social groups and the impact that this has on one’s functioning, quality of life, health and well-being. Here, we extend this research ... -
The analysis of intra task fluctuation of Goal Conflict Specific Rhythmicity
Goal Conflict Specific Rhythmicity (GCSR) is a biomarker of an anxiety process based on Gray’s neuropsychological theory of anxiety. It provides an objective definition of anxiety, empirical measure for diagnosis, and aims ... -
The Effect of Memory-Focused Judicial Instructions on Juror Decision-Making
In New Zealand, child sexual assault is highly prevalent and it is not uncommon that there is a delay in reporting the alleged offence. Currently, judges are required to provide judicial instructions regarding memory if ... -
Intra-individual variability of reaction time and subclinical psychosis
Clinical and epidemiological studies have indicated that elevated intra-individual variability (IIV) of reaction time (RT) is a trait phenomenon that indexes vulnerability for a number of clinical conditions, including ... -
Conspiracy theory beliefs: measurement and the role of perceived lack of control
Despite conspiracy theory beliefs’ potential to lead to negative outcomes, psychologists have only relatively recently taken a strong interest in their measurement and underlying mechanisms. In this thesis I test a ... -
Driving to the Conditions: Driver Behaviour in Youths
Young drivers under 25 years are overrepresented in road fatalities and serious injuries worldwide. Past studies have identified that being male and having higher levels of sensation seeking, risk-taking, and self-perceived ... -
Social Understanding in the Community: Establishing Links to Previous Family Issues as well as an Understanding of Mental States on Disadvantaged Adolescents
Objective The purpose of the present study was to assess links to previous familial issues as well as an understanding of mental states on disadvantaged adolescents while controlling for age, fluid intelligence, and verbal ... -
Photographing the therapeutic relationship between women experiencing chronic pain and their canine companions
Past research has found that exposure to structured animal-assisted interventions can be beneficial for people experiencing acute or chronic pain; however, limited research has been conducted on long-term exposure to canine ... -
Maternal Immune Activation in Rats produces a Subjective Internal State that is Analogous to Human Psychosis
A key problem with animal models of psychosis lies with the animal’s inability to self-report its own internal state. In the present study, we used the drug discrimination paradigm, an assay that can provide an objective ... -
The impact of mobile mindfulness meditation on mental health and well-being in university students
Mindfulness meditation is a common psychotherapy informed by Buddhist mindfulness that is gaining traction outside of the clinic. One area that is particularly popular is mobile mindfulness meditation, the use of applications ... -
Local field potential recordings in rat anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula and ventral tegmental area during fatigue induced by voluntary effort exertion tasks
Fatigue is a universal experience that affects the daily lives of species. Nevertheless, there are disagreements about the definitions and measurement of fatigue. Historically, fatigue was considered a result of energy ... -
Testing the Effectiveness of a Combined Web-Based and Ecological Momentary Intervention for First-Year University Students
First year university students engage in heavy alcohol use. Concerns around adverse alcohol-related health outcomes has prompted research on methods to reduce alcohol consumption in university students. The current study ...