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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Children’s Perceptions of Dentistry: Giving Children a Voice about their Dental Care
Historically, little weight has been given to children’s opinions about their healthcare, however, as research takes a more cooperative approach, the need has arisen for suitable techniques that help young children communicate ... -
Interviewer's questions, children's responses : assessments of children who may have been abused
The current thesis is based on interviews conducted with twenty-six 3- to 8-year old children who were assessed regarding concerns that they may have been abused. Eightyeight transcripts of the children undergoing a ... -
Characterisation of peptides from within the secreted amyloid precursor protein alpha as potential therapeutics in Alzheimer's disease
Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a transmembrane protein that is cleaved by specific proteases to produce a variety of peptides and larger protein products that contribute to the development, maintenance and plasticity ... -
Fluoxetine treatment and its effect on the behaviour of MIA rats
Prenatal immune insults have been shown to increase the offspring’s risk of developing schizophrenia. Based on this knowledge, a maternal immune activation (MIA) rat model of the disorder has been developed, where pregnant ... -
Congenital Mirror Movements and the Impact on the Somatosensory System
Congenital mirror movements (CMM) is a rare neurological condition in which affected individuals have difficulty with performing solely unimanual movements; the opposite hand symmetrically mimics the actions of the volitional ... -
Narrating transgressions in adolescence: a longitudinal study
The relationship between parent-child elaborative reminiscing and children’s socioemotional development is well-established (see Salmon & Reese, 2016 for a review). In particular, a previous longitudinal study trained ... -
Tumor Necrosis Factor α mediated Heterodendritic Metaplasticity in Rats and Alzheimer’s mice
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is an activity-dependent long-lasting increase in the efficacy of synaptic transmission. LTP is vital for learning and memory and must be regulated to keep synaptic strength within a dynamic ... -
A tale of autobiographical memory development: New Zealand style
Autobiographical memories are for specific, personal past events that are of significance to an individual (Nelson, 1993). The social interaction model of autobiographical memory proposes that children begin learning about ... -
Effects of Age and Gender on Jurors' Evaluation of Partial and Complete Transcripts of a Child Witness’s Testimony
The way in which children are allowed to give their testimony in cases of suspected sexual abuse has long been a topic of discussion around the world. Many countries have modified their laws to allow children to give ... -
The Effect of Order of Presentation of Child Abuse Allegations on Mock Jurors' Decision-Making
New Zealand, like other countries, makes special provisions for child witnesses in cases of suspected sexual abuse. For example, during a trial, portions of a child’s pre-recorded evidence can be shown to the jury without ... -
Auditory and Visual Illusions as Predictors of Positive Thought Disorder in an Undergraduate Sample
Although there is a wealth of research surrounding schizophrenia and its symptoms, what is still unknown is how these individual symptoms arise, and in what way they relate to one another. One way of investigating these ... -
Can an apple a day keep the psychologist away? The role of fruit and vegetable intake in mental well-being.
‘You are what you eat’ is a well-known adage that is supported by evidence linking healthy diets to greater physical well-being. The cornerstone of a healthy diet is a high intake fruit and vegetables, containing a variety ... -
Does Perceived Burdensomeness and Thwarted Belongingness Mediate the Relationship between Schizotypy and Suicidal Ideation?
Background. There is evidence to suggest that risk of death by suicide is increased among individuals living with schizotypy. However, currently there is no theoretical framework for understanding the high rates of suicide ... -
The Delayed Matching-to-Sample Task - Are Pigeons Too Smart To Remember?
The delayed matching-to-sample (DMS) task is a commonly used task to assess memory in animals. The current study assesses the possibility of an alternative method to solve the task, using simple strategies. A new tracking ... -
The divergent effects of prayer on cognitive performance
Prayer is a universal religious ritual, even among the secular. Although prayer is assumed to be beneficial, the empirical evidence is sparse. What rigorous research exists, concentrates on prayer’s subjective effects and ... -
Effects of Shared Book-reading Techniques on the Early Literacy and Language Skill of 4- and 5-year olds
Preschool is an important period in a child’s life as they learn from the environment around them. Gaining of early literacy and language skills before formal reading instruction begins at school is imperative as it sets ... -
Pacific university graduates in New Zealand: what helps and hinders completion
Increasing the numbers of Pacific Island students who graduate from New Zealand universities is important for the students’ futures, their families, communities and society in general. In this study, Pacific graduates (N ... -
A common-factor as an explanation for the association between schizotypy and cannabis use
There is a robust association between cannabis use and increased risk for schizophrenia. This relationship generalises to schizotypy, a schizophrenia-liability state. Cannabis use seems to be associated with increased ... -
Adaptive motivational signals in the anterior cingulate cortex and ventral tegmental area
This thesis focused on the role of the anterior cingulate cortex’s (ACC) interactions with the dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) during adaptive behaviour. The overall question guiding this work was: ... -
The effect of aniracetam on the performance of pigeons in the delayed matching-to-sample task.
Cognitive enhancing drugs are an exciting area of research that is constantly developing. Much of the research, however, has focused on restoring memory following some sort of disruption. Aniracetam is a positive AMPA-receptor ...