Psychology Commons^™

Parental Bonding: Validity, Stability And Predictor Of Mental And Physical Health During Pregnancy, Delicia Dorothy Pereira

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background: Parental bonding during childhood is known to have a significant impact on an individual’s life-long health. The influence of early parent-child relationships may be particularly strong in mothers who are pregnant with their first child. In this study, these emotional bonds were explored using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), a retrospective and quantitative measure of parental bonding. The PBI has not been validated in a pregnant population, nor has its consistency been examined across the birth of a child. Therefore, this study: i) validates the factor structure of the PBI for the first time in an Australian population of …

Examining Ecological Constraints On The Intergenerational Transmission Of Attachment Via Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, Marije L Verhage, R M Pasco Fearon, Carlo Schuengel, Marinus H Van Ijzendoorn, Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg, Sheri Madigan, Glenn I Roisman, Mirjam Oosterman, Kazuko Y Behrens, Maria S Wong, Sarah Mangelsdorf, Lynn E. Priddis, Karl-Heinz Brisch, Collaboration On Attachment Transmission Synthesis

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Parents' attachment representations and child-parent attachment have been shown to be associated, but these associations vary across populations (Verhage et al., 2016). The current study examined whether ecological factors may explain variability in the strength of intergenerational transmission of attachment, using individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis. Analyses on 4,396 parent-child dyads (58 studies, child age 11-96 months) revealed a combined effect size of r = .29. IPD meta-analyses revealed that effect sizes for the transmission of autonomous-secure representations to secure attachments were weaker under risk conditions and weaker in adolescent parent-child dyads, whereas transmission was stronger for older children. Findings …

Breathing New Life: Investigating Ways To Improve The Mental Health Of People Living With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease In Western Australia, Tina Phan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Anxiety and depression are common comorbidities in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), contributing to greater morbidity and mortality in an already vulnerable population. Despite the prevalence, few recommendations exist in global management guidelines for the detection and treatment of these comorbidities, reflecting the limited literature available on effective strategies for dealing with mental health issues in COPD populations. There is promising evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) improves mental health outcomes in people with COPD. However, investigational studies have commonly reported participants’ lack of transport, lack of time and illness as barriers to recruitment and successful completion. This …

Holistic Health: Shaping Women’S Experiences Of Positive Body Image, Helen Elizabeth Monks

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This PhD thesis seeks to contribute to a nuanced understanding of positive body image and how it is expressed among a group of women participating in holistic health culture in a modern Western society. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth ethnographic interviews with 25 women in Perth, Western Australia, to illuminate an understanding of their holistic health beliefs and practices, perceptions of appearance and health ideals, as well as their understandings of positive body image. Thematic analysis of the data through Nvivo revealed several overarching themes, demonstrating how certain aspects of holistic health culture may encourage or dissuade the development …

Effects Of Long-Term Participation In Tennis On Cognitive Function In Elderly Individuals, Scott Culpin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many studies have reported the relationship between exercise and cognition with conflicting results. This may be due to differences in intervention durations, session lengths, intensities, and type of exercise. It has been suggested that exercises requiring greater cognitive demand such as football, basketball and racquet sports, are protective against cognitive decline, compared to less cognitively demanding exercises such as swimming, cycling and running, however, research concerning exercise types are currently limited. The present study tested the hypothesis that elderly individuals who had been regularly playing tennis more than 10 years, would have greater cognitive function than those who had been …

Exploring The Preparedness Of Novice (Student) Paramedics For The Mental Health Challenges Of The Paramedic Profession: Using The Wisdom Of The Elders, Lisa Holmes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates the preparedness of novice (student) paramedics for the mental health challenges of the paramedic profession and identifies the coping strategies used by veteran paramedics to successfully meet these challenges. The lived experience of veteran paramedics is utilised to provide this important assistance.

Initially, two surveys were developed and administered to 16 course coordinators and 302 students of the 16 accredited undergraduate degree paramedicine courses across Australia and New Zealand, to identify the perceived need (for preparation) within the curriculum. In addition, the anticipations, confidence and fears of novice (student) paramedics, course coordinators and veteran paramedics were also …

Comparing Live To Recorded Music And Stories Using Multiple Psychoneuroendocrine And Psychological Measures, Ronniet Orlando

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Listening to music brings health benefits, according to an expanding opus of empirical research. Studies to date cover a wide range of music interventions and outcome measures. Music has been applied to healthy participants, as well as clinical populations to target anxiety and pain. But little is known about whether live music is more effective than recorded music as an intervention for these common symptoms.

This exploratory study sought answers with the emerging science of saliva analysis, which focuses on biomarkers that indicate stress and immune function. In this case salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, immunoglobulin-A, interleukin- 1beta, and pH levels were …

Apology Effectiveness: The Impact Of Prior Wrongful Behaviour And Voluntariness Of Apologies Within Juvenile Justice, Isolde Larkins

Theses : Honours

The justice system diverts young offenders away from further contact through restorative justice processes. Juvenile justice conferencing allows for the goals of restorative justice to be met, including meeting the needs of victims and offenders. Apologies, when offered by offenders to victims within a conferencing setting, can assist with meeting these restorative goals. Apologies, however, need to be effective to have the desired outcome. Several variables influence the effectiveness of apologies, including the perceived voluntariness of apologies, with prompted apologies reducing apology effectiveness. The reduced effectiveness of prompted apologies might be an issue during conferencing as some offenders are prompted …

Using Eeg Data To Predict Engagement In Face-To-Face Conversations, Brooke Maddestra

Theses : Honours

To date engagement in face-to-face conversation has been studied almost exclusively through the post event measurement of self-reporting surveys or questionnaires. Electroencephalography (EEG) has been used for decades to examine brain activity for both research and diagnostic purposes. Medical grade EEG equipment is both costly and confined to being used within laboratory settings. With the recent advent of off-the-shelf consumer grade portable EEG-devices, novel psychological research on cognitive computations that have traditionally been confined to self-report, is now a reality. Although it is well documented that people use their cognitive abilities during conversations, an extensive literature search found no studies …

Using Physiological Measures To Measure Changes In Cognitive Load Associated With Automaticity And Transfer, Joanna Verden

Theses : Honours

This study investigated the ability of two physiological measures, galvanic skin response and heat flux, to reflect changes in cognitive load using a variation of the dot counting task developed by Lassaline and Logan (1993). Concurrently, the robustness of the dual processing theory of automaticity was evaluated via disruption. The utilised task was designed to create a shift from controlled to automatic processing via practice, followed by a return to controlled processing via the introduction of a 6-digit memory recognition task designed to increase working-memory load and disrupt automaticity. As reaction time has previously been demonstrated to be a reliable …

Saving Behaviour In The Australian Dream: Its Relationship With Aspiration And Motivation, Financial Literacy, And Materialism, Ming D’Iapico-Bien

Theses : Honours

In Australia, most people aspire to achieve the “Australian dream” of owning their homes. Australian house prices have risen dramatically in comparison to people’s incomes, but despite this, many Australians still strive to enter the property market. The aim of this correlational study was to investigate the relationships between saving behaviour (with the ultimate goal of spending accumulated savings on a house deposit) and various psychological variables over and above sex, age, education, employment status, and income. The investigated predictor variables were motivation, extrinsic aspiration, financial literacy, and materialism. Previous research grounded in self-determination theory (SDT) has shown that intrinsic …

An Explanation Of Apology Acceptance Based On Lay Peoples’ Insights, James Strickland, Katie Martin, Alfred Allan, Maria M. Allan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Apologies play an important role in forgiveness, but the pathway from apology to forgiveness is unclear. Many researchers use Goffman’s model of the corrective interchange, or models derived from it to guide their research. This model is based on the assumption that offenders apologise to victims who accept these apologies and that this leads to forgiveness. The acceptance of the apology is therefore central in this model, so we undertook a systematic literature review to determine how researchers conceptualise and measure apology acceptance and found a lack of clarity around the construct. We addressed this theoretical uncertainty by exploring whether …

Revenge Pornography: The Influence Of Perpetrator-Victim Sex, Observer Sex And Observer Sexting Experience On Perceptions Of Seriousness And Responsibility, Adrian J. Scott, Jeff Gavin

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Purpose

Drawing on gender-role stereotypes and defensive attribution theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of perpetrator-victim sex, observer sex and observer sexting experience on perceptions of seriousness and responsibility in the context of revenge pornography.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 239 university students read one of two versions of a hypothetical scenario, responded to items concerning their perceptions of the situation described, and responded to items concerning their sexting experience.

Findings

Men were more likely to believe the situation was serious when it involved a male perpetrator and a female victim rather than vice versa. However, perpetrator-victim …

Women’S Subjective Experiences Of Living With Vulvodynia: A Systematic Review And Meta-Ethnography, Rebekah Shallcross, Joanne M. Dickson, David Nunns, Catharine Mackenzie, Gundi Kiemle

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Vulvodynia, the experience of an idiopathic pain in the form of burning, soreness, or throbbing in the vulval area, affects around 4–16% of the population. The current review used systematic search strategies and meta-ethnography as a means of identifying, analyzing, and synthesizing the existing literature pertaining to women’s subjective experiences of living with vulvodynia. Four key concepts were identified: (1) Social Constructions: Sex, Women, and Femininity: Women experienced negative consequences of social narratives around womanhood, sexuality, and femininity, including the prioritization of penetrative sex, the belief that it is the role of women to provide sex for men, and media …

The Psychometric Assessment Of Alexithymia: Development And Validation Of The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire, David Preece, Rodrigo Becerra, Ken Robinson, Justine Dandy, Alfred Allan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Alexithymia is a trait comprising people's ability to focus attention on and accurately appraise their own emotions. Its assessment is of clinical interest because people who have difficulty processing their negative and positive emotions are more vulnerable to developing psychopathology symptoms, however, existing alexithymia measures cannot comprehensively assess the construct across both negative and positive emotions. In this paper, we attempt to remedy these measurement limitations by developing and validating a new 24-item self-report measure, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ), which is based on the attention-appraisal model of alexithymia. In Study 1, our confirmatory factor analyses in a sample of …

Assessing Alexithymia: Psychometric Properties And Factorial Invariance Of The 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale In Nonclinical And Psychiatric Samples, David Preece, Rodrigo Becerra, Ken Robinson, Justine Dandy

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure the three components of alexithymia; difficulty identifying feelings in the self (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and externally orientated thinking (EOT). We examined the scale’s psychometric properties in Australian nonclinical (N = 428) and psychiatric (N = 156) samples. In terms of factorial validity, confirmatory factor analyses found the traditional 3-factor correlated model (DIF, DDF, EOT) to be the best and most parsimonious solution, but it did not reach adequate levels of goodness-of-fit in either sample. Several EOT items loaded poorly on their intended factor, …

Establishing The Theoretical Components Of Alexithymia Via Factor Analysis: Introduction And Validation Of The Attention-Appraisal Model Of Alexithymia, David Preece, Rodrigo Becerra, Alfred Allan, Ken Robinson, Justine Dandy

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Alexithymia is an important mental health construct, but there is continuing debate regarding its definition and measurement. We attempt to resolve this definitional uncertainty in two ways. Firstly, we trace the development of the alexithymia construct, focusing particularly on what we call the Toronto and Amsterdam models, and examine a body of empirical research that shows strong support for the hypothesis that alexithymia consists of three components (difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally orientated thinking). Based on these components, we formulate an alternate theoretical model of alexithymia, the attention-appraisal model of alexithymia, that aligns alexithymia theory with …

Trajectories Of Quality Of Life, Life Satisfaction, And Psychological Adjustment After Prostate Cancer, Suzanne K. Chambers, Shu K. Ng, Peter C. Baad, Joanne F. Aitken, Melissa K. Hyde

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

To describe trajectories of health-related quality of life (QoL), life satisfaction, and psychological adjustment for men with prostate cancer over the medium to long term and identify predictors of poorer outcomes using growth mixture models.

Methods

One-thousand sixty-four (82.4 % response) men diagnosed with prostate cancer were recruited close to diagnosis and assessed over a 72-month (6-year) period with self-report assessment of health-related QoL, life satisfaction, cancer-related distress, and prostate specific antigen anxiety. Urinary, bowel, and sexual function were also assessed using validated questionnaires.

Results

Poorer physical QOL was predicted by older age, lower education, lower income, comorbidities, and …

Transfer Of Automatic Skills: The Role Of Automaticity In Skill Acquisition And Transfer, Katrina Louise Muller-Townsend

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Skill acquisition theories suggest that automaticity of lower-level processes is required before the acquisition of higher-level skills can be attempted. However, there is a disparity between the theoretical expectations of skill acquisition and the empirical findings in the transfer of training research. Research has found that when a change is made to the contextual conditions in which a skill is acquired, the learned response becomes less skilled. When skill transfer occurs performance is disrupted so that reaction times are slower than observed prior to the context change. This observation has been made with several different tasks, however no research has …

The Connection Between Drug Use And Crime In Western Australia, Kathryn Riordan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Despite decades of research, there is no consensus as to the factors that explain the association between drug use and criminal behaviour. While the evolving sophistication in research methodology has identified factors that are associated with involvement in both drug use and crime, exploration of the idiosyncratic factors that contribute to initiation, maintenance and desistence in drug use and criminal behaviour over time, across culture and social context remains unknown. In this research a grounded theory approach was used to develop an explanatory model based on the reported experiences of 22 non-Aboriginal and 11 Aboriginal adult male offenders, incarcerated in …

Exploring The Experience Of Separation In Australia: Perspectives From Formerly Married And Cohabiting Parents, Sarah M. Barbas

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The increase in separation and divorce rates during the 20th century brought with it many far-reaching social implications for all involved, sparking a high level of interest among researchers. Most research in this area has been approached from stress frameworks that have conceptualised separation and divorce as a stressful life transition that individuals must adjust to. Yet, attempts to understand separation and divorce to date have been dominated by quantitative methods that have resulted in a relatively static and objective understanding of this experience; particularly in Australia. Furthermore, although international rates of divorce are declining, rates of separation following cohabiting …

Survival After Violence: The Post-Separation Journey Of Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence, Sarah Jayne Parkin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a complex social issue that remains highly prevalent in communities across the world. The impact of IPV includes short-term and long-term psychological, physical, financial and social consequences for women who experience it as well at their immediate and extended families, networks and communities. As research has continued to evolve there has been a move towards exploring the interaction of systemic factors that influence the occurrence of IPV and consequences of IPV long-term. Although researchers have identified that the long-term outcomes for women after leaving an IPV relationship can vary, it appears more research is required …

Workplace Bullying: An Exploratory Study In Australian Academia, Manish Sharma

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Workplace bullying is a behaviour which adversely affects individuals, organisations and the community at large. While substantial research has been conducted on workplace bullying in different work settings, limited research exists on this behaviour at universities; no comprehensive studies have to date been conducted in the context of Australian academia. This study therefore contributes through breaking new ground by exploring bullying within the increasingly corporatised and competitive Australian higher education sector. New Public Management (NPM) practices, diminished government funding, and limited resources risk transforming this sector into a full-fledged industry focused on corporate objectives to achieve operational profitability. Universities’ primary …

The Human Factors Associated With Responding To Emergency Vehicles, Pauline Grant

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Emergency vehicles undertake emergency driving, using lights and sirens, to move rapidly through traffic in response to situations where life and property are at risk. For the emergency driving to be effective, other motorists need to drive in a manner that facilitates their passage. Despite laws to support this, problematic encounters can result in emergency vehicles being unable to get through. The current research expanded on earlier exploratory research into motorists’ encounters with emergency vehicles (Grant, 2010) to examine psychological factors involved with motorists’ responses to emergency vehicles. A construct validity approach was used to develop a scale …

The Classification Of The Finger Frames Method In Violin Playing, Brittany Williams

Theses : Honours

From the first stage of learning new repertoire, string pedagogy aims to present violinists with effective strategies to achieve accurate intonation in performance. The search for new teaching and learning strategies, whilst running the risk of being seen as unconventional compared to more tried and tested methods (i.e. Suzuki), can on the other hand provide the tutor with new tools for enhancing their teaching practice. Western Australian violinist Fleur Challen has developed a method titled Finger Frames; a learning strategy that uses a colour coding system to prepare a violinist for changes in left hand position, reducing the cognitive load …

Checking The “Academic Selection” Argument. Chess Players Outperform Non-Chess Players In Cognitive Skills Related To Intelligence: A Meta-Analysis, Giovanni Sala, Alexander P. Burgoyne, Brooke N. Macnamara, David Z. Hambrick, Guillermo J. Campitelli, Fernand Gobet

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Substantial research in the psychology of expertise has shown that experts in several fields (e.g., science, mathematics) perform better than non-experts on standardized tests of intelligence. This evidence suggests that intelligence plays an important role in the acquisition of expertise. However, a counter argument is that the difference between experts and non-experts is not due to individuals' traits but to academic selection processes. For instance, in science, high scores on standardized tests (e.g., SAT and then GRE) are needed to be admitted to a university program for training. Thus, the “academic selection process” hypothesis is that expert vs. non-expert differences …

The Protective Factors For Resilience Scale (Pfrs): Development Of The Scale, Craig Harms, Julie Ann Pooley, Lynne Cohen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The present paper outlines the development of the Protective Factors for Resilience Scale (PFRS). To address limitations in the literature related to measuring psychological resilience this paper outlines a two stage process in developing the PFRS. After an initial exploratory factor analysis (Stage 1: N = 413 adults), the result of confirmatory factor analysis (Stage 2: N = 240 adults) supported the proposed model where a single second-order factor explained the degree of association between three lower order factors (Personal Resources, Social Resources Family and Social Resources Peers, each indicated by 5 items per factor). Other evidence of the construct …

Psychological Consequences Of Ivf Fertilization – Review Of Research, Alicja Malina, Julie Ann Pooley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Due to the reported efficacy of in vitro fertilization (IVF) this method of dealing with infertility is increasing being used. Experiencing IVF can be a source of psychological and emotional difficulties for couples trying to have a child. A systematic review was performed to discuss IVF as a psychological issue that impacts on the functioning of individuals, couples and families. Ebsco, Science Direct and PsycARTICLES databases were searched using the keywords: IVF fertilization, IVF psychology, infertility, and IVF consequences, using published peer reviewed articles from 2006 onwards. Studies in the English and Polish languages, peer reviewed and investigating general IVF …

Interpersonal Apologies: A Psychological Perspective Of Why They Might Work In Law?, Alfred Allan, James Strickland, Maria M. Allan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Apologies have become an accepted feature in many fields of law and there is evidence that they make a constructive contribution to the resolution of disputes. The reason for this might be that they address the intangible needs of parties after adverse events that law otherwise find difficult to address. Legal reformers introduced apologies into law primarily on the basis of deductive reasoning without being able to refer to a comprehensive psychological theory that explains the apology process; in part because apology was only identified as a psychological construct worthy of empirical research during the last quarter of the 20th …

The Acceptance Of Apologies In The Corrective Process: Implications For Research And Practice, James Strickland, Alfred Allan, Maria M. Allan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Apology scholars and researchers in psychology, law, and justice commonly conceptualise the corrective process that follows wrongful behaviour as an apology-followed-by-forgiveness sequence. In this paper, however, we suggest on the basis of our analysis of the research literature that a more suitable conceptualisation of the corrective process is one that includes the acceptance of an apology as an additional discrete step that is distinct from forgiveness. We begin with a brief discussion of the psychological view of apologies as a process of negotiation between offending and offended parties, and how psychologists conceive peoples’ responses to apologies. We also review the …