PhD Candidates

Cassandra Chapman

BA (Hons), Bcom

My research explores how identity, norms, and individual differences inform individuals’ decisions about who to help and the kind of help they are willing to offer through charitable organisations. I especially ask what happens when the interests and norms of multiple group memberships conflict.

More broadly, I undertake actionable research on real-world issues that help us understand why people are moved to act prosocially or agitate for positive social change.

Shannon Stuart

BPsySc (Hons)

In my PhD I am investigating the impact of schemas about gender and sexuality on perceptions of same-sex intimate partner violence in the criminal justice system.

More broadly, I am interested in how various elements of psychology can influence and improve law, policing and public policy. I am particularly interested the reduction of prejudice and discrimination towards gender and sexual minorities, interpersonal violence more generally, and offender rehabilitation programs.

Kiara Minto

BA (Hons in Psychology)

I’m interested in the impact of social groups, stereotypes, prototypes, and norms on perceptions of and responses to a range of social issues.

In my PhD I will be assessing the impact of these factors on people’s responses to non-physical Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). I am looking to identify the existing stereotypes and prototypes of IPV and the impact of romantic and gender norms on responses to stereotypical/prototypical versus atypical, incidences of IPV.

I wish to understand whether adherence to some norms fosters a worldview that romanticises, diminishes or legitimises certain behaviours associated with non-physical IPV.

Gianni Ribeiro

BPsySc (Hons)

Gianni is supervised by Associate Professors Jason Tangen and Blake McKimmie. Gianni’s current research investigates how jurors evaluate forensic expert testimony and how to communicate forensic evidence and expertise in a way that jurors can accurately understand and reason about it.

Gianni completed her honours thesis in the Applied Social Psychology Lab under the supervision of Dr Emma Antrobus, investigating whether jury sentencing recommendations had an impact on confidence in the criminal courts using procedural justice theory.

Faye Nitschke

LLB, BA(Psych)(Hons)

My research explores jury decision-making in criminal trials, particularly how jurors understand and evaluate evidence given by complainants and other eyewitnesses at trial. I am specifically interested in the interaction between judge, counsel and witnesses during trial and how this influences the jury’s perception of witnesses.

Currently, I am exploring how cross-examination by opposing counsel impacts jurors’ use of stereotypes about deception in their credibility evaluations of complainant witnesses in criminal trials.

Tom McIlroy

BA (Hons in Psychology) MPsychOrg

I recently completed my Masters in organisational psychology and have since undertaken a PhD. My PhD explores the consequences of unanswered social support seeking in the workplace – that is, when employees ask their colleagues or supervisors for support but don’t receive it.

My general areas of interest include performance, well-being, stress, equality, and diversity in the workplace. I would ultimately love to explore the psychology behind why the gender pay gap still exists, why minority groups are underrepresented in management positions, and strategies that could be implemented to reduce such problems.

Kyle Jensen

BPsySc (Hons)

I am interested in all things related to the psychology of blood donation. Specifically, for my PhD I am going to investigate the interactions between risk perceptions, risk judgement, and stigma and how these affect motivations to donate blood. I’ll be focusing on the deferral from donation that affects Men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) and instances of “non-compliant” donating that some MSM engage in. However, I will be trying to understand non-compliance in general with an eye to apply it to other deferrals and other contexts.

Harrison Lee

BPsychSci (Hons)

My PhD will be investigating how a survivor’s testimony influences juror decision-making in heteronormative sexual assault cases. Specifically, I will be looking at how this testimony can activate certain schemas and stereotypes related to both rape and consensual sex, and how this may bias a juror’s subsequent verdict. With this research I hope to develop a format of providing testimony, in which salient schemas and stereotypes can be used to benefit the prosecution rather than hinder them. This research has stemmed from the findings of my honours thesis which I undertook in 2017 in conjunction with the Applied Social Psychology Lab.

More broadly, my interests lie in everything related to social psychology, such as the effects schemas have on impression formation and decision-making in general, as well as any research which is related to both law/criminal justice and sexism. I have personally been involved in research for the Safe Schoolies Project since 2016, which investigates the perceptions of risk held by high school graduates celebrating their milestone on the Gold Coast.