Psychology

Chae Rose

Lecturer, Psychology
chae.rose@jcu.edu.au

Lucy Bird

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
lucy.bird@jcu.edu.au

Nerina Caltabiano

Adjunct Professor
nerina.caltabiano@jcu.edu.au

Kannan Singaravelu Jaganathan

Lecturer Psychology
kannan.singaravelujaganathan@jcu.edu.au

Janine Lurie

Lecturer, Psychology
janine.lurie@jcu.edu.au

Liza van Eijk

Senior Lecturer, Psychology
liza.vaneijk@jcu.edu.au

Marie Caltabiano

Adjunct Professor
marie.caltabiano@jcu.edu.au

Kerry McBain

Associate Professor
kerry.mcbain@jcu.edu.au

Am I Talking to a Real Person? Experimental Investigations into Human Perceptions of Therapeutic Chatbots

Sam Teague

28 May 2024 - 28 May 2025

Therapeutic chatbots could enhance the accessibility of psychological treatments, reducing wait times and costs; yet questions remain about user acceptance. Millet et al. (2023) highlight biases against AI-generated art, suggesting a similar bias may exist for perceptions of therapeutic chatbots. This program of experimental research will investigate whether therapeutic communications are perceived as less empathetic when attributed to therapeutic chatbots, as opposed to humans, across three populations: the general community; therapists/counsellors; and mental health app users. This research will inform future integration of chatbots into digital interventions, including their suitability across different contexts, and highlight targets for improved user experience.

Experiences of men who have sex with men (MSM) on dating apps.

Sam Teague

28 May 2024 - 28 May 2025

Dating app preferences among men who have sex with men (MSM) privileges partner profiles that depict norms of masculinity and particular ethnicities. Concerningly, preoccupation to appear masculine and internalisation of race-based sexual stereotypes are linked with health disparities. This study will attempt to elucidate the role of bias in partner preferences among MSM within the Australian context. Specifically, the study will explore the impact of masculinity and ethnicity in partner preferences on dating apps. It will also explore how self-esteem, body image and social identity influence MSM’s dating preferences.

The Bamboo Parenting Program: Promotion of a Randomised Pilot Trial.

Sam Teague

28 May 2024 - 28 May 2025

The Bamboo Parenting Program is an online social support program for first-time mothers in the perinatal period. The program has been designed to prevent mental illness during this vulnerable period, and by leveraging social support, Bamboo targets one of the most significant predictors of mental health for perinatal women. The program pairs first-time mothers with volunteer mothers or with mother-nominated individuals (with support training provided in program). Pairs work together to navigate the critical and difficult perinatal period. Funding from this seed fund will be used to promote a pilot randomised trial in North Queensland.

Experiences of men who have sex with men on dating apps

Klaire Somoray

The COACT Project: A Buddy Program of Community Outreach, Adaptation, Connection and Together for CALD Youth

Wendy Li

01 Jul 2024 - 30 Jun 2027

The COACT (Community Outreach, Adaptation, Connection and Together) project aims to support CALD youth (12-25 years) to integrate into multicultural Townsville through an innovative two-year CO-ACTion buddy program. Buddies, matched based on the duration of living in Australia (less vs more than 5 years) with 100 CALD youth in each group, will participate in: 1) an 8-week mental wellbeing and resilience program (first year); 2) monthly CALD community activities (first and second years); and 3) outreach to connect with broader communities (second year). This project will support the participants to achieve successful adaptation through community outreach, connection and growing together.

Am I Talking to a Real Person? Experimental Investigations into Human Perceptions of Therapeutic Chatbots

Klaire Somoray

Digital Learning Initiative: Transforming the 4th Year Mini-Conference Experience in Psychology

Klaire Somoray

A Contemporary Approach to Research and Statistics in Psychology

Klaire Somoray

Developing a psychology resource library (SoLT Grant)

Klaire Somoray

While essential to students’ academic and professional careers, many students find learning statistics difficult. Often, students have negative attitudes toward statistics, which impacts engagement and, subsequently, performance and attrition. Recent SoTL research on the design of engaging and effective virtual statistics learning activities found that students want flexible, interactive, and accessible tools, rather than printed textbooks, to practice and advance their data analysis skills. Therefore, as a team of psychology educators, we are leveraging contemporary, digital technologies to create a library of interactive resources available to all Psychology students and staff. Specifically, we are developing a suite of individual resources which, together, create an online reference library. Additionally, we are undertaking a pilot evaluation of undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students’ and College of Healthcare Sciences educators’ experiences and opinions of the library in order to ensure the library is both effective and engaging. Our student-centred approach to this resource library has been chosen to engage students in their own learning and will accommodate student preferences in the post-pandemic higher education sector. Critical to advancing JCU’s efforts for transformative education, this work has the potential to significantly decrease anxiety and increase student retention and success.

Evaluation of NQPHN's mental health stepped care model

Sam Teague

02 Dec 2024 - 30 Sep 2026

The NQPHN is commissioning a provider to undertake an evaluation of their new mental health stepped care model. The PAHL group, led by James Dimmock, Ben Jackson (UWA), and Sam Teague, has been invited to submit an application by NQPHN.