Strong Research Ethos
Psychology at the University of Otago ranked in the top one hundred 2022 QS World Rankings by Subjects.
Furthermore, in the latest Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) rating exercise, the Department of Psychology received the country's highest score for any nominated academic unit in any discipline.
Being rated the top department at the University of Otago in the same exercise confirms the research ethos employed by academic staff, research staff, and postgraduate students. We are proud of the national and international success our researchers receive.
"I am very proud to be a member of this outstanding department. We have an incredible international reputation, and we have achieved that reputation through the hard and dedicated work of our academic staff, research staff, and senior students, as well as an amazing support staff that keep our research machine ticking along."
Mike Colombo, HoD of Psychology, 2014–2019
Research Facilities
Research in neuroscience, psychopharmacology, psychophysiology, and behavioural processes is supported by specialised laboratories, and neurophysiological apparatus.
Clinical, developmental, and social psychology laboratories include interview rooms, computer recording facilities for coding behaviour, and audio-visual recording equipment. Research in cognition and perception includes equipment for recording evoked potentials, for measuring eye movements, for investigating hemisphere asymmetry, and a flight simulator.
The technical and administrative staff of the Department provide enthusiastic and skilled assistance over a wide range of areas of research.
Interdisciplinary research with other disciplines
Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged and there are well-established links with other university departments in the Division of Sciences, the Division of Humanities, and in the Division of Health Sciences.
Graduate research
The academic staff of the Department of Psychology supervise graduate research in a wide range of areas of experimental and applied psychology, including behavioural processes, clinical psychology, cognition, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, human factors, memory, neuropsychology, perception, psychobiology, psychopharmacology, psychophysiology, and social psychology.
Staff Research
- Professor Cliff Abraham
Neural mechanisms of learning and memory, cellular and molecular events underlying nervous system plasticity and Alzheimer's disease. - Dr Vanessa Beanland
Human factors, applied cognitive psychology, transport safety, visual attention. - Dr Brent Alsop
Experimental analysis of human and animal behaviour in detection and choice procedures. - Professor David Bilkey
Biological basis of memory and learning. Spatial memory and navigation. Hippocampal function in schizophrenia. - Professor Mike Colombo
Neural basis of memory and learning, effects of brain damage on behaviour, comparative animal cognition. - Professor Tamlin Conner
Emotional and physical well-being, happiness, nutrition, genetics, mobile-phone based experience sampling methods. - Professor Liz Franz
Planning, attention, and memory processes of complex actions in neurologically-normal and impaired individuals, with a specific focus on bimanual skills. - Professor Jamin Halberstadt
Interaction of emotion and cognition, intuition and reasoning in decision making, social cognition. - Dr Olivia Harrison
Mental health and its relationship to how we perceive our body. - Associate Professor Dione Healey
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, temperament and psychopathology, neuropsychological development in childhood. - Associate Professor Jackie Hunter
Social identity, self-esteem, prejudice, intergroup relations. - Associate Professor Richard Linscott
Schizophrenia and risk for psychosis; ethics and informed consent; taxometrics. - Associate Professor Liana Machado
Neuropsychology, visual attention, automaticity, and control. - Professor Neil McNaughton
The neural basis of anxiety and its disorders; the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of human personality; neuroeconomics; the contribution of theta rhythm to these various aspects of mental processing. - Professor Jeff Miller
Cognitive psychology and psychophysiology, visual perception and attention, mathematical and statistical models and methods. - Professor David O'Hare
Cognitive ergonomics, human factors, aviation psychology, expertise and decision-making. - Dr Narun Pat (Pornpattananangkul)
Decision-making; reward-processing; cognitive, affective and social neuroscience; human neuroimaging and electrophysiology (fMRI and M/EEG); mood disorders; aging. - Professor Richie Poulton
Developmental psychopathology, gene X environment prediction of complex disorders, and psychosocial determinants of chronic physical disease. - Professor Elaine Reese
Autobiographical memory development; language and literacy development; social influences on cognitive development. - Professor Ted Ruffman
Social understanding in infants, children, older adults, and dogs. - Associate Professor Damian Scarf
Comparative animal cognition; e.g. testing the ability of pigeons to learn novel sequences and solve problems. Developmental psychology; e.g. testing the ability of 3- and 4-year-old children to plan for the future and delay gratification. - Professor Martin Sellbom
Integration of personality and psychopathology; personality disorders; paychopathy; personality assessment; foresnic psychology. - Dr Elizabeth Schaughency
How to promote evidence-based practices and decision-making to bridge the research-to-practice gap in professional practice with children. - Professor Gareth TreharnePsychosocial influences on the experience of illness, treatment decisions and constructions of health in the media.
- Dr Ryan Ward
Neurobiology of motivation, cognition, and their interaction, temporal information processing and learning. - Professor Rachel Zajac
Psychology and the law, eyewitness testimony, legal/investigative procedures for witnesses.
Postgraduate Research Within Psychology
Psychology at Otago is a leading research department both nationally and internationally and we are proud of our talented students who work tirelessly to achieve the impressive results of their various research topics. They are mentored and encouraged throughout this process by their equally hard-working academic supervisors.
Here are a few examples of postgraduate topics being undertaken in the Department:
- Identifying whether a deficiency in the reward system precedes the onset of schizophrenia; or whether the symptom occurs after the onset of the illness.
- Examining the physiological and psychological experiences that children, with and without ADHD have, when processing and responding to emotional and socially relevant information.
- Looking at how whānau talk with their children about experiences that are in line with who they are and where they come from.
- Looking at how forensic decision-makers can be swayed by more than just the evidence in front of them.
- An interdisciplinary study to examine the relation between circulating vitamin D status and wellbeing, as well as examining genes related to vitamin D function and wellbeing.
- Finding a blood test that can diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an early stage.
- Investigating whether domestic dogs understand human emotional cues.
- Looking at whether infants as young as 6-months old possess an innate moral compass that allows them to evaluate individuals as good or bad.
- Developing measures that can be used in the laboratory to assess real-life behaviours, e.g., adolescent risk-taking, parent-child conflict.
Psycolloquy
Each year, in November, the department holds Psycolloquy, a presentation day for students' research. This is well attended by our postgraduate students, staff and members of the public.
Psychology Research Labs and Centres
A number of research groups maintain their own webpages, and some have contact information for potential participants in their research.
- Action, Brain, and Cognition Lab
- Baby Scientists
- Language and Social Development Lab
- Social Cognition Lab
Related Multidisciplinary Research
Brain Health Research Centre
The mission of the Brain Health Research Centre is to undertake internationally excellent research aimed at understanding the mechanisms of brain health, disease and repair, to develop new treatments for neurological disorders, to provide international quality training for the next generation of neuroscientists, and to develop active links with relevant community groups and individuals.
Brain Research New Zealand (Rangahau Roro Aotearoa) - A Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE)
BRNZ brings together 67 research groups spread all over New Zealand. Our collaborative community-focused approach is unprecedented for research in New Zealand. We are striving to unlock the secrets of the ageing brain and producing a seismic shift in how researchers, clinicians and community groups partner together. Find out more about our interventions and treatments for neurodegenerative disorders of the ageing brain; such as Dementia, Stroke, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease and Huntington's Disease. When we share and collaborate in order to improve health outcomes for older people, the outcome is a healthier and happier New Zealand.
Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Research Unit (The Dunedin Study)
The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (also known as the Dunedin Study) is a world-renowned longitudinal study of human health, development and behaviour, founded by Dr Phil A. Silva. The Dunedin Study has followed the lives of 1037 babies born between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973 Queen Mary Maternity Hospital, Dunedin, New Zealand, since their birth. In its most recent phase (age) 45 data collection, 94 per cent of the living Study members participated. The Study has produced over 1300 publications and reports, many of which have directly influenced or helped inform policy makers in New Zealand and overseas.
Visit the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study website