School of Social Sciences and Psychology

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1 School of Social Sciences and Psychology Project 38: Investigating the dissociation between perception for vision and perception for action Project 39: Are dark personality traits stronger in masculine people? Project 40: Public housing tenant representations of their neighbourhoods Project number: 38 Project title: Investigating the dissociation between perception for vision and perception for action Supervisory team: Dr. Tamara Watson, School of Social Sciences and Psychology (SSAP) and Foundational Processes of Behaviour Research Concentration (FpB) I joined UWS as a research lecturer in 2010 after completing a competitively awarded Human Frontiers Postdoctoral Fellowship at Rutgers University (USA) and The University of Sydney. I was awarded an ARC postdoctoral fellowship in My research investigates how context influences perception of unchanging stimuli and has been published in high impact journals such as Current Biology and Journal of Neuroscience. I will be available for the entire period of the internship Contact information for supervisor Dr. Tamara Watson (02) t.watson@uws.edu.au Project description It has been suggested that the brain represents the visual scene by generating dissociable percepts of the same object: one percept for visual perception and another for action (see: Goodale & Milner, The percept we 'see' is thought to be susceptible to illusions that help us maintain a workable conscious representation of the world. The percept we use to interact with objects is suggested to be more veridical, allowing us to make accurately manipulate objects unimpeded by illusion. There are several limitations to the research supporting this theory. Recent work on this has been carried out in my lab in collaboration with Ass. Prof Branka Spehar of UNSW. We have eliminated the presence of extra objects that induce the visual illusion but must be avoided during the grasp- a major limitation of much previous research. We show that when participants grasp a circular object that appears elongated along a horizontal or vertical axis, the maximal extent of their grasp matches the illusory elongation. According to previous studies our participants should not have been affected by the illusory percept. Our results therefore cast doubt on the veracity of the claims made to support the dissociation of perceptual systems for vision and action. During the Page 1 of 7

2 course of the research we have also found that simple white and black disks are grasped with different maximal extent between thumb and index finger. This internship project will explore this finding, investigating the relationship between perceptual size and grasp parameters for these objects. Project aim The aim of the project is establish the circumstances under which the hand forms a grasp that matches veridical object properties versus illusory object properties when reaching out to pickup simple black, white or grey objects. Project methods The project will involve the use of an Optotrak motion capture system to measure the location of participants' index finger and thumb in space as they grasp white, black or grey disks placed in front of them by the experimenter. Participants will be asked to make either a slow or fast grasp as this is thought to influence the effect of illusory percepts on grasping behaviour. Estimates of perceived size of the objects will also be established. Participants (approx 20) will be sourced from the general university student community and may be friends and associates of the experimenter. Participants' grasp trajectory, speed and size will be determined using existing trajectory analysis code programmed in Matlab (Mathworks). Further simple statistics will be carried out to establish whether object luminance influences gasp and whether this is correlated with perceived size. It is hypothesized that white objects will be perceived as larger than grey or black objects and this perceived size will correlate with grasp extent no matter what the speed of the grasp. This project is a stand-alone study that forms part of ongoing research and as such the equipment, ethics approval and funding (approx $400 in participant reimbursement will be sourced from Tamara Watson's research lectureship funds) for this project is available and existing. Students are required to have the following skills Students need to have a basic familiarity with psychological science and an understanding of psychology research methods. Ideally, they should have completed Psychology:human behaviour ( ) and Introduction to research methods ( ). Page 2 of 7

3 Project number: 39 Project title: Are dark personality traits stronger in masculine people? Supervisory team: Dr. Peter Jonason Dr Peter Jonason has over 50 peer reviewed publications, 4 book chapters, and has given more than a dozen invited talks. He is a world expert in the Dark Triad of personality consulting with international colleagues in Japan, Poland, Singapore, the US, Canada, and Russia. Dr Peter Jonason will be available for the period of the internship. Contact information for supervisor Dr. Peter Jonason (02) p.jonason@uws.edu.au Project description The Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) tend to be tendencies more common in men than in women in Western and Eastern societies (Jonason, Li, & Czarna, 2013). These traits are associated with physical, sexual, and verbal aggression (Jonason, 2013), embody an exploitive (Mealey, 1995), selfish (Jonason, Li, & Teicher, 2010) opportunistic (Jonason & Schmitt, 2012) social style, and are associated with risk-taking (Crysel, Crosier, & Webster, 2013), casual sex behaviors (Jonason, Li, Webster, & Schmitt, 2009), limited empathy (Jonason, Lyonns, Bethell, & Ross, 2013), and limited self-control (Jonason & Tost, 2010). All of these tendencies could be considered stereotypical masculine behaviors more than feminine ones. However, virtually all the research on the Dark Triad is based on self-report measures. That is, we have no idea if the apparent masculine tendencies associated with the Dark Triad are functions of semantic overlap between the Dark Triad and other constructs or the Dark Triad could show their masculine tendencies in less obvious way. In this study we concern ourselves with how facial masculinity might be linked to the Dark Triad. In particular we link facial masculinity, judged by others, with individual s scores on the Dark Triad. In this study, we have a group of participants provide standardized pictures of their faces and have them take a number of self-report personality measures. Then we have a second group of participants rate the pictures for their masculinity, attractiveness, and their personality. This study will provide strong evidence that the Dark Triad traits are a male-typical way of life. In addition, it will provide evidence as to whether the Dark Triad traits are something in the nature of men or is it more about men s greater tendency to have masculine tendencies, thereby comparing evolutionary and social role predictions. Project aim This study follows up last summer s internship project where we assessed a range of personality measures measuring the Dark Triad, masculinity, femininity, and markers of prenatal testosterone. These two studies should be publishable in an academic journal. Page 3 of 7

4 Project methods Quantitative person-perception and personality assessments. Students are required to have the following skills to apply Students need to have the ability to follow instructions and be able to operate a digital camera. The successful student will need to have ready and reliable access to , internet and instant messenger. Page 4 of 7

5 Project Number: 40 Project Title: Public housing tenant representations of their neighbourhoods Supervisory team: Dr Rae Dufty-Jones and Dr Dallas Rogers. Relevant track record of Dr. Rae Dufty-Jones: Research Active. This project builds on Dr. Dufty-Jones research on the changing provision of public housing in rural NSW and the mobility dimension of housing policy in Australia. Two successful ARC Discovery Projects and 1 AHURI project means that Dr Dufty-Jones has extensive experience in the management of research projects and associated deliverables. Dr Dufty-Jones also has experience in the supervision of research students from honours to PhD levels. Relevant track record of Dr. Dallas Rogers: Research Active. This project builds on Dr Rogers research on tenant involvement in public housing tenancy management. Dr Rogers is an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Post- Doctorial Fellow with the University of Western Sydney s Urban Research Centre. Dr Rogers has completed research projects on public and social housing for the NSW Department of Housing, NSW Land and Housing Corporation, Housing NSW, Fairfield City Council and non-government housing mangers. Dr Rogers has experience in the supervision of research students up to PhD level. Availability of supervisors: Both supervisors will be available for the duration of the internship research period. Contact information for supervisor Dr Rae Dufty-Jones (02) r.dufty@uws.edu.au Project description Public housing neighbourhoods are regularly portrayed in negative ways by the media, politicians and the general public. However, the perceptions of residents living in these spaces are rarely accounted for. This project will provide this insight using data collated from the tenant-initiated and operated website Our House Swap (OHS). OHS was established 11 years ago and is an independent, not-for-profit website designed to enable social housing tenants in Australia to register and initiate their own mutual exchange of homes. Those seeking to initiate a mutual exchange create an advert of their home and neighbourhood. These adverts provide a unique insight into how public housing tenants understand and represent their neighbourhoods. It is estimated that since its creation there have been over homes listed on OHS. In July 2012 the supervisory team were provided with the database of advertised properties listed over the past decade. Page 5 of 7

6 This project will form part of a larger project analyzing the neighbourhood representations and mobility aspirations of public housing tenants in Australia as represented in Our House Swap. The data set is significant thus the need for research assistance. The substantial nature of the data set means that there is potential for an honours project to stem from this Summer Research Scholarship as well as a larger nationally competitive project. The project is located in the Urban Research Centre in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology. The project fits within one of the key research aims of the Centre Affordable and Sustainable Housing and draws on the extensive expertise of the two supervisors in housing research, particularly that focusing on public housing in Australia. Project aims 1. To analyse how tenants from different suburbs in Sydney and regional NSW represent the neighbourhood in which their public housing home is located in. 2. To consider what this means for how public housing in NSW is understood by the public, media and government. Project methods There will be three stages to the project over the eight-week period: Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Duration 3 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks Activities a. Develop coding framework b. Prepare/ tidy-up dataset for coding c. Code data Equipment required Skill development for student - Desk space - Computer with Excel on it How to develop a coding framework that will enable the aims of the project to be achieved. How to prepare and code data. a. Conduct basic statistical analysis of coded data using SPSS b. Map some of the statistical analysis using ARCView GIS - Desk space - Computer with SPSS and ARCView GIS on it. How to conduct basic statistical analysis using SPSS How to map statistical analysis using ARCView GIS a. Write a report on analysis and findings b. Develop a series of conclusions and recommendations based on the analysis and findings that respond to the two aims of the project. - Desk space - Computer with SPSS, ARCView GIS and Word on it How to make findings and develop conclusions and recommendations based on analysis. How to write analysis, findings and conclusions/ recommendations up in a report format. Page 6 of 7

7 Stage 1: Alongside with and supervised by the staff involved in this project the first stage of the project will involve: a) The development of a coding framework for the data, all three supervisors and the student will be involved in this process. b) Preparation/ tidying up and coding of the data set. The data set holds approximately 14,000 entries for NSW. The student will be allocated 4000 entries to prepare and code, while Dr s Dufty-Jones and Rogers will prepare and code 5000 each. It is anticipated that this stage of the project will take 3 weeks. Stage 2: The following three weeks will be used to conduct basic statistical analysis of the collated data set using SPSS. The student will also have the opportunity to develop skills in the ARC GIS software and map some of this analysis. The student will be taught how to use these programs by Dr s Dufty-Jones and Rogers. Stage 3: The student will write a report on their analysis and findings from this research and make a series of conclusions and recommendations based on the analysis and findings during the last two weeks. Dr s Dufty-Jones and Rogers will supervise this stage and provide feedback on drafts of the report. Equipment and funding required Limited equipment and further funding is required for this project. The URC and SSAP will provide desk space and a computer with the programs MS Office and SPSS on it. The project will be located on the Kingswood Campus where the supervisors are based. The student will always have access to a staff member throughout the project. Opportunity for skills development for student The student will develop skills in quantitative data preparation and analysis and an understanding of the use of programs like SPSS and ARCView GIS. The student will also have the opportunity to be a co-author on a journal article for the journal Geographical Research that is anticipated to result from this project. Students are required to have the following skills to apply This project will suit a student interested in housing issues in Australia. The project would be best suited to students at the end of their second or third year of studies. Some experience in the social sciences with SPSS and/or ARC GIS would be useful but is not essential. Page 7 of 7