School of Psychology

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 1582
  • Publication
    The effect of humanising nature
    (Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, ) ; ;

    Humans may have an innate need to affiliate with nature" this need has been termed biophilia. Humanising nature may connect to biophilia. An experimental design with 167 participants tested the hypothesis that a humanised description of the functioning of trees that focused on similarities between tree and human functioning would have a greater impact than a description of purely biological functions of trees. Participants randomly assigned to the humanising nature condition had higher mean scores for positive affect and empathy related to the target aspect of nature as well as greater pro-environmental intention. A MANOVA showed that the humanising nature condition had a significantly greater overall impact than the control condition. Positive affect and empathy were significantly different between groups. A serial mediation analysis found that positive affect and empathy connected the intervention with pro-environmental intention. Humanising nature holds promise as an approach to meeting biophilia needs. The findings may be globally relevant to the interaction of humans with nature.

  • Publication
    Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches
    (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2024-02-07)
    Welsh, Joshua A
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    Goberdhan, Deborah C I
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    O'Driscoll, Lorraine
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    Buzas, Edit I
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    Blenkiron, Cherie
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    Bussolati, Benedetta
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    Cai, Houjian
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    Di Vizio, Dolores
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    Driedonks, Tom A P
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    Erdbrügger, Uta
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    Falcon-Perez, Juan M
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    Fu, Qing-Ling
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    Hill, Andrew F
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    Lenassi, Metka
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    Lim, Sai Kiang
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    Mahoney, Mỹ G
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    Mohanty, Sujata
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    Möller, Andreas
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    Nieuwland, Rienk
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    Ochiya, Takahiro
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    Sahoo, Susmita
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    Torrecilhas, Ana C
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    Zheng, Lei
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    Zijlstra, Andries
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    Abuelreich, Sarah
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    Bagabas, Reem
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    Bergese, Paolo
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    Bridges, Esther M
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    Brucale, Marco
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    Burger, Dylan
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    Carney, Randy P
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    Cocucci, Emanuele
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    Crescitelli, Rossella
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    Hanser, Edveena
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    Harris, Adrian L
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    Haughey, Norman J
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    Hendrix, An
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    Ivanov, Alexander R
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    Jovanovic-Talisman, Tijana
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    Kruh-Garcia, Nicole A
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    Ku'ulei-Lyn Faustino, Vroniqa
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    Kyburz, Diego
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    Lässer, Cecilia
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    Lennon, Kathleen M
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    Lötvall, Jan
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    Maddox, Adam L
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    Martens-Uzunova, Elena S
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    Mizenko, Rachel R
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    Newman, Lauren A
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    Ridolfi, Andrea
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    Rohde, Eva
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    Rojalin, Tatu
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    Rowland, Andrew
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    Saftics, Andras
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    Sandau, Ursula S
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    Saugstad, Julie A
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    Shekari, Faezeh
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    Swift, Simon
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    Ter-Ovanesyan, Dmitry
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    Tosar, Juan P
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    Useckaite, Zivile
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    Valle, Francesco
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    Varga, Zoltan
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    van der Pol, Edwin
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    van Herwijnen, Martijn J C
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    Wauben, Marca H M
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    Wehman, Ann M
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    Zendrini, Andrea
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    Zimmerman, Alan J
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    Théry, Clotilde
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    Witwer, Kenneth W

    Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly.

  • Publication
    Why did she send it in the first place? Victim blame in the context of ‘revenge porn’
    (Routledge, 2020) ;
    Lavis, Tiffany

    'Revenge porn' or 'cyber rape' occurs when intimate images that were previously sent with permission are leaked to a wider audience without consent. This research investigated the perceptions that individuals form about 'revenge porn' victims, aiming to gain more understanding from a victimisation perspective as a first step towards improving victim outcomes. One hundred and twenty-two individuals were presented with a scenario depicting a leaked intimate image with a female victim. Two distinct nudity levels: low (lingerie) and high (bare-chest, breasts exposed) were included, and participants' responses to the Sexual Double Standards Scale were analysed to determine whether acceptance of the traditional sexual double standard was correlated with victim perception. Results indicated that victims were perceived as more promiscuous and more blameworthy when they were more naked, and by participants with more traditional gender roles. There is a need for policy to address potential stigma directed at 'revenge porn' victims.

  • Publication
    Imagery training for reactive agility: Performance improvements for decision time but not overall reactive agility
    (Taylor & Francis Inc, 2021) ;
    Spittle, Michael
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    Mesagno, Christopher

    This study investigated the effects of imagery training on reactive agility and whether reacting to unpredictable stimuli could be improved using imagery. Forty-seven female athletes (Mage = 21.51, SD = 2.32) were randomly assigned to either a three-week physical training, imagery training, or control condition. Physical training condition involved physically rehearsing the reactive agility task, whereas the imagery training condition involved imagining the presenting stimulus and performing the reactive agility task. The control condition did no reactive agility training. A 3 (training conditions) x 7 (reactive agility performance components) mixed-model MANOVA was conducted to examine changes in reactive agility performance from the training interventions. Physical training improved decision time components and overall reactive agility performance. Imagery training improved Stimulus-Decision Time and Stimulus-Foot performance, but not overall reactive agility performance. No performance improvements occurred for the control condition. Findings support imagery use for the decision time variables associated with light-stimulus reactive agility performance. The lack of overall reactive performance improvement may indicate that imagery training is not effective for all components of perceptual-motor performance. Performance change inconsistencies appear to indicate that participants may not have generated unpredictable stimuli during imagery. Future investigation as to whether imagery improvements translate to sport-specific reactive tasks is needed.

  • Publication
    The role of cultural worldviews in predicating gambling risk perception and behavior in a Chinese sample
    (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2021) ;
    Zeng, Zhonglu
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    Liu, Zuyun
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    Objectives: We investigated the relationships between cultural worldviews, gam-bling risk perception, and gambling behavior with a sample of tourists in Macao.

    Methods: Participants were enrolled at famous landmarks and casinos in Macao, China. Data were collected using several instruments to assess an individual's cultural world views, gambling risk perceptions, and gambling intentions.

    Results: We found that the three-dimensional solution was valid for the Chinese version of the gambling expectancy scale. Correlational and mediational analyses revealed that the relationship between an individualistic worldview and gambling intention was fully mediated by gambling risk perception. Respondents with an egalitarian worldview perceived greater risk associated with gambling than those with other worldviews.

    Conclusion: These findings demonstrated the important influence of cultural variables on perceived risk and behavior in gambling. Moreover, understanding gamblers' worldviews could be beneficial for problem gambling interventions. Future research directions and the limitations of the findings were discussed.