Department of Psychology
Recent Research
Wilson, J. (2012). Psychological Characteristics of White collar fraud Perpetrators, Offender Programs Unit, Corrective Services NSW. Sydney, Australia.
Abstract
White collar fraud and corruption are estimated to cost Australia at least $3 billion a year. Globalisation and technological innovation have contributed to large volumes of transactions being processed at high speeds in increasingly complex environments. These factors both increase the opportunities for fraud and reduce the likelihood of it being detected. Such risks, along with high profile collapses of large organisations due to fraud have prompted many organisations to expand their fraud risk reduction strategies from scrutinising accounting and administrative processes to scrutinising the people who perform those processes. While the proportion of organisations conducting applicant screening has risen substantially over the last few years, limitations in screening techniques and the increased incidence of fraud provide impetus for a better understanding of the psychological characteristics of white collar fraud perpetrators. With this aim in mind, both qualitative and quantitative research will be presented that questions current assumptions and stereotypes about perpetrator characteristics. Insights from interviews with fraud perpetrators and their acquaintances will be shared that may help employers, investigators and those involved in offender rehabilitation better understand who commits white collar fraud and why.
Boag, S. (2012). Freudian repression, the unconscious, and the dynamicsof inhibition. London: Karnac.
Abstract
Possibly no other psychoanalytic concept has caused as much ongoing controversy, and attracted so much criticism, as that of "repression". Repression involves denying knowledge to oneself about the content of one’s own mind and is most commonly implicated in disputes concerning the possibility of repressed memories of trauma (and their subsequent recovery). While fundamental in Freudian psychoanalysis, recent developments in psychoanalytic thinking (e.g., "mentalization") have downplayed the importance of repression, in part due to less emphasis being placed on the importance of memory within therapy.
This book proposes that Freud’s theory of repression needs to be understood in a new light, which allows Freudian repression to be evaluated afresh and gives a modern appreciation for the vitality of Freud’s thinking. While much contemporary discussion is about the repression of traumatic memories, this book instead shows that Freud appears to conceptualize repression as a specific form of cognitive-behavioural inhibition, and this has enormous implications for understanding repression within a modern context. Situating repression within a dynamic account of persons, Freudian repression is surprisingly congruent with models of inhibitory processes emerging from modern psychology and the neursosciences.
Identifying acute cognitive impairment in mild traumatic brain injury
Meares, S., Shores, E. A., Taylor, A. J., Lammél, A., & Batchelor, J. (2011). Validation of the Abbreviated Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale: A brief measure to identify acute cognitive impairment in mild traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 12, 1198-1205.
Abstract
Objective: To validate the use of the Abbreviated Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale (A-WPTAS) in the assessment of acute cognitive impairment in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
Methods: Data previously collected from 82 mTBI and 88 control participants using the Revised Westmead Post-traumatic Amnesia Scale (R-WPTAS) was converted to A-WPTAS scores and pass/fail classifications were calculated for both scales.
Results: The proportion of failures on the R-WPTAS and the A-WPTAS did not differ and a similar number of mTBIs were classified on each. For mTBIs the relationship between the independent memory test and a pass/fail classification was the same for both scales. Bivariate logistic regressions revealed that mTBIs, relative to controls, were around 8 times more likely to fail the assessment (R-WPTAS: 95% CI: 3.70–18.87; A-WPTAS: 95% CI: 3.70–20.14). As verbal learning improved the likelihood of failure was reduced. Greater education was associated with a decreased likelihood of failure. The relationship between education and a fail performance was not sustained when education was adjusted for the effect of age, prior mTBI, blood alcohol level, injury status, verbal learning, and morphine administration.
Conclusions: The A-WPTAS is a valid measure. The A-WPTAS may reduce the risk of failing to classify patients with mTBI by identifying and documenting acute cognitive impairment.
n Cognitive abilities in Williams Syndrome
Porter, M. A., & Dodd, H. F. (2011). A longitudinal study of cognitive abilities in Williams syndrome. Developmental Neuropsychology, 36, 255-272.
Abstract
This longitudinal study assessed cognition in Williams syndrome (WS) over a 5 year period using the same test battery over the two occasions of testing. The aim was to explore whether absolute levels of ability and relative cognitive strengths and weaknesses remain consistent over time. 27 participants with WS were assessed using the Woodcock Johnson Test of Cognitive Ability – Revised (WJ-R COG, Woodcock & Johnson, 1989, 1990). Results suggested some developmental progress over time, but at a slower rate than typically developing peers. Cognitive strengths and weaknesses were consistent, at least on those abilities assessed using the WJ-R COG.
