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2022 APS Prize winners

The APS Prize is awarded to each student who gains first place at the end of an accredited fourth-year program in psychology through an Australian higher education provider. The APS is thrilled to announce our 2022 APS Prize winners below.

Full Name Higher education provider name Thesis title
Ms Cindy Zhou Australian Catholic University “The System Needs a Shake-Up”: A Qualitative Study on the Lived Experience of Psychosocial Care Before and After Bariatric Surgery in Australia
Dr Gabriella Karakas Australian College of Applied Professions ‘A lot of Work Needs to be Done’ – Service Provider Perspectives of Mental Health Services Available to Croatia- and Bosnia-born Migrants
Mr Lachlan Hall Australian National University Watson vs. Vygotsky: Is Inner Speech a 'Special Case' of Overt Speech?
Mr Lee Wolff Bond University The Clinical Utility of the Weschler Intelligence Scales for Children in the Assessment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Multidimensional Scaling Investigation
Mr Matthew Richards University of New South Wales The Effect of Repeated Lockdowns on Mental Health and Loneliness During the  COVID-19 Pandemic
Mrs Noelani Sobott Central Queensland University Is Chronic Low Back Pain Associated with Cognitive Dysfunction? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Ms Lise Newton Charles Darwin University Trauma-Informed Programs in Australian Schools: A Systematic Review of Design, Implementation and Efficacy
Ms Paula Woodhouse Charles Sturt University Female intrasexual competition on Instagram: Appearance enhancement and indirect Aggression
Elizabeth Bills Curtin University Perfectionism and Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Ms Georgina Frykberg Deakin University The Associations Between Climate Change Worry and Mental Health and the Role of Climate Action: A Population-Based Study of Australian Adults
Ms Lorna Marns Edith Cowan University The Impact of Pornography Consumption and Age of Initial Exposure on Rape Myth Acceptance Attitudes: Exploring the Role of Physiological Arousal to Female Imagery
Ms. Sarah Lewitzka Flinders University Does making decisions about negative content contribute to the negative impact of content moderation?
Ms Chinami Jones Griffith University The Association Between Modelling, Engagement, and Learning via Social Robots in Preschool-Aged Children
Matilde Petersen ISN Psychology Effects of an Electronically Delivered Mental and Physical Tr aining Intervention on Affective Empathy: A Randomised Controlled Pilot Trial
Mr Myles McKenzie James Cook University Examining the Clinical Utility of Quantitative MRI for Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Collaboration Between Townsville University Hospital and James Cook University
Ms Emma Smith La Trobe University Towards the Development of a Universal and Dynamic Visuomotor Assessment: An Investigation of the Slurp Task and the Influence of Age, IQ and Mood on Performance
Ms Naomi Fenton Macquarie University Cyber Defending Behaviours at University: The Role of Empathy and Defending Self-Efficacy
Ms Rachael Martin Monash University Lowered Social Motivation Is Associated With Adolescent Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder And Social Anxiety Symptoms
Mr Samuel Dale Murdoch University The Unique Psychology of Best Friendship
Ms Helen Todd Queensland University of Technology Do Epigenetic Variations in COVID-19 Viral Receptor ACE2 and its Related RAAS System Play a Role in the Aetiology of Psychological Symptoms?
Mr. Timothy Spencer RMIT University Understanding Automatic Face Processing in the Autism Spectrum: A Face Priming Study
Miss Tess Douglass Swinburne University of Technology Investigating Connectedness as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Mystical Experiences During Psilocybin Dosing and Improvements in Depression Severity
Mr Nabil Latif The Cairnmillar Institute Relationships between a Feared Self, Emotion Regulation, and Obsessive-Compulsive and Eating Disorder Symptomatology
Shyn Phua The University of Melbourne Thinspiration, Fitspiration, and Fatspiration are Associated With Increases in Disordered Eating Urges but not Body Dissatisfaction in Men and Women: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study
Mr Timothy Dutton The University of Sydney Mock Jurors’ Evaluations of Forensic Evidence: The Effects of Communicating Error and Complexity
Miss Moriah Hui Lim The University of Western Australia Understanding 6-7-year-old children’s use of both face and behaviour-based cues of trustworthiness in an economic trust game
Mr Joe Mandrell University of Adelaide Validating the Episodic Empowerment Scale:  Integrating psychometrics into experimental social psychology
Ms Letetia Mackenzie University of Canberra The Association Between Depression Severity and Cold Cognitive Function
Ms Lourdes Machin University of New England Using EEG to explore the effects of sleep restriction on vigilance
Mr Matthew Godfrey University of Newcastle Cognitive Scheduling: How People Order Tasks and the Effects of Autism Traits in a Non-Clinical Population
Miss Jessica Elliott University of Queensland Investigating the Role of Frequency and Phase of Neural Oscillations in Object Individuation
Ms Krystal  Lanais University of South Australia Investigating the Impact of Out-of-Home Care on Early Childhood Development: A Propensity-Matched Study
Ms Sarah Richter University of Southern Queensland Parents’ Attitudes as Predictors of Intentions to use E-Interventions for Their Child
Ms Anna Tompson-Mennitz University of Tasmania A Pilot Longitudinal Examination of Biomarkers and Social Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis
Ms Rebekah Belte University of the Sunshine Coast The Unique and Interactive Contributions of Metacognitive Beliefs and Executive Functioning to Psychological Distress During Early Adolescence
Clare Bryan-Ellis University of Wollongong Vocalic Interference Under Stress in Serial Recall
Miss Erin Pratt Victoria University Borderline Personality and Mental Health Outcomes: An Exploration of "Sense of Agency"
Ms Divya Nanwani Western Sydney University The Role of Attachment-Related Anxiety in Mediating the Relationship Between Schizotypy and Rejection Sensitivity