PhD students

Meet our Psychology PhD students and explore their research topics.

To find out more about our PhD students, their Psychology research, and how to contact them, visit their individual profile pages via the links below.

Photo of Aaron Hissey

Aaron Hissey

The stability of maladaptive personality traits and their impact on others

Landscape photo of Alana

Alana Haenga-O'Brien

Exploring Rangatahi Māori Understandings of Wairuatanga and Hauora

Photo of PhD student, Annabelle Wride.

Annabelle Wride

Developing a Theory of Intimate Partner Aggression in Aotearoa-New Zealand

Annalisa Hughes Website Tile Photo

Annalisa Hughes

Cultural Context and Crime: How should the sociocultural environment feature in psychological explanation and practice for forensic purposes?

Photo of PhD student Dryden Badenoch.

Dryden Badenoch

Improving Cognitive Assessment Post-Stroke

Elizabeth McLean

The life experience of adolescent Māori females in the New Zealand criminal justice system.

link wire fence

Ethan Carter

Conceptual issues with our current explanations of psychopathology and offence-related behaviours.

PhD Candidate Gerard Janse van Rensburg

Gerard Janse van Rensburg

Understanding the nature of prejudice: A Multi-level Analysis of the Antecedents of Prejudice and Discrimination

Harry Dent

Emotional processes in correctional rehabilitation: An enactive approach

PhD Candidate Joanna Mete posing for a photo in front of green foliage

Joanna Mete

Cognitive control mechanisms in anxiety

PhD candidate Jordan Payne

Jordan Payne

Mechanisms of Psychological Distress in Rural New Zealand.

Photo of PhD student, John Vega Guerra

Juan Pablo (John) Vega

What's his deal? Understanding Social Deviance and Norm Breaking in Intra-group Settings

brain with electrical storm

Justin Murphy

Does mindful attention impact processing of emotional stimuli?

Kate Witt

The role of the dopamine D1 receptor in the negative symptoms of Schizophrenia.

PhD Candidate Konstantina Vasileva looking into the camera. The image is taken in The Hub on Kelburn Campus.

Konstantina Vasileva

Imagery is more than meets the eye: a new look at mental imagery processing in working memory

white and green sneakers worn by someone sitting with their feet on the lawn, close up of the feet

Kylie Sutcliffe

Scalable approaches to improving access to psychological therapies among high school students in Aotearoa New Zealand

Larissa Rocha

Investigating the acute and long-term effects of psilocybin in serotonin transporter knock-out and wild type female rats. // Effects of Psilocybin in Female Rat

PhD Candidate Laura Kranz posing for a photo in front of green foliage

Laura Kranz

The role of cognition and emotion in science communication

photo of PhD student Laurel Keats

Laurel Keats

Autobiographical memory and young people's depressive symptoms across time

PhD candidate Lee Bravestone

Lee Bravestone

Queering Ambivalent Sexism: Developing a new, more inclusive sexist ideology measurement

PhD Candidate Linda Fatialofa in front of a Samoan cloth.

Linda Fatialofa

A Preliminary Descriptive Model for Youth Offending

PhD candidate Maggie Shippam

Maggie Shippam

The Health and Wellbeing of Young Adults with ADHD

PhD Candidate Manjuparnha Raychaudurhi

Manjuparna Raychaudhuri

Trajectory profiles of youth engaging in repeat offending

Mei-Jing Lin

Adults Automatic Imitation and Theory of Mind Processing

MIchaela Dresel Web Tile

Michaela Dresel

Social cognitive development in infants

side profile of a head with cogs floating above, and clouds float above that

Natasha Knack

Causal mechanisms underlying the effect of sexual arousal on sexual decision making

Nicky Duff

The role of autobiographical memory in problem solving.

PhD Candidate Nuzha Saleem, in a pink headscarf and white shirt standing infront of foliage on campus

Nuzha Saleem

The effect of identity and belonging on resilience in ethnic minority youth.

photo of PhD student, Olivia Nop

Olivia Nop

Sexism and victim blaming in sexual assault in religious communities

on location photo of PhD Candidate Ririwai Fox

Ririwai Fox

The role of Māori cultural embeddedness in the formation and/or reshaping of personal identity across the life-span.

PhD candidate Roisin Whelan

Roisin Whelan

Exploring the autobiographical memories of young people who offend

Talylor Winter photo

Taylor Winter

Investigating how the gut microbiome signals the brain to facilitate emotion regulation.

Tyler Ritchie

Indigenous perspectives on multiculturalism.