Ian Stephen

Phone0298508001
Emailian.stephenmq.eduau

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Research activity per year

Biography

Since completing my PhD, I have conducted research and teaching in the UK, Malaysia and Australia, and my service roles focus on the internationalisation of research, the curriculum and the student body, and on human research ethics. I am a perceptual and evolutionary psychologist with a particular interest in person perception, and my teaching interests are in research methods, perception and evolutionary psychology.

Research interests

My research interests centre on person perception, which I currently approach from three different angles:

How is our underlying physiology and psychology reflected in our faces and bodies, how do we extract that information extracted by observers, and how accurate are the judgements we form by looking at people?
What are the perceptual mechanisms underpinning why some people see an inaccurate picture of their own body size and shape when they look in the mirror?
How does person perception differ cross-culturally?

Teaching

I currently convene the following units:

PSYU3351 Research Methods in Psychology
PSYCH4439/PSYM7739 Evolution of Social, Sexual and Emotional Behaviour

I currently teach on the following units:

PSYU1105 Introduction to Psychology 2
PSYU3342 Perception 2
PSYU3350 The Psychology of Human Relationships

I have also previously taught Statistical Methods and Social Psychology.

Research student supervision

2020-	Thea House	Body misperception and attention	Primary	PhD
2019-	Eva Tzschaschel	Posture, self-esteem and attractiveness	Primary	PhD
2014-2019	Wong Hoo Keat	The own-race bias in Malaysian face perception	Associate	PhD
2014-	Thaatsha Sivananthan	Cognitive mechanisms of face perception	Associate	PhD
2012-2016	Yvonne Teoh	Inferring surroundings from facial expressions	Associate	PhD
2011-2016	Lee Ai-Suan	The role of language and culture in face and scene processing and description strategies	Primary	PhD
2011-2015	Tan Kok Wei	Facial skin condition, health and perception in Malaysian Chinese	Primary	PhD
2010-2014	Chrystalle Tan	Face processing in Malaysian Chinese adults	Co	PhD
2019-2020	Jessica Ledger	Body size misperception and social comparisons	Associate	MRes
2019-2020	Thea House	Body image misperception and attention	Primary	MRes
2018-	Supreet Saluja	The evolution of tactile aspects of disgust	Associate	MRes
2018	Eva Tzschaschel	Posture, self-esteem and attractiveness	Primary	MRes
2017-2018	Joe Antar	Facial cues to sociosexuality	Primary	MRes
2017	Andrejs Enriques	Kin recognition and altruism	Primary	MRes
2014	Robyn Ordman	Detection thresholds for BMI and body composition	Associate	MRes
2020-	Tiarani Dixon	Predicting body dissatisfaction from body shape	Primary	MClinPsy
2019	Victoria Criniti	Perceived-ideal body size discrepancy and body dissatisfaction	Primary	BPsych Hons
2019	Erin Woolnough	Effect of body size on perceived status and attractiveness of women	Primary	BPsych Hons
2019	Adrian Cuerva	Dominance and attractiveness of muscularity	Primary	BPsych Hons
2017	Zoe Powell	Body shape correlates of body dissatisfaction	Primary	BPsych Hons
2017	Lewis Gould-Fensom	Cross and contingent adaptation to race in body size aftereffects	Primary	BPsych Hons
2016	Darby Salter	Directional imbalances in interracial relationships: the role of sex typicality	Primary	BPsych Hons
2016	Katie Hunter	Attention, body adaptation and body dissatisfaction	Primary	BPsych Hons
2015	Mary-Ellen Brierley	The effect of body fat and muscle mass on apparent health and attractiveness of bodies	Primary	BPsych Hons
2015	Chloe Bickersteth	The effect of attention on body size misperception	Primary	BPsych Hons
2014	Anusha Rajeswaran	Attachment and emotion recognition	Primary	BPsych Hons
2014	Holly Rogers	Influence of body composition on perception of body health and attractiveness	Primary	BPsych Hons
2013-2014	Wong Hoo Keat	The impact of eyetracking on eye movements	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2013-2014	Tan Wei Jeen	Modelling health in faces and bodies	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2013-2014	Aishath Ahmad	Detecting deception in faces	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2013-2014	Andy Teng	Emotional contagion or empathising? Investigating the transfer of emotions	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2013-2014	Anselm Chan	Does the perception of body image influence exercise behaviour?	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2012-2013	Chong Huey Tyan	Attention in deception detection	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2012-2013	Vivian Hiew	Modelling health in faces	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2011-2012	Kathleen Kang	Does the perception of body image influence exercise behaviour?	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2011-2012	Yvonne Teoh	Identifying Genuine and Masked Emotions in Dynamic Facial Expressions	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2011-2012	Treshi Perera	Judging the difference between health and attractiveness: Does media influence the judgements made by males and females?	Primary	BSc (Hons)
2009-2010	Angela McKeegan	Lip colour contrast affects perceptions of attractiveness and sexual dimorphism	Associate	BSc (Hons)

Research engagement

My research has been widely reported in the media. For example:

Research shows how an extreme 'visual diet' can lead to eating disorders. Brisbane Times. 10 February 2018.
A Macquarie University-led research shows that people who think that they are bigger or smaller than what they really are may have a psychological disorder. 2SM. 3 February 2018.
New perceptual pathway identified that can lead to body size misperception and increase risk of eating and exercise disorders. Macquarie Newsroom. 1 February 2018.
Living in an obese community can impact your health, study finds. Townsville Bulletin. 23 January 2018.
Why facial recognition is the future of diagnostics. Medical News Today. 9 December 2017.
Your face really does give away your health: Head size and shape determine your wellbeing and how attractive you are to mate with, so who is the most desirable in this line up? The Daily Mail. 7 December 2017.
Your face gives away your health. African Seer. 6 December 2017.
New computer model predicts your health from the shape of your face, and so does your brain. This Week. 5 December 2017.
Clues to your health could be written all over your face. Huffington Post. 8 November 2017.
Interview about attractiveness in cross-cultural context. Triple J The Hook Up. 1 October 2017.
Chemistry of Attraction.. Rowdie's Chemical Romance. 17 August 2017.
Men who eat more fruits and veggies smell more attractive to women. Huffington Post. 17 August 2017.
Vegies make you sexier! Talking Lifestyles Breakfast with John & Garry. 17 August 2017.
Men, Listen Up: Women Like The Smell Of Guys Who Eat A Certain Diet. NPR. 14 August 2017.
Men Who Eat Fruits and Vegetables Smell More Attractive. Food & Wine. 14 August 2017.
Interview: factors that contribute to preference in selecting a partner. SBS Date My Race. 8 March 2017.
Interview on Triple J Hack. Triple J radio. 14 February 2017.
Resolutions that go the distance. The Australian. 27 January 2017.
Images of muscly bodies can distort idea of normal. Northern District Times. 18 January 2017.
Muscly bodies tone down body perception. 9News.com.au. 13 January 2017.
Ideal body images can help feed insecurities. Cairns Post. 12 January 2017.
Working out at the gym may 'give' you small muscles: How body dysmorphia manifests in the brain. Medical Daily. 12 January 2017.
Why going to the gym could be dangerous for your mental health: Constant exposure to muscly figures 'fuels body dysmorphia' . Daily Mail Australia. 12 January 2017.
From muscle man to puny in two minutes. The Age. 11 January 2017.
From muscle man to puny in two minutes. The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 January 2017.
From muscle man to puny in two minutes. The Canberra Times. 11 January 2017.
From muscle man to puny in two minutes. The Brisbane Times. 11 January 2017.
From muscle man to puny in two minutes. WA Today. 11 January 2017.
Why going to the gym might actually make your muscles look smaller. Medical Xpress. 11 January 2017.
Attraction and choice in dating. Triple J. 30 November 2016.
Have this to smell good at the gym. Sunday Telegraph. 9 October 2016.
Have this to smell good at the gym. Sunday Mail Brisbane. 9 October 2016.
Have this to smell good at the gym. Sunday Mail Adelaide. 9 October 2016.
You sweat what you eat. Sunday Herald Sun Melbourne. 9 October 2016.
You sweat what you eat. Sunday Tasmanian Hobart. 9 October 2016.
You sweat what you eat. Sunday Territorian Darwin. 9 October 2016.
Sour side of artificial sweeteners. The Australian. 7 October 2016.
Sour side of artificial sweeteners. The Australian. 7 October 2016.
Want to attract a woman? Eat SALAD: Fruit and vegetables make men smell more appealing. Daily Mail Online. 23 August 2016.
Fruit and vegetables make men smell more appealing. Dhaka Times News. 23 August 2016.
Why do I look so fat? on Life Matters. ABC Radio National. 19 July 2016.
Look in the mirror and dislike what you see? You can change your perception of your body size in TWO MINUTES. Daily Mail Australia. 11 July 2016.
Is this your dream physique? Science finds the 'attractive' level of body fat. MSN New Zealand. 7 June 2016.
New study reveals double standards for male and female body types. SBS. 7 June 2016.
'Healthy bodies' best for men, but for women, thin is beautiful. Medical Xpress. 6 June 2016.
Unhealthy, thin women deemed most attractive: study. Newstalk ZB. 4 June 2016.
New study suggests unhealthier females are considered more attractive. Nine News. 4 June 2016.
Tinder has a race problem nobody wants to talk about. The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 February 2016.
Macquarie Uni study reveals link between images of muscly bodies and body dysmorphia. The Daily Telegraph. 17 January 2016.
Whether or not your appearance can make you look more successful. 2SER FM. 14 April 2015.

Education/Academic qualification

Psychology, PhD, Skin Colour, Pigmentation and the Perceived Health of Human Faces, University of St Andrews

Award Date: 30 Nov 2009

Biological Anthropology, MPhil, University of Cambridge

Award Date: 19 Jul 2005

Human Sciences, BSc (Hons), University College London

Award Date: 1 Aug 2003

Fingerprint

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1 Similar Profiles

1 Active
3 Finished

A perception-based intervention for body size misperception
Stephen, I. (Primary Chief Investigator)
8/01/18 → …
Project: Research
Australasian Society for Human Behaviour and Evolution Meeting
Jonason, P. K. (Primary Chief Investigator) & Stephen, I. (Chief Investigator)
1/01/20 → 31/12/20
Project: Other
MQRSG: Targeting body size misperception and attentional bias to reduce body dissatisfaction in young people
Stephen, I. (Associate Investigator), Stevenson, D. (Associate Investigator), Brooks, K. (Primary Chief Investigator), Nalepka, P. (Associate Investigator), Richardson, M. (Associate Investigator), Mond, J. (Associate Investigator), Hay, P. J. (Associate Investigator) & Fardouly, J. (Associate Investigator)
1/01/19 → 31/12/21
Project: Other
A Visual Adaptation Model of Body Size Misperception
Stephen, I. (Primary Chief Investigator), Brooks, K. (Associate Investigator) & Stevenson, D. (Associate Investigator)
1/01/15 → 31/12/16
Project: Research

68 Article
4 Meeting abstract
3 Chapter
2 Book/Film/Article/Exhibition review
More

Body posture aftereffects - does viewing slouched bodies change people's perception of normal posture?
Tzschaschel, E., Stephen, I. D. & Brooks, K., 26 Mar 2025, In: Royal Society Open Science. 12, 3, p. 1-11 11 p., 241677.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
25 Downloads (Pure)
Close encounters: interpersonal proximity amplifies social appraisals
Veranic, K., Bayliss, A. P., Zhao, M., Stephen, I. D. & Ewing, L., Aug 2025, In: British Journal of Psychology. 116, 3, p. 594-616 23 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
7 Downloads (Pure)
Dot probe tasks produce no attentional modifications towards healthy weight bodies
Perera, A. T. M., Sharma, I. & Stephen, I. D., 21 Aug 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: European Eating Disorders Review. 7 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Measuring the semantic priming effect across many languages
Buchanan, E. M., Cuccolo, K., Heyman, T., van Berkel, N., Coles, N. A., Iyer, A., Peters, K., van ’t Veer, A. E., Montefinese, M., Maxwell, N. P., Taylor, J. E., Valentine, K. D., Arriaga, P., Barzykowski, K., Boucher, L., Collins, W. M., Vaidis, D. C., Aczel, B., Al-Hoorie, A. H. & Ambrosini, E. & 304 others, Besson, T., Burin, D. I., Butt, M. M., Clarke, A. J. B., Daryani, Y., El-Dakhs, D. A. S., Elsherif, M. M., Fernández-López, M., Ferreira, P. R. D. S., Freitag, R. M. K., Gattei, C. A., Godbersen, H., Grim, P. A., Halama, P., Havan, P., Irrazabal, N. C., Isloi, C., Iversen, R. K., Julliard, Y., Karaaslan, A., Kohút, M., Kohútová, V., Kos, J., Kosachenko, A. I., Lima, T. J. S. D., Mak, M. H. C., Manouilidou, C., Marciaga, L. A., Melinna, X. M., Miranda, J. F., Morvinski, C., Muppoor, A., Müjdeci, F. E., Nielsen, Y. A., Oliveros, J. C., Onič, J., Papadatou-Pastou, M., Patel, I., Pavlović, Z., Pažon, B., Pfuhl, G., Pronizius, E., Roettger, T. B., Ronderos, C. R., Ruiz-Fernandez, S., Senderecka, M., Solak, Ç., Stückler, A., Szekely-Copîndean, R. D., Taboh, A. R., Thériault, R., Tran, U. S., Trecca, F., Ulloa, J. L., Varga, M. A., Verheyen, S., Vesić Pavlović, T., Viviani, G., Wang, N., Zivna, K., Yun, C. C., Clark, O. J., Acar, O. A., Adamkovič, M., Agnoletti, G., Akil, A. M., Alsuhaibani, Z., Amenta, S., Ananyeva, O. A., Andreychik, M., Angele, B., Arias Quiñones, D. C., Arinze, N. C., Askelund, A. D., Baker, B. J., Baskin, E., Batalha, L., Batres, C., Beato, M. S., Becker, M., Becker, M., Behnke, M., Blaison, C., Borghi, A. M., Brandstätter, E., Buczny, J., Budak, N., Cabana, Á., Cai, Z. G., Canessa, E. C., Cavdan, M., Cecchetti, L., Chaigneau, S. E., Chang, F. X. W., Chartier, C. R., Chen, S. C., Cherniaeva, E., Christiansen, M. H., Chuan-Peng, H., Chwiłkowska, P., Comesaña, M., Cong, C. W., Cowan, C., Dandeneau, S. D., David, O. A., Davis, W. E., Demirag Burak, E. G., Dixson, B. J. W., Du, H., Duclos, R., Duyck, W., Efimova, L. A., Egan, C., Era, V., Evans, T. R., Exner, A., Feldman, G., Fellnhofer, K., Fini, C., Fisher, S. E., Flowe, H. D., Garrido-Vásquez, P., Gatti, D., Geller, J., Giannouli, V., Gorokhova, A. S., Griener, L. M., Grigoryev, D., Grossmann, I., Ghasemi, H., Handjaras, G., Hauspie, C., He, Z., Heilman, R. M., Heydari, A., Hine, A. M., Hoyer, K., Hryniszak, W., Hsiao, J. H. W., Huang, G., Ihaya, K., Ilczuk, E., Ishii, T., Dumbravă, A., Jankowiak, K., Jiang, X., Johnson, D. C., Jończyk, R., Järvikivi, J., Kaczer, L., Kamermans, K. L., Karl, J. A., Karner, A., Kačmár, P., Keech, J. J., Kim, M. J., Korbmacher, M., Kostorz, K., Kowal, M., Kratochvil, T., Kunisato, Y., Kuzminska, A. O., Körtvélyessy, L., Köse, F. E., Köster, M., Kękuś, M., Labusch, M., Lamm, C., Lau, C. M., Laurino, J., Law, W., Lettieri, G., Levitan, C. A., Lu, J. G., MacPherson, S. E., Malinakova, K., Manriquez-Robles, D., Marchant, N., Marelli, M., Martínez, M., Matthews, M. F., Mattiassi, A. D. A., Mattoli-Sánchez, J., Mazzuca, C., McGovern, D. P., Meier, Z., Melinscak, F., Misiak, M., Monteiro, L. C. P., Moreau, D., Moreno, S., Mulgrew, K. E., Muller, D., Nagy, T., Naranowicz, M., Ndukaihe, I. L. G., Neta, M., Novak, L., Ogbonnaya, C. E., Paek, J. J. W., Paltoglou, A. E., Parada, F. J., Parker, A. J., Paruzel-Czachura, M., Pavlov, Y. G., Paydarfard, S., Pegler, D., Peker, M., Perea, M., Pfattheicher, S., Protzko, J., Prusova, I. S., Pypno-Blajda, K., Qiu, Z., Reips, U. D., Ribeiro, G., Rinaldi, L., Roberts, S. C., Roembke, T. C., Romanova, M. O., Ross, R. M., Röer, J. P., Rızaoğlu, F., Saari, T. T., Sampaolo, E., Santos, A. C., Sarıçiçek, F. Ç., Sasaki, K., Scharnowski, F., Schmidt, K., Sepehri, A., Serçe, H. O., Sevincer, A. T., Siew, C. S. Q., Simonetti, M. E., Sirota, M., Sorokowska, A., Sorokowski, P., Stephen, I. D., Stevens, L. M., Stewart, S. L. K., Steyrl, D., Stieger, S., Studzinska, A., Suarez, M., Szala, A., Szmalec, A., Sznycer, D., Szumowska, E., Söylemez, S., Söylemez, B., Takashima, K., Tamnes, C. K., Tan, J. C. R., Tang, C., Tavel, P., Tejada, J., Thompson, B. C., Tiernan, J. G., Torres-Muñoz, V., Touloumakos, A. K., Trémolière, B., Tschense, M., Türkan, B. N., Vadillo, M. A., Vannucci, C., Varnum, M. E. W., Vasilev, M. R., Vaughn, L. A., Verkampt, F., Villar, L. M., Wallot, S., Wang, L., Wang, K., Williams, G. P., Willinger, D., Wolfe, K., Wormley, A. S., Yamada, Y., Yang, Y., Zhou, Y., Zhang, M., Zheng, W., Zheng, Y., Zhou, C., Zidkova, R., Zumbrunn, N. M., Çoker, O., Çoksan, S., Öner, S., Özdoğru, A. A., Şahin, S. M., Kasanov, D., Arvanitis, A., Brick, C., Colloff, M. F., Gallyamova, A., Koch, C., Ropovik, I., Zhang, Y., Zhou, X., Patel, S., Suchow, J. W. & Lewis, S. C., 24 Sept 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Nature Human Behaviour.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Multi-region investigation of 'man' as default in attitudes
Phills, C. E., Miller, J. K., Buchanan, E. M., Williams, A., Meyers, C., Brown, E. R., Zickfeld, J., Volsa, S., Stieger, S., Oberzaucher, E., Mlakic, V., Vasilev, M., Dalgar, İ., Çoksan, S., Söylemez, S., Solak, Ç., Özdoğru, A. A., Çoktok, B., Kung, C.-C. & Suavansri, P. & 98 others, Manley, H., Álvarez-Solas, S., Ricaurte, D. Z., Ropovik, I., Baník, G., Babinčák, P., Adamkovič, M., Kačmár, P., Hricová, M., Bavoľár, J., Li, L., Gao, F., Chen, Z., Ković, V., Gvozdenović, V., Arriaga, P., Filip, K., Barzykowski, K., Adamus, S., Pfuhl, G., Martiny, S. E., Klevjer, K., Woelfert, F. S., Tamnes, C. K., Kunst, J. R., Korbmacher, M., Singh, M. M., Pradhan, S., Parveen, N., Parganiha, A., Pande, B., Kujur, P., Chandel, P., Reggev, N., Mokady, A., Papadatou-Pastou, M., Schnepper, R., Röer, J. P., Ripp, T., Pronizius, E., Lamm, C., Voracek, M., Olsen, J., Enachescu, J., Batres, C., Storage, D., Levitan, C. A., Li, M., Vaughn, L. A., Chopik, W. J., Schmidt, K., Mallik, P. R., Lewis, S., Leach, B., Jurosic, B., Moreau, D., Ndukaihe, I. L. G., Arinze, N. C., Janssen, S. M. J., Foo, A., Tan, C. B. Y., Williams, G. P., Riis, D., Lane, B. M., Lynott, D., Evans, T. R., Sirota, M., Holford, D. L., Werner, K. M., Wang, K., Milyavskaya, M., Stephen, I. D., Ross, R. M., Roberts, A., Ghasemi, O., Steffens, N. K., Peters, K., Dixson, B., Varella, M. A. C., Valentova, J. V., Mafra, A. L., Hsu, R. M. C. S., de Moraes, Y. L., da Silva, L. O., da Silva, C. S. A., Helmy, M., Balderrama, M., Al-Hoorie, A. H., McGee, T., Vally, Z., Szuts, A., Forscher, P., Bernabeu, P., Aczel, B., Szabelska, A., Chen, S.-C., Chartier, C. R. & Kekecs, Z., 25 Jun 2025, In: PLoS ONE. 20, 6, p. 1-19 19 p., e0323938.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
4 Downloads (Pure)

Ian Stephen

Personal profile

Biography

Research interests

Teaching

Research student supervision

Research engagement

Education/Academic qualification

Fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Dive into details

A perception-based intervention for body size misperception

Australasian Society for Human Behaviour and Evolution Meeting

MQRSG: Targeting body size misperception and attentional bias to reduce body dissatisfaction in young people

A Visual Adaptation Model of Body Size Misperception

Body posture aftereffects - does viewing slouched bodies change people's perception of normal posture?

Close encounters: interpersonal proximity amplifies social appraisals

Dot probe tasks produce no attentional modifications towards healthy weight bodies

Measuring the semantic priming effect across many languages

Multi-region investigation of 'man' as default in attitudes

Ian Stephen

Personal profile

Biography

Research interests

Teaching

Research student supervision

Research engagement

Education/Academic qualification

Fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Projects

Research Outputs