I am a social-evolutionary psychologist, and my research focuses on gaining a better understanding of the features and functions of emotions, especially disgust. In addition, along with my graduate students, I have investigated such topics as gullibility, dehumanization, and trust. My primary teaching area is social psychology, which I teach at undergraduate level. I have held several key service roles in the university, including Director of the Psychology Honours program, Deputy Chair of the University Human Research Ethics Committee, and I am currently an Accredited Mediator for the Macquarie University Graduate Research Academy. I serve on several journal editorial boards and as an Assessor for the Australian Research Council.

• Disgust
• False beliefs 

I am Unit Convenor for the 2nd year core unit in Social and Personality Psychology, and I regularly deliver lectures at all undergraduate levels on social and evolutionary psychological topics. I also supervise Honours and post-graduate students. I currently teach on the following courses.

PSY1101 Introduction to Psychology I

PSY2234 Social and Personality Psychology (Unit Chair)

I have supervised over 15 graduate students in a variety of social and evolutionary topics.

I have held several key administrative service roles within the university. I have been Director of the Psychology Honours program; Deputy Chair of the University Human Research Ethics Committee, and served on the University Academic Standards and Quality Committee. I am currently an Accredited Mediator for the Macquarie University Graduate Research Academy.  I have served as an Assessor for the Australian Research Council for over a decade, and on the editorial boards of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Personal Relationships, and Frontiers: Evolutionary Psychology.

Together with my colleagues, we have attracted over half-a-million dollars of funding from the ARC for our research on disgust. My research has been described in the leading textbook on the field of evolutionary psychology by David Buss and is reported in local and international media.