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Researcher

I am an active researcher with numerous national competitive grants. My research focuses on understanding and developing social and emotional functioning. I have over 80 international journal articles, books, and book chapters . My work on emotional intelligence is amongst the most highly cited in the EI area. I currently have over 1 million dollars in competitive funding to investigate the causes of well-being and interpersonal effectiveness

I have published research on mindfulness, acceptance, values and other core processes that promote well-being and effectiveness.

RESEARCH INTERESTS.

My work focuses on  character, which I define as those aspects of a person or those processes within a person that are potentially modifiable and that have been hypothesized to promote well-being and performance.

  • Identifying character strengths that promote social well-being (e.g., relationship satisfaction, low antisocial behavior),  emotional well-being (e.g., happiness, low depression), physical well-being (e.g., physical health and activity), and performance (e.g., grades).
  • Designing and Evaluating interventions to reduce suffering, promote vitality, and promote social effectiveness (in a variety of contexts, including organizations, adolescents, and cancer groups).
  • Identifying the developmental causes and consequences of character
  • Contextual Behavioral Science topics, including those related to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Relational Frame Theory

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

  • Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2011-2014)  (This fellowship recognizes that the quality of my track record is very high compared to other Associate Professors. It covers most of my salary and equipment needs).
  • Three books in press, or under contract
  • Ten articles published or in press for in 2011
  • I have been influential. For example,  my H-Index is at 27 (27 publications with 27 or more citations; Sept 21, 2011). (Harzing, A.W. (2007) Publish or Perish, available from http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm).
  • I am chief-editor of the new Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, which will be published by Elsevier and launched in November of this year.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

  • I oversee a large longitudinal study involving 3000 adolescents in high schools located in the Illawara and far north Queensland.
  • I run a program called Imagine, which involves providing emotional intelligence training to student leaders from 18 participating high schools and then encouraging them to return to their home school and put prosocial interventions into play (e.g., an anti-bullying campaigns).
  • I regularly conduct well-being and stress management workshops for the public
  • In evidence of my International Reputation, I have been elected president of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, an organization that is approximately 4000 strong and located largely in the U.S. and Europe. (http://contextualpsychology.org/)