Professor Fiona White
Professor
A18 - Brennan MacCallum Building
The University of Sydney
| Telephone | 61 2 93513246 |
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| Website |
Contact Details The SUPIR Lab |
| Curriculum vitae | Curriculum vitae |
Biographical details
I am a Professor in Social Psychology. I graduated with a PhD from the University of Sydney in 1997. My research expertise concerns the development of effective strategies to promote cooperative intergroup relations. I have led a number of prejudice and stigma reduction projects involving contact and recategorization strategies, and have received competitive funding from the Australian Research Council, Office of Learning and Teaching and ViCHealth. I am also the Director of the Sydney University Psychology of Intergroup Relations (SUPIR) Research Lab, and hold the position of Degree Coordinator of the Bachelor of Liberal Studies (BLAS) in the Faculty of Science.
Across my academic career, I have published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed publications with over 1550 citations (Google Scholar) and 90 conference presentations. I have supervised two post-docs, 15 postgraduates and over 50 honours students to completion.
I have also been lead author on four editions of a developmental psychology textbook (White, Hayes & Livesey, 2005; 2010; 2013; 2015) that has had substantial national impact with over 20,000 copies sold. I also maintain a research active role in the scholarship of teaching having been awarded six highly competitive research-teaching grants (> $500K). In recognition of the quality embodied by my contribution to the research scholarship of learning and teaching, I have been the successful co-recipient (with Dr Caleb Owens) of the 2012 Vice Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2013 OLT Teaching Citation Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.
Research interests
I am recognised internationally for integrating and evaluating social cognitive strategies to reduce prejudice and stigma, and improve intergroup relations:
a) Refocusing on the 'intergroup' nature of prejudice
All of my prejudice research adopts an intergroup design - for example, I measure Asians and White Australians attitudes towards one another (McGrane & White, 2007; White, Harvey & Verrelli, 2015; Chu, White & Verrelli, 2016); Muslim and Christian attitudes (White & Abu-Rayya, 2009; 2012; 2014); Protestants and Catholics (White, Turner, Verrelli, 2016). It is my strong scientific belief that both ingroup and outgroup voices need to be heard, measured and understood before effective prejudice reduction strategies can be appropriately tailored to achieve success for both groups.
b) Advancing new integrated framework to produce long-term bias reduction
My ARC-funded DIEC study (2009-11) program advanced a new conceptual framework proposing that cognitive strategies such as dual identity recategorization provides the necessary mechanism to complement and enhance the benefits of social strategies such as E-contact. For example, achieving a common goal via contact is facilitated by the formation of a common identity between minority and majority members. This successful social cognitive integration promoted sustained (at a 1-year follow-up) bias reduction for both Muslims and Christians even under conditions of continued religious segregation. Previous contact research had been limited by its focus on singular, short-term strategies.
c) E-contact: A bridge between distal and proximal forms of contact
I have developed and evaluated various E-contact strategies - computer mediated contact that involves synchronous internet text chat between in- and outgroup members. For example, the DIEC program integrated real minority and majority groups text-chatting with one another over 8 x 40 minute internet sessions, whereas a newer 15-minute form of E-contact involves participants text chatting in a synchronous online interaction with an outgroup member, whose responses unbeknownst to them, are preprogrammed. Most importantly, both E-contact formats are theoretically-framed by Allport's facilitating conditions of cooperation and have received empirical support (White & Abu-Rayya, 2009; 2012; 2014; White, Turner, Verrelli, Harvey, & Hanna. 2018). In our technological age, my E-contact strategies are increasingly being recognised as playing a significant role in advancing intergroup relations research, especially when anxiety and/or physical segregation are barriers to direct contact.
d) Developing an interactive anti-racism classroom app
Formulating interventions to change intergroup attitudes, rather than simply measure attitudes, is also a research focus of mine. Alongside experts in the field (Killen, Priest, Paradies) providing theoretical content, the 'Kids together now' (ipad) app provides an interactive framework of 8 hypothetical story lines for primary-aged students to work through with their teacher in their classroom. Each story line involves an example of social exclusion and encourages children to feel empathy for the targets of racism, promote cross-group friendships and facilitate discussions about exclusion.
e) Teaching scholarship - strategies to reduce student plagiarism
In collaboration with my colleague, Dr Caleb Owens, we have successfully used TIES funding to address increases in student plagiarism by implementing and evaluating the Constructive Feedback and Plagiarism Reduction (CFPR) program. The CFPR program, integrated similarity detection software, writing tutorials, peer/tutor feedback, and online master quizzes to create a sustained and systematic reduction in the number of plagiarism cases amongst Psyc1001 and Psyc1002 amongst a Total N = 14,338. Importantly, the most significant reduction in plagiarism cases occurred between the ‘no education (a deterrent-only) strategy’ and when a writing exercise with feedback was introduced in the following year. Importantly, the CFPR program produced a sustained 7-year reduction in Psychology students’ plagiarism rates.
In recognition of our innovative CFPR program, we were awarded the Vice Chancellor's Teaching Excellence Award for Support of the Student Experience in 2012 ($10K), and an Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) Citations Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in 2013 ($10K).
Teaching and supervision
Undergraduate Teaching:
PSYC2013: Cognitive, Social and Developmental Psychology
PSYC2014: Personality and Intelligence I
PSYC3017: Social Psychology
Recent PhD Completions:
Amanda Arcieri: The Stigma of the Feminist Label and its Reduction (2018: Research Supervisor)
Eileen Chu: Asian-Australian hyphenated identification: Self and other perceptions and their implications for intergroup relations (2016; Research Supervisor)
Maram Abu-Rayya: Identity, psychological well-being, and school adjustment among Australian Muslim adolescents (2015: Auxiliary Supervisor)
Andrea Van Dommelen: The role of social identity complexity inclusiveness and structure in intergroup relations (2014; AuxiliarySupervisor)
Betty Luu: Children's sensitivity to speaker accuracy and explanatory competence (2014; Auxiliary Supervisor)
Chris Hunt: Threat to masculinity and gender-role conforming behaviour (2013; Auxiliary Supervisor)
Current research students
| Project title | Research student |
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| Building Resilience in Adolescence: Investigating the role of stigmatising beliefs about experiencing negative emotion on adolescent well-being outcomes | Lauren HARVEY |
| Influence of Peer Collective Moral Disengagement and Collective Efficacy on Bullying. | Brittany KILLER |
| The good, the bad, and the uncomfortable: An evaluation of the school experiences of sexual minority and gender non-conforming young adults | Ruth KUNTZMAN |
| Reducing public stigma and self-stigma towards different mental illness | Rachel MAUNDER |
| Ideological symmetry in intergroup prejudice towards threatening and competitive outgroups | Stefano VERRELLI |
Associations
Executive Member of the Psychology Education Interest Group of the Australian Psychological Society (APS)
Registered Psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) – Psychology Board of Australia
Member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS)
Member of the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists (SASP)
Member of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)
Awards and honours
2017: Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Outstanding Mentoring and Leadership, for the success of the Strategic Promotion Advice and Mentoring (SPAM) program. The SPAM program addresses the significant under-representation of women academics that has persisted at senior levels in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) across the higher education sector (Fiona White, Daniela Traini and Robyn Overall).
2013: Office of Learning and Teaching Citations Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning – For developing and evaluating the innovative Constructive Feedback and Plagiarism Reduction Program that engages students’ writing skills and successfully reduced plagiarism rates (Fiona White and Caleb Owens).
2012: Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Support of the Student Experience for the "Constructive Feedback and Plagiarism Reduction Program" conducted in first-year Psychology (Fiona White and Caleb Owens).
In the media
Gender Equity in Leadership
I was one of only four academic staff at the University of Sydney to be awarded a place on the 2016 Chief Executive Women Leaders Program.
The program commenced on 10 March and will provide opportunities for the cohort to hear from a range of leaders from both the corporate and public sectors throughout the year.
“This program offers a unique opportunity to network with women leaders from a wide range of organisations to share ideas about promoting effective leadership, including authenticity, transparency and trust, in our respective workplaces,” Professor Fiona White said. “Despite our diverse backgrounds, many of the women recognised our common leadership goals and aspirations.”
The program aims to inspire women to take on more senior leadership roles, and enhance their career and personal growth opportunities
International links
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(University of Haifa, Israel )
Associate Professor Hisham Abu-Rayya and I conduct innovative research to improve the intergroup relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims nationally and internationally. |
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(Oxford University)
Professor Harvey Whitehouse and I share a research interest in understanding the distinct role of fusion and identification in intergroup conflict. |
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(Queen's University, Belfast)
Dr Gary McKewon is a world-leading expert in dynamic and real-time behavioural measurement systems. His expertise contributes to the improved measurement of pre- and post- intergroup contact situations. |
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(Queens University, Belfast)
Professor Rhiannon Turner and I share a research interest in developing effective and novel strategies to reduce prejudice and improve intergroup harmony. |
Selected grants
2016
- Antecedents and Consequences of identity fusion for football fans; Gonsalkorale K, White F; School of Psychology/Top-Slice funding under RIBG.
2013
- Investigating the relative effectiveness of different contact strategies in improving intergroup relations; White F; DVC Research/Bridging Support Grant.
2009
- Cooperative dual identity: A new approach to promote ethnic harmony between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians; White F, Abu-Rayya H; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
Selected publications
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Developmental Psychology: From Infancy to Adulthood (4e) (Pearson Australia, 2015)
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Developmental psychology: From Infancy to adulthood (Pearson Education, 2012)
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Developmental psychology: From Infancy to adulthood (Pearson Education, 2010)
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Developmental Psychology: From Infancy to adulthood (Pearson Education, 2005)
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