Rate My Professor Cassandra Gauld

Dr Cassandra Gauld is a social psychologist and Lecturer in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Newcastle. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Queensland University of Technology. Her primary research area is applied road safety, with a focus on predictors of risky behaviours among young drivers, such as smartphone use while driving. Gauld applies social psychological theories, including the Extended Parallel Process Model, Social Learning Theory, Cognitive Dissonance Theory, and Theory of Planned Behaviour, to develop and evaluate public education messages that promote positive behaviour change. Other research interests encompass the role of social norms in risky driver behaviours, the uptake of active transportation to reduce carbon emissions, and extending her methods to other health behaviours like antibiotic overuse through targeted public education.

Gauld's professional career includes her current position as Lecturer, following roles as Associate Lecturer (2021–2022) and Postdoctoral Research Associate (2019–2020) in the School of Psychological Sciences within the University of Newcastle's College of Engineering, Science and Environment, as well as Research Associate at Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety–QUT (2017–2018). Her research significantly influences national and state legislation and policy on smartphone use while driving. She serves as a Subject Matter Expert for Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads on future road safety challenges, is the elected Secretary of the ACRS NSW Chapter Executive Committee, and regularly presents at community and stakeholder seminars while engaging with media on drivers’ smartphone use. Notable awards include the 2024 UON School of Psychological Sciences Impactful Research Award, 2022 Peter Vulcan Award for Best Research Paper at the Australasian Road Safety Conference ('Normative Influences on Young Drivers Illegal Smartphone Use'), 2022 UON School of Psychological Sciences Student Supervision Excellence Award, 2020 UON Faculty of Science Staff Excellence Award for Community Engagement, 2014 John Kirby Award for Best Paper by a New Researcher, and 2012 RACQ Best 4th Year Psychology Thesis in Road Safety. Key publications feature 'Why do young drivers respond to their smartphones while driving? Examining the predictive power of the theory of planned behaviour and Big 5 personality factors' (2026, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour), 'Investigating the Efficacy of Social Norms Messages to Reduce Smartphone Use Among Young Drivers' (2025, Journal of Road Safety), 'Normative influences on young drivers’ illegal smartphone use: Applying an extended Theory of Normative Social Behaviour' (2023, Accident Analysis and Prevention), 'Supervising the self-driving car: Situation awareness and fatigue during highly automated driving' (2023, Accident Analysis and Prevention), and 'Concealing their communication: Exploring psychosocial predictors of young drivers’ intentions and engagement in concealed texting' (2014, Accident Analysis and Prevention).