Rate My Professor Rebecca Lawrence

Dr. Rebecca Lawrence serves as a Lecturer (Level B) in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University. She earned her PhD from the Australian National University before joining Griffith University. Recognized as an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she convenes two undergraduate courses in the School of Applied Psychology: Biological Psychology (2007PSY) and Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology (1003PSY). Her teaching responsibilities contribute to the training of students in core psychological principles and methodologies.

Dr. Lawrence's research centers on visual cognition, with much of her work examining the dynamics of visual attention and search. Her investigations address topics such as the modulation of inhibition of return by responder speed or accuracy demands, the generation of distractor suppression in visual search without delayed onsets, the influence of symbolic cues like arrows on spatial perception through attention repulsion, and the role of focused attention's spatial extent in modulating suppression during search tasks. She also explores the effects of body neutrality content on TikTok on young women's body image, as well as statistics anxiety and individual differences in cognition. Key publications include 'Emphasizing responder speed or accuracy modulates but does not eliminate the impact of validity on inhibition of return' (2023, Psychological Research), 'Delayed onsets are not necessary for generating distractor suppression in visual search' (2023), 'Can arrows change the subjective perception of space? Exploring symbolic attention repulsion' (2022, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology), 'The spatial extent of focused attention modulates suppression in visual search' (2022), 'Salience matters: Distractors may, or may not, speed target-absent searches' (2021, Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics), and 'The effect of TikTok body neutrality content on young women's body image: An experimental study' (2024). According to Google Scholar, her work has garnered 246 citations, reflecting her contributions to cognitive psychology, visual search, and related areas. She maintains an active profile in professional collaborations within her field.