Professor of Psychology, University of Melbourne
Nick is a social psychologist whose interests include prejudice, psychiatric classification and refugee mental health. His books include Psychology in the Bathroom, Introduction to Personality and Intelligence, Yearning to Breathe Free: Seeking Asylum in Australia, and Introduction to the Taxometric Method.
Best books of 2023: our experts share the books that have stayed with them
Dec 05, 2023 05:36 am UTC| Entertainment
We asked 20 of our regular contributors to nominate their favourite books of the year. Their choices were diverse, intriguing and sometimes surprising. Whether youre looking for something relaxing or stimulating,...
Why are the poor shunned? The reasons are complicated
Apr 11, 2023 11:11 am UTC| Insights & Views
In a study of 19th century ideas of poverty, the German historian Beate Althammer observes a strange dichotomy. On the one hand, there existed a deep-rooted tradition of ascribing to the poor a special proximity to God. As...
Is psychiatry shrinking what's considered normal?
Jul 21, 2020 14:56 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health
Psychiatric classifications catalogue the many forms of mental ill-health. They define what counts as a disorder and who counts as disordered, drawing the boundary between psychological normality and abnormality. In the...
Is the 'midlife crisis' a real thing?
Jan 07, 2019 12:19 pm UTC| Life
Middle age is often seen as lifes pivot point. A hill has been climbed and the view over the other side is unsettling. As Victor Hugo said: forty is the old age of youth and fifty the youth of old age. The idea adults...
Aug 27, 2018 15:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
How should people who care about gender equality in the workplace argue their case? The most popular approach is to make the business case argument: that greater inclusion of women enhances profits and...
Is there such a thing as a 'true self'?
Jul 31, 2017 09:01 am UTC| Life
To thine own self be true, the saying goes. It is often taken as sage advice, a remnant scrap of Elizabethan life coaching, but Shakespeare may have meant it to be heard as a stale platitude. He puts it in the mouth of...
The strange links between intelligence and prejudice
Jul 18, 2017 12:18 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Human judgement often becomes less accurate when we train it on ourselves. Self appraisals commonly flatter our strengths and minimise our weaknesses. The average man overstates his height by 1.2cm and the average woman...