Professor Tom Denson | UNSW Research

My Expertise

Causes and reduction of anger and aggression in humans
Biological correlates of anger and aggression
Brain mechanisms underlying anger and aggression

Keywords

aggression

violence

intimate partner violence

anger

emotion regulation

emotions

functional magnetic resonance imaging

Fields of Research (FoR)

Social and Community Psychology, Biological Psychology (Neuropsychology, Psychopharmacology, Physiological Psychology)

SEO tags

Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences

Biography

I am a Professor in the School of Psychology at UNSW. I am an experimental social-personality psychologist. My primary research focus is on the causes, consequences, and prevention of anger-driven aggression.

Anger and aggression are serious problems throughout the world. The research in my lab has helped us understand the causes of these phenomena and how they can be regulated. My students, international and domestic collaborators and I attack the problem from behavioral and biological perspectives. Our lab has investigated anger and aggression between strangers, romantic partners, and physical and sexual aggression toward women.

My lab has also studied alcohol-related aggression. We are at the forefront of discovering brain systems involved in alcohol-related aggression with the help of a 3-year grant from the Australian Research Council.

I received my PhD in 2007 from the University of Southern California took a tenure-track position as a Lecturer (US Assistant Professor equivalent) at the School of Psychology. I have won several awards for my research and teaching including the Association for Psychological Science’s ‘Rising Star’ Award, the NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award, and the Society for Australasian Social Psychologists’ Early Career Researcher Award. I am a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and a Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Since 2009, I have received approximately $6.0 million in funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). I was an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Fellow and ARC Future Fellow. I have published over 100 articles and book chapters. I serve as an Officer for the International Society for Research on Aggression. https://www.israsociety.com/

My Grants

2020-2022 Australian Research Council Discovery Project (DP200101845), Brain systems implicated in alcohol-related aggression. AUD$354,177. Denson, T.F., Riva, P., & Gilam, G.

2021-2023 Australian Research Council Discovery Project (DP200101845), Toward an understanding of whether and how humility reduces anger. AUD$308,404. Harmon-Jones, E., Harmon-Jones, C., Denson, T. F., & Schmeichel, B.

My Qualifications

Ph.D., Social Psychology, 2007

M.A., Social Psychology, 2004

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

M.A., Research Psychology, 2002

California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, CA

B.A., Psychology and Germanic Languages and Literature, 1997

University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA

My Awards

2018 Awarded Fellow Status in the Society for Personality and Social Psychology for “longstanding contribution to SPSP and the field of Personality and Social Psychology”.

2016 University of New South Wales Postgraduate Supervisor Award, University-wide, student-nominated award.

2015 University of New South Wales, Science Faculty Staff Excellence in Teaching Award, AUD$1,500 (Based on student evaluation scores).

2015 Elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science

2012 Winner New South Wales Young Tall Poppy Science Award

2012 Society of Australasian Social Psychologists’ Early Career Award

2011 Association for Psychological Science “Rising Star”

2009 University of New South Wales, Science Faculty Staff Excellence in Research Award, AUD$1,500

2009 University of New South Wales, Australian Psychological Society’s Most Outstanding Lecturer in Psychology (UNSW) Award. Voted on by Bachelor of Psychology and Honours students. This was the first year the award was offered.