Nicole Nelson

Dr Nicole Nelson

Lecturer

School of Psychology

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

My Research

Dr Nicole Nelson examines how children and adults learn about and understand emotional expressions and other non-verbal information. Her research examines how we integrate facial, postural, and vocal expression cues, how children attend to and learn about new emotions and non-verbal information, and what our emotional expressions look like during daily interactions. Dr Nelson received her PhD from Boston College, was an NSF-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at Brock University in Canada, and after several years at the University of Queensland, in 2020 she joined the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide.

 

Available Research Projects:

#1 - How are emotions expressed to infants and toddlers?

How we express emotions can change with how we feel, who is around, what we want, and who we are. For this project, we are interested in how we express emotion to infants. Using an established film database, we will explore how adults’ express emotions to infants. There is the opportunity to be involved in determining what we explore first in your project. From how different adults’ express emotion, to how adults’ expressions change across the infant’s development, to how they express inside the home or around other adults. Let’s find out how babies see emotions! 

Projects available for: Honours

    Expand

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2021 Butler, J. R., & Nelson, N. L. (2021). Children overclaim more knowledge than adults do, but for different reasons. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 201, 104969.
    DOI Scopus1 WoS1
    2021 West, M. J., Angwin, A. J., Copland, D. A., Arnott, W. L., & Nelson, N. L. (2021). Effects of emotional cues on novel word learning in typically developing children in relation to broader autism traits. Journal of Child Language, 1-19.
    DOI
    2021 Vidas, D., Larwood, J. L., Nelson, N. L., & Dingle, G. A. (2021). Music Listening as a Strategy for Managing COVID-19 Stress in First-Year University Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 9 pages.
    DOI
    2021 Nguyen, T. T., & Nelson, N. L. (2021). Winners and losers: Recognition of spontaneous emotional expressions increases across childhood. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 209, 11 pages.
    DOI
    2021 Van Der Zant, T., Reid, J., Mondloch, C. J., & Nelson, N. L. (2021). The influence of postural emotion cues on implicit trait judgements. Motivation and Emotion, 8 pages.
    DOI
    2021 Van Der Zant, T., & Nelson, N. L. (2021). Motion Increases Recognition of Naturalistic Postures but not Facial Expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 14 pages.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2
    2020 Barker, M. S., Bidstrup, E. M., Robinson, G. A., & Nelson, N. L. (2020). “Grumpy” or “furious”? arousal of emotion labels influences judgments of facial expressions. PLOS ONE, 15(7), e0235390.
    DOI Scopus1 WoS1
    2020 Kapitány, R., Nelson, N., Burdett, E. R. R., & Goldstein, T. R. (2020). The child’s pantheon: Children’s hierarchical belief structure in real and non-real figures. PLoS ONE, 15(6), e0234142.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC1
    2020 Fong, F. T. K., Mondloch, C. J., & Nelson, N. L. (2020). Interactive situations reveal more about children's emotional knowledge. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 198, 104879.
    DOI Scopus1 WoS1
    2020 Barker, M. S., Nelson, N. L., & Robinson, G. A. (2020). Idea formulation for spoken language production: the interface of cognition and language. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 26(2), 226-240.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS5 Europe PMC4
    2020 Vidas, D., Calligeros, R., Nelson, N. L., & Dingle, G. A. (2020). Development of emotion recognition in popular music and vocal bursts. Cognition and Emotion, 34(5), 906-919.
    DOI
    2020 West, M. J., Angwin, A. J., Copland, D. A., Arnott, W. L., & Nelson, N. L. (2020). Cross-modal emotion recognition and autism-like traits in typically developing children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 191, 104737-1-104737-13.
    DOI Scopus1
    2019 Nelson, N. L., & Mondloch, C. J. (2019). Children's perception of emotions in the context of live interactions: Eye movements and emotion judgements. Behavioural Processes, 164, 193-200.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS3
    2019 Dixson, B. J. W., Kennedy-Costantini, S., Lee, A. J., & Nelson, N. L. (2019). Mothers are sensitive to men's beards as a potential cue of paternal investment. Hormones and Behavior, 113, 55-66.
    DOI Scopus14 WoS14 Europe PMC4
    2019 Craig, B. M., Nelson, N. L., & Dixson, B. J. W. (2019). Sexual Selection, Agonistic Signaling, and the Effect of Beards on Recognition of Men’s Anger Displays. Psychological Science, 30(5), 728-738.
    DOI Scopus19 WoS19 Europe PMC3
    2019 Mondloch, C. J., Gerada, A., Proietti, V., & Nelson, N. L. (2019). The influence of subtle facial expressions on children's first impressions of trustworthiness and dominance is not adult-like. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 180, 19-38.
    DOI Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC2
    2019 Coy, A. L., Nelson, N. L., & Mondloch, C. J. (2019). No experimental evidence for emotion-specific gaze cueing in a threat context. Cognition and Emotion, 33(6), 1144-1154.
    DOI Scopus3 Europe PMC1
    2019 Nelson, N. L., Kennedy-Costantini, S., Lee, A. J., & Dixson, B. J. W. (2019). Children's judgements of facial hair are influenced by biological development and experience. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(6), 551-556.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS5
    2018 Nelson, N. L., Nowicki, E., Diemer, M. C., Sangster, K., Cheng, C., & Russell, J. A. (2018). Children can create a new emotion category through a process of elimination. Cognitive Development, 47, 117-123.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS4
    2018 Barker, M. S., Nelson, N. L., O'Sullivan, J. D., Adam, R., & Robinson, G. A. (2018). Energization and spoken language production: Evidence from progressive supranuclear palsy. Neuropsychologia, 119, 349-362.
    DOI Scopus10 WoS11 Europe PMC2
    2018 Nelson, N. L., & Mondloch, C. J. (2018). Children’s visual attention to emotional expressions varies with stimulus movement. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 172, 13-24.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC2
    2018 West, M. J., Copland, D. A., Arnott, W. L., Nelson, N. L., & Angwin, A. J. (2018). Effects of Prosodic and Semantic Cues on Facial Emotion Recognition in Relation to Autism-Like Traits. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(8), 2611-2618.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS5 Europe PMC2
    2017 Nelson, N. L., & Mondloch, C. J. (2017). Adults’ and children’s perception of facial expressions is influenced by body postures even for dynamic stimuli. Visual Cognition, 25(4-6), 563-574.
    DOI Scopus16 WoS18
    2017 West, M. J., Copland, D. A., Arnott, W. L., Nelson, N. L., & Angwin, A. J. (2017). Effects of emotional prosody on novel word learning in relation to autism-like traits. Motivation and Emotion, 41(6), 749-759.
    DOI Scopus1
    2016 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2016). Building emotion categories: Children use a process of elimination when they encounter novel expressions. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 151, 120-130.
    DOI Scopus16 WoS16 Europe PMC7
    2016 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2016). A facial expression of pax: Assessing children’s “recognition” of emotion from faces. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 141, 49-64.
    DOI Scopus19 WoS20 Europe PMC4
    2015 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2015). Children distinguish between positive pride and hubris.. Developmental Psychology, 51(11), 1609-1614.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC2
    2014 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2014). Dynamic facial expressions allow differentiation of displays intended to convey positive and hubristic pride.. Emotion, 14(5), 857-864.
    DOI Scopus18 WoS18 Europe PMC4
    2013 Mondloch, C. J., Nelson, N. L., & Horner, M. (2013). Asymmetries of Influence: Differential Effects of Body Postures on Perceptions of Emotional Facial Expressions. PLoS ONE, 8(9), 16 pages.
    DOI Scopus18 WoS19 Europe PMC6
    2013 Nelson, N. L., Hudspeth, K., & Russell, J. A. (2013). A story superiority effect for disgust, fear, embarrassment, and pride. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 31(3), 334-348.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC4
    2013 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2013). Universality revisited. Emotion Review, 5(1), 8-15.
    DOI Scopus136 WoS125
    2012 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2012). Children's understanding of nonverbal expressions of pride. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 111(3), 379-385.
    DOI Scopus15 WoS14 Europe PMC2
    2011 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2011). Preschoolers' use of dynamic facial, bodily, and vocal cues to emotion. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 110(1), 52-61.
    DOI Scopus75 WoS72 Europe PMC29
    2011 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2011). Putting motion in emotion: Do dynamic presentations increase preschooler's recognition of emotion?. Cognitive Development, 26(3), 248-259.
    DOI Scopus15 WoS15
    2011 Nelson, N. L., & Russell, J. A. (2011). When Dynamic, the Head and Face Alone Can Express Pride. Emotion, 11(4), 990-993.
    DOI Scopus11 WoS13 Europe PMC4
    — Kapitány, R., Nelson, N. L., Goldstein, T. R., & Burdett, E. (n.d.). The Child’s Pantheon: Children’s Hierarchical Belief Structure in Real and Non-Real figures.
    DOI
    — Van Der Zant, T., & Nelson, N. L. (n.d.). Motion increases recognition of spontaneous expressions.
    DOI
    — Van Der Zant, T., Reid, J., Mondloch, C. J., & Nelson, N. L. (n.d.). The Influence of Postural Emotion Cues on Implicit Trait Judgements.
    DOI
Funding

Career funding total = $287,319 AUD

Year Grant   Amount

2019

Nelson, N.L., Pegna, A., & Dixson, B.J.W. Title: Neural and Visual Correlates of Emotion Recognition in Faces and Bodies. Strategic Funds Seeding Grant, University of Queensland.

  $8000 AUD

2017

Robinson, G.A., Matthews, N., & Nelson, N.L. Title: Mapping Parallels in Language and Emotional Communication Deficits in Healthy and Pathological Ageing. Strategic Funds Seeding Grant, University of Queensland.

  $9200 AUD

2016

Robinson, G.A., ...Nelson, N.L., & Vanman, E. Title: A brain physiology laboratory for neuropsychological research in the new Queensland Neuropsychology Research Centre. Major Equipment Initiative Grant, University of Queensland.

  $109,606 AUD

2015

Nelson, N.L. …et al

Title: Integrating Measures of Emotion: Facial Expressions, EEG, and EMG using iMotions software Research Equipment Initiative, University of Queensland

  $28,400 AUD

2012 - 2014

Nelson, N.L. Title: Children's Understanding of Cues to Emotion: Attentional Mechanisms and Social Interactions. International Research Fellowship Program Award, National Science Foundation.

   $88,984 USD
Teaching
  Course Title and Role      

 

Skills and Applications (PSYCHOL 1006)

Lecturer & Course Coordinator

Sem. 2, 2021 -

   
 

Health and Lifespan Developmental Psychology (PSYCHOL 3021)

Lecturer & Course Coordinator

Sem. 2, 2021 -

   

 

    Expand

  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2018 - 2020 Member Higher Degree Research Committee University of Queensland, School of Psychology Australia
    2017 - 2018 Member Ethics Committee (Low and Negligible Risk) University of Queensland, Faculty of Health and Behavioral Sciences Australia
    2015 - 2020 President Developmental Reading Group University of Queensland, School of Psychology Australia
  • Position: Lecturer
  • Phone: 83135739
  • Email: nicole.nelson@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Hughes, floor 7
  • Room: 7 29
  • Org Unit: School of Psychology
Connect With Me
External Profiles

Other Links