Peta Callaghan

Dr Peta Callaghan

Senior Lecturer

School of Psychology

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

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

I am a Social Psychologist and completed my PhD in 2014 titled 'Science, Ideology, and Climate Change'. Here I explored the discourses of climate change denial in the context of competing ideological positions and anti-science rhetoric.

I am interested in research topics focused on social inequality, especially environmental issues, racism and prejudice, and social identity. I utilise a range of qualitative methods in my research, including realist approaches such as content and thematic analysis, through to more constructionist approaches like discourse and critical discourse analysis.

I am now in a Teaching Specialist role and my research focus has pivoted towards education-related research, including best practice assessment in psychology undergraduate programs, academic staff well-being, and how to get the most out of student evaluations of teaching.

Best practice assessment methods for the undergraduate psychology program: A narrative review of the literature.

SETs in Higher Education: From Student Perceptions to Teaching Practices.

Task allocation and the development of interpersonal skills in online group work.

Climate Change: Attributions of blame during the 2019-2020 'Black summer' bushfires in Australia.

Using Discursive Psychology to Investigate Discourse on Climate Change in Australia.

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2025 Pettersson, K., Marveggio, M. D., Callaghan, P., & Augoustinos, M. (2025). Fatalism, Evolution, and Interpersonal Attractiveness: Psychological Theories and Emotions in Incels' Constructions of Ingroup Identity and Outgroup Hate. European Journal of Social Psychology, 15 pages.
    DOI
    2025 Penfold, A., Callaghan, P., & Urry, K. (2025). Online Communities and Identity: Experiences of LGBTQIA+ Emerging Adults Engaging With LGBTQIA+ Online Content During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Mar, 10.1037/ppm0000529, 2024). PSYCHOLOGY OF POPULAR MEDIA, 14(1), 2 pages.
    DOI
    2024 Whitson, K. C., Callaghan, P., Thorpe, D., & Ejova, A. (2024). Three profiles of Australian climate change activism have both unique and overlapping motivators and barriers. Communications Earth and Environment, 5(1), 9 pages.
    DOI
    2024 Scholz, D., Taylor, A., Callaghan, P., & Strelan, P. (2024). An exploration of the efficacy of mental health and wellbeing education initiatives in secondary schools: triangulation of student and teacher perspectives. Australian Psychologist, 59(3), 275-289.
    DOI Scopus1
    2024 Penfold, A., Callaghan, P., & Urry, K. (2024). Online communities and identity: Experiences of LGBTQIA+ emerging adults engaging with LGBTQIA+ online content during the COVID-19 pandemic.. Psychology of Popular Media, 14(1), 22-31.
    DOI
    2024 Halliday, S., Callaghan, P., Lavis, T., & Chur-Hansen, A. (2024). Best practice assessment methods for the undergraduate psychology program: a narrative review of the literature. Australian Journal of Psychology, 76(1), 17 pages.
    DOI
    2023 Ziersch, A., Miller, E., Walsh, M., Due, C., Callaghan, P., Howe, J., & Green, E. (2023). ‘I really want to work for me to feel good myself ‘: Health impacts of employment experiences for women from refugee backgrounds in Australia. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, 3, 9 pages.
    DOI Scopus4
    2023 Dobek, P., Bowen, H., & Callaghan, P. (2023). Experiences and perceptions of military and emergency services personnel identifying as LGBTQIA+ and their families: A qualitative systematic review protocol. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 21(9), 1847-1853.
    DOI
    2021 Due, C., Callaghan, P., Reilly, A., Flavel, J., & Ziersch, A. (2021). Employment for women with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in Australia: An overview of workforce participation and available support programmes. International Migration, 63(1), 16 pages.
    DOI Scopus10 WoS3
    2015 Street, J., Callaghan, P., Braunack-Mayer, A., & Hiller, J. (2015). Citizens' perspectives on disinvestment from publicly funded pathology tests: a deliberative forum. Value in Health, 18(8), 1050-1056.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC3
    2014 Mitchell, J., Callaghan, P., Street, J., Neuhaus, S., & Bessen, T. (2014). The experience of melanoma follow-up care: an online survey of patients in Australia. Journal of Skin Cancer, 2014, 429149-1-429149-7.
    DOI WoS13 Europe PMC9
    2013 Callaghan, P., & Augoustinos, M. (2013). Reified versus consensual knowledge as rhetorical resources for debating climate change. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 26(3), 11-38.
    Scopus10 WoS9
    2012 Callaghan, P., Moloney, G., & Blair, D. (2012). Contagion in the representational field of water recycling: Informing new environment practice through social representation theory. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 22(1), 20-37.
    DOI Scopus38 WoS38

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2019 Augoustinos, M., & Callaghan, P. (2019). The language of social inequality. In J. Jetten, & K. Peters (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Inequality (pp. 321-334). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.
    DOI Scopus7
    2018 Augoustinos, M., Due, C., & Callaghan, P. (2018). Unlawful, Un-cooperative and Unwanted: The Dehumanization of Asylum Seekers in the Australian Newsprint Media. In S. Gibson (Ed.), Peace Psychology Book Series (pp. 187-204). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
    DOI
    2018 Augoustinos, M., Callaghan, P., & Hastie, B. (2018). Apologising for past wrongs: emotion-reason rhetoric in political discourse. In L. Smith, M. Wetherell, & G. Campbell (Eds.), Emotion, Affective Practices, and the Past in the Present (pp. 105-123). London, United Kingdom: Routledge, Taylor and Francis.
    DOI Scopus5
    2017 Augoustinos, M., Callaghan, P., Sorrentino, J., & Worth, A. (2017). Political leadership and social diversity: The everyday politics of race and gender. In C. Howarth, & E. Andreouli (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Everyday Politics (pp. 18-33). Oxon, UK: Routledge.
    2016 Augoustinos, M., Callaghan, P., Sorrentino, J., & Worth, A. (2016). Political leadership and social diversity: The everyday politics of race and gender. In The Social Psychology of Everyday Politics (pp. 18-33). Routledge.
    DOI

Small School Grant 2020 ($2000): Developing effective strategies for online group work

LTAG 2024 ($5000): Task allocation and the development of interpersonal skills in online group work.

Academic Lead for Assessment in Psychology

Course Coordinator:

  • Psychology, Science and Society (Level III)
  • Psychology in Society: Social psychology (Level II)

Course Author (online programs):

  • Foundations of Psychology
  • Social Psychology 
  • Research Methods, Design & Analysis (qualitative module)
  • Applying Research Methods (qualitative module)

  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2022 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Border closures’ impact on University of Adelaide students: exploring barriers and facilitators of support during the COVID-19 pandemic University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Julianne Rogers
    2022 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Social Representations of Climate Change before and after the Black Summer bushfires of 2020 University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Mitchell Osborne
    2022 - 2020 Principal Supervisor #ClimateCriminals: Discursive constructions of climate change prior to and during Black Summer University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Joseph Laranjeira
    2022 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Online communities and identity: experiences of LGBTQIA+ young adults with LGBTQIA+ online content during the covid 19 pandemic University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Alex Penfold
    2022 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Confirmation bias in legal decision-making: a qualitative/ thematic analysis University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Ellie Turner
    2022 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Student and teacher experiences with the transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Sussan Vo
    2022 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Perceptions and experiences of LGBTQIA+ emergency first responders' and defence force personnel's families: A qualitative meta-synthesis University of Adelaide and MESHA Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Philip Dobek
    2021 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Help-seeking experiences of young women with symptoms of anxiety and depression University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Madeleine Whyatt
    2020 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Exploring the Impact of Employment on the Health & Wellbeing of Middle Eastern Refugee Women University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Gur Kaur
    2020 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Anthropogenic Climate Change and Collective Action University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Part Time Kath Whitson
    2020 - 2020 Co-Supervisor The Affective Practices of Incels: A Social Identity Approach to the Construction of Incel Identities University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Mark Marveggio
    2019 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Negotiating Changing Identities: Migrant and Refugee Children’s Ethnic Identity Expression in Australia University of Adelaide Bachelor of Psychological Science Honours Full Time Tamina Islam
  • Position: Senior Lecturer
  • Phone: 83139907
  • Email: peta.callaghan@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Hughes, floor 5
  • Org Unit: Psychology
Connect With Me
External Profiles