Dr David Butler

I am generally interested in how and why we (i) are able to know about our own ‘selves’, and (ii) interact with others in positive and/or negative ways with others (i.e., prejudice). I address questions within these interests using a combined developmental, comparative (animals), and evolutionary framework. Below are just some of the current projects of interest if students wish to contact me. Please see my Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Open Science Framework pages for more details.

Self-recognition in Psychopathology

Visual self-recognition (i.e., knowing what one’s own appearance looks like) is subject to various distortions as seen in several types of psychopathology. For example, people with Anorexia Nervosa tend to see their own appearance to be larger than it is in reality, whilst people with Body Dysmorphic Disorder tend to perceive faults in their own appearance that others may not detect. I want to further our understanding about how self-perception occurs in such psychopathologies. Moreover, in collaboration with staff from the University of Melbourne (Dr. Isabel Krug) and Cairnmillar colleague (Prof. Paul Jenkinson) we are pursuing whether distortions in self-perception can be positively altered via a process known as ‘multisensory stimulation’ to reduce any negative impact that may occur (e.g., people with Anorexia may see themselves realistically rather than being ‘large’). You can read on our awarded Tiny Blue Dot grant regarding this project here.

Scientific Racism in Psychology

Scientific racism is when science is (mis)used to incorrectly justify claims that people belonging to certain races are superior or inferior to others. Unfortunately, and perhaps to the surprise of many, psychology has a long history involving scientific racism. Indeed, psychologists have (and continue) to make incorrect claims that things like intelligence or criminality will inherently vary as a function of the race one belongs in. Unfortunately, scientific racism is re-emerging (although it has not really disappeared), which can have dire consequences on many levels (e.g., public distrust in science, impacts of racism involving health, employment, living conditions, etc.). I am therefore investigating scientific racism within psychology, especially within Australia (given the long history of scientific racist programs such as the Stolen Generation and White Australia policy). For example, I have been looking at how psychologists define and discuss race (which turns out to be rather lacking). You can see my work on this issue here.

Weirdness in psychology

Psychology is a W.E.I.R.D discipline, meaning that at all levels (researchers, research participants, journal editors, academics, and clinicians, etc) people are predominantly from countries that are western, educated, industrialised, rich, and democratic. Importantly, such people only make up roughly 10% of the global population (meaning non-W.E.I.R.D countries make up around 90% of the global population). Unfortunately, despite our knowledge involving the human mind coming from a global minority, we may tend to assume that all minds will tend to work the same irrespective of culture. If we are to truly understand the human condition from a psychological perspective, we must better our knowledge about the role of culture, and indeed improve our understanding of minds from across the globe. I, along with my Cairnmillar colleagues Assoc. Prof. RoseAnn Misajon and Dr. Joanne Brooker, have been investigating psychology in terms of better understanding and improving this W.E.I.R.D problem. You can read more about these efforts here.

The Evolution of Empathy

There is much to be gained about our knowledge of the human mind via comparisons to other species. What human abilities are truly unique? What abilities are shared with other species? Why are some abilities unique and others not? In collaboration with past staff from LaTrobe University’s Dog Hub (Dr. Tiffani Howell), we are investigating a contentious issue amongst comparative/evolutionary psychologists: do dogs show empirical evidence for empathy? We hope answering such a question will lead to a better understanding of empathy in humans and dogs alike (and indeed, perhaps how dogs and humans interact). Given the increasing use of dogs in therapy, such knowledge may ultimately have clinical implications.

Using Dogs in Therapy with Abused Children

In a collaboration between myself, past staff at LaTrobe University, and Bravehearts, we have been exploring how the use of dogs (and robotic dogs) may assist in the treatment of abused children. This is a crucial issue given the trauma inflicted on children and the high drop out rates that may be seen despite the effectiveness of current treatments. You can read about some of our findings here.