Bernice is a research fellow at BehaviourWorks Australia within the Monash Sustainable Development Institute at Monash University. Bernice’s primary research interest is in the area of behaviour change, with a focus on persuasive messages and the psychological influence techniques of implementation intentions and self-persuasion.

 

Bernice completed her PhD in psychology at Macquarie University (Australia) and her undergraduate studies at The University of Auckland (New Zealand). In her PhD thesis, Bernice examined the effects of anti-speeding messages on young drivers, using a driving simulator, and she conducted offsite research at the Behavioural Science Institute of Radboud University (The Netherlands). During this time, she was the editor of ‘Hidden Persuasion: 33 Psychological Influence Techniques in Advertising’.

 

At BehaviourWorks, Bernice conducts applied research projects which draw upon The BehaviourWorks Method to find solutions to real-world problems in the areas of health, road safety, education, and environment. She has experience developing feasible and scalable interventions and expertise in trial design and implementation to evaluate intervention impact. Bernice has conducted a range of behaviour change trials, including multi-site hospital trials and randomised controlled trials. The types of interventions she has experience developing include persuasive messages, motivational and behavioural reflection tools. Bernice also serves on the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC).