Dr Denise Dillon - Research Portfolio

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About

Dr Denise Dillon is the Associate Dean Research Education at the JCU Singapore campus and Chair of the JCU Singapore IACUC. After serving as Head of Academic Group for psychology, arts and education for almost 10 years, Denise now facilitates and promotes the strategic direction of research within JCUS, improvements in the quality and impact of that research, and the growth of local, national and international research collaborations. Additionally, Denise provides leadership to academic staff and HDR students.

Her primary research focus is biophilia (love for life and lifelike processes) pertaining to both natural and built environments, and Denise is a certified Forest Therapy Guide and is active in the community as one of three pioneers of forest therapy guiding in Singapore. In March 2016 Denise presented a public lecture on the broader background of research in her area, titled The Peace of Wild Things: Attention Restoration Through Biophilic Design. In May 2017, Denise, as leader of the biophilia research cluster at JCU Singapore, hosted Sue Thomas as a Visiting Scholar. During her visit, Sue (author of Technobiophilia: Nature and Cyberspace) presented a public lecture on her key topic: Living well with nature in a wired world: an introduction to technobiophilia.

Recent Projects include the following:

Connect, Respect and Reflect: Nature Connectedness in Singapore
Connecting the Dots: Do Context and Connectedness Influence Pro-environmental Behaviours? (JCU Singapore Cross-collaboration Grant $4424; McShane, Dillon, Koh, Green)
On a Trajectory Towards Zero Waste: Changing Behaviours Through Active Citizenry (JCU Singapore Cross-collaboration Grant $3000; Dillon, Swinbourne)
Virtual reality greenspaces: Does level of immersion affect directed attention restoration in VR environments?
A Preliminary Validation of Guided Forest Therapy as an Effective and Beneficial Practice in a Healing Setting (co-funded by an internal research grant from JCU Singapore and SkillsFuture SG and with the in-kind support of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital through the use of their 'garden in a hospital')
Impact of nature imagery and mystery on attention restoration in young adults
Community gardening: Stress, well-being and resilience potentials
Parental connection and attitudes toward nature and children’s time spent in nature
Exposing the bear in the woods: an exploratory analysis on animal metaphors
A room with a view: Do nature views influence moral compassion?

Denise is seeking expressions of interest from motivated individuals in potential PhD projects in the area of environmental psychology.

Enquiries about PhD, Masters, honours and minor projects are welcome. Please submit a short (1 page max) cover letter detailing your suitability and interest, academic transcript and a CV with contact details for two referees by email.

Community Outreach

Denise contributed an essay (Bathing in the benefits of nature immersion) in 2021 book detailing the many forms of life residing in Singapore's little-known but ecologically diverse Pang Sua Woodland. A collaboration between Nature Society (Singapore) and Cicada Tree Eco-Place, Pang Sua Woodland: Sanctuary Unveiled Along the Rail Corridor combines biodiversity surveys and community voices to reveal the wealth of benefits to be had from urban green spaces.

From 2019-2021, Denise served as Research Chair for the Singapore Psychological Society Council 2019-2021, and was responsible for organising the annual SPS Student Research Awards in October 2019 and 2020. She is now Editor-in-Chief for the Singapore Psychologist magazine and has contributed a number of items to the magazine in addition to regular editorials.

Issue 7, Jun-21 Human-Environment Interactions. Coping With the Experience of Ecological Loss; Experiential Environmentalism; Nature without a name: Noticing nature in Singapore
Issue 8, Sep 21 Human-Animal Interactions. Learning to Fear or Fostering to Flourish?; Nonhuman Animal Contributions to Psychology
Issue 9, Dec-21 Human-Machine Interactions. Eerie Resemblances in The Uncanny Valley
Issue 10, Mar-22 Okayness. I’m Okay If Earth Is Okay
Issue 12, Sep-22 Edifying Education. Craving Contentment & Dabbling with Despair

Media Mentions

Nov 2022 CNS documentary: Who Cares About Polar Bears
Aug 2021 Find Your Happy Space: The link between the environment and mental wellness
Apr 2021 Biophobia in the city: Are people who are fearful of nature less willing to protect it?
Oct 2020 Nature immersion: Improving your life with the great outdoors
Oct 2020 Want to improve your wellbeing? Give nature a chance
July 2020 Hard Talk with Environmental Psychologist on Biophilia and COVID-19
April 2019 SG Psych Stuff invited post on Environmental Psychology
June 2017 Interview with Lianhe Zaobao on the healing effects of greenery (in Chinese)
May 2016 Straits Times feature 'Natural Settings Lower Stress'

Peer Review

Judge for 2018, 2020 & 2022 Psychology panels, Undergraduate Awards
In 2015 my Honours supervisee, Paul Victor Patinadan, received a Highly Commended award for his UA entry based on his thesis, "Friends, Food or Worth Fighting For? A Proposed Stereotype Content Model for Nonhuman Animals"

Teaching

PY2109: The World Around Us: Environmental Psychology (Level 2; SIN)

Interests

Teaching

Denise's key teaching focus is environmental psychology, with additional teaching experience in the areas of personality and individual psychology, statistics and research methods, memory & cognition, health and social psychology, lifespan development, and effective writing.

Experience

2021 to present - Editor-in-Chief, Singapore Psychologist Magazine (Singapore)
2021 to present - Associate Professor Psychology, JCU Singapore (Singapore)
2020 to present - Chair IACUC, JCU Singapore (Singapore)
2018 to present - Associate Dean Research/Research Education, JCU (Singapore)
2019 to 2021 - Research Chair, Singapore Psychological Society (Singapore)
2017 to 2021 - Member of Academic Board, JCU (Australia)
2015 to 2021 - Senior Lecturer, JCU (Singapore)
2016 to 2018 - Research Cluster Leader: Biophilia Research Cluster, JCU (Singapore)
2015 to 2018 - Head of Academic Group Psychology and Education, JCU (Singapore)
2015 to 2017 - Managing Editor, Journal of Tropical Psychology
2008 to 2014 - Lecturer, JCU (Singapore)
2008 to 2014 - Associate Dean of Psychology, JCU (Singapore)
2007 - Contract data analysis consultant, Self-employed (Cairns, Australia)
2007 - Contract research assistant, JCU (Cairns, Australia)
2003 to 2007 - Lecturer/Associate Lecturer/Subject Coordinator, JCU (Cairns, Australia)
2004 - Contract interviewer, QADREC, School of Population Health, UQ (Cairns, Australia)
2003 - Child Protection Officer, Dept of Families (Cairns, Australia)
2001 to 2003 - Volunteer Supervisor on Call, Lifeline (Cairns, Australia)
2000 to 2002 - Volunteer Telephone Counsellor, Lifeline (Cairns, Australia)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Honours

Awards

2017 - JCU Singapore Academic of the Year
2002 - War Widows Guild of Australia (QLD) Cairns Sub Branch prize for highest achievement in English Literature in a 1st, 2nd & 3rd year sequence
2000 - Ross Smith prize for highest mark in a third-year English Literature subject

Memberships

2021 - International Association for People-Environment Studies
2021 - International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)
2021 - Singapore Association for Laboratory Animal Science
2020 - Chair, JCU Singapore Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
2020 - Accredited Research Manager (Foundation)
2017 - Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs Supporting Member
2013 - Wallace Stevens Society
2013 - Association for the Study of Literature & Environment (ASLE)
2012 - Singapore Psychological Society (Full Member No. FM01241D)
2019 to 2021 - Research Chair, Singapore Psychological Society Council
2017 to 2021 - JCU Academic Board

Other

2015 to 2017 - Managing Editor, Journal of Tropical Psychology
2012 - Visiting Scholar, Harvard (Cambridge, MA)
2012 - Visiting Scholar, Northwestern University (Evanston, ILL)
2005 to 2008 - HCSNet Scholarship (annual conference travel)
2003 to 2008 - JCU Faculty postgraduate scholarship (annual stipend)

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Dillon D and Cai J (2022) Virtual Reality Greenspaces: Does Level of Immersion Affect Directed Attention Restoration in VR Environments? J, 5 (3). pp. 334-357
Dillon D (2022) Wilderness in 19th Century South Seas Literature: An Ecocritical Search for Seascapes. eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, 21 (1). pp. 348-372
Wee Z and Dillon D (2022) Increasing physical exercise through action and coping planning. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (7).
Yap T, Dillon D and Chew P (2022) The Impact of Nature Imagery and Mystery on Attention Restoration. J, 5 (4). pp. 478-499
Dillon D and Pang J (2020) Deer who are distant: Response congruency to relative pronouns across human and nonhuman entities. Society and Animals, 28 (5-6). pp. 447-471
Koay W and Dillon D (2020) Community gardening: stress, well-being and resilience potentials. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (18).
Lim P, Dillon D and Chew P (2020) A guide to nature immersion: psychological and physiological benefits. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (16).
Jacobs G and Dillon D (2019) Promoting critical literacy: the case of promotional materials for burgers. Ecolinguística: Revista brasileira de ecologia e linguagem, 5 (1). pp. 16-27
Chew P, Dillon D and Swinbourne A (2018) An examination of the internal consistency and structure of the Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS). PLoS ONE, 13 (3).
Dillon D (2018) “Footprint”: the apocalyptic imprint of end as immanent in Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. Etropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, 17 (2). pp. 52-61
Chew P, Swinbourne A and Dillon D (2017) An absence of attentional bias: statistics anxiety is unique among anxieties. Journal of Articles in Support of the Null Hypothesis, 13 (2). pp. 91-112

Book Chapters

Dillon D and Koh G (2020) A journal of the COVID year: what can we learn from previous pandemics? In: How to Prepare for the Next Pandemic: behavioural sciences insights for practitioners and policymakers. World Scientific, Singapore, pp. 3-21

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 36+ research outputs authored by Dr Denise Dillon from 2005 onwards.

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

Breaking down the mindfulness construct and examining factors influencing mindfulness (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
Measuring Emotional Dysregulation In Early Childhood (PhD , Primary Advisor)
Social Media Use and Prosocial Behaviour (PhD , Advisor Mentor)
A Virtual Reality Approach to Improving Public Speaking Skills (PhD , Advisor Mentor)
Academic expectation and suicide behaviour among Singaporean and Malaysian youths (PhD , Advisor Mentor)
The development and validation of a Buddhist religiosity scale using a combined emic and etic approach (PhD , Advisor Mentor)