Associate Professor Fiona Ann Papps
Associate Professor, Psychological SciencesQualifications
PhD (MQ)
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Hons) (USYD)
Overview
Fiona received her PhD in Psychology with Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for PhD Thesis from Macquarie University in 2001. Fiona joined ACAP as Lecturer in Psychological Sciences after nine years at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, where she served in a variety of roles, including Assistant Professor of Psychology, Head of the Department of Psychology Research Ethics Committee, and Head of the Department of Psychology. Fiona has extensive experience in post-secondary teaching, receiving the Hessian Merit Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2006 and the ACAP Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2014. She has been presenting her research at local, national, and international conferences since 1999, and is also a published writer, receiving the Milton Acorn Award for Poetry in 2010.
Research
Body image and embodiment, sexuality, media representations of sex, gender and sexuality, literature, madness, death and dying.
Teaching
Sex, Gender and Intimate Relationships, Developmental, Statistics, Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
Expert Comment Topics
Body image and embodiment, sexuality, media representations of sex, gender and sexuality, literature, madness, death and dying.
Journal Articles
- Kelly, S. & Papps, F. A. (2021). ‘Really caring, really curious, and really there’: Investigating therapist presence from a Hakomi therapy perspective. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy. 10.1080/17432979.2021.1939162
- Tribe, K. V., Papps, F. A., & Calvert, F. (2021). “It just gives people hope”: A qualitative inquiry into the lived experience of the Harry Potter world in mental health recovery. The Arts in Psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101802
- Ellison, T. & Papps, F. A. (2020). ‘Sexuality, without that mirror’: The role of embodied practice in the development of sexual potential. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 40, 101205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2020.101205
- Kassis, A. & Papps, F. A. (2020). Integrating Complementary and Alternative Therapies into professional psychological practice: An exploration of practitioners’ perceptions of benefits and barriers. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 41, 101238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2020.101238
- Page, A. & Papps, F.A. (2018). The effects of internalization, surveillance and self-silencing on the eating attitudes of women living with vision impairment. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(4), 477-488. 10.1177/0361684318792853
- Papps, F. A. (2018). ‘Your little frown didn’t even furrow’: Ideological codes of grief and gender in Lena Dunham’s Girls. Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny, 18(2), 277-287. http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/journal/123059
- Tracey, D., Johnston, C., Papps, F.A. & Mahmic, S. (2017). How do parents acquire information to support their child with a disability and navigate individualised funding schemes? Journal of Research \ in Special Education Needs. doi:10.1111/1471-3802.12390
- Buote, V.M., Wilson, A.E., Strahan, E.J., Gazzola, S.B. & Papps, F.A. (2011). Setting The Bar: Sociocultural Norms for Women’s and Men’s Ideal Appearance in Real-world Contexts. Body Image, 8(4), 322-334.
- Papps, F.A. (2007). “Reading” the Print Media: Young Women “Don’t Wanna Come Off Like A Skank.” American Sexuality, 4(4), http://nsrc.sfsu.edu.
- Papps, F., Walker, M., Trimboli, A. & Trimboli, C. (1995). Parental Discipline in Anglo, Greek, Lebanese, and Vietnamese Cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26(1), 49-64.
Peer Reviewed Conference Presentations
- Holmes, K. & Papps, F. A. Dining with the benevolent pedophile: A metaethnography. Paper presented at the Making sense of: Madness, 8th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, September 2015.
- Johnston, C., Tracey, D., Mahmic, S. & Papps, F. A. Families, disability and individual funding models: An Australian journey with implications for international practice. Paper presented at the Education and Transition – Contributions from Educational Research Conference, Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary, September 2015.
- Tsiakalis, V. & Papps, F. A. Fear of death: The unique roles of invulnerability, resilience and psychosocial maturity. Paper for presentation at the Making sense of: Death, Dying and Suffering, 11th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Prague, November 2014.
- Banning, S. V. & Papps, F.A. “It’s not very feminist of me, but…”: How young, unmarried women living in Australia understand marriage. Paper presented at Community, Diversity, Sustainability, 1st Annual NPI Conference, ACAP, Sydney, October 2014.
- Tsiakalis, V. & Papps, F. A. Fear of death: The unique roles of invulnerability, resilience and psychosocial maturity. Paper presented at Community, Diversity, Sustainability, 1st Annual NPI Conference, ACAP, Sydney, October 2014.
- Papps, F. A. “Her life, like her hair, had become unmanageable”: Women’s hair as a site for madness. Paper presented at the Making sense of: Madness, 7th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, September 2014.
- Johnston, C., Tracey, D., Mahmic, S. & Papps, F.A. Getting the best from Individualised Funding: Families, information and decision making. Research to Action Conference, Centre for Applied Disability Research, Sydney, May 2014.
- Bloch, J. B. & Papps, F. A. Intimacy as a predictor of sexual attraction in cross-sex friends and friends with benefits relationships. Paper presented at The Value(s) of Evidence Based Practice and Practice Based Evidence in the Helping professions, 6th Annual ACAP Conference, ACAP, Melbourne, October 2013.
- Papps, F.A. & White, S. Eco-Chic: Green consciousness and women’s internalization of cultural norms about the body. Paper presented at The Value(s) of Evidence Based Practice and Practice Based Evidence in the Helping professions, 6th Annual ACAP Conference, ACAP, Melbourne, October 2013.
- Holmes, K. & Papps, F. A. “You can’t put it in a box and tie it with a ribbon”: The consumer movement and the social construction of mental illness. Paper presented at the Making sense of: Madness, 6thGlobal Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, September 2013.
- Papps, F.A. & Ngo, K. Men and Other Men: Sexual Orientation, Masculinity Threat and Anti-Effeminacy Affect. Paper presented at the Queer Sexualities 2 Conference, University of Sydney, Sydney, February 2013.
- Papps, F.A. “The Body Issue”: Women, Body, and the Print Media. Paper presented at Mind over Matter, 5th Annual ACAP Conference, ACAP, Brisbane, September 2012.
- Papps, F.A. Cosmopolitan, Baby Gap G-Strings, Backlash, and Pied-A-Terre Kitten Heels: Commodity Feminism and the Production of the Post-feminist Woman in Bridget Jones’s Diary. Paper presented at the Marxism and Psychology Conference, University of Prince Edward Island, PEI, August 2010.
- Buote, V.M., Wilson, A.E., Strahan, E.J. & Papps, F.A. Sociocultural Norms for Appearance and their Connection to Social Acceptance. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Florida, February 2009.
- Papps, F.A. “Dying at 15”? Living (A) Female Adolescence. Paper presented at the 17th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, October 2008.
- Rooney, M. & Papps, F.A. Feast/Famine: Food and the “Ideal” Female Body in Fifty Years of Young Adult Film. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, October 2007.
- Mitchell, M. & Papps, F.A. Self as Potential Romantic Partner: Possible Selves in Young Women. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, October 2007.
- Papps, F.A. & Land, M. When Beauty is the Beast: A Narrative Exploration of Beautification Practices Among College Women. Poster presented at the Appearance Matters 2 Conference, Bath, United Kingdom, June 2006.
- Papps, F.A. & McCannell, L. Attraction and Desire in Cross-Sex Friendships: A Narrative Exploration. Poster presented at the Second Narrative Matters Conference, Acadia University, Nova Scotia, May 2006.
- Papps, F.A. “The Body Issue”: Print Media and Women’s Body Image. Paper presented at the 14th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, September 2005.
- Papps, F.A. & Snow, S. An Exploration of Young Women’s and Men’s Understandings of Sexual “Appropriateness.” Poster presented at the 66th Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, Quebec, June 2005.
Book Chapters
- Holmes, K. A. & Papps, F. A. “You can’t label it and there’s no umbrella”: The consumer movement and the social construction of mental illness. In M. Dos Santos & J. F. Pelletier (Eds.), The social construction of madness. Oxford, UK: IDN Press. (In Press).
- Papps, F.A. (2012). “Soft.” Riptides: New Island Fiction. PE: Acorn Press.
Research Grants
- 2002: UPEI New Scholars Internal Funding Initiative
Beauty, Predation, Power: “Reading” the Women’s Popular Print Media. ($2,000) - 2004: UPEI Research Grants Committee Winter Travel Grant Competition
Snare/Safety-net? Exploring Women’s and Men’s Understandings of Relationship Commitment. ($1,000) - 2005: Major Research Grant
“The Body Issue”: Women, Print Media, and Body Satisfaction. ($1,938) - 2012: Australian Government, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Practice Design Fund Making Informed Choices: Supporting Parents/Carers of Children with Disabilities Information and Services Access. Associate-Professor Christine Johnston (Education UWS), Dr. Danielle Tracey (Education, UWS), Ms. Sylvana Mahmic (ECIA, NSW) ($124,268)
- 2013: Australian College of Applied Psychology Research Grants Competition. “True beauty is not cleavage?” Relationships among modesty, internalisation, objectification and self and body esteem and eating disorder symptomatology in young adult women. ($5,980)
Conference Presentations
- MacGibbon, J. & Papps, F. A. Consensual Non-Monogamy: The Roles of Novelty Seeking, Sexual Boredom, Sex and Sexuality. Paper presented at the 3rd NPI Conference, ACAP, Sydney, October 2017.
- Covell, S. & Papps, F. A. Relationships Among Exercise and Embodiment Experiences, Internalisation of the Thin-Ideal, Objectification and Positive Body Image in Women. Paper presented at the 3rd NPI Conference, ACAP, Sydney, October 2017.
- Papps, F. A. ‘Your little frown didn’t even furrow’: Ideological codes of grief and gender in Lena Dunham’s Girls. Paper accepted for Death and the Maiden Conference, University of Social Sciences, Lodz, Poland, May 2017.
- Papps, F. A., Cribb, G. & Covell, S. ‘There’s a certain freedom in it’: Women doing single well. paper presented at the 2nd NPI Conference, ACAP, Melbourne, November 2016.
- Papps, F. A. ‘That thing at the core of me that I’m always trying to control’: Madness as discipline of feminine appetites in memoirs of Borderline Personality Disorder. Paper presented at the Making sense of: Madness, 9th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, July 2016.
- Johnston, C., Tracey, D., Mahmic, S. & Papps, F. A. Parents, information, and intervention choice: The role of professionals and the internet. Paper presented at the International Society on Early Intervention Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, June 2016.
- Holmes, K. & Papps, F. A. Dining with the benevolent pedophile: A metaethnography. Paper presented at the Making sense of: Madness, 8th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, September 2015.
- Johnston, C., Tracey, D., Mahmic, S. & Papps, F. A. Families, disability and individual funding models: An Australian journey with implications for international practice. Paper presented at the Education and Transition – Contributions from Educational Research Conference, Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary, September 2015.
- Tsiakalis, V. & Papps, F. A. Fear of death: The unique roles of invulnerability, resilience and psychosocial maturity. Paper for presentation at the Making sense of: Death, Dying and Suffering, 11th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Prague, November 2014.
- Banning, S. V. & Papps, F.A. “It’s not very feminist of me, but…”: How young, unmarried women living in Australia understand marriage. Paper presented at Community, Diversity, Sustainability, 1st Annual NPI Conference, ACAP, Sydney, October 2014.
- Papps, F. A. “Her life, like her hair, had become unmanageable”: Women’s hair as a site for madness. Paper presented at the Making sense of: Madness, 7th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, September 2014.
- Johnston, C., Tracey, D., Mahmic, S. & Papps, F. A. Getting the best from individualised funding: Families, information and decision making. Riding the Wave, 11th Annual Conference of the Early Childhood Intervention Association, Brisbane, August 2014.
- Johnston, C., Tracey, D., Mahmic, S. & Papps, F.A. Getting the best from individualised funding: Families, information and decision making. Research to Action Conference, Centre for Applied Disability Research, Sydney, May 2014.
- Bloch, J. B. & Papps, F. A. Intimacy as a predictor of sexual attraction in cross-sex friends and friends with benefits relationships. Paper presented at The Value(s) of Evidence Based Practice and Practice Based Evidence in the Helping Professions, 6th Annual ACAP Conference, ACAP, Melbourne, October 2013.
- Papps, F.A. & White, S. Eco-Chic: Green consciousness and women’s internalization of cultural norms about the body. Paper presented at The Value(s) of Evidence Based Practice and Practice Based Evidence in the Helping Professions, 6th Annual ACAP Conference, ACAP, Melbourne, October 2013.
- Holmes, K. & Papps, F. A. “You can’t put it in a box and tie it with a ribbon”: The consumer movement and the social construction of mental illness. Paper presented at the Making sense of: Madness, 6th Global Interdisciplinary.Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, September 2013.
- Papps, F.A. & Ngo, K. Men and Other Men: Sexual Orientation, Masculinity Threat and Anti-Effeminacy Affect. Paper presented at the Queer Sexualities 2 Conference, University of Sydney, Sydney, February 2013.
- Papps, F.A. “The Body Issue”: Women, Body, and the Print Media. Paper presented at Mind over Matter, 5th Annual ACAP Conference, ACAP, Brisbane, September 2012.
- Papps, F.A. Cosmopolitan, Baby Gap G-Strings, Backlash, and Pied-A-Terre Kitten Heels: Commodity Feminism and the Production of the Post-feminist Woman in Bridget Jones’s Diary. Paper presented at the Marxism and Psychology Conference, University of Prince Edward Island, PEI, August 2010.
- Buote, V.M., Wilson, A.E., Strahan, E.J. & Papps, F.A. Sociocultural Norms for Appearance and their Connection to Social Acceptance. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Florida, February 2009.
- Papps, F.A. “Dying at 15”? Living (A) Female Adolescence. Paper presented at the 17th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, October 2008.
- Rooney, M. & Papps, F.A. Feast/Famine: Food and the “Ideal” Female Body in Fifty Years of Young Adult Film. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, October 2007.
- Mitchell, M. & Papps, F.A. Self as Potential Romantic Partner: Possible Selves in Young Women. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, October 2007.
- Papps, F.A. & Land, M. When Beauty is the Beast: A Narrative Exploration of Beautification Practices Among College Women. Poster presented at the Appearance Matters 2 Conference, Bath, United Kingdom, June 2006.
- Papps, F.A. & McCannell, L. Attraction and Desire in Cross-Sex Friendships: A Narrative Exploration. Poster presented at the Second Narrative Matters Conference, Acadia University, Nova Scotia, May 2006.
- Papps, F.A. “The Body Issue”: Print Media and Women’s Body Image. Paper presented at the 14th Annual Women and Society Conference, Marist College, New York, September 2005.
- Papps, F.A. & Snow, S. An Exploration of Young Women’s and Men’s Understandings of Sexual “Appropriateness.” Poster presented at the 66th Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, Quebec, June 2005.
- Papps, F.A. Snare/Safety-net? Exploring Women’s and Men’s Understandings of Commitment. Poster presented at the 65th Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, St John’s, Newfoundland, June 2004.
- Papps, F.A. A Snare To Catch And Keep? “Doing” Gender Through Understandings of Relationship Commitment. Paper presented at the Social/Personality Psychology Preconference, 65th Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, St John’s, Newfoundland, June 2004.
- Papps, F.A. Reproducing/Resisting Power? Exploring Women’s “Readings” of the Popular Print Media. Poster presented at the 64th Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Hamilton, Ontario, June 2003.
- Papps, F.A. Persistent Shadows: Gendered Beauty and the Snare of Commitment. Paper presented at Casting New Shadows: The Australian Women’s Studies Association Biennial Conference, Macquarie University, North Ryde, February 2001.
- Papps, F.A. To Have And To Hold: Women’s and Men’s Understandings of Commitment in Australian Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1976-1995. Paper presented at Millennium: World Conference in Critical Psychology, UWS, Parramatta, May 1999.
- Papps, F.A. To Have And To Hold: Women’s and Men’s Understandings of Commitment in Australian Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1976-1995. Paper presented at Women @ 2K—Pasts, Presents, Futures, South Central Women’s Studies Association Conference, Tulane University, New Orleans, March 1999.
Research Supervision
Undergraduate
- 2015, Missing, managed or markedly privileged? Examining self-identified bisexual women’s discourses of sexual desire within romantic relationships, Ms. Chynna Foster, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2015, Social capital and death fear: Does more equal less? Ms. May Ladkani, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2015, Online smartphone sexual activity patterns of use and effects, Mr. Jacob Lee, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2015, Re-evaluating the investment model through the lens of gay opened relationships, Mr. Jeremy Mickle, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2015, The effects of internalization, surveillance and self-silencing on the eating attitudes of vision impaired women, Ms. Alexandra Page, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2014, Young women’s understandings of marriage in contemporary society, Ms. Stephanie Banning, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2014, “Style showdown”: A qualitative exploration of women’s experiences of online clothes shopping and their perceived effect on body image ideals and body satisfaction, Ms. Melissa Gilkes, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2014, Pose, pout and don’t object: Gendered performances in selfie images posted on Instagram, Ms. Briana Limberger, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2014, Does anyone wear the pants? An exploration of how lesbians in cohabiting relationships handle demand-withdraw conflict relationships, Ms. Carey Little, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2014, The effect of subscription to gender ideology, sexism and other-oriented perfectionism on men’s endorsement of female beauty ideals, Ms. Tricia Padoa, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2014, The impact of trait appearance contingent self-worth, self-objectification and internalisation on enjoyment of self-sexualization in female Instagram users, Ms. Elham Samei, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2014, Why do people fear death? Gender, invulnerability and psychosocial maturity as predictors of reasons for the fear of death, Mr. Vaselios Tsiakalis, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2013, The relationship between intimacy and sexual attraction in friends with benefit relationships and cross-sex heterosexual friendships, Ms. Jaimie Bloch, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2013, Challenging the myth: Finding evidence for the effectiveness of therapies other than cognitive behaviour therapy, Ms. Louise Fisher, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2013, Effect of attachment style and parental bonds on engagement in cosmetic surgery, Ms. Samantha Solly, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2013, Examining coping strategies among male firefighters and police officers following a traumatic event, Ms. Sandra Turcic, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2013, Sexuality, consent and Down Syndrome, Ms. Cherie Tranter, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
- 2013, The impact of gender discourse on sexual self-efficacy in emerging adults, Ms. Julie Vincent, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).
Postgraduate
- 2014, Intent and Family Style in Therapists’ Use of Humour, Ms. Nikki Beaumont, Master of Clinical Psychology.
- 2014, Inquiry into Paedophilia: A Meta-study of the Presuppositions, Politics and Social Theories that Lie Beneath Psychological Research, Ms. Kara Holmes, Master of Clinical Psychology.
- 2014, The practice of veiling as predictor of body image resilience among Muslim women, Ms. Emel Solak-Richer, Master of Clinical Psychology.
Awards and Recognition
- 2014: ACAP Award for Excellence in Teaching, Australian College of Applied Psychology, Sydney.
- 2010: Milton Acorn Poetry Award, PEI Council of the Arts, Canada.
- 2006: Hessian merit Award for Excellence in Teaching, UPEI, Canada.
Edited Books
- Lyubchenko, I. & Papps, F. A. (2015). ‘Schizo’: The liberatory potential of madness. Oxford, UK: Interdisciplinary-Net Press.
- Papps, F.A. (2014). (Ed.) “And then the monsters come out…”: Madness, Language and Power. Oxford, UK: Interdisciplinary-Net Press.