Ben Grafton

Dr Ben Grafton is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Western Australia’s School of Psychological Science and Co-Director of the Rutherford Memorial Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion (CARE). His research focuses on understanding cognitive biases (e.g., attentional, interpretive) that underpin emotional vulnerability in anxiety and depression. He investigates causal relationships between these biases and emotional states, aiming to develop interventions like cognitive bias modification (CBM) to improve mental health outcomes.

Research Interests:

• Attentional and interpretive biases in emotional disorders
• Development of CBM procedures
• Neurocognitive mechanisms of anxiety and depression
• Prenatal mental health expectancies
• Pharmacological effects of ketamine on attentional processes

Grants & Projects:

• ARC-funded project on anxiety-linked expectancies (2020-2024)
• Healthway grant for online mental health interventions (2018-2022)
• UWA-led prenatal expectancies study (2024-2025)

Achievements: Recipient of the 2018 APS International Rising Star Award, Australian Psychological Society’s PhD Thesis Award (2015), and multiple research grants.

Labs/Teams: Leads CARE, collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on projects involving mental health interventions and neurocognitive mechanisms.