About

We study human reasoning and decision making. We explore how people combine information to make judgments and choose between options.

The tasks we study range from simple perceptual categorizations, to consumer choice, to gambling, to Bayesian reasoning. Of fundamental interest is how different factors influence the judgment and decision-making  process. Some of the factors we consider are culture, emotion, sleep, time, interruptions, stimulus format, age, and personality. Please contact me if you are interested in the specific topics currently being addressed.

However, a few current topics in the lab are:

• How best to construct and measure the success of eyewitness lineups.
• How best to teach Bayesian reasoning concepts.
• What is the effect of decision-making phenomena on other tasks.

Most of the work uses behavioral experiments. Eye tracking is often employed to determine how people seek out and use information.

Computational modeling is a key component of our research. A mathematical model is a psychological theory that has been described in mathematical terms. The qualitative and quantitative predictions of the model can then be tested empirically. Modeling is a powerful tool.

RDCL stands for Reasoning, Decision making, and Computational modeling Laboratory. It is either pronounced R.D.C.L. or RaDiCaL, thus the square root sign (or radical) in the logo.