Research overview

December 26, 2009

My research has two objectives :

  1. To develop knowledge of the cognifive processes underpinning judgment, risk communication, and decision-making.
  2. To use this knowledge in the design of aids and learning tools for improving judgments and decisions in complex work situations. Uncertainty is a pervasive feature of life.

On any given day, people are exposed to a large volume of information, broadcasted through a wide range of media (newspapers, radio and television, mobile phones, and the internet). This proliferation of ‘news’ and the growing and ever shifting constituency of stakeholders who disseminate information and opinions compound the sense that definite answers are few and far between. Yet, in contexts where people do not know for sure what the case is or what the future will bring, they still must act, make decisions, choose between alternatives or sometimes simply communicate the uncertainty surrounding future outcomes. Ideally, we should be able to communicate and interpret risks objectively, reason appropriately with uncertain facts, make optimal and informed decisions based on information that is available to us, and make consistent choices based on our personal preferences. In reality, the communication of risks is often problematic, our reasoning under uncertainty can be flawed and our decisions and preferences can be swayed depending on our state of mind, the context in which they are made, and so forth. Better understanding how we face and deal with uncertainty in our daily lives, therefore, is key to help us cope better with our modern environment. My research thus strives to contribute to the psychology of risk and uncertainty and the psychology of decision-making. My focus is on how individuals reason about, judge, communicate, or make decisions under uncertainty both in the laboratory and in applied settings. This includes work on how individuals communicate and interpret uncertainty qualitatively, how they draw conclusions based on uncertain information, and how judgments, decisions, and choices are shaped by individuals’ motivations, mode of thinking (intuitive or deliberative) and the way information is distributed in their environment.