How should we define and empirically distinguish unconscious versus conscious processes, emotional versus cognitive processes, or intuitive versus deliberate processes? What is the relationship between these domains? Is it correct to think of these distinctions as dichotomies, as has been traditional, or are they in fact complex gradations? How do these different aspects of mental life interact in everyday behaviour? These fundamental questions about the human mind are DICE-Lab’s core theoretical interest. Our group is currently interested in the interaction of these information processing styles in areas from perceptual sensation and judgement, to implicit learning, to higher-level decision making and risk assessment.

Some of our research projects focus on basic research issues – e.g., understanding consciousness via studies of perceptual sensation, synaesthesia, or implicit learning. Some are focused on practical issues – e.g., environmental decision making and risk evaluation, medical decision making, economic decision making, and forensic psychology. Methodologically, our group has particular expertise in statistical analyses and in process tracing, and our experimental work uses a combination of lab-based computerised experiments, eye tracking, and internet-based research.