About us

Welcome to the website of the research group Learning, Emotion, Decisions based at the Department of Experimental Psychology and the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC) at the University of Granada, Spain (CTS-176, cts176.ugr.es).


Research

Our research currently concentrates on three sets of processes: Learning (with special emphasis on causal learning in humans), Emotion (especially anxiety and depressive disorders and problems related to drug addiction and health), and Decisions (decision-making and risk behavior). We also study the physiological correlates of these processes and our main applied sectors of interest are traffic and health.

Some of the research areas we cover are:

  • Causal Learning and Decision Making
  • Risky Decision Making and Behavior
  • Driving Behavior
  • The Role of Emotions in Learning and Decision Making (e.g., in addiction or decisions about health)
  • Medical Decision Making and Risk Communication
  • Brain Activity in Learning and Decision Making
  • Moral judgement
  • Food preferences

History

The research group was one of the very first groups created as part of a program launched by the Autonomous Government of Andalusia (1987). The group initially worked in the area of animal and human learning and focused on two major lines of research: learning models and processes and their biological bases. Afterwards the group split with the current group focusing on human learning, while animal research was undertaken by another research group, under the direction of Dr. Milagros Gallo. For many years , from origen just to 2015 the director of the research group was prof. Antonio Maldonado and then from 2015 to 2021 by prof. Andrés Catena. Now the by prof. Antonio Cándido took this post in 2021.

Services

We welcome collaborations and contracts on Research & Development projects.

  • Analysis of factors involved in risk behavior (driving and addictive behavior) and development of techniques for control of such behavior.
  • Study of the electrophysiological correlates of human behavior.
  • Advice on issues related to information and behavioral control in health psychology and drug addiction issues, as well as driving and road safety.

Resources

  • Techniques for studying the behavior of drivers in risky situations.
  • Techniques for the measurement and analysis of EEG in human behavior.
  • 3-Honda Riding Trainer Simulator.
  • 2 Brain Vision (EEG measurement)
  • 2 Neuroscan (Portable EEG measurement)
  • EYELINK 1000 (Measuring eye movements)
  • PowerLab (Measurement system for psycho-physiological responses).
  • risky taking and risk making tasks
  • Big apparatus (RMf, TMR, and others) in the research centre ( Cimcyc )