Development of Linguistic Corpora and Normative Databases 

We are interested in understanding how Hindi speakers recognize, process, and represent words. We have developed large-scale Hindi lexical resources, including the Shabd corpus, Shabd-2.0 social media corpus, Hindi familiarity norms, age of acquisition norms, concreteness norms, and the Hindi Lexicon Project based on lexical decision task data. Our work combines corpus development, behavioral experiments, psycholinguistics norm collection, and statistical modeling to examine the role of frequency, familiarity, concreteness, word length, contextual diversity, and orthographic similarity in Hindi word recognition. 

Impact of Bilingualism and Multilingualism on Executive Functions 

Bilingualism and multilingualism are common social realities rather than exceptions in India. Continuous use of language control in multi/bilinguals may strengthen general executive control functions such as attention, inhibition, and task switching. However, recent studies (Backer and Bortfeld, 2021; Paap and Greenberg, 2013). suggest that the impact of bilingualism on executive control functions should be investigated using a more thorough understanding of bilingualism and by applying a variety of executive control measures. We are interested in studying the effects of language proficiency, immersion, language dominance, diversity of language use and language switching on individuals’ performance on tasks measuring executive functions.

Visual Word Processing & Language Universals

Linguistic universals are generalizations about language structure hypothesized to hold for all human languages (Croft, 2025). Yet, given the vast structural diversity among languages, such unrestricted universals are relatively uncommon. We are interested in defining and evaluating linguistic universals in Indian Languages. For example, we are interested in investigating grammatical structure that holds for Hindi. Besides, visual processing used to read Hindi words is special because of the unique characteristics of the Devanagari Script, in that it has non – linear markings in addition to larger grain size of letters, better known as ‘aksharas’ in Hindi. Research on the Devanagari script suggests that, for Hindi reading, the optimal viewing position (OVP) lies slightly left of the center of a word. This asymmetry may arise from factors such as left-hemisphere language dominance, distribution of critical word information, and the visual structure of Devanagari, where maatraas can appear above, below, left, or right of aksharas. The complex spatial arrangement and varying information density of maatraas may influence eye movements and word recognition.  We further want to explore how different types and positions of maatraas interact with OVP during Hindi reading.

Group Behavior, Social Identity, and Inter-group Relations

Holier-Than-Thou, or said differently, ingroup favoritism represents one of the most deeply rooted tendencies in human cognition, shaping processes from early perception to later deliberative decision-making. Our research investigates the foundational components of in-group favoritism, examining its emergence and the mechanisms through which it contributes to prejudiced attitudes, partisan beliefs, and discriminatory behaviors. Across studies, we employ the Minimal Group Paradigm to demonstrate how even minimal social categorizations can systematically influence perception, attention, and judgment. Ongoing and future work aims to refine existing theories of in-group bias by incorporating the complex social divisions present in India, including caste, religion, and gender. By situating socio-cognitive theories within this diverse context, the research seeks to apply established theoretical frameworks and also enhance their explanatory scope, predictive precision, and relevance to lived social realities.

Self–Prioritization, Memory & Attention

The tendency to prioritize self-related information (self-bias) is an intrinsic feature of the perceptual–attentional system or a culturally shaped phenomenon driven by values of individualism and collectivism. Research at the intersection of behavioral science and computational modelling, we investigate how the mind prioritizes self-relevant information in memory, perception, and attention (orienting, alerting, inhibition; attentional blink; & space vs. object based attention); using behavioral experiments, Bayesian statistics, and Drift-Diffusion Modelling. We also examine how self-bias influences everyday decision-making, consumer behavior, and social phenomena such as group identity and polarization. Current projects include fMRI investigation of self- and mother-prioritization, and human-computer interaction around mind attribution in AI systems. 

Lateralization of Cognitive Functions

Research over many decades has shown that cognitive functions are unevenly distributed across the two cerebral hemispheres, with differences evident in both brain structure and function. Although extensive research has established left-hemisphere dominance for language processing, however, more work is required to understand right-hemisphere contributions to both non-verbal and verbal functions. In this context, we aim to investigate the lateralization of orthographic processing and how both hemispheres support visual word recognition and related reading processes. 

Previosuly, in our studies, we have used the visual half-field (VHF) task to examine hemispheric specialization in symmetry detection and tool recognition in both typically and atypically language-lateralized individuals. 

Driver Cognition, Emotion, and Transportation Systems 

We investigate the role of cognitive and emotional processes in driving behavior and transportation safety. Our research focuses on understanding how factors such as working memory, attention, and emotional states influence situational awareness, decision-making, and high-risk driving behaviors.

We also examine driving performance in clinical and applied settings, including the impact of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease on driver cognition and mobility. By identifying the psychological mechanisms underlying risky driving maneuvers and reduced situational awareness through behavioral analysis and simulation-based methods, we aim to develop data-driven interventions and adaptive systems that enhance driver safety and improve transportation outcomes.