Time Estimation and Self-Assessment: I am interested in why people often underestimate how long it will take them to complete future tasks. We have found that it is often bias in memory, people remember tasks as taking less time than they actually did, that leads to biased predictions. I am also interested in how people assess their own abilities and why it appears that they often overestimate their abilities. Our research indicates that it is often characteristics of that the task, whether it is easy or well defined, that can lead to this apparent bias.
Psychology of Music: Recent research examines the role that music plays in people’s lives and how that is related to individual differences in personality and cognitive style. I was part of a group that started music programs in South Africa. Below is a link to video of research on the impact of the music programs.
Dogs and Other Things: I am also interested in a number of other topics, such as whether or not dogs resemble their owners.