Research Bio
Amitai Shenhav is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. He studies the mechanisms that give rise to motivation and decision-making, including what makes tasks demanding and how people choose whether and how to invest effort in those tasks. His lab addresses these questions using a combination of computational modeling and measures of behavior and neural activity (e.g., using functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography). Through the course of this work, he seeks to provide a better understanding of what drives human behavior, when and why people struggle with getting/staying motivated, and how to help them overcome these motivational barriers.
Research Expertise and Interest
cognitive neuroscience, motivation, decision-making, executive functions, computational modeling
Teaching
Academic Internship Credit [COGSCI 197]
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior [NEU C241]
Field Study in Psychology [PSYCH 197]
Supervised Independent Study and Research [PSYCH 199]
Directed Study [PSYCH 298]
Research [PSYCH 299]
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior [PSYCH C210A]
Special Study for Honors Candidates [PSYCH H195B]
Cognitive Neuroscience [COGSCI C127]
Supervised Independent Study and Research [PSYCH 199]
Directed Study [PSYCH 298]
Research [PSYCH 299]
Supervised Independent Study and Research [PSYCH 99]
Cognitive Neuroscience [PSYCH C127]
Special Study for Honors Candidates [PSYCH H195A]
Cognitive Neuroscience [COGSCI C127]
Field Study in Psychology [PSYCH 197]
Supervised Independent Study and Research [PSYCH 199]
Directed Study [PSYCH 298]
Research [PSYCH 299]
Cognitive Neuroscience [PSYCH C127]
Special Study for Honors Candidates [PSYCH H195B]