LAB DIRECTOR
Dr Ben Dyson (Associate Professor) started at the University of Alberta in Summer 2018. He graduated from York University, UK, in 2002 after completing his thesis on auditory cognition and went on to a postdoctoral fellowship position at the Rotman Research Institute, Canada (2002-2004) to learn about event-related potentials (ERPs). His first academic position was at the (then) Department of Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK (2005-2008). He returned to Canada to work at Toronto Metropolitan University for six years (2008-2014) and then back to the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK (2015-2018).
CURRENT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
I am accepting applications for UG students for Fall 2026.
Please follow the guidance in the link provided. Deadline is February 28th 2026.
CURRENT GRADUATE STUDENTS
I am accepting applications for MSc / PhD students for Fall 2025.
- A minimum requirement is that your previous and / or future research interests align with the decision-making research that we do in the Re:Cognition Lab.
- We are in the process of refining and advancing our equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies. We want you to help us develop and sustain these commitments.
- To remove one such EDI barrier, GRE scores are not required for applications to the Re:Cognition Lab.
List of countries and institutions from which you do not need to take an English test
Formal applications should be completed here. The Department of Psychology will begin making offers for admission December 1 2024 for Fall 2025 intake.
CURRENT GRADUATE STUDENTS
Yajing Zhang obtained her BA (2018) in International Politics from Beijing Language and Culture University, China, and MA (2020) in Applied Psychology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China. She is interested in the role of individuals’ music preference, extraneous noise and affect in decision-making.
Abdul Majid El Rifai obtained his Honours BSc in Psychology (2025) from the University of Alberta, Canada. He is interested in understanding how competition influences risk-taking and decision-making, with a particular focus on investigating the underlying behavioural and neural mechanisms.
Steven “Rocky” Baker obtained his BSc in Math and BA in Psychology (2023) from the University of South Alabama, USA. He is interested in how cognitive control is influenced by wins, losses and draws in the context of simplified gambling paradigms.
FORMER GRADUATE STUDENTS
Eunchan Na obtained his BA (2016) in Industrial Psychology from Hoseo University, Korea, and MA (2018) in Psychology from Sungshin Women’s University, Korea. He is interested in how feedback is processed, evaluated, and how feedback evaluation affects later decision making. Eunchan graduated in September 2026.
Jukka Sundvall obtained his BA (2014) and MA (2016) in Cognitive Science from the University of Helsinki, Finland. Jukka joined the Re:Cognition lab in the Autumn of 2016 and graduated in December 2019. He is generally interested in judgment and decision making, and the effects of risk, reward and other affective factors on these processes. He has done some previous research on utilitarian judgment in moral dilemma situations. His current focus is on rationality and irrationality in gaming decisions.
Jonathan Wilbiks obtained a BSc (Hons) in Psychology (2008) from the University of Toronto, an MA in Psychology of Music (2010) from the University of Sheffield (UK), and a PhD in Psychology from Ryerson University in 2016. While working in the Re:Cognition Lab during his PhD, Jonathan investigated the factors that lead to changes in the capacity of audiovisual integration. Jonathan is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of New Brunswick Saint John where he is the director of the Music and Multisensory Processes Lab.
CURRENT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Mariam S. Boulaksout is a fourth-year BSc Psychology student at the University of Alberta. Her research interests focus on how people navigate decision-making under pressure, particularly how uncertainty, confidence, feedback, and context interact to influence decisions in competitive games and everyday dilemmas
Samantha Connor is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a BSc Honors in Psychology. She is interested in how decision-making is influenced during competitive games by perceived wins and losses and the perception of one’s opponent.
Yuna Jang (Thesis 2025 – 2027) is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a BSc Honors in Psychology. She is interested in how different game design elements and types of opponents impact decision making when playing competitive games.
Ayesha Khan is in her third year of a BSc in Psychology at the University of Alberta. She is interested in how people use information to make judgments and the factors influencing decision-making.
Kalina Ploski is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a BA Honors in Psychology. She is interested in how different game designs bring out competitive states, and reveal what kind of decision making strategies people make in order to accomplish what they want.
Saniya Nangia is a fourth-year BA student double majoring in Psychology and Sociology at the University of Alberta. She is interested in how people make decisions in uncertain and competitive situations, particularly how expectations, emotions, and biases shape patterns of behaviour.
Indra Shekhawat is a fourth-year BA undergraduate student majoring in Psychology with minors in Sociology and Business at the University of Alberta. She is interested in cognition and how cognitive processes are shaped by factors such as social dynamics, cultural experiences, and interpersonal interactions, particularly how these influences can shape the way people perceive and interpret the world around them.
Jaffer Yousofi. I am a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a BSc Honors in Psychology (Thesis 2025 – 2027). My research interests include decision-making, embodied cognition, and the relationship between cognition and motor behaviour. I am particularly interested in using computational approaches and motion capture to understand how individuals make decisions in dynamic environments.
FORMER UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
2025 -2026
Abdul Majid El Rifai (Thesis)
Hannah Malmo (Thesis)
Kanzah Rabbani
Tasmia Shahid
Kiersten Somerville (Thesis)
2024 -2025
Kaylee Allison (Thesis)
Abdul Majid El Rifai (Thesis)
Daniel Eyestone (Thesis)
Hannah Malmo (Thesis)
Marie-Eve Mallet (Thesis)
Yihang Wang (Thesis)
2023 -2024
Kaylee Allison (Thesis)
Rama Chehimi
Abdul Majid El Rifai (Thesis)
Daniel Eyestone (Thesis)
Kaylee Kloster
Sara Ladhani
Hannah Malmo
Marie-Eve Mallet (Thesis)
Brittney Phung
Siena Scozzafava
Pram Tehnnakoowel
Carolyn Tellier
Yihang Wang (Thesis)
Ali Zahiriabyaneh
2022 -2023
Ammarah Asad (Thesis)
Pradhee Bastola
Tianzi Dou (Thesis)
Abdul Majid El Rifai
Ruth Huizinga (Thesis)
Bikalpa Koirala (Thesis)
Tahnia Ladhani
Siena Scozzafava
Davin Valera
Grace Zhu
2021 -2022
Kezziah Ayuno
Leo Baik
Adison La Liberté
Kaelyn McEwan
2020 -2021
Ahad Asad
Rimsa Dahal
Ver-Se Denga
Truc Huynh
Kelsey MacLellan
Noah Mitchell
Danielle Vavrek
Jonathan Wiebe
2019 – 2020
Sadia Anjum
Cierre Asis
Ladan Khalaf
Hasul Kim
Habeebah Mohammad
Anna Ryjenkova
Fahad Syed
2018 – 2019
Jett Bland
Kaylee Craplewe
Fenya Fitzpatrick
VISITING STUDENTS
Yeling Huang (Summer 2019)
RE:COGNITION ALUMNI
Piggy was rescued from a lab clear-out at Sussex University in 2006 and has been an honorary member of the lab ever since. He’s not sure whether he likes the UK or Canada better.
Despite his cheery disposition, Piggy gets very upset when participants do not turn up.