Faced with the same choice, two people will often decide differently, and even the same person might choose differently on different days. Standard models of decision-making often treat this variability as noise, but here at the Lempert Lab, we use it as a window into how decision making works.
We study the neural and cognitive origins of dispositional and situational variability in decision making. For example, why are some people more impulsive or prone to addiction than others? When and how do affective states shift our preferences? And how do individual differences and internal states interact to influence choice? Using tools and techniques from psychology, neuroscience, and economics, we hope to map out the relevant contributors to decision making and shed light on its underlying mechanisms.
Lab News
June 2026: Dr. Lempert travels to Italy to present a poster at the ESCAN conference in Rome, and to give a talk at the University G. d’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara.
May 2026: Undergraduate student Areesha Riaz receives SPARK summer research fellowship to study the effects of scarcity mindset on intertemporal choice.
May 2026: Dr. Pazia Miller defends her dissertation and graduates with her PhD in clinical psychology.
April 2026: PhD student Pazia Miller presents a poster at the Society for Biological Psychiatry conference.
February 2026: Undergraduate RAs Abigail Mallia and Kushvinder Kaur, and PhD student Luis Garcia present posters at the Eastern Psychological Association conference.
January 2026: Dr. Lempert receives Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s NARSAD Young Investigator Award.
March 2025: Lab manager Chloe Ott and undergrad RA Heather Gittelson present posters at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society conference, and Dr. Lempert gives at talk.
October 2024: Graduate students Jonathan Grant and Pazia Miller, along with Dr. Lempert, present at the Society for Neuroeconomics Conference in Cascais, Portugal.
April 2024: Dr. Lempert presents a poster on her work with Danielle Akilov on semantic memory and temporal discounting.
March 2024: Chloe Ott presents a poster on borderline personality traits and temporal discounting at the Society for Affective Science conference in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Lempert also gives a talk on incidental positive affect and temporal discounting.
May 2023: Luis Garcia presents a poster on negative affect and decision making at the Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington, DC.
March 2023: Lempert Lab receives NIA grant to study memory and temporal discounting.