My research interests fall into the SCIENCE of performance and the PERFORMANCE of science.

 

Under the SCIENCE of performance, my current focus is to develop a new field devoted to analyzing the cognitive, gestural, and neural mechanisms underlying the production, perception, and synthesis of acting and performance. To date, I am the first to experimentally code, model, and predict character production in actors. Topics of interest include: ​

• The Cognitive Neuroscience of Theatre and Literature (CNTL.science)

• Personality, Emotion, Character Roles, Mental States, Physical States

• Movement, Biomechanics, and Gestures (i.e., body, facial, and vocal)

• Narratives, storytelling, movies and videogames

• Pedagogy (i.e., lecturing and teaching)

• Deception

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Under the PERFORMANCE of science, my interests involve how science is communicated and disseminated (i.e., performed) to an audience and the interactions therein. Topics of interest include:

• Pedagogy (i.e., lecturing and teaching)

• Science Communication 

• Quackery and Pseudo-science

• Politics

• Parasocial Relationships

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Some of my more general research interests include:

• Personality

• Emotion

• Acting Theory

• Theory of Mind

• Social Psychology

• Cognitive Neuroscience

• Positive psychology and the Psychology of Creativity

• Humor and improvisation