Chris Coutlee is a PhD candidate in the Psychology and Neursocience department, and works within the centers for decision science and cognitive neuroscience. In his research, Chris applies experimental and analytic techniques from personality psychology, behavioral economics, and the neurosciences to examine how the brain processes information during decision making. Specifically, Chris has used structural equation modeling and factor analysis to examine the nature of self-reported impulsiveness, and related these personality traits to economic preferences reflecting self-controlled decision making. The relationship between these behaviors and personality measures and brain activity during decision making, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, is a current focus of his work. Chris also designed an ongoing experiment which uses brain stimulation techniques (TMS) to understand the causal role of prefrontal and parietal brain regions in decision making involving risky or ambiguous alternatives. Finally, Chris contributed to the design, implementation, and analysis of an experiment testing the nature of the brain’s response during the anticipation of socially rewarding images. Chris will obtain his PhD in May of 2014 and plans to utilize the analytical, interpersonal, and organizational skills he refined as a research scientist in an applied setting by seeking a position as a researcher in a business, industry, or government.
View Chris’s CV here.