Prof. dr. Jan De Houwer

Head of the LIP lab research group

Research Interests

My research concerns the manner in which spontaneous (automatic) preferences are learned and can be measured. Regarding the learning of preferences, I focus on the role of stimulus pairings (evaluative conditioning). With regard to the measurement of preferences, I developed new reaction time measures and examined the processes underlying various measures. Other research interests include associative learning, learning via instructions, and stimulus-response compatibility. I am also interested in meta-theoretical issues such as the relation between cognitive and functional psychology (i.e., behaviorism).

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Dr. Marine Rougier

Research Interests

My research interests are mainly about the measure of spontaneous preferences (such as approach and avoidance reactions) as well as on the modification of these preferences, that is, learning effects (e.g., approach/avoidance training, evaluative and attribute conditioning) and impression formation (e.g., spontaneous trait inferences). Relying on the feature transformation effect framework, my current research focuses more on how previous conceptual beliefs about features (and how they relate; e.g., trustworthiness and intelligence) can determine future learning effects.

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Dr. Jamie Cummins

Research Interests

My research focuses on developing and using computerised training procedures, based on basic principles of learning, to train relational reasoning skills in children, typically-developed adults, and older adults with cognitive impairment and dementia. I examine whether training these skills can offer clinically-meaningful improvements in the cognitive performances of these groups (e.g., better performance at school for children, reduced cognitive decline in older adults). I am also interesting more generally in the psychology of learning, implicit measures, and the philosophy of science and language. I am a strong proponent of Open Science.

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Tilia Linthout

Research Interests

My research focuses on the development of new useful interventions based on the inferential framework. The main idea of the inferential framework is that people make automatic inferences about goals and actions available to achieve these goals. The efficacy of these interventions will be tested in applied contexts where such new interventions are highly needed.

More specifically, my PhD project focuses on prisons and other detention contexts. Prison is a special environment where a myriad of severe problems occur, but without solutions available to mitigate these problems (e.g., dehumanization of inmates, aggression and substance abuse amongst inmates, stigma towards inmates,…). I believe the time has come to bring psychological research into the field. Furthermore, I plan to collaborate and communicate with other experts in the field (e.g., prison directors) about their opinion on how researchers can help them best.

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Matthias Raemaekers

Research Interests

My work at the LIPLab involves the study of learning from a functional psychological perspective. Currently, we are investigating complex learning effects (i.e., changes in behavior that are due to the joint effect of multiple regularities, or regularities in the presence of regularities, in the environment), including the functions that relations can have in relational learning effects and the moderators of these functions. I am also interested in the possible practical applications of this work on relational learning (e.g., relational training to increase scholastic aptitude or symbolic thinking in ASD), as well as implications for research in cognitive psychology. Furthermore, for my doctoral project, we aim to interface functional learning psychology with computational reinforcement learning models, to address the limitations of these models as well as suggest improvements, additions and predictions from a functional perspective.

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Zita Meijer

Research Interests

SMART training.

Academic Bibliography

Zhefei Mao

Research Interests

My research focuses on reducing prejudices and discriminatory behaviors, especially in real-life contexts. To do this, I currently follow the idea of inferential processes that underlie behavior change and test the effectiveness of inference-based evaluative conditioning interventions (implemented in the real world). One feature of such interventions is that people can theoretically make inferences from stimuli pairings and subsequently feel fewer reactances towards interventions. I also pay attention to other interventions that can improve intergroup evaluations and reduce discrimination.

Lotte Wouters

Research Interests