Psychology labs

As a psychology student you'll be based in our Science Centre, in the heart of Cambridge.

You’ll find dedicated labs for EEG, perception, biomarker analysis, neuroscience and more in the Centre.

EEG lab

Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings measure electrical activity along the scalp. You’ll use a 64-channel active electrode EEG setup in a shielded chamber that reduces acoustic and electrical interference.

You’ll control our visual and acoustic stimulation systems through programmes such as E-Prime and Matlab and process your data though commercial software packages: BESA and Brain Vision Analyzer.

The EEG lab hosts a variety of research projects that focus on the brain mechanisms involved in face perception, driving performance, attention and inhibition.

Psychophysiological equipment

Examine how the body responds to a variety of stimuli or tasks using specialist equipment here. For example, you can use our PowerLab devices and transducers to measure emotional and physiological arousal from autonomic responses, such as:

• GSR
• EMG
• EEG
• respiration rate
• skin temperature
• pulse rate.

You can use a portable device called a Nexus to record some of these responses during real-world tasks outside the laboratory.

Perception lab

Want to know things like what consumers are really interested in, or where someone's gaze is directed in traffic? You can use our portable and wearable eye trackers including our Tobii Pro 300TX static eyetracker, which provides precise information about where a participant is looking and their pupil dilation.

Neuroscience lab

Find out if specific areas of the brain are associated with certain functions: stimulate brains and measure brain activity here and combine this with behavioural and cognitive testing.

The tDCS and TMS machines deliver electrical and magnetic stimulation to the brain. Measure neural activity via blood flow using our fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) machine.

Biomarker analysis lab

You’ll be able to test saliva for a range of hormones and enzymes such as cortisol, testosterone and α-Amylase. For more long-term, retrospective measurement you can analyse hair samples for cortisol and testosterone.

Human factors lab

Investigate everyday psychology using virtual reality and simulation techniques. You can study various aspects of driving competence and safety, and the factors that influence this, with a driving simulator.

Social behaviour lab

View your test participants’ behaviour in controlled experimental settings through a discrete CCTV monitoring system in our testing cubicles.

Body lab

Here you’ll study bodily reactions to stimuli and aspects of bodily awareness such as interoception.

Using one of our PowerLabs you can measure a range of parameters including galvanic skin response, heart rate, pulse, blood pressure and breathing – you can even administer controlled electric shocks if you have the necessary ethical approval.

You can use our Oculus Rift VR headset to disrupt the integration of visual and tactile information, prompting something like an out-of-body experience!

Development lab

When you need to observe and assess children’s behaviour, the controlled environment of the Development Lab is the place to do it. This quiet environment is perfect for using toys as part of psychometric testing.

Psychometrics lab

With a capacity of up to ten people, the Psychometrics Lab is the ideal space for you to mass-test participants using psychometric tests. You can also learn all about administering psychometric tests online through Qualtrics workshops here.