Decisionmaking, Measured

A new interdisciplinary decision-science lab will host experiments from psychology, economics, and beyond.

Photograph courtesy of Harvard Kennedy School

Photograph courtesy of Harvard Kennedy School

The new Decision Science Lab, which opened in January, allows researchers to measure physiological markers of emotion—blood pressure, heart rate, facial muscle activation—to study subjects’ mental states at the moment of making a decision. The lab belongs to the Kennedy School, but is open to all Harvard faculty members and their students. Read more online at www.harvardmag.com/breaking-news/where-decisionmaking-is-measured.

You might also like

Discoveries: Chronic Pain, Cocoa Shortages, and Making Old Lungs Young

Harvard researchers investigate climate’s impact on cocoa crops, innovations in nasal vaccines, and links between pain and skull marrow.

When Government Funding Dropped, Harvard Found Partners

The University is expanding industry ties and investing its own funds to support research, but neither will replace lost federal dollars.

Harvard Couple Aim to Cure Prion Diseases

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.

Most popular

Three Harvard Unions Move Toward Strikes

Dining employees, academic workers unions join graduate students in threatening a walkout.

To Promote Healthy Habits in Patients, Start With the Doctors

Why Harvard Medical School is training physicians to think more like coaches

How Philosophy at Harvard Saved Itself

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?

Explore More From Current Issue

Collage of book covers featuring various titles on a vibrant orange background.

These newly released novels, histories, and memoirs grapple with identity in all its forms.

Black and white portrait of a woman with medium-length hair, smiling softly.

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.

Ancient Egyptian painted sarcophagus with detailed hieroglyphs and a woman's face.

A rare Egyptian mummy case is on display at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.