Behavioral Research Blog

The role of entrepreneurs’ facial expressions to gain financial support

As an entrepreneur, attracting financial support is essential to get your start-up of the ground. How can positive facial expressions help to be more successful in a funding pitch?

Screening plants for resistance to insect pests

EntoLab is a computerized system for automated screening of plants for resistance to sucking insects. It can accurately screen many different plant lines in a high-throughput manner.

Observing and coding the behavior of siblings

Would it help if your brother or sister is sitting by your side when you're in pain? Would that ease the pain, or provide some distraction?

Vestibulopathy: movement and balance issues investigated in rats

It is hard to diagnose vestibulopathy, so a rat model was developed to study the progress of symptoms, from day one to day 30 after ear injury. Results can improve future human diagnosis and therapy options.

Nearly impossible to video track: small shrimp

Gammarus shrimps are exceptionally difficult to track, but Noldus solved the puzzle, resulting in interesting insights into its ecology.

How does handedness relate to infant language development?

Developing motor skills appears to be related to language abilities. The research team of Sandy Gonzalez investigated whether consistency in handedness predicts receptive and expressive language.

Observing and analyzing repetitive movements in infants to detect autism

To examine if a specific repertoire of repetitive movements was present in children with autism, researchers used home videos to code the behaviors of the infants.

Measuring consumer choice behavior

Two recent projects provide new insights into how best to measure the choices that we make.

The role of mimicry in the development of social communication

Children learn from interacting with others, especially their parents. For example, reproducing the emotions that others express is part of that.

Learn about people's behavior by observing them

An observation or usability lab allows researchers to observe test participants unobtrusively, in an environment similar to the participant’s natural surroundings.

Creating a custom expression for engagement: a validation study with FaceReader

The concept engagement is gaining more and more attention. Many companies are looking for ways to increase consumer engagement. But, how do you know a consumer is feeling engaged?

Getting robust results: one zebrafish is not like the other

Zebrafish larvae locomotor behavior often has a high variability, which can have a big impact on your results. Still, it is one of the most used parameters. So how can you make your study more robust?