Derek Albert

Background

About Derek Albert

I am a recent Ph.D. graduate from McGill University. I studied the psychology of mind wandering, a form of inattention involving task-unrelated thoughts, and its contribution to unsafe driving (e.g, speeding, tailgating, lane drifting) and road traffic crashes. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo, I now study factors, such as risk of negative consequences, that may influence the amount of attention that individuals direct to primary tasks as opposed to task-unrelated thoughts or secondary tasks (e.g, listening to podcasts, watching videos). In my research I primarily use randomized, controlled experimental designs and various techniques including thought sampling, driving simulation, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, and eye tracking. My research interests include both theoretical and applied topics related to attention, consciousness, motivation, intention, social pressure, cognitive capacities, and mood.