Interplay between persons and situations [B=f(P,S)]
This research line is primarily interested in the interplay between persons and situations, or more generally “persons in situations”. We have contributed to the development a new, groundbreaking model of measuring situations, and the application of the study of this interplay to applied situations, such as the prediction of driving under the influence of alcohol, or the role of individual differences in the development of psychopathological symptoms or chronic pain.
Quantitative methods and assessment
This research line focuses on structural equation modeling and item response theory (IRT), and more generally in developing new quantitative methods. Our most recent work in this sense focuses on goodness of fit testing of structural equation models, the use of instrumental variable methods to overcome common method bias, and statistical modeling of faking in personnel selection. Additionally, we have also worked on the development, refinement, and adaptation of several psychological assessment tools. Measurement is a crucial point of psychological research and is actually one of the bottlenecks of the replicability crisis.
Prediction of behavior
This line involves the understanding of why people commit aggressive acts and engage in immoral behavior, especially in extreme situations. To do so, we have developed and adapted different paradigms that put people in extreme situations (always under ethical safeguards) in order to understand how personal and situational variables interact with each other. This has been particularly fruitful since this allowed to start a number of international collaborations with a relevant set of international authors.
