Expert Cognition Lab

Professionals in a variety of domains are capable of extraordinary feats of expertise. 

What gives rise to the ability to diagnose a rare disease, develop an elegant solution to a programming problem, spot a suspect’s face in a crowd, or discriminate highly degraded samples of evidence left at a crime-scene? How do experts’ mental representations and decision processes differ from novices’ in these areas? What predicts expert performance? What is the best way to optimise the development of expertise with training and experience?

The Expert Cognition Lab focuses on fundamental questions about the nature and development of expertise as they apply to practical problems in industry. We are interested in understanding how best to create expert performance in contexts such as medicine, forensic science, security, and education. We are working to develop a scientific basis for the selection, training, and assessment of expert performers.

Our research in forensics has resulted in a better understanding of the nature and development of perceptual expertise in fingerprint examination, and the factors that predict expert performance. We collaborate with practitioners and industry partners to create selection, training, and assessment tools with a tangible operational benefit. The outcomes of this research assist forensic examiners in policing, intelligence and security systems, to make accurate and timely decisions, reduce the risk of error, and reduce the time and resources taken from frontline policing to train experts. We aim to reveal general principles for creating expertise that can be applied across professional domains.