The Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences (CABS) has research faciltities at our Heriot-Watt University campuses in the UK, Dubai and Malaysia. At each location, we have dedicated research support: Dr Yiannis Argyropoulos (Experimental Officer, UK), Dr Hajar Aman Key Yekani (Technical Support, Dubai) and Ms Aisyah Hazrin (Technical Support, Malaysia).

Using our facilities you can actively engage in research activities such as designing and conducting experiments, collecting and analyzing data and using psychological assessment tools. You will experience hands-on exposure to empirical research methods, receive training on using research equipement and gain greater understanding of scientific inquiry in psychology.

The labs can be used by both staff and students. The are open during business hours and must be booked in advance. See below for details on what facilities each campus offers and how to book a lab.

UK

Our Edinburgh-based researchers benefit from research facilities that were fully refurbished in 2017, comprising two expertise-specific research spaces: the Lord Balerno labs and the Body and Emotion Lab which is based in Mary Burton Building.

The Lord Balerno labs, which cover a full floor of the building, house:

  • a Driving Simulator with Eye Tracking technology equipped with 3-camera SmartEye Eye Tracker, a Logitech steering wheel, racing driver’s and passenger’s seats, and a phone cradle (for driver’s distraction studies).
  • an Eye Tracking and MED lab equipped with a Gazepoint Biometrics HD Eye Tracker
  • a Neuropsychology Lab equipped with a BIOSEMI 64 channel EEG recorder to record electrical brain activity.
  • a Perception Lab
  • nine consistent-environment rooms. Each room includes a PC running specialist computer programs for psychological research and analysis such as PsychoPy, Surveylab, NVivo, SPSS and R.
Click HERE for more information and for bookings

Dubai

In 2021, our Dubai-based researchers moved to a purpose built campus with dedicated behavioural sciences research space. The Psychology Laboratory consists of ten computer booths, a meeting area for collaboration, and four sound-proofed interview rooms, all supported by the on-site Psychology Technician’s office.

Malaysia

Our researchers in Malaysia have access to a dedicated teaching space with adjoining interview rooms for research studies (the Beck and Loftus labs). There is also an observation room for supervisors and the Psychology Technician.

Additional facilities

Complementing our dedicated research spaces, CABS researchers have access to additional facilities at Heriot-Watt University through our interdisciplinary collaborations. For example, CABS research is conducted in research facilities for human multimodal interaction research at The Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, including the new National Robotarium opening in 2022; the Global Research Innovation and Discovery Centre (GRID), a centre for technological innovations, with equipment for gamification and VR; the Living Lab (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences); the Virtual Reality Lab (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences) and the Language Labs (Languages and Intercultural Studies in the School of Social Sciences).