Ben Dyson, PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons)
/Ben Dyson /
Pronouns: he / him
Contact
Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts - Psychology Dept
- bjdyson@ualberta.ca
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
decision-making games electrophysiology
About
I graduated from York University, UK, in 2002 after completing my thesis on auditory cognition and went on to a postdoctoral fellowship position at the Rotman Research Institute, Canada (2002-2004) to learn about event-related potentials (ERPs). My first academic position was at the (then) Department of Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK (2005-2008). I returned to Canada to work at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) for six years (2008-2014). I then returned to the (now) School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK (2015-2018). I became an uninvited visitor to amiskwacîwâskahikan and the ward boundary of papastew on Treaty 6 territory in Summer 2018 to work at the University of Alberta.
I am Associate Chair (Undergraduate) in the Department of Psychology, and, an Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Research
There are a number of serious and playful situations where an organism must repeatedly compete with others for mutually-exclusive outcomes: there will be only one Prime Minister or President, only one winner at Blackjack, only one bird able to forage nectar from any given flower. Across these difference domains, there will be differing proportions of skill and luck that should determine the extent to which we take responsibility for the outcomes we experience: in a strategic environment we must know when our losses were due to lack of knowledge about our opponent and know to do better; in a random environment we must know when our wins were due to luck and know not to make too much of it. My research examined how competitive states are represented in the brain, and how these initial states serve as a catalyst in determining future behaviour. Many of our studies involve individuals playing simple competitive games against different kinds of opponents, as a controlled way to study these mechanisms.
Visit the Re:Cognition Lab web site here http://sites.psych.ualberta.ca/recognitionlab/
Teaching
2018 – current PSYCH 258 X01 (Cognitive Psychology)
2019 – 2022 PSYCH 104 B2 (Basic Psychological Processes)
2022 - current PSYCH 302 / 305 (The Psychology of Board Games)
Summer 2023 - PSYCH 353 (The Psychology of Board Games; e3 Berlin edition)
Summer 2025 - PSYCH 302 / 305 (The Psychology of Board Games; e3 Berlin edition)
Courses
PSYCH 305 - Special Topics in Psychology I
Review and discussion of special topics or methods in one or more of the areas of contemporary psychology such as developmental, social, personality, cognitive. Prerequisites: PSYCH 104 or SCI 100, PSYCH 105 and a 200-level PSYCH class. Note: Consult the Department of Psychology's website for the specific topic(s) offered each year and any additional prerequisites. [Faculty of Arts]
PSYCH 353 - The Psychology of Board Games
The Psychology of Board Games offers an integrative review of the multiple intersections between board games and Psychology. Students will think critically about board games through the lens of science, draw specific connections between games and Cognitive Psychology, and apply a scientific approach in designing games and game components. Note: Not open to students with credit in PSYCH 302 or 305 Topic: The Psychology of Board Games. Prerequisites: PSYCH 104, PSYCH 105, and one 200-level PSYCH course. [Faculty of Science]
Featured Publications
Dyson, B. J., Zhang, Y. & Na, E
Frontiers for Young Minds. 2024 July; 12
Dyson, B. J. & Baik, L.
Analog Game Studies. 2024 May; 11
Dyson, B. J.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 2024 March; 31
Zhang, Y., Huynh, T. & Dyson, B. J.
Science of Learning. 2023 September; 8
Dyson, B. J.
Collabra: Psychology. 2023 August; 9
Dahal, R., MacLellan, K., Vavrek, D. & Dyson, B. J.
PLoS One. 2022 July; 17
Sundvall, J. & Dyson, B. J.
PLoS One. 2022 July; (17):e0262249
Variability in competitive decision-making speed and quality against exploiting and exploitable opponents
Dyson, B. J.
Scientific Reports. 2021 January; 11
A micro-genesis account of longer-form reinforcement learning under structured and unstructured environments
Dyson, B. J. & Asad, A.
Science of Learning. 2021 January; 6
Switching competitors reduces win-stay but not lose-shift behaviour: The role of outcome-action association strength on reinforcement learning.
Srihaput, V., Craplewe, K. & Dyson, B. J.
Games. 2021 January; 11
Behavioural and neural interactions between objective and subjective performance in a Matching Pennies game
Dyson, B. J., Musgrave, C. Rowe, C. & Sandhur, R
. International Journal of Psychophysiology. 2020 January; 147
Behavioural and neural limits in competitive decision making: The roles of outcome, opponency and observation
Dyson, B. J., Steward, B. A., Meneghetti, T. & Forder, L
Biological Psychology. 2020 January; 149
Behavioural isomorphism, cognitive economy and recursive thought in non-transitive game strategy
Dyson, B. J.
Games. 2019 January; 10
Failure generates impulsivity only when outcomes cannot be controlled
Dyson, B. J., Sundvall, J., Forder, L. & Douglas, S.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 2018 January; 44
Does the brain’s reward response occur even without actual reward? A response to Fielding, Fu & Franz (2017).
Dyson, B. J., Forder, L. & Sundvall, J.
Journal of Gambling Studies. 2018 January; 34
Dyson, B. J.
Trends in Cognitive Science. 2017 January; 21
Dyson, B. J., Wilbiks, J. M. P., Sandhu, R., Papanicolaou, G. & Lintag, J.
Scientific Reports. 2016 January; 6
Forder, L. & Dyson, B. J.
Scientific Reports. 2016 January; 6
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