People
Principal Investigator
Uri Hertz, PhD
I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of Haifa. My research focuses on the way cognitive processes shape collective behavior and social decision-making. I am also a Fellow of the Center for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Previously, I was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. I conducted postdoctoral research at the Crowd Cognition group working with Prof. Bahador Bahrami at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, and was a part of the Human Mind Project at the University of London, working with Prof. Chris Frith.
Before that, I completed my PhD in Computational Neuroscience at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC), where I studied multisensory integration and perception in Amir Amedi's lab. I hold a B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from Ben-Gurion University.
Email: uhertz@cog.haifa.ac.il
Phone: (+972) 4 6146239
Address: Room 7108, Rabin Building, University of Haifa, Israel
CV
Post Doctoral Fellows
Tamar Rosenberg-Yefet, PhD
I am an archaeologist exploring ancient stone tools to uncover the lives and minds of the people who made them. My research focuses on lithic technology, cognition, learning processes in the Paleolithic, cultural evolution theory, and human-environment relations in the Old World. These days, I'm focusing on the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary archaeology, specifically on decision-making through stone knapping, which offers unique insights into the evolution of the human mind. My current study models stone tool production as a series of decision points using cognitive neuroscience decision-tree approaches, linking knapping choices under uncertainty, with the aim of investigating whether more complex decision-trees foster peer learning and support the development of complex technologies. In addition, we investigate brain activity during stone knapping using fNIRS to capture brain activity at key decision-making points in the stone tool reduction sequence. In collaboration with Prof. Ron Shimelmitz.
PhD and Master Students
Inbal Tadmor
Inbal is a PhD student researching decision making in severe mental illness using a translational approach that combines neuropsychological and laboratory tools with ecological, performance-based assessments. Her work aims to bridge basic and applied science to better capture everyday decision-making processes. In collaboration with Prof. Naomi Josman.
Lior Gazit
PhD student, working on human-algorithm interactions, advice taking and trust. In collaboration with Prof. Ofer Arazy.
Wattan Madi
Studying Political Science with a specialization in Brain and Behavioral Sciences. My research focuses on the cognitive foundations of coalition formation and the cognitive processes underlying political decision-making. In collaboration with Prof. Israel Waismel-Manor.
Daniel Korkotyan
Daniel is an M.A. student in Research Psychology at the University of Haifa. He holds a B.Sc. in Software Engineering and has worked on medical technology development in collaboration with ENS-PSL in Paris. His research interests include human decision-making and computational modeling of cognitive processes.
Zohar Argaman
Zohar Argaman is an M.A. student in Experimental Psychology (Cognition, Brain, and Society) at the University of Haifa, where he also serves as a teaching assistant. Drawing on years of experience facilitating social skills groups and working with individuals facing social anxiety, his research explores human behavior, interpersonal dynamics, and social decision-making.
Undergraduate Students
Shaham Gal
Shaham is a Psychology and Cognition student carrying out a research project in the lab.
Ophir Fisher
Ophir is a Psychology and Cognition student carrying out a research project in the lab.