Samuel G. B. Johnson

Samuel G. B. Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, where he directs the Decision, Inference, and Cognitive Economics (DICE) Lab. His research focuses on how humans use mental models and moral intuitions to navigate complex systems, often revealing systematic errors in domains like voting, investing, and charitable giving.

• PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Yale University
• Postdoctoral research at University College London
• Former Lecturer at University of Bath School of Management
• Current affiliation with University of Waterloo's Psychology Department since 2017

His work spans Cognitive Science and Behavioral Economics, examining how people make sense of uncertainty through narrative construction, probabilistic reasoning, and explanatory biases. Key findings include the optimality bias in moral judgment and latent scope bias in evaluating explanations. Though his research primarily investigates basic cognitive mechanisms, he emphasizes real-world applications in economics, politics, and education.

The DICE Lab employs interdisciplinary methods from cognitive psychology, computational modeling, and cross-cultural studies, reflecting Johnson's commitment to letting research questions dictate methodologies. The lab actively recruits graduate students interested in collaborative projects exploring cognitive economics, social reasoning, and decision-making under uncertainty.