ABOUT US
Jason D. Runyan
EMA Lab Director
Professor of Neuropsychology
jason.runyan@indwes.edu
I trace my research approach from before science was separated from philosophy, and philosophy from theology. So, at least in some sense, I consider myself a natural philosopher or theologian. As a result, I take an integrative approach to questions about ourselves, our characteristics, and our growth in and through our relationships.
In my earlier work, I examined neural changes underlying the ability to incorporate experience into how we think (explicit memory formation), as well as the neurobiochemical activities required for the ability to hold information in thought (working memory). More recently, I have focused on examining the expression of psychological dispositions (such as compassion), well-being, and growth in everyday circumstances. Underlying all of this, I bring an analytic approach to examining our thought and talk, and theories, about our behavior and the relevant mental events and states, and to examining what science reveals about our agency. I have a book coming out next year on this topic.
Out of my interest in psychological dispositions and their expression in daily life, I have also helped create a company, LifeData, which develops and provides software for experience sampling, ecological momentary assessment, and electronic clinical assessment outcomes. You can find out more here.
Selected Works
Runyan, J.D., A Metaphysics and Science of Our Agency (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).
Runyan, J.D., ‘Including or Excluding Free Will’, in New Frontiers in Science, eds. M. Streit-Bianchi and V. Gorini (Springer, forthcoming).