Psychology Professor honoured by peers
Concordia University Research Chair (Tier 1) Peter Shizgal – who has helped pioneer the interdisciplinary field of neuroeconomics – was recently awarded the Prix Adrien Pinard.
A professor in the Department of Psychology and founding member of the Centre for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Shizgal was honoured by his peers in the Quebec Society for Psychology Research at a recent ceremony held in Quebec City.
Shizgal is the first Concordia researcher to receive the Prix Adrien Pinard since its creation. “Peter Shizgal is in very good company,” says Louise Dandurand, Concordia Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies. “For two decades, this prize has been awarded by the society to recognize leaders in their field and scientists who have propelled new findings in psychology. On behalf of all Concordians, I would like to personally congratulate Peter for this distinction and for helping foster new understanding about the human mind.”
Shizgal is a behavioral neurobiologist who studies brain mechanisms of reward, motivation, judgment and decision-making. Key areas of interest include: the role of dopamine in the pursuit of reward, the characterization and identification of brain reward circuitry, the mathematical modeling of how the cost, strength, risk, and delay of reward contribute to the selection and pursuit of goals and the psychophysical inference of opportunity costs.
“I’m interested in the cognitive, emotional and neural mechanisms that are responsible for the ways that humans and animals make decisions – both good and bad,” says Shizgal. “I find it fascinating that we are able to behave in such highly adaptive ways much of the time, yet we also make repeated, systematic choices that undermine our wellbeing. Together with my students, collaborators and colleagues, I am trying to develop a scientific account of this paradox.”
Shizgal joined Concordia in 1975 after earning a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He served as director of the Centre for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology from 1997 to 2003 and has been a member of grant-review committees at the federal and provincial levels. Over his three decades at Concordia, he has earned recognition for both his research and teaching.
Related links:
• Société québécoise pour la recherche en psychologie
• Concordia's Centre for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology
• Concordia Department of Psychology
• Centre for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology on YouTube