Laboratoire d’Etude de l’Apprentissage et du Développement

LEAD is a cognitive psychology lab whose research activity focuses on changes in information-processing mechanisms subsequent to implicit, didactic, or professional learning, during development (in children, adults, or ageing adults). These are changes that may also be linked to disturbances that either originate from handicaps (blindness, deafness) or from neurological disorders, primarily Alzheimer’s disease. LEAD relies on interdisciplinary approaches to studying these questions, including both empirical, theoretical and clinical studies, as well as bio-inspired, computational modeling. The central research theme of the lab, one that is nationally and internationally recognized, is implicit learning, i.e. learning that is unguided by the intention to learn. LEAD is currently part of the Biological Sciences Institute (INSB) of the French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS, section 26), the DS6 section of the French Ministry of Education and Research, and the Health & Engineering (Santé-STIC) division of the University of Burgundy. In contrast to the dominant models of cognition, the theoretical approach of the lab is to attempt to develop parsimonious cognitive models. The lab’s fundamental research agenda is complemented by research that is directly applicable to the health sciences and to education and industry. LEAD offers and manages two Masters degrees in psychology that combines professional and research activities and a license degree that is purely professional, each of which is focused on the lab’s various areas of expertise, namely learning, development, and cognitive ergonomics. The lab has recently expanded its theoretical, interdisciplinary research into areas involving applications and technology transfer.