Tsvetomira Dumbalska Awarded the Humphrey Prize for Best Research Project Dissertation in Psychological Research

Tsvetomira Dumbalska recently completed her postgraduate degree in Psychological Research at Pembroke for which she received a Distinction. Tsvetomira achieved a superb mark of 85% for her research project, and was awarded the Humphrey Prize for the Best Research Project Dissertation.

Explaining the significance of her research, she told us:

‘My dissertation investigated whether the context in which people make a certain decision affects their choice. Findings from the field of behavioural economics have shown that a myriad of factors can influence our decisions and sway our choices away from what is optimal. In my research, I study the mechanisms that drive those biases in our decision making process. Understanding the psychological and neural basis of biases in our decision making would allow us to be better equipped to tackle them.’

On a studentship from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Tsvetomira has commenced her DPhil this term. She is looking forward to continuing her work with Professor Hannah Smithson, Pembroke’s Tutorial Fellow in Psychology, as they plan to extend their work on contextual influences on decision making.