Neal Hinvest

Dr Hinvest’s research focuses on how cognition unfolds between individuals during real-world interaction, with a particular emphasis on inter-brain synchrony and collective decision-making. His work investigates how neural activity aligns across people engaged in shared tasks, and what this reveals about coordination, communication, and the emergence of shared understanding.

Inter-brain synchrony represents a rapidly developing frontier in cognitive neuroscience, moving beyond single-brain approaches to examine how brains dynamically couple within social environments. Dr Hinvest’s research explores how this neural alignment relates to perceived connectedness, joint attention, and effective collaboration, contributing to a broader understanding of collective cognition.

A key aim of this work is not only theoretical advancement but also the development of applications that enhance team performance and interaction, particularly in technologically mediated environments. This includes informing the design of systems that support coordination, optimise group decision-making, and enable more effective human-human and human-AI interaction.

Alongside this primary focus, Dr Hinvest maintains a strong interest in neuroeconomics and decision science, investigating how cognitive and emotional processes, both conscious and subconscious, shape individual and financial decision-making.

His research employs a range of methodologies including functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, hyper-EEG, eye-tracking, psychophysiological measures (e.g. skin conductance), behavioural experimentation (lab-based and online), and surveys. A defining feature of his work is the development of innovative, ecologically valid paradigms that capture the dynamics of real-world interaction and multi-person decision-making.

Dr Hinvest’s teaching sits at the intersection of behavioural science, decision-making, and cognitive neuroscience.

He is Director of Studies for the MSc Applied Psychology and Economic Behaviour, which provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of how decisions are made in complex environments and how behaviour can be predicted and influenced. The programme equips students with skills relevant to a wide range of sectors including behavioural analytics, policy, consumer behaviour, and organisational decision-making.

For more details on the MSc Applied Psychology and Economic Behaviour, see the University of Bath website. Dr Hinvest welcomes enquiries from prospective applicants.

Dr Hinvest welcomes applications from PhD candidates interested in advancing the science and application of interactive and collective cognition using cognitive neuroscience approaches in healthy adult populations.

He is particularly keen to supervise projects that:

• Break new ground in inter-brain synchrony and hyperscanning methodologies.
• Investigate team interaction, coordination, and collective performance.
• Develop novel experimental paradigms capturing real-world social interaction.
• Apply neuroscience to optimising decision-making in groups and complex environments.
• Translate findings into technology-driven applications, including human-AI interaction and systems that enhance collaboration.

This area offers strong opportunities for interdisciplinary work spanning social psychology, neuroscience, computer science, engineering, and behavioural science. PhD researchers will contribute to an emerging field aimed at understanding and enhancing how people think and perform together, with clear potential to shape future technologies for collaboration and collective intelligence.