Hofstra University

The Behavioral Research in Business Laboratory

The Behavioral Research in Business Laboratory at Hofstra University is a state-of-the-art facility that was specifically designed to conduct multi-disciplinary behavioral research. We visited the lab at the Frank G. Zarb School of Business in Hempstead, NY to see it in action. We also spoke to Dr. Anil Mathur, Brodlieb Distinguished Professor in Business and director of the Behavioral Research in Business Lab. 


 








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Anil Mathur: "The advice I would give is, think of the future."

The Behavioral Research in Business Laboratory at Hofstra University is powered by cutting-edge software and tools geared toward analyzing behavior for business-focused research. In this video, Dr. Anil Mathur talks about his research and how he designed this lab for the future, together with Noldus.

 


 


Hofstra Business Lab

The 1,556-square-foot lab facility contains multiple research rooms. There are two behavioral lab rooms and a fully equipped observation room in between. From the observation room researchers can control all systems and observe what happens in the lab rooms. 

Additionally, there is a conference room for focus group discussions and three individual interview rooms. A waiting room has been furnished with a TV monitor and multiple chairs for subjects to sit down while they wait for their study to begin. 

Hofstra Lab observation control room
Hofstra behavioral lab room
 


Hardware and software in the Business Lab

The Business Lab has been fitted with advanced software and hardware to design and conduct human behavior studies, and analyze the research data. All lab rooms have PTZ cameras installed to record proceedings. Other resources in the lab include:

  • Viso - To record (audio and video) sessions from all installed cameras in the behavioral lab rooms. The recordings can be used to do a wide range of analysis to gain insights into human behavior
  • FaceReader - Facial expression analysis software is used to automatically analyze six basic facial expressions through objective and unobtrusive observations. It also calculates gaze direction, head orientation, and person characteristics. 
  • The Observer XT - The Observer XT is a complete and user-friendly software package for collecting, analyzing, and presenting observational data. It is used to record videos using any of the installed cameras. It can also control other experimental software and hardware. 
  • Tobii Pro - Wearable glasses and a screen-based eye tracking system are used to capture natural viewing behavior in real-world environments. With these tools researchers can see exactly where people are looking. It is designed for detailed research into the timing and duration of fixations. 
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