I have a broad research interest, this is because I enjoy learning new things and acquiring new skills. I particularly enjoy learning methods from different areas and applying them to other fields. Most of the time I like mixing things together, or look at the same question from different angles. I acquired some expertise working with electroencephalography (EEG), but when the department of Psychology of the University of Groningen bought an eye-tracker I immeditally started playing around with it. I also try to keep up with the new statistics methods and then applying them across different studies. I use this sometimes to try to find an answer to a different question, sometimes to see if it is possible to mix things together, or to see what happens with a different idea. Sometimes I just do it because I like it and I want to see what happens.
During my PhD thesis I investigated the concept of attentional resources using EEG. Attention is considered a limited resource, as evident from research in multitasking. Multitasking, or doing multiple tasks at the same time, is difficult because different tasks must receive attention simultaneously. Tasks that do not receive attention fail. Performing multiple tasks simultaneously is possible either diving or swiftly shifting attention among them. EEG is the neuroimaging technique that can visualize such rapid changes in brain activity. I investigated which mechanisms underpin the management of attentional resources studying (1) individual differences in intelligence, (2) the simultaneous execution of different tasks, and (3) the active processes controlling resource management.