1991: PhD, Psychology, University of Nottingham. Thesis title: Individual Differences and Strategy Selection in Problem Solving.
1988: BSc Hons (1st Class), Psychology, University of Nottingham.
Appointments
1993 -Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Essex
1992 - 1993: Demonstrator, Department of Psychology, University of St Andrews
1991 - 1992: Demonstrator, Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Current Research
Overview
My research interests fit into the broad area of human reasoning and intelligence. In particular, I am interested in individual differences in the strategies that people use to solve problems, their causes, and their consequences. It is my belief that until we understand individual differences, we will never fully understand cognition.
More recently, I have developed an interest in graphic design and the presentation of wayfinding information, focusing on the usability of transport schematics such as the famous London Underground map. Its basic design features can be seen all round the world, but drawing upon findings from the reasoning and intelligence literatures, it is possible to identify considerable scope for improvement.
The Design of Transport Schematics
With the ever increasing complexity of transport systems round the world, how should network diagrams be optimised? Should we treat the standard rules (used in London for over 70 years widespread round the world) as a designer's gold-standard, or can breaking them intelligently enable us to improve usability?
Individual Differences in Reasoning
How do people monitor and assess their performance? What factors lead to the search for new strategies? What factors promote and inhibit their discovery? How are newly developed strategies assessed? Why do people choose different methods? How do differences in task format affect these processes?
The Cognitive Psychology of Intelligence
What is the source of individual differences in performance at inductive reasoning problems such as Raven's Progressive Matrices? Do people with differences in intelligence test scores differ in the cognitive processes that they use to solve the tests? Do these differences have any consequences for real life?
Bias in Reasoning
How does knowledge interact with domain-free processes? What are the causes of 'belief bias'? How and where do we focus our attention when solving reasoning problems?
Knowledge, Context, and Cognition
Can all intelligent behaviour be explained by knowledge, motivation, and experience? Does everyone have an equal capacity to learn? What changes take place when a novice trains to become an expert? Can anyone become an expert or do some people find this easier than others?
Roberts, M.J. (2007). Falsification and mental models: It depends on the task. In W. Schaeken, A. Vandierendonck, W. Schroyens, & G. d'Ydewalle (Eds.), The Mental Models Theory of Reasoning: Refinements and Extensions (pp. 85-113). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Newton, E.J., & Roberts, M.J. (2005). The window of opportunity: A model for strategy discovery. In M.J. Roberts, & E.J. Newton (Eds.), Methods of Thought: Individual Differences in Reasoning Strategies (pp. 129-158). Hove: Psychology Press.
