The tour of the lab provided an opportunity to show off MultiLing's new equipment, such as the recording equipment in the studio room and the eye-tracker. The EEG recorder was not yet installed at the time of the opening. After the tour, the guests were invited to have some refreshements in the MultiLing offices. Speeches were held by Center Director Elizabeth Lanza, Vice-Rector Åse Gornitzka, Director of Department Monica Bakken, and Head of Department Piotr Garbacz, which showed both excitement over and support for the laboratory and how it will contribute to research on a university, faculty, and department level.
About the socio-cognitive laboratory
The lab will bring together both socio- and psycholinguists, and offers powerful equipment for various types of experiments and studies. The main studio has four cameras and several microphones, and is big enough for groups of people. Two smaller rooms of the lab will have an eye-tracker and an EEG recorder. The eye-tracker is used to follow the gaze of the test subject, in order to study the placement and movement of the eyes. EEG, or electroencephalography, is used to measure in real-time electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed along the scalp.
Pictures from the lab opening
All photos by Terje Heiestad / UiO.