EPICC-Lab

EPICC-Lab

Evaluating Policy Implications with Causal-inference and Cultural-psychology

Why EPICC-Lab

Does participation in an after-school tutoring programme cause better marks? Simple observation might show participants have higher scores, but these students might also be more motivated or have more supportive parents. Distinguishing the programme’s true effect from background factors is the central challenge of evaluation. EPICC-Lab (Evaluating Policy Implications with Causal-inference and Cultural-psychology) focuses on that challenge, using causal inference and machine learning to estimate whether interventions work, for whom they work best, and when they provide benefit. We address open questions in psychological science and public policy. EPICC-Lab is based at the School of Psychological Science at Victoria University of Wellington (Te Herenga Waka), New Zealand.

What We Aim For

We advance causal inference in the social sciences, across observational research and experimental design.

We educate scholars through hands-on training in modern causal methods.

We work with domain experts to connect causal analysis to policy and practice.

What We Study

Causal Methods in Social Science

We state clear causal questions, then build doubly robust models to answer them. We use causal forests to estimate heterogeneous treatment effects, and we study longitudinal modified treatment policies for multi-exposure settings.

Application Domains

We study volunteering and charity, institutional trust, political psychology, personality, health and well-being, meaning and purpose, spirituality, and religion.

Recent Work

Visit our Presentations section to explore recent research talks and workshops.

Start Here

Visit our about section for tools and materials to get started.

Work With Us

If you would like to collaborate or discuss opportunities, email us directly or visit the about page.

Email: joseph.bulbulia@vuw.ac.nz


NoteUpdates

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