Researchers in the Challenge, Metacognition, and Perception (ChaMP) Lab study how peoples’ understanding of difficulty affects their judgments and task engagement. Our work is both basic and translational: we want to know why and how the human mind assesses task difficulty (basic research) and how this assessment affects peoples’ engagement in real-world settings (e.g., human-automation teams, academic procrastination, translational research). Diversifying our research approach allows us to share our expertise with the greatest impact: we identify opportunities for growth and offer recommendations to address their underlying cause. For questions about this lab, please contact Dr. Lisa Vangsness at llv0003@uah.edu