More specifically, I'm interested in the way that people communicate with each other, both verbally and nonverbally. The words we say and the way other folks understand them. The things we don't say, out of social "niceness" or simply because we don't have to. The things that get somehow communicated but nobody even realizes are being communicated (like, when its ok to say "yeah!" while somebody's talking, and when it's rude). Even more than that, the things nobody even thinks about (like when people synchronize their movements in conversation, without anybody ever trying to).
I like mid-level research. While it's very cool to think about super high-level constructs like how concept X maps to concept Y in people's conceptions, I'm not really interested in studying that. Similarly, while the cellular and subcellular makeups of neurons are pretty cool, I'm not so much into that, either. I'm a fan of the level right below what everybody knows is happening: where things like the perception-action loop and embodied cognition reside. Right around the level where you read about a finding, and then spend the next four days watching yourself and your friends and going, "Holy crap, that's totally true!" (Try it with the example above: People synchronize their poses and movements in conversation. Honest. Watch yourself talking to people, and you'll see it.
I'm of the opinion that research should be useful, somehow. Even if it's just way-down-the-line-forty-years-into-the-future useful. But even better if you can put it to use right away. So, sure. We've worked out how such-and-such works. Now let's put together a robotic such-and-such, and see if we can make it work that way, too. I'm a fan of models that can be tested against people. So let's build an avatar and see if you can tell if it's a person or a model driving it. Let's build a robot and see if people can interact with it. That kind of thing. Of course, there's a flip side to that, too. You can't model something until you've figured out how it works, and that means collecting data and analysing it, too. And sometimes working out new analysis methods to do it.
Psychology and Congitive Science are where it's at in my book. I'm interested in everthing about people and the way they think and interact with themselves, each other, and the technology they use. After a time as a teacher, I'm starting to get interested in how they learn new things, as well. And how culture and tradition get mixed up in it all. Of course, I haven't done much studying in that regard yet. But I'm getting there.
Like robots. And avatars. And stuff like that.
I've always been a fan of folklore, too. But that's probably not so much a research interest.