  The electron spin degree of freedom can play a significant role in
relativistic scattering processes involving intense laser fields. In this
contribution we discuss the influence of the electron spin on (i) Kapitza-Dirac
scattering in an x-ray laser field of high intensity, (ii) photo-induced
electron-positron pair production in a strong laser wave and (iii) multiphoton
electron-positron pair production on an atomic nucleus. We show that in all
cases under consideration the electron spin can have a characteristic impact on
the process properties and their total probabilities. To this end,
spin-resolved calculations based on the Dirac equation in the presence of an
intense laser field are performed. The predictions from Dirac theory are also
compared with the corresponding results from the Klein-Gordon equation.
