Our Research
As a lab, we are interested in attention control, memory, and how these systems interact to give rise to complex cognition. We use a variety of methods to accomplish our research goals including behavioral experiments, individual-differences designs (factor analysis and structural equation modeling), and psychophysiological tools like eye-tracking, pupillometry, and EEG.
Individual differences in sustained attentionOne ongoing project seeks to identify whether "sustained attention" - one's ability to maintain focus on a task for an extended period of time - is a task-general characteristic of individuals. If indeed it is a reliable, measurable individual difference, we are interested in what higher-order cognitive processes it might predict (e.g., fluid reasoning, long-term memory formation). We are also interested in whether this ability correlates with personality traits like conscientiousness and "grit."
|
Pupillary measures of arousal regulationAnother ongoing project is using pupillometry to investigate the physiological measures of arousal at both the experimental and individual-differences level. One critical question is whether pupillary measures of arousal are a general trait of individuals, whether they are driven by state variables (e.g., sleep, stress), or whether there are both state and trait contributions to such measures.
|
Mental and cognitive fatigueWe all experience mental fatigue, and a major question for cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists is why certain situations can feel so mentally draining. What are the psychological and physiological factors that regulate mental fatigue? What happens when we feel mentally fatigued? Are there ways for us to offset the effects of fatigue?
|
