In the Memory Lab we study human learning and memory with specific projects often drawing inspiration from real world problems. How should students study for a test? How do voters remember a flip-flopping politician's positions? How does someone's culture affect the way they remember a shared event? For all of these questions I use behavioral experiments (both in the lab and online) to explore the encoding and retrieval processes involved in human memory.

Photo by Mohan Brenn

Improving Classroom Education

How should students study for an upcoming test? One interest of mine is examining how principles of cognitive psychology can be used to improve education. Oftentimes these principles are counter-intuitive; for example, taking practice tests can often lead to more learning than re-reading lecture notes. Other strategies that can enhance classroom learning include using mnemonic techniques, spacing study sessions apart in time, and teaching students to be more aware of what they know and what they don't know about their own learning (metacognition). In recent research Carleton students and I have been examining how in-text citations can affect the degree to which people believe trivia claims.

Noticing and Remembering Change

When politicians flip-flop does it make it more difficult for people to remember the politician's current position? A major theory in cognitive psychology, known as interference theory, would say yes. However, recent research suggests that when people notice a change and later remember it, it actually enhances their memory. I have explored the mechanisms of noticing and remembering change both in politics (my dissertation) and in the formation of false memories.

Photo by Russ Walker

Photo by Jayel Aheram

Collective Memory

How do people from different cultures remember their past? Collective memories have been explored in many fields in the past, but recently psychologists have begun experimenting with different ways to measure collective memory in a more quantitative fashion. For example, in one current project we examine ego-centric biases in the way that people remember history.