By examining the kinds of visual elements in these pictures that people focus on, and by subtly manipulating characteristics of these pictures, we can uncover the processes involved in the processing of visual scenes. Finally, I am very interested in how these cognitive processes are influenced by the aging process. The Job RAs will work directly with me to design, implement, conduct, and analyze studies in these areas. The students that will work in the lab will get a range of experience in research and my expectation is that the students will be interested in the work, and motivated by intense intellectual curiosity. Here is a sampling of the kinds of things that students in my lab do.
Data collection is always a high priority.
This typically involves scheduling younger and older adults to participate in a variety of experiments. These studies are relatively simple experiments where the dependent measures are nonintrusive measurements of reaction times and error rates. Some studies may also involve the monitoring of eye movements while subjects scan simple visual displays. These studies require a much higher amount of training and technical expertise. Data analyses and management - keeping track of what subjects and what conditions have been run, and what the data looks like, including catching potential problems with equipment and experimental protocols.