Schall said one of the more interesting theories regarding this innate procrastination is that it is a basic survival instinct that has evolved in humans and other mammals. For example, a few milliseconds hesitation may mean the difference between avoiding a dangerous situation in one's environment or not. Schall and other researchers in the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center have trained macaque monkeys to examine a video display and look at a target object that differs from several distractor objects. Clinical applications for this research include providing insight into numerous brain disorders such as schizophrenia, AIDS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases that cause an impaired ability to voluntarily guide eye movements. Although he is focusing on vision, Schall says that the research will apply to other brain systems.
Evidence indicates that the applications in one part of the brain apply to another.
The Troland Awards are given to further empirical research in psychology that involves the relationships of consciousness and the physical world. Schall is among a dozen university scientists who were recognized. College of Arts and Science Department of Psychology Chair Timothy P. McNamara nominated Schall for the award. Schall was a recipient of a 1997 McKnight Investigator Award. The purpose of the awards is to encourage researchers to develop new approaches to understanding the basic mechanisms of memory and disorders affecting memory.