Cognition and Perception Our approach Central to the Cognition and Perception training area at Iowa is a distinctive philosophy and perspective. Our philosophy incorporates a dual insistence on empirical rigor and theoretical development. Thus, we are committed to hard-nosed empiricism; however, we are also committed to theory-building, and our programs of research are therefore theory-driven rather than data-driven. Our perspective emphasizes an integrative approach to the study of perception and cognition. This perspective is reflected in both the content and diverse methodologies used in our research programs. To learn more about our approach, click here. Our research Each laboratory's research program overlaps considerably with the research programs of other laboratories, and most content areas are studied by multiple laboratories and with multiple methodologies. This leads to an unusually high degree of interaction among laboratories, and it provides graduate students with many opportunities to work with multiple faculty members on a single topic. The content areas of research strength and focus include: Categorization Computational Modeling Judgment and Decision Making Language and Language Learning Learning and Memory Visuo-spatial Cognition and Attention Working Memory Virtually all of these foci have an active working group of faculty and students that meets regularly. For more information about these research foci and a list of recent publications, click here. Graduate Program The goal of our graduate program is to prepare students for top positions in research, teaching, and industry. In all three of these domains, the most significant factor for obtaining a top position and excelling over the long term is an individual's research training and record of publications. Our program is therefore structured to maximize our students' research potential. Students are required to take a basic set of classes, supplemented by seminars in specialty areas, but course requirements are minimized so that students can devote most of their time to research activities. We use an apprenticeship model, in which graduate students work closely with a faculty mentor at first and then become progressively more independent as they gain knowledge and skills. We also provide an exciting intellectual environment, which includes extensive student participation in national and international research conferences, the departmental "brown bag" research series, reading groups on special topics, and lectures by visiting scientists. Our program encourages students to work with multiple faculty, both within the program and across the department and university. Our students often combine basic work on cognition with work in areas such as neuroscience, psychiatry, social psychology, human factors engineering, law, and marketing. Five years of full financial support is provided to all graduate students in good standing. Specialized Training In addition to our standard training program, we offer specialized training in leading-edge areas. For example, a student with specialized interests in computational modeling could develop an individualized curriculum that included parts of the standard curriculum, supplemented by courses in mathematics, computer science, and neuroscience. Specialized programs of study can be created by students at any time (with the approval of the faculty). Prospective Graduate Students If you are thinking about applying to our Ph.D. program in Cognition and Perception and want to learn more about the program and the affiliated faculty, please feel free to contact our training area coordinator, Shaun Vecera at: E-Mail: shaun-vecera@uiowa.edu Office Phone: 319.335.0839 Lab Phone: 319.335.1556 Postal Mail: Department of Psychology E11 Seashore Hall The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242

Faculty Prahlad Gupta Relationship between language processing/learning, working memory, implicit memory, explicit memory. Neural and computational bases of these processes. Cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience Eliot Hazeltine Cognition and Action, Motor Control, Bimanual Coordination, Dual-task interference Andrew Hollingworth Scene Perception; Eye Movements; Attention; Visual Memory; Object Recognition Bob McMurray Development of speech perception and word recognition, perceptual categorization, eye-movement methods, speech and language disorders connectionist and statistical models of perception. Cathleen Moore Visual Perception, Attention, Eye Movements, Object Processing, Perceptual Organization J. Toby Mordkoff Cognition and Action, Perception, Attention, Motor Control, Electrophysiological Approaches to Cognitive Neuroscience Gregg C Oden Models of cognition and the nature of physical, computational, and experiential realities Amy Poremba Biopsychology; neurobiology of learning and memory; behavioral neuroscience; functional mapping of learning and memory utilizing multiple metabolic imaging and electrophysiological recording techniques; emphasis on auditory system and multisensory interactions Jodie Plumert Development of spatial memory and communication, perceptual/motor skills, risk factors for childhood injuries Larissa K Samuelson Language acquisition; category formation; connectionist models of language acquisition John P Spencer Spatial cognition; action planning and memory; dynamical systems models of cognition and action Shaun P Vecera Cognitive neuroscience of attention, perceptual organization, and object recognition Edward A Wasserman Comparative analysis of learning, memory, and cognition, including conceptualization, causal judgment, and visual object recognition Paul Windschitl Judgment and decision making under unertainty; likelihood judgment; social cognition Joint Faculty Gary Gaeth (Department of Marketing, College of Business) Marketing information and marketing research; consumer decision-making Lola Lopes (Department of Management and Organizations, College of Business) Judgment and decision making Daniel Tranel (Department of Neurology, College of Medicine) Cognitive neuroscience at the systems level; clinical and experimental neuropsychology Related Faculty Members of the Cognition and Perception area also interact regularly with researchers with related interests across campus, including the following faculty in other departments: Ralph Adolphs (Department of Neurology, College of Medicine) Cognitive neuroscience of social cognition and emotion in humans Kirrie Ballard (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) Speech and language production in normal adults and adults with acquired neurogenic disorders James Cremer (Department of Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) Simulation, virtual environments, computer graphics, integration of numeric and symbolic computing, geometric modeling, problem solving environments Warren Darling (Department of Exercise Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) Movement control in visual target acquisition in neurologically healthy and impaired individuals Jean Gordon (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) Speech and language deficits in aphasia, particularly in the processes of lexical access Matthew Howard (Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, College of Medicine) Neurophysiology of human cerebral cortex; epilepsy surgery Richard Hurtig (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) Uncovering general invariants of perceptual and cognitive processes involved in human communication Nancy Jackson (Educational Psychology Program, College of Education) Individual differences in the development of word reading Joe Kearney (Department of Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) Simulation, virtual environments, animation, graphic interfaces John Lee (Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering) Human interaction with automation, interface design, cognitive demands of driving, modeling of human behavior Joyce Moore (Educational Psychology Program, College of Education) Learning, problem-solving, and reasoning, particularly in mathematical cognition Matthew Rizzo (Department of Neurology, College of Medicine) Neural substrates of human visual attention and visuomotor coordination; driving performance in neurological disease J. Bruce Tomblin (Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) Developmental language impairment