The Cognition, Brain, and Behavior Study Group (CBBSG) will be held from 12-1 pm this coming Monday 11/14/16 in B16. Lunch for attendees is served from 11:50 so please come early to fill your plate! Sandwiches and snacks will be served, but please bring your own drink. Kirsten Adam (University of Chicago) will give a talk about attention failures and working memory. All are welcome to attend! Details are below:
Abstract: Momentary failures of attention are ubiquitous in everyday life and have important consequences for behavior. In my talk, I will discuss the impact of attentional failures on working memory performance. First, I will present evidence that individual differences in working memory capacity stem in large part from individual differences in attentional control. Second, I will use EEG markers of cognitive processes (e.g. encoding, memory maintenance) to examine which specific aspects of working memory performance are impacted during failures. Finally, I will demonstrate that working memory performance can be improved by providing feedback that targets failures of attention.
About Kirsten: Kirsten Adam is a fifth-year doctoral student working with Ed Vogel at the University of Chicago. Before graduate school, she received a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame (’12). Kirsten is interested in the relationship between visual attention and working memory, with a focus on how failures of attention adversely impact working memory performance. She uses EEG, modeling, and individual differences approaches to investigate the mechanisms that underlie our cognitive limits.
Looking forward to seeing you there!