Research Projects



Role of color priming on visual short-term memory using partial-report



Investigation of visual false memories in virtual reality



Studying the impact of bottom-up versus top-down scene context on visual search behavior in an eye tracking paradigm



Exploring the impact of a retro cue on fragile (rather than working) memory storage of stimulus features



Continuing an investigation into the interactions between illusory color spreading, luminance, surface area, and priming on figure-ground reversibility of semantic and abstract images



Examining color spreading illusions under a various global contexts more similar to the real-world



Exploring the impact of figure-ground reversibility using the watercolor illusion



Studying the manifestation of boundary extension in a more ecologically valid virtual reality setting






Using eye tracking to study visual search and social gaze



Boundary extension in the real-world: is this error of commission real or lab created?

General Research Interests

  • Visual perception

    • Color vision

    • Figure-ground organization

    • Object and scene recognition

    • Boundary extension

    • Visual illusions and their implications

    • Visual search

    • Constancies related to depth, luminance, and color

    • Perceptual impact of illumination

    • The effect of holistic context

    • The ecological validity of perceptual research

  • Eye movements and social gaze

  • Attention

  • Human memory systems

    • Visual false memories

    • Visual sensory (iconic) memory

    • Visual memory systems including...

      • Visual short term memory (VSTM)

      • Visual working memory (visuospatial sketchpad)

    • Memory errors - primarily visual and auditory - with functional and nonfunctional explanations