• MA, University of British Columbia (2006)

• H.BSc, University of Toronto (2004)

Research Interests:

Prospective Memory & Recognition Memory

Recent & Current Research:

Planning and Prospective Memory Test Performance

Prospective memory is the ability we just for carrying out intentions, plans and actions.  Although much research has been directed at describing the various aspects of prospective memory and how this ability varies between individuals and across the lifespan, very little prior research has examined strategies for improving prospective memory performance.  Successful prospective remembering is dependent on many cognitive activities, one of which is planning.  Planning is an executive function and includes the generation, selection, and execution of various strategies.  The current research examines the range of planning strategies that exist for time and event based prospective memory tasks.  By gaining a better understanding of the way that people plan to succeed on these types of tasks, we can ultimately help those who have problems with their prospective memory by teaching them to plan effectively.

Familiarity Judgments in Recognition Tasks

This study examined the feelings of familiarity in recognition tasks.  We focused on the Word Frequency Effect, which results from a more memorable stimulus class (e.g. low-frequency words) producing higher hit rates, but lower false-alarm rates than a less memorable stimulus class (e.g. high-frequency words).  The question we asked was, whether familiarity judgments related to the Word Frequency Effect arise from absolute fluency or discrepancy judgments.  Subjects were briefly presented with low and high frequency words, and later were tested in a recognition memory paradigm.  Lexical decision times were measured to provide an index of fluency for each word.  Using Whittlesea and Leboe’s (2003) median-split technique, we found that there was evidence for a global-match or absolute fluency assumption.  In a second experiment, trial length was manipulated, and the results were similar.  In a third experiment, we attempted to force subjects to rely on familiarity when making these recognition judgments, by asking them to make speeded responses.  The results obtained were once again predicted by absolute fluency.       

Research Assistant

September 2004-September 2006

     Memory and Cognition Laboratory, UBC

April 2004-August 2004

     Cognition Laboratory, University of Toronto

September 1999-May 2000

     Centre for Biomaterials, University of Toronto

 Teaching Assistant

Sept 2004-Dec 2004

     Psych 217  Instructor: Christina Thorpe

 

• Student member of the Western Psychological Association

• First Year Representative for the Department of Psychology Graduate Student Council