Testing the Modularity of Memory. Researchers disagree about whether verbal and visual working memory (WM) storage occurs in separate modules. Recent evidence suggests that only verbal memoranda have access to a specialised module, while visual memories make use of more general resources. This project aims to re-examine interference between verbal and visual memoranda using statistical methods specialised for assessing whether multiple latent factors underlie performance on recognition memory ta ....Testing the Modularity of Memory. Researchers disagree about whether verbal and visual working memory (WM) storage occurs in separate modules. Recent evidence suggests that only verbal memoranda have access to a specialised module, while visual memories make use of more general resources. This project aims to re-examine interference between verbal and visual memoranda using statistical methods specialised for assessing whether multiple latent factors underlie performance on recognition memory tasks, examining adult and child populations. This is expected to influence applications of WM theory in many everyday settings, resulting in improvements in educational practices, workplace procedures, and clinical treatments that depend on theoretical understandings of limits in cognition.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100868
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$336,284.00
Summary
Neural mechanisms of inhibitory control of human speech in stutterers and non-stutterers. Stopping oneself from speaking is a crucial communication function. In people who stutter, a disorder of this function causes their debilitating speech problem. This project will use cutting edge neuroimaging techniques to reveal how the brain stops speech in stutterers and in fluent speakers.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100323
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,505.00
Summary
I can't find the word! Reading to maintain communication skills in ageing. This project aims to investigate why, as we age, we have trouble retrieving words when we speak but not when we read aloud. It takes the novel approach of systematically testing both reading and speaking in the same older adults. Through its innovative use of both behavioural research and computational modelling, it will generate new knowledge in spoken word production and reading, areas in which the project team have ack ....I can't find the word! Reading to maintain communication skills in ageing. This project aims to investigate why, as we age, we have trouble retrieving words when we speak but not when we read aloud. It takes the novel approach of systematically testing both reading and speaking in the same older adults. Through its innovative use of both behavioural research and computational modelling, it will generate new knowledge in spoken word production and reading, areas in which the project team have acknowledged expertise. This project will advance theories, achieving understanding of how ageing affects the cognitive systems involved in saying words and reading them aloud. By also investigating whether reading aloud can support word retrieval, it has potential future benefit for improved communication in older adults.Read moreRead less
Developing better treatments for language disorders. This project will enable better treatment of people with disorders affecting language such as aphasia, dyslexia, and dementia. It will achieve this through development of more detailed theories of language processing, better assessment of language disorders and a better understanding of how treatments for language disorders have their effects.
Dynamics of word recognition: new insight from the reach-to-touch paradigm. This project will introduce a new behavioural reach-to-touch paradigm for studying basic cognitive processes such as word recognition. The advantage of this paradigm is that it is able to measure cognitive processes moment-by-moment as they unfold over time. This will provide new insights into the temporal dynamics of basic cognitive processing.
Using generalisation to better treat poor spelling. Spelling is an important skill when expressing one's thoughts in writing and an acute challenge for at least ten per cent of Australian students, who can be years behind in their knowledge. This project will help to improve spelling training by establishing how to facilitate generalisation of spelling knowledge from a learned word to new words.
Risky Futures: Toward a Computational Process Model of Risky Inter-Temporal Choice. A lot is known about people’s preferences. People like their rewards now. Most would prefer $10 today than $20 in one month. Risk is also unattractive; a certain $10 is more attractive than a 50 per cent chance of receiving $25. Surprisingly, much less is known about the interaction between delay and risk. That is, relatively little is known about whether people prefer $10 now, or a 50 per cent chance of $50 in ....Risky Futures: Toward a Computational Process Model of Risky Inter-Temporal Choice. A lot is known about people’s preferences. People like their rewards now. Most would prefer $10 today than $20 in one month. Risk is also unattractive; a certain $10 is more attractive than a 50 per cent chance of receiving $25. Surprisingly, much less is known about the interaction between delay and risk. That is, relatively little is known about whether people prefer $10 now, or a 50 per cent chance of $50 in one month. This project will use a combination of experiments and cognitive modelling to examine all three types of choice. The outcome will be a novel computational model that will elucidate the complex interaction between delay and risk, thereby answering an enduring question in the literature: are risk and delay psychologically equivalent?Read moreRead less
How do people make uncertain predictions? Exemplar-based and category-based approaches to inductive inference. This project is an innovative experimental and field study of how people reason under uncertainty. The project will broaden our understanding of human reasoning and enhance the reputation of Australian cognitive science.
Cracking the orthographic code: investigating early perceptual processes in reading. Current understanding of how human readers decode a string of letters into known words is inadequate. This project advances understanding of this early reading process, by combining computational modelling, behavioural and brain imaging approaches.
Learning and choosing in a complex world. How do people make choices in a complex world? Making good choices requires expertise, but people must often forego rewards in order to acquire this knowledge. This is the essence of an "explore-exploit dilemma": to maximise rewards across a long time frame, people must take the time to explore and learn now. Empirically, this project aims to unify much of the existing psychological literature and extend it to cover richer, more complex problems. Theoret ....Learning and choosing in a complex world. How do people make choices in a complex world? Making good choices requires expertise, but people must often forego rewards in order to acquire this knowledge. This is the essence of an "explore-exploit dilemma": to maximise rewards across a long time frame, people must take the time to explore and learn now. Empirically, this project aims to unify much of the existing psychological literature and extend it to cover richer, more complex problems. Theoretically, the project aims to use tools from machine learning to compare human decision making to optimal planning models.Read moreRead less