Research Interests
My research examines the nature and organization of working memory and executive control processes and their roles in complex cognitive activities (such as language processing and learning, visuospatial thinking, problem solving and reasoning) and social functioning (such as impulse control, substance use, and stereotyping behavior), using a variety of methodologies, such as dual-task experiments, individual differences and behavioral genetic analyses, and electrophysiological measurements (e.g., event-related potentials). Specific research projects that I am currently undertaking include:
- Individual differences analyses of executive functions (e.g., shifting, updating, and inhibition) and their roles in complex cognitive abilities (e.g., intelligence, language comprehension, learning).
- Behavioral genetic analyses of executive functions and their roles in self-regulatory behavior (e.g., attentional problems at school, substance use, impulsivity).
- Experimental and correlational investigations of the roles of executive functions and working memory in social functioning and health-related behavior (e.g., the expression and control of stereotypes and prejudice, the specification and remediation of stereotype threat effects on the gender gap in math and science achievement, the regulation of eating behaviors).
- Laboratory and classroom studies of the effects os stereotype threat and self-affirmation on the learning and performance of math and science (e.g., Physics).
- The effects of depression and anxiety (as well as rumination and worry) on executive functions.
- The role of inner speech in thining, action, and executive control.