PSY 357 Laboratory for the Cognitive Neuroscience of Categorization and Decision Making
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECT
Faculty:
Todd Maddox, Ph.D.
Contact:
Todd Maddox, Ph.D. maddox@psy.utexas.edu
Description:
The ability to quickly and accurately categorize is fundamental to human survival. Every day we make hundreds of categorization judgments, and in most cases, are remarkably accurate. In fact, frequently humans are more accurate than the most powerful machines. For example, humans are far better at understanding speech and reading handwriting than any machine yet developed. Why are humans so good at categorization? What sorts of processes and mechanisms underlie human categorization performance? Can we discover the nature of these processes and the underlying neurobiology? The work in our lab attacks this problem from several angles. Currently one of our main foci is on understanding the neurobiology of category learning and decision making. It is fairly well established that amnesiac patients with damage to the medial temporal lobes show normal category learning whereas patients with Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease show impaired category learning. In fact, category learning declines with normal aging. We are conducting a number of studies with collaborators across the country that try to pinpoint the nature of these deficits. We are also conducting several studies in our laboratory on healthy young college students to better understand the nature of category learning, and we are beginning a collaboration using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We hope that our research will lead to a better understanding of perception and cognition in humans so that functional models of neural cognitive systems can be developed and tested.
Qualifications:
We are looking for hard-working students interested in cognitive science who are self-guided and able to work independently. Students must be highly motivated and good at interacting with others. They must also pay close attention to detail.
Duties:
Interaction with participants and collection of experimental data. Piloting new experiments. Data analysis with sufficient experience.
Other Information
10 hours/week time commitment during regular business hours. One-semester commitments are available, but a two semester commitment is recommended. Interviews are required before appointment. See our website at: http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/MaddoxLab/index.html
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