MAD (Memory, Attention, and Decision) Laboratory
E-mail: afrancowatkins@auburn.edu
Office tel: 334.844.6492
Office: 201 Thach Hall
My research program investigates the cognitive processes underlying judgment and decision making (JDM) by drawing on attention and human memory theories. Listed below are some current projects:
Decision Making Under Stress
This research examines how working memory and attention factor in decision making when people are subjected to multiple stressors (e.g., time pressure, performance pressure, and the pressures of multi-tasking). To capture the comprehensive mechanisms of decision processes, we use a decision moving window that integrates the moving-window paradigm used in reading research with a mouse-tracing paradigm used in JDM research. This research is a colloborative project between Joe Johnson and myself (currently funded by NSF).
Working Memory, Learning, and Decision Strategies
Current work in the laboratory explores the relationship between learning, strategy-use and whether working memory mediates these effects. Specifically, we examine whether individuals with higher working memory able to learn integrative strategies and apply them to solve structural problems faster and more effectively than individuals with low working memory. Additionally, we determine which factors are important for learning and skill acquisition.Self-control and Decision Making
People often must choose whether or not to partake in some immediately gratifying activity that might have long-term detrimental consequences. For example, eating junk food and smoking may have immediate gratification, yet result in long-term health concerns (i.e., obesity, lung cancer). The goal of this research is to understand which factors lead people to control or succumb to their impulses when considering future consequences.