Faculty Advising

Thad Polk

Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology

Email: tpolk@umich.edu


The goal of our research in the Computational & Cognitive Neuroscience Lab is to understand the neural architecture that underlies cognition, that is, the set of (relatively) fixed neural structures and processes that give rise to cognition. What are the parts, how do they work, and how do they interact to produce the mind? Ultimately, we would like to understand how the cognitive architecture is determined (e.g., which aspects are genetic), how the architecture changes as a result of experience and normal aging, and how it normally functions (in sufficient detail that we can implement it computationally). To that end, we have adopted a multidisciplinary approach that combines neuroimaging, computational modeling, and behavioral experimentation to make progress on these questions both theoretically and empirically.

Priti Shah

Professor of Psychology

Email: priti@umich.edu

The human brain is capable of impressive feats such as storing millions of memories, effortlessly processing complex visual scenes, and seamlessly integrating perception, thought, and action. At the same time, performance on many complex cognitive activities is highly limited. Individuals make well-known errors in scientific reasoning and decision making, have trouble comprehending difficult texts and diagrams, and can only store about 3-4 simple items in short-term memory. As a cognitive scientist, my primary goal is to understand the nature of limitations in the performance of complex cognitive tasks and ultimately how these limitations may be overcome. I focus primarily on tasks relevant to school and other everyday contexts. My research has two foci. In one line of research, I study scientific reasoning, and, primarily, the interpretation and critical evaluation of scientific data. My second line of research focuses on understanding working memory and executive functions, basic mechanisms that support complex cognition, and the degree to which they can be improved. My research has been published in dozens of journal articles and book chapters. I have received support for my research from several federal agencies and private foundations including the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Education's Institute for Educational Sciences. I am a Professor of Psychology (cognition and cognitive neuroscience) and a member of the Combined Program in Education and Psychology.

Patrice Speeter Beddor
John C. Catford Collegiate Professor of Linguistics

Patrice (Pam) Beddor studies the relation between the cognitive and physical aspects of sound structures. She investigates how speakers convey, and listeners process, linguistic information, with a particular focus on the information conveyed by overlapping or coarticulated speech gestures. Pam teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in phonetics (articulation, acoustics, speech perception, speech science, the phonetics of sound change) as well as the gateway course Introduction to Linguistic Analysis. She is an elected member of the International Phonetic Association Council. Previously on the College of LSA's task force to develop an undergraduate concentration in cognitive science, she is now a member of the Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science Executive Committee. She was formerly department chair, an NSF and NIH review panelist, and editor of the Journal of Phonetics.

Chandra Sripada

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Philosophy

Email: sripada@umich.edu

I am interested a broad range of issues in cognitive science. I am joint appointed in the University in both Psychiatry and Philosophy, and I approach cognitive science from both a scientific as well as a philosophical perspective. In terms of my scientific interests, my main area of study is self-control. People can regulate their own thoughts, habits, emotions, and motives. I study the psychological and neural mechanisms that make regulation possible, and the ways these mechanisms break down in psychiatric disorders. As a philosopher, I am interested in very general questions about the mind, brain, and explanations of behavior. Topics of special interest include free will and moral responsibility, the role of intuitive processes in rationality, and the cognitive processes involved in ethical decision-making.