The attentional boost effect (ABE) is a phenomenon in which increased attention to one task facilitates the encoding of another task (see Swallow & Jiang, 2010). Our lab is interested in further examining factors that affect the ABE.

The testing effect is the principle that being tested on recently learned material enhances long-term memory more than simply restudying the material. Our lab is interested in both direct and indirect testing effects, and the mechanisms underlying the testing effect.

In a standard testing effect paradigm, participants first study material, then restudy or are tested on the material during a review phase, and then complete a final test. Testing in the review phase (retrieval practice) tends to enhance later retrieval on the final test. However, it is also possible that testing in the review phase could enhance subsequent encoding if participants are given a chance to study material again after the review phase. Our lab is interested in this idea of test-potentiated learning (see Arnold & McDermott, 2013). Specifically, we aim to investigate whether test-potentiated learning is item-specific or generalized, and how encoding and retrieval can contribute to this effect.

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information impairs new information, and retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information impairs previously learned material. Our lab is interested in examining both types of interference in relation to the testing effect.

As humans age, a number of health-related factors begin to decline. Some of the most notable examples are cognitive ability and brain health. Our lab is interested in how these factors change over time, how differences in cognitive ability and brain health relate to leach other, and what interventions can be utilized to reduce age-related cognitive/health issues.