Education & Training

• Ph.D., Stanford University 1968

Overview

Cognitive processes in the laboratory and in everyday life.

Basic Cognition
A wide range of basic cognitive processes and their interconnections, especially perception, memory, comprehension, representation, and problem solving. Special emphasis on: 1) alternative mental representations (e.g., text, lists, outlines, matrices, trees, diagrams) and their effects on cognition; 2) linguistic codability (the ease with which people can name things and the effects of naming on cognition and action); 3) perception and interpretation of facial expressions and human movement; 4) individual differences in cognition (the distinction between "language-based" and "language-optional" individuals); 5) knowledge structures (what they are, how to measure them, how they vary across content domains and expertise).

Everday Cognition

Cognitive processes in everyday life, examined both in the everyday world and laboratory settings. Major projects include:  1) Medical Cognition (how healthcare providers and patients find, understand, remember and use medical information);  2) Courtroom Cognition (how judges, jurors, lawyers, and laypersons  understand legal documents and decide court cases);  3) Memory for Movement (how dancers and athletes learn, remember, and perform movement sequences); 4) Responsive Virtual Human Technology (how humans interact with virtual humans to learn new skills); 5) Cognition and Teaching (cognitive processes of professors and students across academic domains and their implications for teaching/learning).

For additional information, see: http://www.duke.edu/~ruthday

Expertise

Everyday cognition, medical cognition, psychology and law, memory for movement, education