Area of Research: My primary research interests are in the area of human memory.  One line of work focuses on prospective memory, or memory to do things in the future in the absence of a direct prompt to remember.  My students and I are exploring the factors that impact task interference, or the impaired performance on an ongoing task when a prospective memory task is embedded compared to when it is not.  Another line of work focuses on retrospective memory, or memory for information learned in the past, usually in the presence of a direct prompt to remember.  My interests in this area include the generation-recognition model of recall, the distinction between organizational and distinctive effects on memory, and collaborative inhibition in memory.  More generally, I’m also interested in how the construct of a “retrieval mode” supports both prospective and retrospective memory.

Education:

• B.A. – Furman University, 1991
• M.A. – Rice University, 1994
• Ph.D. – University of New Mexico, 2001