Research

In the VCL, we examine how people are able to remember objects over the short term, or visual working memory. The research encompasses both basic and applied paradigms. Currently, we are working on the following projects:

Training visual knowledge using adaptive learning techniques (see Whitmer, Johnson, Marraffino, Pharmer, & Blalock, 2020)
Working memory capacity and individual differences (see Blalock & McCabe, 2011)
The encoding process in visual working memory (see Blalock, 2013)
The impact of training on visual working memory performance and capacity (see Blalock, 2015)
Applied cognition (see Hopkins, Kass, Blalock, & Brill, 2017, Blalock, Sawyer, Kiken, Gutzwiller, McGill, & Clegg, 2014 )
Issues surrounding undergraduate psychology education (see VanWormer, Jordan, & Blalock, 2014)

Here are some recent publications from the VCL:

Daphne, W., Johnson, C., Marrafino, M., Pharmer, R., & Blalock, L. D. (2020). A mastery approach to flashcard-based adaptive training. In R. A. Sottilare and J. Schwarz (Eds.) HCII 2020: Adaptive Instructional Systems. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol 12214, pp. 555-568). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50788-6_41

Blalock, L. D., Rainey, V. R., & Halonen, J. (2020). Assessment of learning in psychology: Summative strategies in courses and programs. In J. Zumbach, D. A. Bernstein, S. Narciss, & G. Marsico (Eds.), International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching. Springer International. In Press.

Hopkins, K., Kass, S. J., Blalock, L. D., & Brill, J. C. (2017). Effectiveness of auditory and tactile crossmodal cues in a dual task visual and auditory scenario. Ergonomics,60, 692-700. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2016.1198495 [PDF]

Blalock, L. D. (2015). Stimulus familiarity improves consolidation of visual working memory representations. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 77, 1143-1158. [PDF]

Blalock, L. D. (2013). Mask similarity impacts short-term consolidation in visual working memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20, 1290-1295. [PDF]

Blalock, L. D., & McCabe, D. P. (2011). Proactive interference and practice effects in visuospatial working memory span task performance. Memory, 19, 83-91. [PDF]

Blalock, L. D. & Clegg, B. A. (2010). Encoding and representation of simultaneous and sequential arrays in visuospatial working memory. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63, 856-862. [PDF]

VanWormer, L. A., Jordan, E. F., & Blalock, L. D. (2014). Assessing the perceived value of research participation. Teaching of Psychology, 41, 233-236. [PDF]