Associate Professor • Department of Psychology • UCSC • Santa Cruz, CA • 95060
mlwilson@ucsc.edu • 831.459.5767 • Room 412, Social Sciences 2

Research projects

If you are interested in any of these projects, please e-mail me for further information.

Representational Momentum for Sign Language

As a way of exploring the role of perceptual expertise in representational momentum, we are testing the strength of the RM effect in signers and non-signers with stimuli taken from filmed signs. Preliminary results suggest that signers show stronger RM for stimuli moving in the direction that produces a real sign, while non-signers show an overall bias for the downward direction. We plan to also explore the role of biomechanical plausibility in biasing RM.

The Effect of Perceiver's Facial Expression on Perceived Expressions

Current interest in the "mirror system" focuses on perceptual-to-motor influence. I am particularly interested in influence in the opposite direction: motor-to-perceptual. (See Wilson & Knoblich, 2005.) This research project explores this question by manipulating the facial expression of the subject, and looking for a criterion shift in judging perceived ambiguous facial expressions.

The Effect of Analogous and Non-Analagous Effector Configurations in Motor Transfer

The ability to recognize and exploit analogies is ubiquitous in the human cognitive system. This project tests whether this extends to the motor system, and in particular to motor transfer between different sets of effectors.

Rethinking Working Memory

This theoretical paper in progress argues that conceiving of working memory as either a system or multiple systems, with a dedicated status in the brain, cannot hold up against the avalanche of "working memories" that are being discovered. Instead, I argue that working memory is a strategy -- in particular, the strategic recruitment of sensory and motor resources that usually serve other purposes. I further argue that the role of motor representations in working memory depends upon the ability to flexibly imitate perceived stimuli, and that this revolutionized working memory in the human case.

Website Design by Daniel Leavitt
Website Logo 'The Thinker' by Gabriel Leonoudakis