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Trafton Drew


Title: Associate Professor
College: Social & Behavioral Science
School / Department: Psychology
Mentoring Philosophy:

My research focuses on understanding the real-world ramifications and underlying neural mechanisms of visual attention. I study radiologists’ behavior to understand why errors are sometimes made, with the goal of using what we know about attention help reduce the number of errors committed. I also study the neural mechanisms that underlie our ability to represent information using electroencephalograph (EEG). The capacity of visual attention is limited, and my lab uses a variety of methods to study the ramifications of this fact on behavior in a variety of settings.

Applied Visual Attention Laboratory

Our research examines the consequences of attentional limitations on real-world tasks and the neural underpinnings of attention and memory. We use a mixture of methods (EEG, eye-tracking, behavioral performance) to investigate how these issues. Our research program includes studying experts, such as radiologists, in order to understand why errors are sometimes made. We are studying a variety of interventional approaches designed to reduce error rates in these sorts of applied tasks. We also study the neural mechanisms that underlie our ability to represent information using electroencephalograph (EEG). The capacity of visual attention is limited and we use a variety of methods to study the ramifications of this fact on behavior.