Brooke N. Macnamara

Principal Investigator

I’m interested in a range of predictors (e.g., cognitive, experiential, affective, environmental) of variance in complex human performance—both intra-individual change (skill acquisition, skill decay) and inter-individual differences (expertise, achievement, job performance). I’m also interested in the theories that predict variance in accomplishments and why people might believe a given factor is more important than the evidence suggests.

Mariel Barnett

Graduate Student

I’m interested in learning, academic performance, and achievement. Specifically, I study academic performance under pressure, with a focus of my research being on the cognitive (i.e., distraction) and behavioral (i.e., avoidance) links with math anxiety. I am also interested in interventions that promote academic achievement, and whether the evidence supports claims about intervention efficacy.

Kat Hradek

Lab Manager

My name is Kat, and I am the lab manager of the Skill, Learning, and Performance laboratory at Purdue University. I aspire to become a graduate student and carry out my own research. My research interests pertain to early life stressors and their clinical/mental health impacts within emerging adulthood.

David J. Frank

Current Position: Associate Professor at Youngstown State University

Research Interests
– Learning and skill acquisition
– Strategies and performance
– Metacognition
– Aging

Ashley Miller

Current Position: Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Arlington

I am broadly interested in how memory and attention interact, why individuals differ in these abilities, and what factors shape performance within individuals over time. A central goal of my work is to clarify how attention supports learning. To investigate this, I use physiological methods such as pupillometry and eye-tracking to examine how attention is dynamically allocated during learning. I am also interested in how motivational and affective factors influence attention allocation (and decision making) throughout the learning process. Ultimately, my research aims to identify effective strategies for enhancing task engagement and reducing attention and memory difficulties across the adult lifespan, with the goal of improving learning and performance outcomes in diverse contexts.

Anne Kotynski

Current Position: Acting Section Chief at NIH

Research Interests
– Emotion and Motivation

Michael King

Current Position: Human Factors Engineer at Quantum Improvements Consulting

Research Interests
– Attention
– Visual search
– Working memory
– Spatial ability
– Intelligence

Amanda Merner

Current Position: Instructor, Research Scientist at Harvard Medical School

Research Interests
– Emotion Regulation
– Executive Function
– Neurodegenerative diseases

Huangqi Jiang

Current Position: Data Scientist at Bloomberg

Research Interests
– Cognitive Control
– Decision Making
– Cognitive Aging

Kyle LaFollette

Current Position: Principal Researcher, Roman Family Center for Decision Research at The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

Research Interests
– Decision-making
– Emotions and implicit preferences
– Computational modeling of affective and cognitive processes

Carly Lubowe

Recent Position: Graduate student, Case Western Reserve University

Research Interests
– Skill acquisition in children
– Developmental disabilities
– Environmental effects on development

Victoria Sisk

Current Position: Senior Data Analyst, Goodwill Industries International

Research Interests
– Attitudes and beliefs
– Social influence
– Implicit theories
– Social psychological interventions
– Decision making

Megha “Tani” Maitra

Current Position: SLP for Chicago Public Schools

Research Interests
– Cognitive Rehabilitation

Jonathan Daniels

Current Position: PhD student at Princeton University

Research Interests
– Cognition
– Intelligence
– Computational Cognition

Bao Ho

Current Position: PhD student at Bowling Green State University

Research Interests
– Industrial-Organizational Psychology