Psychology 196B: Research in Cognitive Science
Adaptive Learning: Teaching with Computers
Faculty Sponsor: Kellman, Philip
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Everett Mettler
E-mail: mettler@ucla.edu
Room Number: 7574 and 2349
Phone: (310) 825-4202
Website: http://kellmanlab.psych.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
Computer-based learning activities offer great potential to adapt the flow of learning events to optimize progress for each individual. Can adaptive learning algorithms that dynamically sequence learning items result in improved efficiency for factual learning and pattern recognition? The current study is concerned with basic research in adaptive learning and will examine if adaptive sequencing based on accuracy, speed, and retirement criteria, produce learning outcomes superior to traditional classroom methods.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Research assistants would help in the collection of data by grading assessments, data entry, and general office work for at least 7 hours per week and will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of research, including literature search, study design, experimental design, and data analysis. Experience with programming is a plus, but not required. Psych 120A&B are highly recommended.
Human action perception
Faculty Sponsor: Lu, Hongjing
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Lu, Hongjing
E-mail: hongjing@ucla.edu
Room Number: 6552 Franz Hall
Phone: (310) 206-2587
Description of Research Project:
We are interested in how the visual system represents and identifies human action in a motion sequence. It is crucial to perceive and interpret human body movements to be able to interact with other people well. This research explores the underlying information use of visual input in a series of psychophysical experiments.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students will be involved in conducting experiments, data collection and organization. Students also have the opportunity to aid in the design of new experiments and the development of computational modeling. Students are encouraged to be involved in the new experiments for the preparation for the Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC) at UCLA.
Prior knowledge in high-level cognition
Faculty Sponsor: Lu, Hongjing
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Lu, Hongjing
E-mail: hongjing@ucla.edu
Room Number: 6552 Franz Hall
Phone: (310) 2062587
Description of Research Project:
We study predictive, diagnostic and analogical reasoning from a computational perspective. We are especially interested in what prior knowledge humans assume in making an inference from few examples. Our research aims to develop computational models for a range of reasoning experiments, and assess the validity of computational models by comparing their predictions with human performance in controlled experiments.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students will be involved in conducting experiments, data collection and organization. Students also have the opportunity to aid in the design of new experiments and the development of computational modeling. Students are encouraged to be involved in the new experiments for the preparation for the Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC) at UCLA.
Visual Object Recognition
Faculty Sponsor: Liu, Zili
Department: Psychology-Cognitive
Contact Name: Dr. Zili Liu
E-mail: zili@psych.ucla.edu
Room Number: 7619 Franz
Phone: 310-267-4683
Description of Research Project:
This National Science Foundation sponsored research investigates how the brain encodes into memory visually perceived scenes and objects (e.g., faces). Counter-intuitive predictions, with promising pilot data, will be tested.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Responsibilities include scheduling experiments on experimentrix, conducting the experiments, and debriefing the participant after each experiment.