APPLIED COGNITION RESEARCH LAB
P.I.
I am a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. I earned my Ph.D. in Psychology at Iowa State University under the direction of Gary L. Wells (in the Social Psychology program) and Jason C. K. Chan (in the Cognitive Psychology program). I am interested in applying what we know about social-cognitive phenomena to the improvement of real world procedures, particularly law and education. For more information on my work, click here.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Programs of Study
PLEA DECISION-MAKING
What leads an innocent person to plead guilty?
EYEWITNESS MEMORY
How do well-intentioned witnesses contribute to wrongful convictions?
TASK-SWITCHING
A dark side to interpolated testing?
LECTURER FLUENCY
How do "good" lecturers impact student learning?
CURRENT GRADUATE STUDENTS
NAYANTARA KURPAD
A.P.P.S. Ph.D. Student
Nayantara holds a Masters in Education from the University of Texas Austin. She is currently working on projects related to repeated testing, lecturer fluency, and task-switching.
KELLY T. SUTHERLAND
A.P.P.S. Ph.D. Student
Kelly holds a Masters degree in Experimental Psychology from Rivier University. She is currently working on projects related to plea decision-making and perceptions of those who plead guilty.
CURRENT LAB AFFILIATES
LISA GERACI
Professor & Chair
Professor Geraci holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Stony Brook University. She is interested in the application of memory and metacognition to educational, business, legal and training environments, as well as the effects of aging on cognitive processes.
MELTEM KARACA
A.P.P.S. Ph.D. Student
Meltem holds a Masters degree in Neuroscience from Bilkent University. She is currently working on projects related to retrieval practice, task-switching, and correcting misconceptions.
MARCUS LITHANDER
A.P.P.S. Ph.D. Student
Marcus holds a Masters degree in Cognitive Psychology from Stockholm University. He is currently working on projects related to neuro-myths and metacognition.
LAB ALUMNI
ANNABELLE FRAZIER
Annabelle was the first to graduate from UMass Lowell's Applied Psychology and Prevention Science (A.P.P.S.) Ph.D. Program. Her research is focused on defendant decisions within the justice system, and the impact of these decisions on their outcomes. She is now the Director of Social Services Advocacy, Mental Health Litigation Division; she is working for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (The Public Defender Agency of MA).
ANNMARIE KHAIRALLA
Annmarie worked in the Applied Cognition Research lab for over three years as an undergraduate Psychology student. During her time in the lab, she completed an Honors thesis entitled, "The effects of tender-of-plea form comprehensibility on plea decision-making". She is now in the Forensic Psychology Ph.D. Program at Ontario Tech University working under Brian L. Cutler. Her current projects relate to: body-worn cameras, eyewitness memory, and false confessions.
ADVISORY PANEL
National Science Foundation CAREER - Guilty Plea Advisory Panel
In 2019, Professor Wilford received a CAREER grant from the Law & Social Sciences Division of the National Science Foundation (A System of Pleas: Using a Role-Playing Simulation to Test Plea-Decision Models). This grant will involve the development of computer-simulation software with which to study plea decision-making. As part of this project, an advisory panel will be assembled each year of the grant to provide feedback on the project. If you are interested in participating on the panel, please contact Professor Wilford.
YEAR ONE PANEL
July 19, 2019
This year's panel participants included (from left to right): Kelsey Henderson, Kevin Petersen, Julia Durska, Allison Redlich, Erika Fountain, Vanessa Edkins, Ryan Schneider, Amy Dezember, Kelly Sutherland, Miko Wilford, and Tina Zottoli (not pictured: Misha Rabinovich, Annabelle Shestak, & Karen Smolar)
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
The Applied Cognition Research Lab investigates ways in which psychological science can be applied to the improvement of real world procedures and processes. More specifically, lab research attempts to answer questions such as: How do innocent people choose to accept or reject a plea deal? What is the impact of information fluency on students’ perceptions of learning? What is the best way to preserve eyewitness memory? Participation in the lab provides excellent learning opportunities, especially for those interested in pursuing graduate school. Under the supervision of Dr. Miko Wilford, students will learn how to code data, design study materials, conduct experiments, analyze academic articles, etc, while earning academic credits (in Research Service Learning). Interested students should contact Dr. Wilford to request an application.