Affiliated with the Brain and Cognition Division

As a cognitive neuroscientist who is both a researcher and a teacher, I feel that each practice informs the other. Accordingly, here at UIUC I have teaching, administrative, and research responsibilities.

As the Director of Introductory Psychology, I am responsible for teaching undergraduate (Psych 100: Introductory Psychology) and graduate students (Psych 570: Principles and Methods of Teaching Psychology) as well as designing and implementing the Psychology Department New Teaching Assistant Orientation. I am also responsible, along with the Director of Introductory Psychology, for all facets of program development and management for Psych 100 and Psych 570.

My research falls into two domains: 1. investigating the cognitive and neural mechanisms that mediate correct selection and response to goal-relevant information, and 2. applying principles of cognitive psychology to the scholarship of instruction to inform best practice, improve learning, develop programs, and create pedagogically appropriate texts and supplements.

With respect to my basic research, I focus on investigating the cognitive and neural mechanisms of visual selective attention processes. Psychologists have long known that facilitatory attentional processing of relevant information guides response. For example, as you sit at your desk, you may want to pick up your coffee mug and drink, but you do not want to pick up other nearby objects, such as the mug with yesterday's coffee residue in it. By paying attention to the correct mug you are able to execute a quick and accurate hand movement to it, and drink the fresh hot coffee, without grabbing the wrong object and drinking cold coffee sludge. More recently, psychologists have realized that online behavior in situations such as these is more likely to be quick and accurate when it is mediated by a second attentional mechanism, inhibitory processing of goal-irrelevant objects, such as the mug with the day-old coffee. My research was among the first to indicate that these inhibitory processes do not merely guide short-term action, but also affect correct response over a longer period of time as well. The aim of my basic research is now focused on the philosophy that using converging techniques, such as event-related brain potentials, measures of eye-movements, and behavioral studies, can help me develop a model of how inhibition works with memory processes to mediate correct behavior across both short- and long-term tasks.

With respect to my applied research, my research and teaching experiences have lead me to see how much knowledge we have about human attention, perception, memory, and learning processes, yet very little of this information is applied to improving instructional practices. Accordingly, this research investigates how to improve best practices in teaching, developing active learning assets, textbooks and supplementary materials, and designing hybrid and online classes. For example, one line of research investigates the best practices in using student response devices in an appropriate manner to foster students' attention, engage them in active learning, and help them practice applying psychological concepts.

Representative Publications:

• Grison, S., Paul, M. A., Kessler, K., & Tipper, S. P. (2005). Inhibition of object identity in inhibition of return: Implications for encoding and retrieving inhibitory processes. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 12, 553-558.
• Grison, S., Tipper, S. P., & Hewitt, O. (2005). Long-term negative priming: Support for retrieval of prior attentional processes. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology: A, 58, 1199-1224.
• Tipper, S. P., Grison, S., & Kessler, K. (2003). Long-term inhibition of return of attention. Psychological Science, 14, 19-25.
• Grison, S., & Strayer, D. L. (2001). Negative priming and perceptual fluency: More than what meets the eye. Perception and Psychophysics, 63, 1063-1071.
• Strayer, D. L. & Grison, S. (1999). Negative priming is contingent on stimulus repetition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 25, 24-38.

Classes Recently Taught:

• Psych 100: Introductory Psychology
• Psych 570: Principles and Methods of Teaching Psychology (Assisting Sandra Goss Lucas)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant orientation (Assisting Sandra Goss Lucas)