HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...
HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...
HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Laura A. Carlson, Ph.D.<br />
Professor, Psychology<br />
Biography<br />
Laura Carlson is a professor in the Department of Psychology and the associate dean for<br />
professional development in the Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame. She earned<br />
her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1994, and has been at Notre<br />
Dame ever since. Carlson’s primary research interest is in spatial cognition. She has employed<br />
empirical, computational, and psycho-physiological measures to investigate the way in which<br />
Categories<br />
the objects and their spatial relations are encoded, represented, and described. In addition, she<br />
has begun to explore our interaction with the environment, and how we make decisions about Environment, Social Concerns<br />
eco-friendly behavior. Carlson has received extramural funding from the National Science<br />
Foundation and National Institutes of Health to support her research. Currently she serves as<br />
associate editor for Cognitive Psychology. She has served as associate editor for<br />
Memory & Cognition and the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.<br />
Lectures<br />
Deciding to be Green<br />
With the growing concern for the protection of the environment, we need to encourage more eco-friendly behavior. Carlson<br />
discusses how we can use psychology to explore our relationship with the environment, focusing on why and how we make<br />
everyday environmental decisions, such as recycling a can or using a reusable bottle.<br />
Why We Get Lost<br />
Getting lost in a new environment is a fairly common experience. People report difficulty navigating through malls and hospitals,<br />
and differ in their abilities to navigate along detoured routes. This lecture examines why this is the case, focusing on the<br />
contributing aspects of the environment and the navigator.<br />
18 The Hesburgh Lecture Series, <strong>2013</strong> <strong>Program</strong>