Holly A. Taylor
Director of the Graduate Program Associate Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., Stanford University, 1992
holly.taylor@tufts.edu
Spatial Cognition Laboratory

Dr. Holly A. Taylor received her bachelors degree in mathematics, with a minor in Psychology from Dartmouth College in 1987.  She earned a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Stanford University in 1992.  She has been a faculty at Tufts since 1994.  In addition to her work, she enjoys running road races, hiking, and spending time with her family.

Dr. Taylor’s research examines the mental representation of information, sometimes referred to as mental models or situation models. She is particularly interested in the domains of spatial cognition and comprehension. Her work focuses on how information sources influence mental models. For example, if someone learns the Tufts University campus by walking around versus from a map, how different and how similar are their mental models?  This work also extends to multimedia information sources and their effects on mental representations. In addition to basic research in this area, she is interested in applications to real-world information sources.  Another area of research, in collaboration with Dr. Robin Kanarek, examines nutritional effects on cognitive behavior, in both children and adults.

Students can get involved in research with Dr. Taylor during the academic year either through one of the independent research courses or on a volunteer basis.  If interested, please contact her by e-mail.

Mahoney, C. R., Taylor, H. A., & Kanarek, R. B., & Holcomb, P. J.  (in press), The effects of an afternoon confectionery snack on cognitive processes critical to learning.  Physiology and Behavior.

Brunye, T. T., Taylor, H. A., Rapp, D. N., & Spiro, A.  (in press).  Multimedia presentation of procedures:  Influences on memory for structure and content.  Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Rapp, D. N., Klug, J.L., & Taylor, H. A.  (in press). Expectation-driven effects on spatial mental model use during reading.  Memory & Cognition.

Uttal, D. H., Fisher, J. A., & Taylor, H. A. (2006). Words and maps: Developmental changes in the integration of spatial information acquired from different sources.  Developmental Science, 9(2), 221-235.

Magliano, J. P., Taylor, H. A., & Kim, H. J. (2005). When goals collide:  Monitoring the goals of multiple characters.  Memory & Cognition, 33(8), 1357-1367.

Mahoney, C. R., Taylor, H. A., Kanarek, R. B., & Samuel, P. (2005). Effects of breakfast composition on cognitive processes in elementary school children.  Physiology and Behavior, 85, 635-645.

Taylor, H. A. (2005). Mapping the understanding of understanding maps.  P. Shah & A. Miyake (Eds.).  Handbook of Visuospatial Processing.  New York: Cambridge University Press.

Taylor, H. A., Renshaw, C. E. & Choi, E. (2004). The Effect of multiple formats on understanding complex visual displays.  Journal of Geoscience Education, 52(1). 115-121.

Rapp, D. N., & Taylor, H. A. (2004). Interactive dimensions in the construction of mental representations for text.  Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 30(5), 988-1001.

Taylor, H. A. & Rapp, D. N. (2004). Where's the donut?  Factors influencing spatial reference frame use.  Cognitive Processing: International Quarterly of Cognitive Science, 5, 175-188.