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Ayanna Kim Thomas
Associate Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., University of Washington, 2001Biography We frequently learn more about memory from its failures rather than
its successes. As such, my research has delved into the various contexts
that result in episodic memory failures. I take the theoretical
perspective that memory decisions are inferential in nature. An episodic
event is not represented as a single unit, but rather a distribution of
elements that can be differentially accessed at retrieval. Accessibility
to those elements influences both memory and metamemorial decisions. By
influencing the accessibility of specific elements, or attributes, I am
able to bias retrieval. The result is memory and metamemorial failures.
My research focuses on three specific situations related to retrieval
bias: bias resulting from accessible encoded attributes; bias resulting
from automatic processing at encoding and/or retrieval; controlling bias
by improving retrieval monitoring.
Graduate and Undergraduate students interested in working in the
Cognitive Aging and Memory Lab should contact Ayanna at
ayanna.thomas@tufts.edu.
Representative Publications
Review a list of
representative publications >
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