This week’s research lab spotlight is The Creativity, Attention, and Memory Lab (CAMlab), led by Professor Timothy George from the Psychology Department.
Professor George is a native of Ithaca, NY. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research area is cognitive psychology with a special interest in how memory and attention systems influence problem-solving and creativity.
What is a typical day like at your lab?
There is a long research “pipeline” from the idea stage to the publication stage. It is typical to have multiple simultaneous pipelines! This means a typical day really depends on the stage of the pipeline. Because he studies human cognition using experiments, one big chunk of work is running participants through experiments. Another big chunk is taking the data collected from participants and turning it into something measurable. Research assistants often help score or categorize responses so that meaningful analyses of the data can be conducted.
What projects is the lab currently working on?
There are a variety of projects that the lab is currently working on. Professor George currently has two thesis students who are collaborating with him. One is focused on how physical exercise influences problem-solving when we are mentally fixated (when we are “stuck” on a problem). Another student is examining the role of one’s parenting style in overcoming mental fixation in problem-solving. Other current research is aimed at promoting analogical connections between situations. Since sometimes noticing these analogical connections can help us solve challenging problems, this work aims to identify activities that will prompt these connections during problem-solving.
What is it like being a Research Assistant with Professor George?
Lili Mihajlovits (‘24): Coming into college I had no idea what I wanted to do or even what I was interested in, however, after taking a Neuroscience course with Professor George, I became more intrigued by research, specifically Professor George’s research related to creativity. It is such an incredible opportunity to follow an idea from start to finish and assist in discovering new perspectives of the brain.
Nuo Chen (‘23): You can have an insightful perspective of the different stages within a research project. For instance, I had done error checks before an experiment was run and actually running participants. Currently, I mainly code the data that is collected from the participants. Working with Professor Tim George is an experience that not only builds my knowledge and ability. He is very communicative and responsive. Join the lab if you feel that his area of research would be intriguing to you!
Students interested in Professor Tim George’s research or want to work in his lab should contact him directly at [email protected]