Profiles

Dan's research focuses on understanding how attention and perception operate in everyday situations. This is addressed by using two distinct and complementary approaches. The first approach involves using standard laboratory tasks to uncover the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie attention and perception. The second approach involves observing and describing how attention and perception operate as individuals engage in purposeful activities in their natural environments.

Email Dan: dsmilek@uwaterloo.ca

Emilie's research focuses on exploring individual differences and factors that influence levels of attention. The primary goal of her research is to ultimately find ways to improve the maintenance of attention. She is currently interested in understanding the impact of various factors such as personality traits (e.g., neuroticism and conscientiousness), physiological components (e.g., stress and anxiety), as well as lifestyle and behavioural characteristics (e.g., physical exercise and diet) on attentional engagement. 

Email Emilie: emilie.caron@uwaterloo.ca

Bruno is interested in understanding how high-performing practitioners learn, apply, and adapt their practical skills in their practice, and how professional training programs can be improved to motivate high-performance. 

Email Bruno: b.korst@uwaterloo.ca

Adrian is interested in how stress and a lack of sleep can shift important dynamics in attention and mind-wandering behaviours. He is also interested in how people transition to and from flow states in classroom settings and while using electronic devices.

Email Adrian: absafati@uwaterloo.ca

Samantha is interested in (i) investigating the relations between fluctuations of state-level attention and memory, (ii) exploring the relation between trait-level attention (e.g., ADHD) and both trait- and state-level affect (e.g., emotion dysregulation; frustration), and (iii) how attention is experienced (self-report) versus how it is expressed (behaviour, psychophysiology) at the state level in individuals with varying trait-level differences (e.g., ADHD).

Email Sam: sayersglassey@uwaterloo.ca

Email Melissa: m.vandijk@uwaterloo.ca

Email Miranda: mhc2chan@uwaterloo.ca

Email Jacob: jacob.oliveira@uwaterloo.ca

Colin is interested in how people choose to engage in media multitasking. Specifically, he researches what people focus on when multiple forms of media are competing for their attention.

Email: c2kwiatkowski@uwaterloo.ca

Emily is interested in exploring how our current understanding of attention manipulation can extend beyond a laboratory setting. Her work aims to understand how attention can be manipulated and better understood in learning contexts, such that learning is accessible to everyone. 

Email Emily: emashaal@uwaterloo.ca