Biography

Thomas C. Ghirardelli
Department: Psychology
Title: Assistant Professor of Psychology (2003)
Degree: A.B., Davidson College; M.S., Villanova University; M.A. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, The Johns Hopkins University
Office: HS 104
Phone: 410-337-6592
Email: tghirard@goucher.edu

Teaching Interests

I teach courses that emphasize the scientific approach to explaining behavior and the methods of applying that approach. In addition to my classroom teaching, I use my laboratory in perception and attention to teach students applications of this approach and these methods to specific questions about attention and perception.

Courses Taught in Fall Semester:

• PSY 233 Sensation and Perception
• PSY 345 Seminar in Experimental Psychology (Topics: Comparative Perspectives)

Courses Taught in Spring Semester: 

• PSY 345 Seminar in Experimental Psychology (Topics: Perception or Attention)
• PSY 200 Statistical Methods in Psychology

Research Interests

My research is concerned with general issues in visual attention and information processing. I find the topic of attention interesting because it serves as a bridge between lower level perception and higher cognition. Under most circumstances, we cannot process all of the sensory information we encounter in the environment. One function of attention is to select the most important information present for further processing. It is this function that makes the study of attention critical to understanding how the brain performs cognitive tasks. Ultimately the goal of my research is to achieve a better understanding of human beings as information processors by gaining a more complete understanding of selection and how the brain accomplishes this vital function.

I am currently involved in two projects. One project is concerned with factors that control the allocation (or deployment) of attention. Attentional allocation can occur through two different modes. Goal-directed (or top-down) control is said to occur when the allocation of attention is based on the goals and intentions of the observer. Stimulus-driven (or bottom-up) control is when the control of attention is based solely on the properties of the visual stimulus, such as its salience. Our strategy for assessing the relative influence of goal-directed and stimulus-driven control is to pit the two processes against one another in the same task.

A second project my students and I are working on concerns the fate of those items not selected by attention. Some work I began previously while at the U. S. Army Research Lab suggested that observers retain some knowledge of these unattended items, suggesting that they are not completely ignored, but the extent to which they are processed may depend on the observer’s task. Information about unattended items may help to answer remaining questions about the efficiency of attentional selection, but may also have practical applications regarding the potentially distracting effects of situations such as using cell phones while driving.

Responsibilities in the Department

In addition to my teaching and research, I advise pre-major advisees and major advisees. I am the co-advisor for the Goucher chapter of Psi Chi, the National Psychology Honor Society. I also serve as the chair of the Goucher Institutional Review Board.

Professional Responsibilities

I am a member of the American Psychological Association, APA Division 2 (The Society for the Teaching of Psychology) and Division 3 (Experimental Psychology), the Association for Psychological Science, and the Eastern Psychological Association, and an associate member of the Psychonomic Society. I served as chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2006 EPA Meeting. I am also an ad hoc reviewer for the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, and Perception & Psychophysics.

Other

Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, listening to a wide variety of music, playing softball, and spending time with my wife and two small children.