Date: 12 October, 2016, @12:00 PM
Venue: TBA, Edge Hill University [Map]
Prof. Frederick Verbruggen
School of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK
Prof. Verbruggen investigates ʻexecutive controlʼ mechanisms: how
people withhold inappropriate or risky actions (response inhibition),
suppress task-irrelevant information (interference control), and
switch between tasks. As well as the theoretical and methodological
contributions to the field, applications of his research have opened up
promising new avenues for treating impulsive disorders.
He received his Ph.D. from Ghent University in 2005. He was a visiting
fellow at Vanderbilt University and Cardiff University before he became a
senior lecturer at the University of Exeter in 2010. He was appointed to
a Chair in Cognitive Psychology at Exeter in 2012. [Click here for profile]
Executive Control of (Impulsive) Action
Cognitive control theories attribute action control and goal-directed decision-making
to executive processes that inhibit responses and adjust behavior online. In the last
two decades, cognitive control and response inhibition have received much attention
across research domains. Cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists have explored
the cognitive and neural mechanisms of action control, developmental scientists have
studied the ‘rise and fall’ of control capacities across the life span, and clinical
researchers have examined correlations between individual differences in action
control and behaviors such as substance abuse, overeating, and risk taking. In the first
part of my presentation, I will provide a selective review of my recent behavioral and
computational work on response inhibition. In the second part, I will focus on the
limitations of executive (action) control. My main aim is to demonstrate that response
inhibition and other forms of action control rely on an interplay between many
processes that take place on different time scales.
Contact: Dr. Motonori Yamaguchi ([email protected])
Prof. Galina Paramei ([email protected])