Richard A. Carlson

Richard Carlson is Professor of Psychology at Penn State University, where he has been on the faculty for 27 years. He received his B.S.S. from Cornell College and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He conducts experiments examiningcognitive control, cognitive skill, and conscious awareness, focusing on control at the time scale of one second or less. Previous research has addressed topics such as causal thinking, the development of troubleshooting skill, task switching, the role of gesture in mental arithmetic, and the structure of conscious intentions. Current research projects focus on the role of affect in working memory and cognitive control, the effect of cognitive workload on metacognition, and on changes in metacognition with increasing skill. He has published in journals such as Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Memory & Cognition, and Human Factors. His book, Experienced Cognition (1998), which described a theory of consciousness and cognitive skill, won a Choice Outstanding Academic Book award.

Professor Carlson currently serves as Associate Head and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Penn State′s Department of Psychology. He is the founding coordinator of the Department′s online psychology major. In 2009, he received an Outstanding Faculty Adviser award. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Behavior Research Methods, and The American Journal of Psychology. He is a fellow of the APA. His website is http://psych.la.psu.edu/directory/faculty-bios/carlson.html