Office Hours:
TW: 5:50 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, California State University, Northridge
Master of Arts in Cognitive Psychology, Claremont Graduate University
Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, Claremont Graduate University
Dissertation Topic / Research Area: Media Viewing and the Neurological development of ADHD: Voluntary and Involuntary Processing. This study examined whether high levels of exposure to media (attentional capture) may be associated with self-regulatory deficits and neurological abnormalities observed in children with ADHD. Differences in the ability to recover from distraction (attentional control) were also measured for ADHD vs. non-ADHD children.
Year Joined SMC: 1998
As an associate faculty here at SMC, I have the pleasure of teaching Child Development, Human Lifespan Development, and Introductory Psychology. I have also taught psychology courses at California State University, Fullerton, and lectured for UCLA Extension.
Epigenetics shows that environmental factors affect how genes may be expressed, and as our environment changes, so do the influences that shape development. Having worked with children, I am especially interested in how early childhood experience affects the development of cognitive processes like attention and perception, which tend to function differently in children with developmental disorders.
I have also studied selective attention using musical counterpoint as a stimulus, to better understand how specific aspects of composition and their interactions support analytical and holistic modes of perception.
Relevant Publications / Links:
Davison, L. L. & Banks, W. P. (2003). Selective attention in two-part counterpoint.
Music Perception, 21, 3-20.