Ben Clegg is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology.
My background: Prior to arriving at Colorado State University, I worked as a post-doc with Professor Neville Moray. Before that I received my PhD from the University of Oregon, where I worked with Professor Michael Posner and Professor Steven Keele.
Current research: My main interests are in skill acquisition and training, as well as the application of principles from cognitive psychology to real-world setting. I have publications related to both basic and applied aspects of human performance (see below for some examples). I currently collaborate on major projects with Professor Alice Healy of the University of Colorado, Boulder; Professor John Groeger of the University of Surrey; Dr. Geoffrey O'Shea of SUNY Oneonta; and Professor Willem Verwey of Universiteit Twente. I'm starting to track some of the other people I interact with through my linkedin.com profile -- so please drop me an invitation to connect on there if you know me.
I have two current graduate students, Lisa Blalock and Heather Mong. If you are thinking of applying to the Cognitive PhD Program here at Colorado State, and might be interested in working with me, then please send me an email telling me a little bit about your research interests - benjamin.clegg@colostate.edu
Cognitive Faculty: The Cognitive Psychology program at Colorado State includes a number of faculty with interests in human learning and memory - Anne Cleary, Ed DeLosh, David McCabe, Matthew Rhodes, and Carol Seger.
Much of my work has centered on the general topic of skill acquisition. A core component of this research has been studies of implicit learning - that is, knowledge acquired without any direct intention to learn it, and with limited subsequent awareness of the information that has been learned. Think about what you could tell someone about how to ride a bike, or swing a golf club, or the sequence of activities to perform as you drive your car through a junction.
My research explores the nature of the representation of the unconscious knowledge used to guide performance. The central issues revolve around how you learn things, and what you then know. This work has included the use of a number of basic research paradigms (such as sequence learning in the serial reaction time task, and the Hebb Digits task), as well as more complex real-world tasks.
My teaching includes both undergraduate and graduate-level courses. I run courses in my primary areas of interest including Cognitive Psychology and Human Performance, as well as courses in fundamental areas of psychology such as Statistics and Research Methods.
Cognitive psychology is an active area of study at Colorado State University, as one of five doctoral programs offered by the Department of Psychology.
The Cognitive Section of the Department of Psychology here at CSU consists of a small and highly interactive group of researchers. Our multidisciplinary perspective means we maintain strong links with other sections within the department, as well as other departments throughout the university.
Clegg, B. A. (2005). Stimulus-specific sequence representation in serial reaction time tasks. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 58A(6), 1087-1101. Online version Abstract
Clegg, B.A., DiGirolamo, G.J., & Keele, S.W. (1998). Sequence learning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2, 275-281. Online version Abstract
Clegg, B. A., Wood, J. A., & Bugg, J. M. (2004). Real and imagined movements in older and younger adults. Journal of Mental Imagery, 28(1&2), 1-16. Abstract
Francis, A. P., Schmidt, G. L., Carr, T. H., & Clegg, B. A. (2008). Incidental learning of abstract rules for non-dominant word orders. Psychological Research, in press. Online version Abstract
O'Shea, G. & Clegg, B. A. (2006). Stimulus and response chunking in the Hebb Digits task. Psychological Research, 70, 180-192. Online version Abstract
Verwey, W. B. & Clegg, B. A. (2005). Effector dependent sequence learning in the serial RT task. Psychological Research 69(4), 242-251. Online version Abstract
Bugg, J. M., DeLosh, E. L., & Clegg, B. A. (2006). Physical activity moderates time-of-day differences in older adults' working memory performance. Experimental Aging Research, 32(4), 431-446. Online version
Groeger, J. A. & Clegg, B. A. (2007). Systematic changes in the rate of instruction during driver training. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21(9), 1229-1244. Online Version
Groeger, J. A., Clegg, B. A., & O'Shea, G. (2005).Conjunction in simulated railway signals: A cautionary note. Applied Cognitive Psychology. 19(8), 973-984. Online version
Hopp, P. J., Smith, C. A. P., Clegg, B. A., & Heggestad, E. D. (2005). Interruption management: The use of attention-directing tactile cues. Human Factors, 47(1), 1-11. Online version
Hopp-Levine, P. J., Smith, C. A. P., Clegg, B. A., & Heggestad, E. D. (2006). Tactile interruption management: tactile cues as task-switching reminders. Cognition, Technology & Work, 8(2), 137-145. Online version
Morett, L. M., Clegg, B. A., Blalock, L. D., & Mong, H. M. (2008). Applying multimedia learning theory to map learning and driving navigation. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, in press. Abstract
Young. P. M., Clegg, B. A., & Smith, C. A. P. (2004). Dynamic models of augmented cognition. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 17(2), 259-273. Online version