A/Prof Troy Visser, Lab Director

Troy has been researching human attention and multi-tasking for nearly two decades, using a variety of tools including eye-tracking, electrophysiology, brain stimulation, fMRI, and computer simulation.

Some of his recent research has looked at  individual and group differences in attention and multi-tasking.  In addition, many of his projects have been translational, examining how performance in tasks like driving and submarine track management is impacted by limits in human cognitive capabilities. 

Troy is the head of the UWA node of the Human Performance Research Network (HPRnet), a large-scale collaborative research project funded by the Australian Army to enhance the capabilities of military personnel.

Dr. Michael English, Research Associate

Michael recently finished his studies as a student of UWA, which started with a BSc in Psychology in 2008 and ended with his PhD thesis in 2017, completed under the supervision of A/Prof Troy Visser and A/Prof Murray Maybery.

Now a postdoctoral research associate working with his PhD supervisors, Michael continues the line of research he began during his PhD. His research centres on the role that autistic-like traits play in the allocation of attention, with specific interests in attentional lateralization, global/local processing, and emotion processing.

Mr.  Jayden Greenwell-Barnden /Ph.D. Student

Jayden commenced his PhD in 2018 after completing a Diploma of Science in psychology and Honours at UWA. In collaboration with his supervisors A/Prof Troy Visser and A/Prof Shayne Loft, Jayden’s research examines individual differences in cognitive processes, including multitasking, and asks whether automation systems which are aimed at assisting such cognitive processes may be beneficial. This may lead to a new approach to Human-Automation-Interaction in which the design of automated systems are focused on the strengths and weaknesses of the individual operator to better assist performing tasks.   

Ms. Min Quan H, M.A./Ph.D. Student

Min is currently working towards a combined Masters / PhD in Clinical Neuropsychology, under the supervision of A/Prof Troy Visser, A/Prof Murray Maybery and Dr. Michael English. Her research examines atypical patterns of attention found in individuals with high levels of autistic-like traits. Specifically, it will identify differences in attention related to visual orienting amongst individuals with high and low autistic-like traits. Another line of Min’s research involves looking at how atypical attentional patterns in orienting may relate to the different characteristics of autism, by investing the different autistic trait dimensions independently. Taken together, her research hopes to expand present attentional accounts of visual orienting impairments that are highly prevalent in autism.

Dr. Angela Bender

Dr. Ashton Roberts