Faculty member Mark Holden, assistant professor of psychology, recently joined the psychology department. We got in touch with Mark to learn more about him.
Where did you complete your training?
I am actually from Canada, so I did my B.Sc. (Psychology and Biological Sciences double-major) at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. After that, I went on to pursue graduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. I worked with Dr. Thomas Shipley and Dr. Nora Newcombe, studying visual perception and spatial cognition. After getting my Ph.D., my wife and I returned to Canada and worked as postdocs (and then adjunct professors) for a few years at the University of Western Ontario. And now, here we are!
What do you study?
My research focuses on spatial cognition – especially how people remember specific locations or “where things are”. It turns out that remembering locations is actually really interesting! For example, if I asked you “Which is farther to the East: Miami or Buffalo?” most people would immediately answer “Miami!” But, the thing is, the answer is actually Buffalo (go ahead, look it up!). So, my research has three related streams. The first is more theoretical than the other two, and looks at mathematical models that try to predict errors like the Buffalo-Miami error. Some of these models actually suggest that our errors are helpful – and tend to make us closer to correct over the long run. Another line of my research looks at how people mentally carve up spaces. For example, you might remember that you accidentally left your jacket on the left of the auditorium, while also remembering that it was around about the 7th row, and 5th seat in. What kinds of information do we use to carve up spaces into these “chunks” in memory? And finally, my research also looks at individual and group differences. For example, I have found differences between men and women, both in terms of their accuracy, but also in terms of the types of strategies we use to remember locations. A recent study of mine also looks at estrogen variation over the course of the ovulatory cycle in women, and showed that higher estrogen levels tended to relate to specific patterns of errors. There are lots of other studies, too, looking at differences between experts and novices, or between 7- to 9-month-olds versus 18- to 20-month-olds. I am also interested in how memory processes (especially spatial memory) change over the course of the lifespan, and how healthy aging differs from clinical populations known to have spatial deficits (e.g. Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s patients).
What classes do you teach?
This year, I have taught three sections of Introductory Psychology (181), as well as Perception (463), Attention & Performance (466), and Developmental Psychology (289). To be honest, I’m not really sure what next year will bring! Likely many of the courses will be the same, but there may be a couple of new ones – so stay tuned!
What are some things that people may be surprised to learn about you?
Well, maybe it’s not surprising – being Canadian and all – but I played hockey a lot growing up, and am still a huge Edmonton Oilers fan. I also love reading Science Fiction and Fantasy books… but maybe that also fits with the nerdy Psychology professor image. I also learned to cook by working in a hotel in the Canadian Rockies during undergrad.