Visual Cognition and Human Performance Division

Much of my past research has concentrated on a classic problem in perception: How do we perceive the visual world as unified, stable, and continuous despite the frequent disruptions caused by movements of the eyes? I have addressed this question by examining what people remember from a single glance at a scene, and by examining how people combine information across eye movements. More recently I have been investigating the effects of eye movements on cognitive processing; it turns out that eye movements actually interfere with some cognitive processes but not with others. I am also interested in interactions between perception and language, and in particular the question of how people talk about what they see.

Representative Publications:

• Irwin, D. E., & Thomas, L. E. (2008). Visual sensory memory. In S. J. Luck & A. Hollingworth (Eds), Visual memory (pp. 9-41). Oxford University Press.
• Irwin, D. E., & Thomas, L. E. (2007). Number processing during saccadic eye movements. Perception & Psychophysics, 69, 450-458.
• Higgins, J. S., Wang, R. F., & Irwin, D. E. (2007). The landmark effect in perceived object stability: A general mechanism. Visual Cognition, 15, 91-94.
• Thomas, L. E., & Irwin, D. E. (2006). Voluntary eyeblinks disrupt iconic memory. Perception & Psychophysics, 68, 475-488.
• Brockmole, J. R., & Irwin, D. E. (2005). Eye movements and the integration of visual imagery and visual perception. Perception & Psychophysics, 67, 495-512.

Classes Recently Taught:

• Perception and Sensory Processes (Psych 230)