Rick Dale Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis
Office: 442 Psychology Building, Phone: (901) 678-4938
radale atmemphis dotedu, http://cognaction.org/rick
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I am a cognitive psychologist and cognitive scientist. My own research centers around understanding the cognitive processes involved in language-related abilities, from word processing to conversation. My research stands at an intersection of method and theory: I explore questions of cognition through the lens of dynamical systems, utilizing theoretical concepts from this domain by adapting novel approaches to experimental and observational data analysis. For example, I have studied the dynamics of judging fuzzy sentences (e.g., "Is murder sometimes justifiable?") by tracking the arm as it moves through a task space (e.g., using the Nintendo Wii remote). Also, I have used novel mathematical techniques to quantify how two people come together as one analyzable "system" during linguistic interaction. All this work draws primarily from concepts and methods related to the study of complex and dynamical systems. In short, and in the broadest sense, I am concerned with the unfolding dynamics of cognition and behavior within and between people. Importantly, this is not at the exclusion of considering, and possibly integrating, multiple frameworks of explanation.

Current course sites: PSYC 3303-301, PSYC 7302

Some Press and Sundries
Gary Lupyan and I have published a new article in PLoS ONE, showing that characteristics of a social environment may constrain properties of a language over time (specifically, morphological encoding). It has been covered in some blogs and such. Featured in The Economist.
Erdős 3: 0 > 1 > 2 > 3
Our work using the Wii remote is discussed in Brasilia's Correio Braziliense. The newspaper requires a login, but the article is also posted here. I said the Wiimote is "perfeita para esse tipo de experimento." (Dec. '09)
I Support the Public Library of Science
Some flattering coverage about our use of the Nintendo Wii remote: "The only surprise was that not many journalists, apart from the Times of India, picked up the paper by Dale et al. in which the researchers used the Wiimote to measure participants’ arm movements in learning..." (Jun. '08)
Research featured in upcoming documentary about Chris McKinstry. A biography by Wired is here. McKinstry is first author on our Psychological Science paper. (Mar. '08)
Pallin' around with cognitive scientists: The most distant connection made between basic cognitive research and political stuff... Why Negative Campaigns Sometimes Win. (Feb. '08)
Chris McKinstry, Michael Spivey and I validated Stephen Colbert, apparently. (Jan. '08)
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