Dr Andre J. Szameitat
Reader - Psychology

Research area(s)

• Effect of leisure activities on cognitive performance and well-being
• Executive control, working memory, and the prefrontal cortex
• Multitasking

Research Interests

My work mainly falls into the fields of Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuropsychology.

My main interest lies in how humans deal with multitasking, i.e. the capability to do two things at the same time. To investigate this question I use the paradigm of the psychological refractory period (PRP) and behavioural (response time measures) and neuroimaging (fMRI) techniques. This research focusses as well on functions of the lateral prefrontal cortex of our brain and the executive control functions of working memory.

In a second line of research I investigate the effects of engaging in different activities on subsequent cognitive performance and well-being. For example, does it make a difference whether one watches a 10 min video depicting nature scenes versus a 10 min video of urban scenes.

Deputy Director of the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN).

Grants