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for Robert E. Till, Ph.D.
Education & Background
- B.A.,University of San Francisco, 1969, major in psychology.
- Ph.D.,University of Minnesota, 1974, major in experimental psychology, minor in linguistics; Fellow at the Center for Cognitive Science (formerly, the Learning Center).
- Instructor in Psychology, Davidson College, North Carolina, 1974-76.
- Research Consultant, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Summer 1975.
- Assistant Professor of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Texas, 1976-80.
- Associate Professor of Psychology & Chairperson, Eastern Illinois University, 1980-81.
- Associate Professor of Psychology & Chairperson, University of North Dakota, 1981-87.
- Visiting Associate Professor, Institute of Cognitive Science, at the University of Colorado, Boulder, 1984-85.
- Professor of Psychology, University of North Dakota, 1987-2000.
- Chairperson, University of North Dakota, 1998-2000.
- Professor of Psychology, Northern Arizona University, 2000---
- Chairperson, Northern Arizona University, 2000-2005.
- Research Associate, University of California, Davis, Spring 2007.
Education & Background | Courses Currently Teaching
| Links for Courses
Research Activity | Address & Phone
Courses Currently Teaching (Fall 2009)
- PSY 260 Cognitive Psychology
- PSY 461 / 490C Language & Cognition
- PSY 485 Undergraduate Research
Education & Background | Courses Currently Teaching
| Links for Courses
Research Activity | Address & Phone
Links for Courses
Education & Background | Courses Currently Teaching
| Links for Courses
Research Activity | Address & Phone
Research Activity
My current research focus is on inference processes during reading comprehension, and the conditions which support
the elaborative inferences that can be drawn. Background material on the issues and methods in this work can be
found in the article by R. Till, E. Mross, and W. Kintsch, entitled "Time course of priming for associate and inference
words in a discourse context," published in Memory and Cognition, 1988, 16, pages 283-298. The
most recent presentation of this line of work was in the 2006 talk by R. Till and S. Normandin, entitled "Activation
and persistence of thematic inferences in more and less skilled readers," given at the annual meeting of the
Society for Text and Discourse.
In a related line of work, I have recently begun a project examining the effects
of preoccupation (or "zoning out") on the comprehension of text materials. Thematic inferences are often missed when readers zone out, and even the detection of contradictory
information may be impaired.
Several lines of my work on cognitive aging, including visual perception, short-term memory, picture memory, and language
comprehension, have led me to a general interest in the study of adulthood and aging. This, in turn, prompted my work on
a textbook, now in its third edition: R. Till and J. Lugo, Adulthood and Aging, 1998, published by
CAT Publishers, Redding CA.
I am also interested in research on the assessment of student learning by psychology majors. For example, my recent WPA (2006) paper reported on capstone students' psychological knowledge as related to course work taken in psychology.
Students interested in working on research projects in these areas are encouraged to talk with me. They can earn some
course credit (through PSY 485) for contributions to the research through involvement as part of a research team.
Education & Background | Courses Currently Teaching
| Links for Courses
Research Activity | Address & Phone
Education & Background | Courses Currently Teaching
| Links for Courses
Research Activity | Address & Phone
E-mail me at: robert DOT till AT nau DOT edu
where DOT and AT are replaced with their symbols
Last updated: 8/24/2009
