Dr. Jill Shelton, assistant professor of psychology at Lee,
recently led a research team of nine students to the 120th annual
convention for the American Psychological Association (APA) in
Orlando, Fla. on Aug. 1-5.
 
Psychology students Kristi Byrd and Eddie Christopher assisted
Shelton in presenting their research findings to colleagues from
the international community.
 
Their goal was to develop an experimental paradigm to investigate
the cognitive processes that support prospective memory,
remembering to execute future intentions.
 
A novel contribution of the research presented at the conference
was the use of the Tobi eye tracker, which allowed Shelton’s
research team to establish a precise measurement of how attention
to certain factors in the environment can help trigger retrieval of
future intentions.
 
“Remembering to carry out plans is an important part of daily life
that is essential for success in one’s career and personal life.
Our research has answered important questions about what kinds of
information in our environment can be useful in reminding us to
execute these future plans,” said Shelton. “For example, if you
need to remember to pick up apples from the grocery store, then
seeing an image of a related item, such as a banana, should help
remind you of this goal.”
“Many adults worry about having more difficulty remembering to
carry out their plans as they grow older,” added Shelton. “The next
phase of our research will explore whether the same types of
reminders will be helpful for older adults just as we saw in
college students.”
 
Shelton has begun recruiting research volunteers from Lee
University and the surrounding community.
 
The convention afforded students the opportunity to attend sessions
pertaining to their individual research interests. Their interests
vary from the examination of health factors that influence the
psychological and physical well-being of humans, to the
investigation of human factors that can be assessed and modified to
improve productivity in organizational settings.
 
The APA is the oldest and most distinguished organization within
the field of psychology with a long-standing tradition of
advocating psychological science and clinical practice.
 
Shelton worked as a post-doctoral fellow studying gerontology at
Washington University in St. Louis. Additionally, she has been a
research assistant at Louisiana State University where she earned
her doctorate, and served as an adjunct faculty member and director
of the research methods laboratories at the University of Tennessee
at Chattanooga, where she earned her MS and BS degrees.
 
Shelton’s research has been sponsored by grants from the National
Institutes on Health and National Institute of Aging.
 
For more information about participation in this study, please
contact Dr. Jill Shelton at [email protected] or at
423-614-8319.
 
PHOTO: Lee students presented their poster at the 120th annual APA
convention (l to r) Byrd, Shelton, and Christopher; Group photo of
Dr. Shelton with all Lee student research team.
 
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