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Ruth S. Day, Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Ruth S. Day

Cognitive processes in the laboratory and in everyday life.

Basic Cognition
A wide range of basic cognitive processes and their interconnections, especially perception, memory, comprehension, representation, and problem solving. Special emphasis on: 1) alternative mental representations (e.g., text, lists, outlines, matrices, trees, diagrams) and their effects on cognition; 2) linguistic codability (the ease with which people can name things and the effects of naming on cognition and action); 3) perception and interpretation of facial expressions and human movement; 4) individual differences in cognition (the distinction between "language-based" and "language-optional" individuals); 5) knowledge structures (what they are, how to measure them, how they vary across content domains and expertise).

Everday Cognition

Cognitive processes in everyday life, examined both in the everyday world and laboratory settings. Major projects include:  1) Medical Cognition (how healthcare providers and patients find, understand, remember and use medical information);  2) Courtroom Cognition (how judges, jurors, lawyers, and laypersons  understand legal documents and decide court cases);  3) Memory for Movement (how dancers and athletes learn, remember, and perform movement sequences); 4) Responsive Virtual Human Technology (how humans interact with virtual humans to learn new skills); 5) Cognition and Teaching (cognitive processes of professors and students across academic domains and their implications for teaching/learning).

 

For additional information, see: http://www.duke.edu/~ruthday

Contact Info:
Office Location:  223 Soc/Psych Building, Durham, NC 27708
Email Address: send me a message
Web Page:  http://www.duke.edu/~ruthday/

Teaching (Fall 2024):

  • PSY 102D.001, COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Synopsis
    Reuben-Coo 130, MW 01:25 PM-02:40 PM
  • PSY 102D.01D, COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Synopsis
    Reuben-Coo 129, M 03:20 PM-04:10 PM
  • PSY 102D.02D, COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Synopsis
    Reuben-Coo 129, M 04:55 PM-05:45 PM
  • PSY 102D.03D, COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Synopsis
    Languages 109, Tu 08:45 AM-09:35 AM
  • PSY 102D.04D, COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Synopsis
    Perkins 087, Tu 10:20 AM-11:10 AM
Teaching (Spring 2025):

  • PSY 405S.01, GREAT IDEAS IN PSYCH Synopsis
    Reuben-Coo 238, M 11:45 AM-02:15 PM
  • PSY 472S.01, EVERYDAY COGNITION Synopsis
    Reuben-Coo 238, W 11:45 AM-02:15 PM
  • PSY 772S.01, EVERYDAY COGNITION Synopsis
    Reuben-Coo 238, W 11:45 AM-02:15 PM
Education:

Ph.D.Stanford University1968
Specialties:

Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience
Research Interests: Basic Cognition (comprehension, memory, representation, language, problem solving); Everyday Cognition (medical cognition, courtroom cognition, human movement perception and memory, virtual reality learning)

Current projects: 1) Medical Cognition, 2) Perception of Human Movement, 3) Memory for Movement, 4) Human-Computer Interaction in Virtual Reality

Cognitive processes, especially memory and comprehension.  How they work in both controlled laboratory experiments and in everyday settings (e.g., medical cognition, courtroom cognition, perception and memory for human movement).

Cognitive Processes
A wide range of basic cognitive processes and their interconnections, especially perception, memory, comprehension, representation, language and problem solving. Special emphasis on: 1) alternative mental representations (e.g., text, lists, outlines, matrices, trees, diagrams) and their effects on cognition; 2) linguistic codability (the ease with which people can name things and the effects of naming on cognition and action); 3) perception and interpretation of human movement; 4) individual differences in cognition (the distinction between "language-based" and "language-optional" individuals); 5) knowledge structures (what they are, how to measure them, how they vary across content domains and expertise).

Everday Cognition

Cognitive processes in everyday life, examined both in the everyday world and laboratory settings. Major projects include:  1) Medical Cognition (how healthcare providers and patients find, understand, remember and use medical information);  2) Courtroom Cognition (how judges, jurors, lawyers, and laypersons  understand legal documents and decide court cases);  3) Memory for Movement (how dancers and athletes learn, remember, and perform movement sequences); 4) Responsive Virtual Human Technology (how humans interact with virtual humans to learn new skills); 5) Cognition and Teaching (cognitive processes of professors and students across academic domains and their implications for teaching/learning).

 

For additional information, see: http://www.duke.edu/~ruthday??

Areas of Interest:

Cognition
Memory
Comprehension
Medical Cognition
Perception and Memory for Human Movement
Human-Computer Interaction in Virtual Reality

Keywords:

Memory • Muser Mentor • Side effects

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

    Representative Publications   (More Publications)

    1. Day, RS, Comprehension of prescription drug information: Overview of a research program, Argumentation for Consumer Healthcare, AAAI Spring Symposium - Technical Report, vol. SS-06-01 (August, 2006), pp. 24-33 [org]  [abs]
    2. Hubal, RC; Day, RS, Informed consent procedures: an experimental test using a virtual character in a dialog systems training application., Journal of biomedical informatics, vol. 39 no. 5 (October, 2006), pp. 532-540, ISSN 1532-0464 [yjbin], [doi]  [abs]
    3. Hubal, R; Day, RS, Understanding the Frequency and Severity of Side Effects: Patients vs. Medical Experts, American Association of Artificial Intelligence (2006)  [abs]
    4. Day, R.S., Cognition experiments: Optimizing patient comprehension through medicine information, in Optimizing patient comprehension through medicine information leaflets, edited by A.G. Hartzema, S. Tolleson-Rinehart, B. L. Sleath, and R. S. Day (1999), pp. 60-176, Rockville, MD: U.S. Pharmacopeia
    5. Day, RS, Alternative representations, in The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, edited by G.H. Bower, Psychology of Learning and Motivation - Advances in Research and Theory, vol. 22 no. C (January, 1988), pp. 261-305, Elsevier, ISSN 0079-7421 [doi]  [abs]
    6. Day, R. S., Knowledge vs. knowledge structures, in National Issues in Higher Education, edited by W. A Cashin, vol. 26 (1987), pp. 35-56
    7. Day, R. S., Verbal fluency and the language-bound effect, in Individual Differences in Language Ability and Language Behavior, edited by C. J. Fillmore, D. Kempler, and W. S-Y. Wang (1979), pp. 57-84, New York: Academic Press
    Conferences Organized

    • Drug Information Association, Program Board, 2003  
    My website is located at: http://www.duke.edu/~ruthday.
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