Adaptive Behaviour & Cognition
- Attention
- Choice & Decision Making
- Cognition & Information Processing
- Memory
- Motor Function
- Spatial Processing
THEMES AND QUESTIONS
At the Adaptive Behaviour & Cognition (AB&C) Lab, we explore the adaptive capabilities of our cognitive system.
Our research programme focuses on understanding how cognition unfolds during naturalistic behaviour in real-world contexts. In particular, we interested in how memories of different timescales form during natural tasks and, in turn, how these memories ultimately guide a wide variety of behaviours. We want to understand how our goals, expectation, and experiences proactively and dynamically shape our actions. We are further interested in how we select and prioritise information within memory in service of adaptive behaviour.
The lines of scientific enquiry covered by the lab include attention and perception, working and long-term memory, action and motor control. Critically, we are interested in how these cognitive mechanisms interact to support adaptive behaviour in natural settings.
We collaborate closely with Sage Boettchers' Dynamic Cognition Lab.
METHODS
An important part of advancing our research has been the development and utilisation of methods necessary to measure cognitive processes during unconstrained behaviour. We use behavioural testing, including eyetracking and VR. We also utilise neuroscientific methods, such as EEG and MEG.
Our published work has covered topics such as open and reproducible research practices, Virtual Reality, analysis approaches for MEG/EEG data, online screen-based and VR-based studies, and mixed-effects/multilevel models.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT
We are committed to communicating and discussing our scientific activities and ideas, and participate in many public engagement activities.
Below you can see a selection of videos that showcase some of our themes and studies.
Our team
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Dejan Draschkow
Associate Professor
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Levi Kumle
DPhil Candidate
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Rhianna Watt
DPhil Candidate
Latest publications
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Long-term memory facilitates spontaneous memory usage through multiple pathways
Kumle L. et al, (2025), Current Biology, 35, 1171 - 1179.e5
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Sensorimnemonic decisions: choosing memories versus sensory information.
Kumle L. et al, (2025), Trends Cogn Sci
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The past, present, and future of the brain imaging data structure (BIDS)
Poldrack RA. et al, (2024), Imaging Neuroscience, 2, 1 - 19
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Terms of debate: Consensus definitions to guide the scientific discourse on visual distraction.
Liesefeld HR. et al, (2024), Atten Percept Psychophys
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Multifaceted consequences of visual distraction during natural behaviour.
Kumle L. et al, (2024), Commun Psychol, 2
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Comparing the impact of contextual associations and statistical regularities in visual search and attention orienting.
Sefranek M. et al, (2024), PLoS One, 19
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Viewpoint dependence and scene context effects generalize to depth rotated three-dimensional objects.
Kallmayer A. et al, (2023), J Vis, 23
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Using XR (Extended Reality) for Behavioral, Clinical, and Learning Sciences Requires Updates in Infrastructure and Funding
DRASCHKOW D. et al, (2023), Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences
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Capacity and selection in immersive visual working memory following naturalistic object disappearance.
Chawoush B. et al, (2023), J Vis, 23
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Heading Direction Tracks Internally Directed Selective Attention in Visual Working Memory.
Thom JL. et al, (2023), J Cogn Neurosci, 35, 856 - 868
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Corrigendum to "Auxiliary Scene-Context Information Provided by Anchor Objects Guides Attention and Locomotion in Natural Search Behavior".
(2023), Psychol Sci, 34
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Semantic object processing is modulated by prior scene context
Krugliak A. et al, (2023), Language, Cognition and Neuroscience
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Auxiliary Scene-Context Information Provided by Anchor Objects Guides Attention and Locomotion in Natural Search Behavior.
Helbing J. et al, (2022), Psychol Sci, 33, 1463 - 1476
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Remote virtual reality as a tool for increasing external validity
DRASCHKOW D., (2022), Nature Reviews Psychology
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Multiple spatial frames for immersive working memory.
Draschkow D. et al, (2022), Nat Hum Behav, 6, 536 - 544
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Moving foraging into three dimensions: Feature- versus conjunction-based foraging in virtual reality.
Kristjánsson T. et al, (2022), Q J Exp Psychol (Hove), 75, 313 - 327
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Flipping the world upside down: Using eye tracking in virtual reality to study visual search in inverted scenes.
Beitner J. et al, (2022), J Eye Mov Res, 15
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Estimating power in (generalized) linear mixed models: An open introduction and tutorial in R.
Kumle L. et al, (2021), Behav Res Methods, 53, 2528 - 2543
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Keeping it real: Looking beyond capacity limits in visual cognition.
Kristjánsson Á. and Draschkow D., (2021), Atten Percept Psychophys, 83, 1375 - 1390
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When Natural Behavior Engages Working Memory.
Draschkow D. et al, (2021), Curr Biol, 31, 869 - 874.e5
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Get Your Guidance Going: Investigating the Activation of Spatial Priors for Efficient Search in Virtual Reality.
Beitner J. et al, (2021), Brain Sci, 11
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Building, Hosting and Recruiting: A Brief Introduction to Running Behavioral Experiments Online.
Sauter M. et al, (2020), Brain Sci, 10
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Search superiority: Goal-directed attentional allocation creates more reliable incidental identity and location memory than explicit encoding in naturalistic virtual environments.
Helbing J. et al, (2020), Cognition, 196
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Reading scenes: how scene grammar guides attention and aids perception in real-world environments.
Võ ML-H. et al, (2019), Curr Opin Psychol, 29, 205 - 210
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Cluster-based permutation tests of MEG/EEG data do not establish significance of effect latency or location.
Sassenhagen J. and Draschkow D., (2019), Psychophysiology, 56
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The lower bounds of massive memory: Investigating memory for object details after incidental encoding.
Draschkow D. et al, (2019), Q J Exp Psychol (Hove), 72, 1176 - 1182
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Anchoring visual search in scenes: Assessing the role of anchor objects on eye movements during visual search.
Boettcher SEP. et al, (2018), J Vis, 18
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No evidence from MVPA for different processes underlying the N300 and N400 incongruity effects in object-scene processing.
Draschkow D. et al, (2018), Neuropsychologia, 120, 9 - 17
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The role of scene summary statistics in object recognition.
Lauer T. et al, (2018), Sci Rep, 8
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Scene grammar shapes the way we interact with objects, strengthens memories, and speeds search.
Draschkow D. and Võ ML-H., (2017), Sci Rep, 7