TITLE : Graduate Student

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Complex Cognition and Problem Solving, Individual-level Innovation

Matthew Wood, Ph.D. Candidate

Matt is a third year graduate student in the Department of Psychology, co-advised by Dr. Kenneth Kotovsky (Psychology) and Dr. Jonathan Cagan (Mechanical Engineering).  His research focuses on the strategies and
heuristics individuals use to solve problems creatively, the effectiveness of these maxims, and the cognitive processes underlying their facilitative or detrimental impact.

A current area of research is the impact of a break or interruption on problem solving performance.  Though described anecdotally and in some psychological research as facilitative, a key interest is identifying the bounds of this beneficial effect, and even conditions under which interruptions are detrimental.  This research will hopefully inform the process designers, scientists, and engineers use to solve complex problems in domains where innovation is valued, and do so in as efficient a way as possible

Matt is a recipient of the Department of Defense Science, Mathematics,& Research for Transformation Scholarship, a member of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), American Psychological Association (APA), APA Division 10 (Creativity, Aesthetics, & the Arts), Psi Chi, and Society for
Risk Analysis (SRA).  He also served for three years as a campus representative for APS, has reviewed student research award competitions for APS, and serves as reviewer for journals by APA Division 10 and SRA.