People

Current Lab Members

Randy Jamieson (CV)

I am a Professor of Brain and Cognitive Science in the Department of Psychology. I use computational and experimental methods to investigate how people learn, remember, think, and know.

Angus Ball

Angus is a PhD student. He completed his MA in 2025 on lexical retrieval and tip-of-the-tongue. He uses computational, experimental, and cognitive neuroscience methods to investigate lexical retrieval and language cognition.

Ball, A. (2025). Locating tip-of-the-tongue in lexical retrieval (Master’s dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Hana Kukhar

Hana is an Honours student in Psychology. She is using experimental and computational methods to build a computerized text diagnostic system in relation to ADHD.

Lab alumni

Sébastien Gionet was a visiting PhD student in Fall 2025 from Université de Moncton. He developed a computational model of cued recall. You can learn more about Sébastien and his research program here.

Dr. Jackie Spear completed her PhD in 2025 on elaborative encoding and recognition memory, her MA in 2020 on recognition memory and distinctiveness, and her Honours thesis in 2010/2011 on the production effect.

Spear, J. (2025). Elaborative encoding and recognition memory (PhD dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Spear, J. (2020). A computational and experimental analysis of semantic distinctiveness in human memory (Master’s dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Spear, J. (2011). A reversed production effect in source memory (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Chelsea Capellán completed an Undergraduate Research Award over the 2025 summer term.

Dr. Nick Reid was a postdoc in the lab from 2021-2023. He developed a computational model of how people represent and remember language; especially complex and nonliteral language expressions like metaphors and idioms. He is now an Assistant Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Élias Daigle was a visiting PhD student in May 2023 from Université de Moncton. He worked on computational methods for investigating social stereotypes.

Molly MacMillan was a visiting PhD student in April 2023 from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She looked at computational methods for investigating memory and metacognition.

Nathan Mathews completed his Honours Thesis in 2022/2023 on the distinction between analytic and non-analytic cognition in cooperative decision making. He went on to graduate school at McGill University.

Mathews, N. K. (2023). Is less better? Undergraduates’ intuition versus analysis in cooperative decision-making (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Michelle Dollois was a visiting PhD student in Fall 2022 from University of Guelph. She developed a computational model of sequential dependencies in recognition memory performance.

Dr. Matthew Cook completed his Ph.D. in 2022 on natural language processing and attitude detection in language from newspapers between 1750 and 2010. His Masters work focused on natural language processing and diagnosis of depression. His Honours work focused on a computational analysis of Type 1 and Type 2 error rates associated with statistical procedures and assumption violations. He also completed an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) in the lab in 2015. Matt earned a number of awards for his research including the John Castellan Student Paper Award from the Society for Computers in Psychology, the Peter Graf Award from the Brain and Cognitive Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, the Kenneth Dion Award from the Social and Personality Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, and two CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence, one for his Masters thesis and another for his Doctoral thesis. His work was funded by NSERC along the way. He went on to a career in data science.

Cook, M. T. (2022). Computational history: Using semantic models to measure changes in attitudes, values, and beliefs from language (PhD dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Cook, M. T. (2018). The mathematics of clinical diagnosis: Cognitively inspired computational psychiatry (Master’s dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Cook, M. (2016). Analysis of Type 1 error rate inflation with parametric and nonparametric tests of the null hypothesis (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Dominic Guitard was a visiting Postdoc in Fall of 2022 from University of Missouri. He developed a computational model of serial recall called the eCFM. He is now a Lecturer at Cardiff University.

Abdelrahman Elzayadi completed his Honours Thesis in 2021/2022 on blocking and associative learning.

Elzayadi, A. (2022). To go or not to go: Demonstrating the blocking effect in humans (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Katie Davies completed her Honours Thesis in 2020/2021 on perception and (mis)comprehension of graphed data.

Davies, K. (2021). Perception and judgment of visually delivered data (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Stefaniia Martsynkevych completed her Honours Thesis in 2020/2021 on learning and memory deficits associated with state depression and anxiety. She went on to graduate school in public policy and health.

Martsynkevych, S. (2021). Cognitive consequences of depression (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Michelle Crease-Lark was a visiting PhD student from 2014-2019 from the University of British Columbia. She worked on problems related to prospective memory and completed her PhD at UBC in 2019.

Brad Smith completed his Masters Thesis in 2019 and went on to a career in data science at Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR).

Smith, B. (2019). A computational account of contingency learning (Master’s dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Lisa Tarnowski completed her Honours Thesis in 2018/2019 on semantic modelling and language classification related to depression and anxiety.

Tarnowski, L. (2019). Assessing mental wellness using text analysis (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Chelsea Matsumoto completed her Honours Thesis in 2018/2019 on embodiment, robotics, and cognition.

Matsumoto, C. (2019). From abstract to concrete: Associative learning and the situated cognition debate (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Evan Curtis completed his PhD in 2017 on selective memory impairment in amnesia. He previously completed his Honours Thesis in the lab on audition and artificial grammar learning in 2009/2010. His Honours Thesis was awarded the W. N. Ten Have Award for Best Thesis in Psychology and a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence. His PhD thesis is published. He is now a Professor at Booth University College .

Curtis, E. T. (2017). Reinterpreting selective impairments in memory: Computational and empirical simulations of dissociations in amnesia (PhD dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Curtis, E. (2010). The role of item-specific encoding in categorization of music-like sequences (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Chrissy Chubala completed her PhD in 2017 on group function learning and her MA in 2012 on memory and retrospective revaluation. Her PhD thesis was awarded a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence. She went on as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Dr. Aimée Surprenant and Dr. Ian Neath's laboratory at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is now a Scientist at Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC) in Halifax.

Chubala, C. M. (2017). Scaling function learning from individuals to groups (PhD dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Chubala, C. M. (2012). The critical role of memory in retrospective revaluation (Master’s dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Robert Collins was a visiting PhD student in September of 2017 from McMaster University. He worked on a computational account of the repetition decrement effect that is now published. He finished his PhD at McMaster University in 2018 and is now a Scientist at Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC) in Toronto.

Mikayla Preete completed her Honours Thesis in 2016/2017 on developing a model for visual semantics. Her thesis was recognized with a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence. She went on to pursue a postgraduate degree at UBC in UX and Human Computer Interaction and is now a graduate student in psychology at University of Saskatchewan.

Preete, M. (2017). Latent Semantic Analysis: A theory of visual knowledge? (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Mitch Cunningham was a philosophy student who completed an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) in 2017 to work on knowledge representation.

Adam Hawkeye completed his Honours Thesis in 2014/2015 on modality effects in artificial grammar learning.

Hawkeye, A. (2015). Effects of sensory modality in implicit learning using the artificial grammar learning paradigm (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Rory Waisman completed two Undergraduate Research Award (URA) in the lab as well as his Honours Thesis in 2016/2017 that compared the quality of data collected using on-line versus in-lab procedures. He went on to pursue a PhD in Marketing.

Waisman, R. (2017). Moving the participant pool online: Reliable and efficient decision-making research (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Andrew Gabel completed his Honours Thesis in 2014/2015 on the list-length effect in recognition memory. He went on to a career in Law.

Gabel, A. (2015). Do instruction set lures produce a list length effect? (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Alexa Yakubovich completed an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) and her Honours Thesis in 2012/2013, both on the illusion of truth. Her thesis was recognized with the W. N. Ten Have Award for Best Thesis in Psychology and a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence. She was recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and completed a PhD degree at University of Oxford and is now a Professor at Dalhousie University.

Yakubovich, A. (2013). Polarizing truth: Examining the impact of false information on illusory truth (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Thomas Toles completed an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) and his Honours Thesis in 2012/2013, both on the illusion of truth. His Honours Thesis was recognized with a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence. He was recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and completed a Masters Degree at University of Oxford.

Toles, T. (2013). Memory mirages: Accurate remembering produces the illusion of truth (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Brian Hauri completed an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) award in 2009, his Honours Thesis in 2010 on unconscious decision making, and his MA in 2013 on symmetry and pattern processing.

Hauri, B. (2013). A quantitative analysis of symmetry, fluency, and pattern preference (Master’s dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Hauri, B. (2010). Unconscious decision making: A novel approach using expected utility theory (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Nigel Daly completed his Honours Thesis in 2011/2012 on decision making in relation to climate change.

Daly, N. (2012). Risk taking in environmental decision-making: An examination by the framing effect (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Chris Cadonic completed his Honours Thesis in 2011/2012 on implicit learning. He went on to complete his MSc in Computational and Biological Engineering.

Cadonic, C. (2012). Awareness in the serial reaction time task and its implications for understanding amnesia (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Scott Bridgeman completed his Honours Thesis in 2009/2010 on serial recall

Bridgeman, S. (2010). Serial-recall of structured sequences (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Julianna Hurley completed her Honours Thesis in 2009/2010 on decision making in gambling contexts.

Hurley, J. (2010). The effect of near-misses on gambling behaviour during a simulated video lottery terminal (VLT) task (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Uliana Nevzorova completed an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) and her Honours Thesis in 2009/2010, both on artificial grammar learning. Her thesis was recognized with a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence.

Nevzorova, U. (2010). Artificial grammar learning in adults and children: Effects of acoustic boundaries (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Signy Holmes completed her Honours Thesis in 2008/2009 on implicit learning and amnesia. Her thesis was recognized with the W. N. Ten Have Award for Best Thesis in Psychology and a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence.

Holmes, S. (2009). The effects of encoding time on recognition and classification task performance (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Courtney O'Brien completed her Honours Thesis in 2008/2009 on the relationship between classification and recognition.

O’Brien, C. (2009). The influence of advice in classification and reasoning (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Anthony Pranata completed his Honours Thesis in 2007/2008 on the relationship between classification and recognition. His thesis was recognized with a CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence.

Pranata, A. (2008). The effect of categorization on recognition (Honours dissertation). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Our collaborators

Harinder Aujla (University of Winnipeg)
Matt Crump (Brooklyn College)
Dominic Guitard (Cardiff University)
Brendan Johns (McGill University)
Mike Jones (Indiana University)
Bruce Milliken (McMaster University)
Penny Pexman (University of Calgary)
Nick Reid (University of Northern British Columbia)
Jean Saint-Aubin (Université de Moncton)
Vanessa Taler (University of Ottawa)
Debra Titone (McGill University)
John Vokey (University of Lethbridge)