Karl Healey

Assistant Professor
Michigan State University
Department of Psychology
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Research Interests

Our memories define us as individuals, they record our personal histories on an autobiographical timeline. Memory is also central to our intellectual lives, as almost every cognitive task requires retrieving information from memory. Thus, memory is among our most important cognitive faculties. But some individuals are better at searching memory than others. And we all tend to get worse at searching memory as we grow older. I want to understand the source of these age-related and individual differences. In studying these age-related and individual differences, I combine behavioral experiments, computational modeling, and multivariate analyses of neural representations.

Publications

Healey, M. K. & Kahana, M. J. (in press). A four–component model of age–related memory change. Psychological Review. PDF

Healey, M. K., Crutchley, P., & Kahana, M. J. (2014). Individual differences in memory search and their relation to intelligence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 1553–1569. PDF

Burke, J. F., Sharan, A. D., Evans, J., Ramayya, A., Healey, M. K., Sperling, M. R., & Kahana, M. J. (2014). Theta and high-frequency activity mark spontaneous episodic retrieval during free recall. Journal of Neuroscience, 34, 11355–11365. PDF

Healey, M. K. & Kahana, M. J. (2014). Is memory Search Governed by Universal Principles or Idiosyncratic Strategies?. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 575-596. PDF

Healey, M. K., Ngo, K. W. J., & Hasher, L (2014). Below Baseline Suppression of Competitors During Interference Resolution by Younger But Not Older Adults. Psychological Science, 25, 145–151. PDF

Healey, M. K., Hasher, L., & Campbell, K. L. (2013). The Role of Suppression in Resolving Interference: Evidence for an Age Related Deficit. Psychology and Aging, 28, 721-728. PDF

Campbell, K. L., Zimerman, S., Healey, M. K., Lee, M. M. S., & Hasher, L. (2012). Older, but not younger, adults learn statistical regularities in distracting information. Psychology and Aging, 27, 650-656. PDF

Healey, M. K., Hasher, L., & Danilova, E. (2011). The stability of working memory: Do previous tasks influence complex span?. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 140, 573–585. PDF

Healey, M. K. & , Campbell, K. L., Hasher, L., & Ossher, L. (2010). Direct Evidence For The Role of Inhibition in Resolving Interference. Psychological Science, 21, 1464-1470. PDF

Healey, M. K. & Hasher, L. (2009). Limitations to the Deficit Attenuation Hypothesis: Aging and Decision Making. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19, 17-22. PDF

Healey, M. K. & Miyake, A. (2009). The Role of Attention During Retrieval in Working Memory Span: A Dual-Task Study. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 62, 733-745.  PDF

Healey, M. K. , Campbell, K. L., & Hasher, L. (2008). Cognitive Aging and Increased Distractibility: Costs and Potential Benefits. In W. S. Sossin, J. -C. Lacaille, V. F., Castellucci, & S. Bellevill (Eds.). Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 169. (pp. 353-363). Amsterdam: Elsevier. PDF

Kim, S., Healey, M. K., Goldstein, D., Hasher, L., & Wiprzycka, U. J. (2008). Age Differences in Choice Satisfaction: A Positivity Effect in Decision Making. Psychology and Aging, 23, 33-38. PDF