Professor Geoffrey Underwood

B.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc., C.Psychol., F.B.Ps.S., F.R.S.A.

Degrees and Appointments

  • BSc, Psychology, Bedford College, University of London.
  • PhD, University of Sheffield (Department of Psychology).
    The thesis presented experiments on selective attention to spoken messages. Supervisors were Neville Moray and Harry Kay.
  • DSc, University of London.

  • Currently:
    Professor of Cognitive Psychology, University of Nottingham.
  • Previously:
    Associate Professor, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
    Assistant Professor, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.


    On-going Research

    The eyetracker labs at Nottingham are currently in use on a number of related projects that investigate the relationship between visual attention and skill. Our NAC EyeMark VII eyetracker is being used to investigate visual attention in drivers. This project compares novice drivers who are at high or at low accident risk, using a range of measures that include eye fixations on critical objects while driving an instrumented vehicle.

    Our SR Research EyeLink eyetracker is being used for investigations of the cognitive processes used in reading, with particular interest in the distribution of attention between text that is fixated and text that is available in parafoveal vision. The SMI is also being used for investigations of natural scene perception. We display photographic stills, or digitised video clips, and record fixation behaviour as natural events are observed.

    In one series of studies we are combining these interests in scene perception with our interests in reading, by using a sentence verification task with photographs of natural scenes. When informationally rich displays like photos are used, the traditional pattern of results from the sentence verification paradigm is disturbed.

    Publications

    Recent Books

  • G. Underwood & V. Batt, Reading and Understanding. Basil Blackwell: Oxford, 1996.
  • G. Underwood (Editor), Implicit Cognition. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1996.
  • G. Underwood (Editor), Eye Guidance in Reading and Scene Perception. Elsevier: Oxford, 1998.
  • G. Underwood (Editor), The Oxford Guide to the Mind. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2001.

    Some Recent Research Reports:

  • J. L. Hinton, S. P. Liversedge & G. Underwood, "Investigating Neighborhood Effects Using a Partial Priming Methodology." Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 24, 1998, 1294-1305.
  • D. Chincotta, G. Underwood, K. A. Ghani, E. Papadopoulou & M. Wresinski, "Memory span for Arabic numerals and digit words: Evidence for a limited-capacity, visuo-spatial storage system." Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 52A, 1999, 325-351.
  • G. Underwood, P. Chapman, S. Wright & D. Crundall, "Anger while driving." Transportation Research F: Psychology and Behaviour, 2, 1999, 55-68.
  • K. B. Paterson, S. P. Liversedge & G. Underwood, "The influence of focus operators on syntactic processing of short relative clause sentences." Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 52A, 1999, 717-737.
  • J. Underwood, G. Underwood & D. Wood, "When does gender matter? Interactions during computer-based problem solving." Learning and Instruction, 10, 2000, 447-462.
  • G. Underwood, D. Crundall & P. Chapman, "Selective searching while driving: the role of experience in hazard detection and general surveillance". Ergonomics, 45, 2002, 1-12.
  • G. Underwood, P. Chapman, K. Bowden & D. Crundall, "Visual search while driving: Skill and awareness during inspection of the scene". Transportation Research F: Psychology and Behaviour, 5, 2002, 97-97.
  • E. Gilman & G. Underwood., "Restricting the field of view to investigate the perceptual spans of pianists". Visual Cognition, 10, 2003, 201-232.
  • G. Underwood, P. Chapman, N. Brocklehurst, J. Underwood & D. Crundall, "Visual attention while driving: Sequences of eye fixations made by experienced and novice drivers", Ergonomics, 46, 2003, 629-646.
  • G. Underwood, L. Jebbett & K. Roberts, "Inspecting pictures for information to verify a sentence: Eye movements in general encoding and in focused search", Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 56A, 2003.

    Contact Details

    School of Psychology
    University of Nottingham
    Nottingham
    NG7 2RD

    Phone +44 (0) 115 951 5313
    Fax +44 (0) 115 951 5311

    e-mail geoff.underwood@nottingham.ac.uk

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