NYU/CNS : Faculty : Affiliates of CNS : Doris R. Aaronson

My research deals with the role of linguistic factors in reading, memory, and problem solving. There is a strong focus on the time course of perceiving and encoding syntactic and semantic information and on how those time patterns are influenced by the cognitive demands of the performance task. Some of our recent research has concerned the differences between children and adults, and between bilinguals and monolinguals. Of particular interest is the role that first-language background and environmental factors play in learning a second language, as opposed to "brain maturation". Other research concerns interactions between semantic comprehension and mathematical analyses when solving mathematical word problems. We are concerned with the ways in which cognitive strategies develop and are modified and with the role of individual differences in those strategies. In particular, we are comparing "average" readers with people who have been classified as dyslexic and/or dyscalculic. We are also taking a case-study approach with selected individuals who have diagnosed brain damage in areas associated with linguistic functions. Experiments are conducted using computer driven displays of visual information, and theoretical hypotheses are tested in the form of mathematical and computer models. Understanding these types of cognitive processes is important for understanding the ways in which they break down in people with neurological disorders.

Selected Publications

Aaronson, D. & Colet, E. (1997). Reading Paradigms: From lab to cyberspace? Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computer, 29(2), 250-255.

Aaronson, D. & Aaronson, M. (1997). Detecting development delay with CARS: A Head-Start Application. National Head Start Research Quarterly, 1(1), 67-75.

Aaronson, D. (1996). How to screen preschoolers for developmental problems. Child & Adolescent Behavior, 12(3), 1-4.

Aaronson, D. & Aaronson, M. (1996). Parent-child interactions affect cognitive development: Input from cognitive screening. Zero to Three 11th National Institute Proceedings. Wash. DC: National Center for Infants. Toddlers & Families.

Colet, E., and Aaronson, D. (1995). Visualization of multivariate data: Human-factors considerations. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers 27, 257-263.

Aaronson, D. (1994). Computer use in cognitive psychology. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers 26, 81-93.

Palij, M., and Aaronson, D. (1992). The role of language backgound in cognitive processing. In Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals, ed. Harris, R. J. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Aaronson, M., and Aaronson, D. (1991). Children at Risk Screener. Monterey, CA: CTB Macmillan/McGraw-Hill.

Homel, P., Palij, M., and Aaronson, D. (1987). Childhood Bilingualism: Aspects of Linguistic, Cognitive and Social Development. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.