Dr. Madelyn Quirk is a Human Factors Scientist at Explico and holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Michigan. Her doctoral research focused on furthering our understanding of human attention systems, cognitive heuristic and decision making, and psychophysiological responses to novel vehicular technology. These areas of expertise have equipped her to apply principles of cognitive science to critically assess the interaction between human cognition and the environment. At Explico, this application includes analyzing human driving behavior, utilization of safety and warning labels, and related error-prone decision making.
Dr. Quirk’s dissertation research at the University of Michigan explored the underlying cognitive mechanisms involved in overcoming distraction and habitual behavior to produce goal-oriented results. Her research investigated how individuals allocate attentional priority to visual information based on goal-relevance, physical salience, and prior exposure, and how priority-allocation mechanisms differ for individuals with attention deficits. Additionally, other research of hers explored scientific literacy and decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, Dr. Quirk also utilized psychophysiological measures to explore how individuals and different demographic groups respond during a ride in an autonomous vehicle. This project combined data from biometric sensors, saliva samples, and psychometric questionnaires to examine passengers’ response to the vehicle ride.
In short, Dr. Quirk utilizes behavioral, computational, and theoretical research methods to derive insights about the imperfect nature of human cognition that leads to errors in judgement and performance.
