| 213 Wolf Hall | Newark, DE 19716 | <div class="ExternalClass9B73608F023F4D6091FF0AE7F4622486"><p>Professor
Hoffman is interested in brain
mechanisms involved in “cognitive control”, our ability to perceive and act
in a goal directed manner. Selective attention is one such mechanism that
allows people to control which stimuli in their environment gain access to
high-level, limited capacity systems important for memory, action, and
awareness. The Hoffman lab is currently using eye-tracking and EEG measures
to study the role of attention in three areas: multiple object tracking,
resisting distraction from emotional stimuli, and using EEG to predict
recovery from acute coma. Multiple object tracking (MOT) is involved in a
number of everyday activities such as team sports and driving. Surprisingly,
research indicates that people can only accurately track up to about four
objects. Tran and Hoffman (submitted), funded by a grant from the National
Science Foundation, recently showed that this tracking limitation results from a limited supply of
attention that is divided among the tracked objects. Failures of tracking
occur when visual attention is captured by irrelevant, salient visual objects
or when dual-task demands exceed capacity. Another example of attention
capture by salient stimuli is provided by the phenomenon of “emotion-induced
blindness” or EIB which refers to impaired awareness of visual information
appearing soon after presentation of a task-irrelevant, emotional picture
(e.g., a threatening animal, a bloody
face, etc.). Together with colleagues at the University of New South Wales in
Australia, the Hoffman lab showed that this impaired awareness is related to
brain activity in visual areas of the brain that occurs approximately a quarter of a second
after presentation of the emotional picture. Finally, the Hoffman lab, funded by a pilot grant from the Delaware
Center for Translational Research, is collaborating with Christiana Medical
Center to use EEG measures of attention and awareness to predict the course
of recovery in patients in the acute coma state.</p></div> | <div class="ExternalClass0793AE0E2343418998A04260949616DF"><p>B.S., M.S.,
Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign <br></p></div> | <div class="ExternalClassF8EA4A8775AE4BAA8AB47BCBBAFAEA0C"><p>PSYC310
Sensation and Perception</p><p>
PSYC340 Introduction to Cognition</p><p>
PSYC433 Cognitive Neuroscience</p><p>
PSYC667 Cognitive Control Mechanisms</p></div> | <div class="ExternalClass01D59912CDE0413C80873D626149861D"><p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Ttrwd_MAAAAJ&hl=en">Dr. Hoffman's Google Scholar Link</a></p><p>Tran, A., & Hoffman, J.E. (2016) Visual attention is required for multiple object tracking. <em>Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, </em>42 (12), 2103-2114.</p><p>Kennedy,
B.L., Rawding, J., Most, S.& Hoffman, J.E. (2014). Emotion-induced blindness reflects competition
at early and late processing stages: An ERP study. <em>Cognitive, Affective, and
Behavioral Neuroscience, 14</em>, 1485-1498.</p><p>
</p><p>
Skoranski, A., Most, S.B., Lutz-Stehl, M., Hoffman, J.E., Hassink, S.G.,
& Simons, R.F (2013). Response monitoring and cognitive control in
childhood obesity. <em>Biological Psychology, 92</em>, 199-204.</p><p>
</p><p>
Landau, B. and Hoffman, J. E. Spatial Representation:<em> From Gene to Mind</em>
(2012). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.</p><p>
</p><p>
O'Hearn, K., Hoffman, J. E.,and Landau, B. (2011). Small subitizing
range in people with Williams syndrome. <em>Visual Cognition,</em> 289-312.</p><p>
</p><p>
Doran, M. M., & Hoffman, J. E. (2010). The role of visual attention in
multiple object tracking: Evidence from ERPs.<em> Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 71</em>(1), 33-52.</p><p>
</p><p>
Doran, M., Hoffman, J. E. , & Scholl, B. (2009).The Role of Eye
Fixations in Concentration and Amplification Effects During Multiple Object
Tracking. <em>Visual Cognition, 17</em>, 574-579.</p></div> | <div class="ExternalClass050A28A1EDB142E4B31FF83E68F0644F"><p>Kennedy,
B.L., Rawding, J., Most, S.& Hoffman, J.E. (2014). Emotion-induced blindness reflects competition
at early and late processing stages: An ERP study. Cognitive, Affective, and
Behavioral <em>Neuroscience, 14</em>, 1485-1498.</p><p>
</p><p>
Landau, B. and Hoffman, J. E. Spatial Representation: <em>From Gene to Mind</em>
(2012). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.</p><p>
</p><p>
Reiss, J. E. & Hoffman, J. E. (2007). Disruption of Early Face
Recognition Processes by Object Substitution Masking. <em>Visual Cognition, 15
</em> (7), 789-798</p><p>
</p><p>
Hoffman, J.E. , Landau, B. & Pagani, B. (2003) Spatial Breakdown in Spatial Construction:
Evidence from Eye Fixations in Children with Williams Syndrome. <em>Cognitive
Psychology, 45,</em> 260-301.</p><p>
</p><p>
Hoffman, J. E. and Subramanium, B. (1995). The role of visual attention in
saccadic eye movements. <em>Perception and Psychophysics, 57</em>, 787-795.</p></div> | | Degrees | Courses Regularly Taught | Recent Publications | Representative Publications | | | hoffman@UDel.Edu | /Documents%20Bios%20CVs/Hoffman-James-CV.pdf | Hoffman, James E. | | 302-831-2453 | <img alt="" src="/Images%20Bios/HoffmanJames1.JPG" width="480" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Professor | | | | Accepting graduate students for 2020-2021 | Office Hours: | Tuesday & Thursday 2:00 -3:00 | | 421-427 Wolf Hall | 302-831-1137 | http://hoffmanlab.psych.udel.edu | | | |