people

Curriculum Vita
Dynamic Vision Group
Systems N Coffee
Jon's Dynamical Systems Lab

Research Interests

Spatial Cognition and Interpersonal Processes:
Are eye movements and the vestibular nucleus important biological mechanisms supporting spatial perspective-taking and imagined body rotations in general?

Can we use the mathematics of group theory to describe how we are able to imagine a novel viewpoint given we only have information from our current viewpoint?

How do other people (real and virtual) influence spatial perspective-taking and what does this suggest about the function of spatial perspective-taking?

I'm interested in how we make quick and rather accurate judgments about the action capabilities of others (e.g., how high can this other person jump?). In addition, I'm interested in how other people can influence what actions we think we are capable of performing. I'm using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) to statistical model these effects.

Finally, I'm interested in whether spatial perspective-taking and the ability to judge the action capabilities of another person are overlapping or interacting processes.

Space Perception and Emotions:
Understanding why emotions influence our perceptual report of spatial layout (e.g., distances, slants, heights, etc.), and particularly how it changes the actions we choose to perform and how we perform them.

How the influence of emotions on space perception is embedded in the larger behavioral activity of exploring and navigating our environment. For example, when in a sad state participants often report that hills appear steeper. It has been suggested that sadness evolved to help us conserve resources during difficult times. Is the influence of sadness on slant perception ultimately helping us navigate our environment, such that we conserve more metabolic resources by choosing less strenuous navigational paths?

Education

Ph.D., University of Utah (Psychology, expected 2014)
M.A., College of William & Mary (Psychology, 2010)
B.S., Wingate University (Psychology, 2008)

Selected Publications

Gagnon, K.T., Geuss, M.N., & Stefanucci, J.K. (2013). Fear influences perceived reaching to targets in audition, but not vision. Evolution and Human Behavior, 34, 49-54. Download

Stefanucci, J.K, Gagnon, K.T., Tompkins, C.L., & Bullock, K.E. (2012). Plunging into the pool of death: Imagining a dangerous outcome influences distance perception. Perception, 41, 1-11. Download

Stefanucci, J.K., Gagnon, K.T., & Lessard, D.A. (2011) Follow your heart: Emotion adaptively influences perception. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(6), 296-308. Download