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Head of the Class
May 15, 2013

USC valedictorian Katherine Fu and salutatorians Alexander Fullman and Julia Sabo Mangione — all in USC Dornsife — will…

The Fabulous Fulbrights
May 10, 2013

Congratulations to the 10 USC Dornsife students who won 2013 Fulbright Scholarships. The award will take them to India, Laos,…

Preventing Another Darfur
April 23, 2013

For the 13th consecutive year, professor Steven Lamy, vice dean for academic programs in USC Dornsife, led the Center for…

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Electric City
May 23, 2013

USC Dornsife’s history chair William Deverell explores the birth of a modern metropolis with the organization of an…

Getting That First Job
May 23, 2013

Recalling encouragement from his mentor Alice Echols, Sean Little ’06 traces his bachelor’s in English to an M.B.A. to a…

Wall of Scholars
May 21, 2013

The names of top USC Dornsife students will adorn the wall of Leavey Library in an honor celebrating university-wide students…

Catholic Studies Institute Receives $1 Million
May 21, 2013

The gift creates the Steven and Kathryn Sample Endowment for Ecumenism to support research centered on the foundational…

Scientist and Filmmaker
May 17, 2013

Howard Wayne Harris proves his 9th grade teacher wrong. Earning his Ph.D. at the USC Dornsife hooding ceremony May 16, he was…

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Clayton Stephenson

Lecturer

Contact Information
E-mail: clstephe@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-9019
Office: SGM 526

LINKS
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website
 

Education
Ph.D. Cognitive Psychology, Claremont Graduate University, 8/2010
M.A. Cognitive Psychology, Claremont Graduate University, 12/2005
B.A. Psychology, Fort Lewis College, 12/2002
 

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
My research focuses on cognitive training programs that improve critical thinking skills and intelligence. More specifically, I am investigating the impact of improving working memory capacity on fluid intelligence. My goal is to eventually determine whether improving working memory capacity improves real-world skills such as taking notes, taking tests, and everyday memory. Another area of my research is applying the science of learning to help improve learning and instruction for adult learners. I am currently creating a multimedia document with an undergraduate student. The document will contain a list of 15 principles of learning that can be applied to teaching psychology courses. More recently, I have started to develop an assessment to measure a person's level of superstitious beliefs. The goal of this research is to determine how superstitious beliefs influence decision making. Finally, I also dabble in other areas of research such as sex differences in cognitive abilities and sensation and perception.
 

Research Keywords
Working memory capacity, fluid intelligence, n-back task, principles of learning, superstitious beliefs, magical thinking, sex differences in cognitive abilities
 
 

Service to the Profession

Professional Memberships
International Society for Intelligence Research, 2010-  
American Psychological Association, 2006-  
Western Psychological Association, 2006-  
Association for Psychological Science, 2005-  
 
 
Faculty may update their profile by visiting https://mydornsife.usc.edu.