Dr. Lemley teaches General Psychology, Introduction to Neuroscience, Sensation and Perception, Human Cognition, and Research in Perception. Her area of expertise is in visual perception. Dr. Lemley has published and presented numerous papers on visual imagery with a focus on how imagery interferes with perception. She has major research publications on imagery-induced interference and her research has been profiled in Matlin's text Cognition.

Most recently, she and her students have been investigating the way in which higher level cognitive processes, namely conceptual categorization, can increase the mere exposure effect, which occurs when very brief exposures to stimuli increase the degree to which a person likes such stimuli. She recently published a paper on this topic in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review .

Dr. Lemley involves students in her research investigations as well as guiding students in their own research. Recently, two of Dr. Lemley's students won national awards for their research projects.