MICHAEL ROY, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Degrees:
B.A., Bates College, 1991
M.A., University of California, San Diego, 1999
Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, 2003
Interests:
I am interested in people's perception of environmental statistics and how they affect judgments and decisions. One line of research examines bias in memory for how long things have taken in the past and how that relates to predictions of when tasks will be finished. Specifically, when and how prediction of duration is likely to be incorrect. A second line of research examines people's perceptions of their own abilities. Previous research indicates that people often overestimate their ability on a number of different tasks, with a majority believing themselves to be above average. I am interested in whether or not people are truly biased in their self-perceptions.
The past two years, Dr. Roy joined Dr. Karendra Devroop (assistant professor of music) and students from the departments of psychology and music on a trip to South Africa. While there, we established an instrumental music program at a disadvantaged school using donated instruments from across four states. The donated instruments were repaired and shipped to South Africa in December together with equipment and supplies necessary to start a fully functional concert band. In addition, we conducted research on the role of music on the lives of the students and on the impact of the intervention.
Sample Citations:
Roy,
M.M., Mitten, S.T. & Christenfeld, N.J.S. (2008). Correcting memory
improves accuracy of predicted duration. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Applied, 14, 266-275.
Roy,
M.M. & Christenfeld, N.J.S (2008). Effect of task length on remembered and
predicted duration, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15, 202-207.
Roy,
M.M. & Christenfeld, N.J.S (2007). Bias in memory predicts bias in
estimation of future task duration. Memory & Cognition, 35, 557-564.
Roy,
M.M., Christenfeld, N.J.S. & McKenzie, C. (2005). Underestimation of future
duration: Memory incorrectly used or memory bias.
Psychological Bulletin, 131, 738-756.
Roy,
M.M. & Christenfeld, N.J.S. (2004). Do dogs resemble their owners? Psychological
Science, 15, 361-363.
Courses:
105 General Psychology
213 Statistics and Research Methods I
218 Statistics and Research Methods II
413 Reserach in Social Psychology
Office:
260E Esbenshade
Department of Psychology
Elizabethtown College
One Alpha Drive
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
(717) 361-1331
(717) 361-1176 (fax)
roym@etown.edu
