Dr Bill Macken - BA MA Cork PhD Wales
Overview
Research Group:
Perception & Action
Location: Tower Building, Park Place
Email: Macken@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone: +44(0)29 208 75354
Research Summary
I’m particularly interested in the role that auditory perception plays in human cognition. Unlike vision, our auditory sense is always ‘on’-- our ears can’t be closed as can our eyes, and we pick up auditory information from all directions. This means that it has the potential to provide us with information about the events in the world regardless of what we’re doing at a given time, but of course it also means that it can be a source of potential distraction. Much of my research has been concerned with such distraction – seeking to understand how auditory information may, despite our best efforts to ignore it, impact on our ability to perform different types of tasks. However, I’m also interested in how we use auditory information to accomplish functions such as short-term memory and how the brain uses auditory information to guide activity, especially in relation to how auditory processing relates to speech processing. Primarily I use behavioural experimental techniques to study these questions, although I have also recently begun to utilise brain imaging techniques to understand the processing of auditory information in the brain.
Teaching Summary
Much of my teaching is at Level 1, where I run 3 practical classes in the Practical Psychology module (PS1015). I also provide 5 lectures on the Introduction to Psychology module (PS1016) on topics in cognitive psychology. In the first semester of Level 2, I run the practical components for the Cognitive, Social, and Biological Psychology modules (PS2015, PS2016, PS2017). My Level 3 teaching involves 4 hours teaching on the Normal and Impaired Hearing module (PS3308), where I discuss aspects of auditory perceptual organisation and auditory-motor processing. I provide tutorials at both Levels 1 and 2, a Level 2/Year 2 practical on false memories, and supervise final year project students.
Selected Publications (2008 onwards)
Maidment, D.W., & Macken, W.J. (2012). The ineluctable modality of the audible: Perceptual determinants of auditory verbal short-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, in press.
Ljungberg, J., Parmentier, F., Hughes, R., Macken, W., & Jones, D. (2012). Listen out! Behavioural and subjective responses to verbal warnings. Applied Cognitive Psychology,
Jones, D.M., Hughes, R.W., & Macken, W.J. (2010). Auditory distraction and serial memory: The avoidable and the ineluctable. Noise and Health, 12, 201-209.
Miles, S., & Macken, B. (2010). The role of monitoring and control in similar nontarget/target discrimination. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54th Annual Meeting, 802-806.
Macken, W.J., Phelps, F., & Jones, D.M. (2009). What causes auditory distraction? Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 16, 139-144.
Woodward, A., Macken, W.J., & Jones, D.M. (2008). Linguistic familiarity in short-term memory: A role for (co-)articulatory fluency? Journal of Memory and Language, 58, 48-65.
Jones, D., Hughes, R., Marsh, J., & Macken W. (2008). Varieties of auditory distraction. In B. Griefham (Ed.). Proceedings of 9th Congress of the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Noise. 362-368.
Publications
Online Publications
Online information about my publications can be obtained via Google Scholar or ResearcherID:
Full List of Publications
2012
Maidment, D.W., & Macken, W.J. (2012). The ineluctable modality of the audible: Perceptual determinants of auditory verbal short-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, in press.
Ljungberg, J., Parmentier, F., Hughes, R., Macken, W., & Jones, D. (2012). Listen out! Behavioural and subjective responses to verbal warnings. Applied Cognitive Psychology,
2010
Jones, D.M., Hughes, R.W., & Macken, W.J. (2010). Auditory distraction and serial memory: The avoidable and the ineluctable. Noise and Health, 12, 201-209.
Miles, S., & Macken, B. (2010). The role of monitoring and control in similar nontarget/target discrimination. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54th Annual Meeting, 802-806.
2009
Macken, W.J., Phelps, F., & Jones, D.M. (2009). What causes auditory distraction? Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 16, 139-145.
2008
Woodward, A.J., Macken, W.J., & Jones, D.M. (2008). Linguistic familiarity in short-term memory: A role for (co-)articulatory fluency? Journal of Memory and Language, 58, 48-65.
Jones, D., Hughes, R., Marsh, J., & Macken W. (2008). Varieties of auditory distraction. In B. Griefham (Ed.). Proceedings of 9th Congress of the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Noise. 362-368.
2007
Jones, D. M., Hughes, R.W., & Macken, W. J. (2007). The phonological store abandoned. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 60, 497-504.
2006
Phelps, F.G., Macken, W.J., Miles, C., & Barry, C. (2006). The primacy of functional information in semantic memory: The case of living and nonliving things. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 59, 1984-2009
Jones, D.M., Hughes, R.W., & Macken, W.J. (2006). Perceptual organisation masquerading as phonological storage: Further evidence for a perceptual-gestural view of short-term memory. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 265-281.
McKenzie-Kerr, A., & Macken, W.J. (2006). Metamemory in strategy selection: Evidence for a dissociation in familiarity-based judgments between semantics and item activation strength. Proceeding of the Cognitive Science Society. 1806-1810.
2004
Jones, D.M., Macken, W.J., & Nicholls, A.P. (2004). The phonological store of working memory: Is it phonological and is it a store? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 30, 656-674.
Banbury, S., Croft, D., Macken W.J, & Jones, D.M. (2004). A cognitive streaming account of situation awareness. In S. Banbury and S. Tremblay (Eds.). A cognitive approach to situation awareness: Theory and application.Aldershot: Ashgate.
2003
Macken, W. J. & Jones, D. M. (2003). Reification of phonological storage. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 56A, 1279-1288.
Houghton, R. J., Macken, W. J., & Jones, D. M. (2003). Attentional modulation of the visual motion after-effect has a central cognitive locus: Evidence for interference by the post-categorical on the pre-categorical. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 29, 731-740. [pdf]
Macken, W. J., Tremblay, S., Houghton, R. J., Nicholls, A.P., & Jones, D. M. (2003). Does auditory streaming require attention? Evidence from attentional selectivity in short-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 29, 1, 43-51. [pdf]
2002
Macken, W.J. (2002). Environmental context and recognition: The role of recollection and familiarity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 28, 153-161. [pdf]
2001
Tremblay, S., Macken, W. J., & Jones, D. M. (2001). The impact of broadband noise on serial memory: Changes in band pass frequency increase disruption. Memory, 9,323 331.
Banbury, S., Macken, W. J., Tremblay, S., & Jones, D. M. (2001). Auditory distraction: Phenomena and practical implications. Human Factors, 43,12 29.
Macken, W. J., & Jones, D. M. (2001). Cognitive efficiency in background sound: The importance of conflict of process. In D. Harris (Ed.). Engineering psychology and cognitive ergonomics, Vol. 6(pp. 293 299). Aldershot: Ashgate.
Parmentier, F., Andres, P., Macken, W.J., & Jones, D.M. (2001). Task alternation in complex settings from a cognitive psychology standpoint. In D. Harris (Ed.). Engineering psychology and cognitive ergonomics, Vol. 6 (pp. 239 247). Aldershot: Ashgate.
2000
Tremblay, S., Macken, B., & Jones, D.M. (2000). Elimination of the word-length effect by irrelevant speech revisited. Memory and Cognition, 28, 841-846.
Jones, D. M., Alford, D., Macken, W. J., Banbury, S. P., & Tremblay, S. (2000). Interference from degraded auditory stimuli: Linear effects of changing state in the irrelevant sequence. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 108, 1082 1088.
1999
Macken, W. J., Tremblay, S., Alford, D., & Jones, D. M. (1999). Attentional selectivity in short term memory: Similarity of process, not similarity of content, determines disruption.International Journal of Psychology, 34,322 327.
Jones, D., Alford, D., Bridges, A., Tremblay, S., & Macken, W. J. (1999). Organizational factors in selective attention: The interplay of acoustic distinctiveness and auditory streaming in the irrelevant sound effect. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory And Cognition, 25,2, 464-473.
Macken, W. J., Mosdell, N., & Jones, D.M. (1999). Explaining the irrelevant sound effect: temporal distinctiveness or changing state? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 25,810-814.
Jones, D.M., Banbury, S., Tremblay, S., & Macken, W.J. (1999). The effect of task-irrelevant sound on cognitive performance. Proceedings of the Human Factors and ergonomics Society 43rd Annual Meeting,347-354.
1998
Macken, W.J. & Jones, D.M. (1998). Acoustic determinants of auditory distraction by irrelevant sound. In N. Carter & R.F. Soames (Eds.), Noise Effects ’98, Vol. 1.Sydney, Australia: Noise Effect ’98 Pty.
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (1998). The nature of auditory distraction: An overview. In Proceedings of Internoise 98(pp. 23.1-23.4). Christchurch, NZ: The New Zealand Acoustical Society.
1997
Jones, D.M., Macken, W.J., & Harries, C. (1997). Disruption of short-term recognition memory for tones: Streaming or interference? Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 50A,337-357.
Jones, D.M., Macken, W.J., & Mosdell, N. (1997). The role of habituation in the disruption of recall by irrelevant sound. British Journal of Psychology, 88,549-564.
1996
Jones, D.M., Beaman, C.P., & Macken, W.J. (1996). The object-oriented episodic record model. In S. Gathercole (Ed.), Models of short-term memory. London: Erlbaum.
Jones, D.M., Macken, W.J., & Mosdell, N. (1996). Acoustic and organizational factors in the processing of irrelevant sound. In M. Klatte & A. Schick (Eds.), Contributions to Psychological Acoustics: 7.Oldenburg: Bibliotheks- und Informationssystaems der Universitat Oldenburg.
1995
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (1995). Phonological similarity in the irrelevant speech effect: Within- or between-stream similarity? Journal of Experimental Psychology, 21,103-115.
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (1995). Auditory babble and cognitive efficiency: The role of number of voices and their location. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 1,216-226.
Macken, W.J. & Jones, D.M. (1995). Functional characteristics of the inner ear and the inner voice: Single or double agency? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 21,436-448.
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (1995). Organisational factors in the irrelevant speech effect: The role of spatial location and timing. Memory and Cognition, 23,192-200.
1993
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (1993). Irrelevant tones produce an irrelevant speech effect: Implications for coding in phonological memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 19,369-381.
Macken, W.J. & Hampson, P. (1993). Integration, elaboration and recollective experience. Irish Journal of Psychology, 14,270-285.
© Copyright
Some of the documents listed above are available for downloading. These have been provided as a means to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work on a non-commercial basis. Copyright and all rights therein are maintained by the authors or by other copyright holders, notwithstanding that they have offered their works here electronically. It is understood that all persons copying this information will adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be re-posted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.
Research
Research Topics
My research is primarily concerned with processes involved in auditory perception and motor (particularly speech) planning, especially as they relate to what we usually think of as short-term memory. An overall objective of this research is to show that performance in the short term is better thought of as involving the opportunistic co-opting of such perceptual and motor planning processes, rather than being based on stores and processes whose function is the temporary storage of information. There are a number of aspects to this work. One involves the disruptive effect of task-irrelevant sound on short-term memory performance, where we have argued that such disruption reflects the obligatory processing of auditory sequences within a perceptual-motor mapping system that enables us, among other things, to imitate and learn speech from auditory input. The research has also focussed on the way in which general processes involved in auditory perceptual organisation as well as the mechanisms involved in assembling sequences of speech gestures determine short-term memory performance in a way that can’t be accounted for by more traditional, cognitive accounts of short-term memory.
Funding
Macken, W.J., Sumner, P., Jones, D.M., & Bracewell, M. (Bangor). (2007). Neural mechanisms underpinning performance and interference with serial short-term memory. Wales Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience. £4,936.
Macken, W.J. (2007-2010). Act then reflect versus reflect then act: Cognitive strategies for contextually appropriate action. Ministry of Defence/QinetiQ. £97,400.
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (2007-2010). Linkages between auditory perception and action: Auditory affordances for auditory-visual displays. Ministry of Defence/QinetiQ. £104,900.
Jones, D.M., Hughes, R.W., & Macken, W.J. (2006-2009). Verbal short-term memory: Primitive or parasite? ESRC. £251,974
Macken, W.J. & Phelps, F.G. (2006-2007). Meaning and organisation in semantic memory: The role of functional information. ESRC. £46,679.
Jones, D.M., Macken, W.J., & Hughes, R.W. (2006-2007). Attentional selectivity and semantic memory: Studies of auditory distraction. ESRC. £47,106.
Macken, W.J., Jones, D.M., & Murray, A.C. (2001-2004). Organisational factors in serial recall: The role of perception and rehearsal. ESRC. £170,179.
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (2002). Cognitive streaming and workload. QinetiQ. £25,140.
Jones, D.M. & Macken, W.J. (1999-2001). Task alternation as workload. Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. £96,497.
Macken, W.J. (1997-1998). Recollective experience: the role of stimulus attributes and spatio-temporal information. ESRC. £32,101.
Research Group/Collaborators
Dylan Jones
Rob Hughes
Sébastien Tremblay
Postgraduate Students
Postgraduate Research Interests
My main interests relate to cognitive processing in long- and short-term memory. With regard to longterm memory, my focus is upon the processes that underlie different types of recollective experience in recognition memory, and on the role of contextual information in determining memory performance. For short-term memory, my general interest is in how auditory perceptual processes and speech planning processes are brought to bear in short-term performance. Related to this is the issue of order processing in the auditory domain and how such perceptual order processing is related to the ability to reproduce ordered sequences via speech planning mechanisms. In other words, I am interested in the relationship between perception and action in the context of auditory and verbal processing.
If you are interested in applying for a PhD, or for further information regarding my postgraduate research, please contact me directly (contact details available on the 'Overview' page), or submit a formal application here.
Current Students
David Maidment. David’s work is funded by the ESRC and involves examining the way in which information from different modalities (e.g., written, heard, lipread) is represented and constrains short-term memory performance.
Sian Miles. Sian’s PhD is funded by the Haldane-Spearman Consortium and involves understanding the processes involved in discriminating between target and non-target objects when the latter are very similar to the former.
Joel Burton. Joel’s PhD is funded by the Haldane-Spearman Consortium and involves investigating how obligatory auditory processing may facilitate motor responding.
Previous Students
Emma McDonald. Emma’s PhD was funded by the School of Psychology and involved mapping intact and impaired short-term memory performance in adult dyslexia.
Amelia Woodward. Amelia’s PhD was funded by the School and the ESRC and investigated the way in which motor constraints, especially those involved in articulatory fluency, determined short-term memory performance.
Alastair Mckenzie-Kerr. Alastair’s PhD was funded by the EPSRC/Qinetiq and involved the way in which problem solving strategy selection is influenced by aspects of the problem such as familiarity and semantics.
Fiona Phelps. Fiona’s PhD was funded by the School of Psychology and involved studies of how different types of featural information about objects (e.g., physical versus functional features) contributed to their semantic representations.
Rob Houghton. Rob’s PhD was funded by EPSRC/Qinetiq and focussed on the way in which low level sensory process, particularly the motion after effect, were modulated by central ‘cognitive’ activity.
Biography
Undergraduate Education
1986: BSc Applied Psychology. University College, Cork
Postgraduate Education
1990: MPhil Dual-process accounts of recognition. University College, Cork
1996: PhD Mechanisms of interference in short-term memory. Cardiff University
Employment
2008-present: Reader, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
2003-2008: Senior lecturer, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
1995-2003: Lecturer, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
1990-1995: Research Assistant/Associate, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
External Activities
Member of ESRC Peer Review College (2010-)
Ad hoc reviewer for grant applications and rapporteur on End of Award reports for ESRC, EPSRC and AHRC.
Ad hoc peer reviewer for Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Journal of Memory and Language, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, International Journal of Psychology, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Memory and Cognition, Memory, Perception.
PhD external examiner at University of Plymouth, University of Wolverhampton, Keele University, Free University (Belgium), Laval University (Canada).