Dr. Kimery Reed Levering

Associate Professor of Psychology

Bio

Kimery Levering teaches and conducts research in the field of cognitive psychology, exploring how we think about the world. Her research interests center on advancing theories and models of how we learn, represent, and apply mental concepts. For example, how does one form a concept of dog from an assorted collection of experiences with dogs?  The topic is interconnected with many areas of cognition (e.g., perception, memory, learning, language) but is also positioned to make valuable contributions to fields outside of cognitive psychology (e.g., educational and social psychology, artificial intelligence).

She is primarily interested in the role of contrast in how we learn and abstract. For example, to what extent does someone think differently about dogs depending on whether they learned about them in the context of cats (e.g., dogs are loyal) or in the context of giraffes (e.g., dogs have short necks)? How does context affect what features are believed to be important or central and how do those beliefs influence the way we interact with the world? Recent work has focused on application to social categories, addressing questions like: How does what you know about one social group influence your perceptions while learning about a new social group? How much does what you think about someone depend on similar people you have met versus theories about their social group or characteristics that co-occur?

Research Interests:

  • Concept/category learning
  • Visual perception
  • Learning and memory
  • Social cognition
  • Computational modeling

Education


Selected Publications


Selected Presentations

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Contact Information

Academic School

School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Office

Dyson 3046

Email

kimery.levering@Marist.edu

Phone

(845) 575-3000 ext. 2568