J. Eric T. Taylor, Ph.D.
University of Toronto
(647) 465-7245
j.eric.t.taylor@gmail.com
Professional Experience
University of Toronto (2013 – Present)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Postdoctoral Fellow
Supervisor: Jay Pratt
Education
Purdue University, M.S. (2011), Ph.D. (2013)
West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Major: Cognitive Psychology
Advisor: Jessica K. Witt
Dissertation: Altered attention for stimuli on the hands: Introducing the
Body Boundary Hypothesis
Dissertation Committee: Jessica K. Witt, Robert Proctor, David
Kemmerer, & Howard Zelaznik
Master’s Thesis: Motion and empathy in the observation of visual art: A
role for motor simulation
Master’s Thesis Committee: Jessica K. Witt, Robert Proctor, & David
Kemmerer
University of Western Ontario, B.Sc. (2008)
London, Ontario, Canada
Major: Honours specialization in psychology
Advisor: Patrick Brown
Honours Thesis: Investigating the shared representation of movement:
Can action observation affect the perception of one’s own actions?
Honours Thesis Committee: Patrick Brown & Melvyn Goodale
Research Interests
-
Action-specific perception
Visual attention
Motor simulation, especially in music and art
Embodied cognition
Evolutionary Psychology
Awards
Graduate Research Publication Award – 1st Place. Awarded by the
Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University (February, 2013).
Award value: $500.
Departmental Award for Graduate Research Innovation. Awarded to Eric
Taylor. Funded by the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue
University (December, 2011 – December, 2012). Total amount funded: $750.
Publications
Taylor, J. E. T., Witt, J. K., & Grimaldi, P. J. (2012). Uncovering the connection
between artist and audience: Viewing painted brushstrokes evokes
corresponding action representations in the observer. Cognition, 125,
26-36.
Witt, J. K., Sugovic, M., & Taylor, J. E. T. (2011). Action-specific effects in a
social context: Others’ abilities influence perceived speed. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Human Performance & Perception, 38, 715725.
Taylor, J. E. T., Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (2011). When walls are no longer
barriers: Perception of wall height in parkour. Perception, 40, 757760.
Witt, J. K., Schuck, D. M., & Taylor, J. E. T. (2011). Action-specific effects
underwater. Perception, 40, 530-537.
Submitted Manuscripts
Witt, J. K., Taylor, J. E. T., Sugovic, M., & Wixted, J. T. (submitted). When signal
detection theory cannot distinguish perception from response bias:
Evidence from the Muller-Lyer illusion.
Taylor, J. E. T. & Witt, J. K. (submitted). Altered attention for stimuli on the
hands.
Manuscripts in Preparation
Taylor, J. E. T., Witt, J. K., & Pratt, J. (in preparation). Joint attention for stimuli
on the hands.
Taylor, J. E. T & Witt, J. K. (in preparation). Expert pianists exhibit involuntary
motor simulation while listening to performance.
Witt, J. K., Nairne, J. S., & Taylor, J. E. T. (in preparation). Survival-based
processing enhances color perception.
Bauernschmidt, A., Taylor, J. E. T., & Karpicke, J. D. (in preparation).
Embodied memory: Embodied memory cues enhance recall.
Conference Presentations
Taylor, J. E. T. & Witt, J. K. (2012). Altered attention for stimuli on the body:
Evidence for the Body Boundary Hypothesis. Poster presented at Vision
Sciences Society Annual Meeting, Naples, FL, USA.
Taylor, J. E. T. & Witt, J. K. (2012). Altered attention for stimuli on the body:
Evidence for the Body Boundary Hypothesis. Poster presented at the
Midwest Cognitive Science Conference, Bloominton, IN, USA.
Taylor, J. E. T. & Witt, J. K. (2011). Altered attention for stimuli on the body:
Evidence for a new perceptual boundary. Poster presented at OPAM
Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, USA.
Bauernschmidt, A., Taylor, J. E. T., & Karpicke, J. D. (2011). Embodied Memory:
Embodied Retrieval Cues Enhance Recall. Poster presented at 52nd
Annual Meeting of the Psychonomics Society, Seattle, WA.
Witt, J. K., Sugovic, M., & Taylor, J. E. T. (2011). Perceiving the affordances for
others influences speed perception. Paper presented at International
Conference on Perception and Action 16, Ouro Preto, Brazil.
Taylor, J. E. T., Witt, J. K., & Grimaldi, P. J. (2010). Observing painted
brushstrokes evokes involuntary motor simulation. Poster presented at
Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Taylor, J. E. T., Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (2010). When walls are no longer
barriers: Perception of obstacle height in parkour. Poster presented at
Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting, Naples FL, USA.
Taylor, J. E. T. & Witt, J. K. (2009). Involuntary motor simulation in pianists: A
behavioural study. Poster presented at Psychonomic Society Annual
Meeting, Boston, MA, USA.
Taylor, J. E. T., Sugovic, M., & Witt, J. K. (2008). Intention influences perception
of space. Poster presented at the Purdue Perception-Based
Engineering Poster Session, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Editorial Activities
Reviewer – 2013 Spring APS Student Caucus (APSSC) Student Research
Award Competition
Reviewer – 2012 Spring APS Student Caucus (APSSC) Student Research
Award Competition
Reviewer – 2012 Fall APS Student Caucus (APSSC) Student Grant
Competition
Teaching Experience
University of Toronto
Fall 2013:
- Instructor for PSY475 (Attention & Performance)
Spring 2013:
- Instructor for PSY471 (Advanced Seminar in Visual Cognition)
Purdue University
Fall 2012:
- Teaching Assistant for PSY 120 (Introductory Psychology), running three
recitation sections
Spring 2012:
- Teaching Assistant for PSY 120 (Introductory Psychology), running three
recitation sections
Fall 2011:
- Teaching Assistant for PSY 200 (Introduction to Cognitive Psychology)
Fall 2010:
- Lab coordinator for PSY 310H (Sensory and Perceptual Processes
research-focused honors section, Purdue University)
- Guest lecturer for PSY 310 (Sensory and Perceptual Processes)
Spring 2010:
- Acting lecturer in PSY 310, April-May
- Teaching Assistant for PSY 310
- Lab coordinator for PSY 310H
Fall 2009:
- Teaching Assistant for PSY 310
- Guest lecturer for PSY 310
Spring 2009:
- Teaching Assistant for PSY 200
Fall 2008:
- Teaching Assistant for PSY 200
- Guest lecturer for PSY 200
Languages
English, French
Society Memberships
Vision Sciences Society (2009 – Present)
American Psychological Association (2011 – Present)
American Psychological Society (2011 – Present)
Professional Miscellany
Organizer, Embodied Cognition Journal Club, Fall 2009.