Faculty

Cathy L. McEvoy, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Univ. of South Florida, Psychology, 1982
M.A. Univ. of South Florida, Psychology, 1979
B. A. Univ. of South Florida, Psychology, 1976

Cathy McEvoy researches how memory is affected by aging. We have been asking questions such as why older adults have more difficulty than younger adults in finding words they want to express an idea; do older adults have greater problems with distraction that increases interference when trying to remember; and are older adults more likely to experience false memories – memories for events that never actually occurred? In all of this research, we are particularly interested in how older adults use their knowledge networks to support memory processing. We have found that as adults age they become more reliant on their long-term prior knowledge and less reliant on immediate memory processes. Our research has attempted to apply concepts from quantum physics to understanding how semantic networks guide the acquisition and recall of event memory. In addition, along with my colleagues and students, some of my research has focused on memory processing in deaf and hearing-impaired adults.