Jessica Brinegar
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Jessica is interested in human perception, attention, and memory as it relates to face-to-face interactions, and wonders how attention is modulated in different environments.
TEACHING INTERESTS and FUTURE GOALS
Jessica loves to spark curiosity in others and could see herself teaching young minds about the wonders (and failures) of human perception and memory. She’s interested in how memories can be manipulated, warped, and even suppressed subconsciously, and she often wonders how each individual experiences “reality” differently based on their past experiences.
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Outside of school, Jessica is passionate about science communication. She has interned at NMSU News, covering cool research being done in the College of Arts & Sciences. She hopes to one day be a science journalist so she can always learn something new and pass it along to others.
CURRENT RESEARCH
Do you ever feel restored and rested after spending time in nature, or even looking out the window at a natural view? Research shows that our directed attention can be restored by viewing natural elements. With the rise in city living, Jessica is interested in how our cognition will be affected, and how prioritizing nature exposure may help. She is currently investigating how our attention expands and contracts when we are viewing a natural environment versus an urban one.