Timo Mäntylä
Professor of Cognitive Psychology
Summary
After my PhD in 1987 at Umeå universitet 1987 I have been employed at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm University and most recently as professor in psychology at Umeå University. Since April 2011 I am professor of Cognitive Psychology here at the Department of Psychology. I have been a guest researcher at the University of Toronto, Canada, Tsukuba University in Japan and University of Trento in Italy.
Teaching
I lecture primarily in courses on cognition and research methods at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. I supervise two graduate students at other universities.
Research
In addition to interest in basic memory functions my research has focused on cognitive functions across the life span. Another central theme in my ongoing research examines similarities and differences among higher cognitive functions by focusing on decision making, metacognitive functions and executive control functions.
My ongoing research is funded by the Swedish Research Council and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond:
Temporal cognition in children and adults
Swedish Research Council
Sense of time is a prerequisite to most higher-order cognitive functions, including autobiographic memory, theory of mind and executive control functions. Although the empirical study of psychological time is well over a century old, its dominating psychophysical paradigms do not capture these complexities. We propose a memory-based approach in which experienced time is assumed to reflect basic memory functions and associated control functions, rather than being determined by a discrete ticking pacemaker or a “mental clock.” A central methodological goal of the project is to develop a valid and reliable paradigm for examining temporal information processing within the complexities of everyday cognition. A series of empirical studies will examine the notionthat experienced time reflects individual and developmental differences in working memory (executive functioning), episodic memory, semantic memory and procedural memory. The findings may have important theoretical and clinical implications for understanding disorders of goal-directed behavior and some expressions of psychopathology.
Aging and decision-making competence
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
Decision-making skills are critical for preserving physical and psychological well-being in older adulthood. A central aim of the project is to investigate how older adults perceive and evaluate decision problems in their real life, and to understand how the aging decision makers interact with the environment in order to cope with cognitive and emotional changes. A related aim is to develop standardized instruments for the objective assessment of individual and age-related differences in judgment and decision-making competence. A more applied contribution of the project is to develop theoretically and empirically-justified guidelines for effective forms of decision support , which can be positively accepted by elderly people. The results of the project will advance our knowledge of how elderly adults handle and cope with complex everyday decision tasks while their physical and cognitive resources are gradually reducing. The present project will also provide insights and explicit guidelines for decision aiding in older adults.
Selected research administration
- Chair of the evaluation panel in psychology, Swedish Research Council.
- Member of the Humanities and Social Sciences Council, Swedish Research Council.
- Member of the Joint Committee for Nordic Research Councils for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS).
- Associate Editor of Journal of Cognitive Psychology.
Recent publications
Mäntylä, T., Still, J., Gullberg, S., & Del Missier, F. (in press). Decision making in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Attention Disorders.
Del Missier, F., Mäntylä, T., & Bruine de Bruin, W. (in press). Decision-making competence, executive functioning, and general cognitive abilities. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making.
Rönnlund, M., Vestergren, P., Mäntylä, T., & Nilsson, L-G. (in press). Predictors of self-reported prospective and retrospective memory in a population-based sample of older adults. The Journal of Genetic Psychology.
Forman, H., Mäntylä, T., & Carelli, M.G. (2011). Time keeping and working memory development in early adolescence: A four-year follow-up. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108, 170-179.
Del Missier, F., Mäntylä, T., & Bruine de Bruin, W. (2010). Executive functions in decision-making competence: An individual differences approach. Thinking and Reasoning, 16, 69-97.
Mäntylä, T., Kliegel, M., & Rönnlund, M. (2010). Components of executive functioning in metamemory. Applied Neuropsychology.
Mackinley, R., Kliegel, M., & Mäntylä, T. (2009). Predictors of time-based prospective memory in children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 102, 251-264.
Mäntylä, T., Del Missier, F., & Nilsson, L.G. (2009). Age differences in multiple outcome measures of time-based prospective memory. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 16, 654-670.
Mäntylä, T., Karlsson, M., & Marklund, M. (2009). Executive control functions in simulated driving. Applied Neuropsychology, 16, 11-18.
