Charles R. (Randy) Fletcher

How can you reach me?

U. S. Mail:
Department of Psychology
University of Minnesota
75 East River Road
Minneapolis MN 55455

Office Hour: Mondays at 1:00 p.m. in 255 Elliott

Phone: (612) 625-6096

Fax: (612) 626-2079

Research Interests

My research addresses two fundamental questions in the general area of discourse comprehension: How is the meaning of a discourse represented in memory? How is that representation constructed? On the first question, most of my efforts have been directed toward demonstrating experimentally the existence of three levels of representation in memory for discourse: a surface level representation, a propositional textbase, and a situation model. My research into the online processing of discourse has focused on the role of memory and attention in understanding the causal structure of narratives. This research involves both constructing computer models that simulate the flow of ideas through a reader's awareness during narrative comprehension and recall, and conducting experiments with human subjects to evaluate basic assumptions of those models. Recently, this research has branched off in several some directions. First, I have begun investigating how syntactic and semantic factors interact to control a reader's attention. Second, I have begun to examine the generalizability of our results to a new domain: the comprehension of mathematical and logical proofs. Finally, I have been investigating the effectiveness of computer software (LiveInk by Walker Reading Technologies) that has been designed to improve reading comprehension.

Representative Publications

Fletcher, C. R., Lucas, S., & Baron, C. M. (1999). Comprehension of mathematical proofs. In S. R. Goldman, A. C. Graesser, & P. van den Broek (Eds.), Narrative comprehension, causality, and coherence: Essays in honor of Tom Trabasso (pp. 195 -207). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Fletcher, C.R., Arthur, E., & Skeate, R.C. (1995). Top-down effects in a bottom-up model of narrative comprehension and recall. In Weaver, C.A., Mannes, S., & Fletcher, C.R. (Eds.), Discourse comprehension: Essays in honor of Walter Kintsch (pp. 195-210). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. .
Fletcher, C.R. (1994). Levels of Representation in memory for discourse. In M.A. Gernsbacher (Ed). Handbook of psycholinguistics (pp. 589-607). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Fletcher, C.R. (1992). Assessing recognition memory for surface forms in discourse: A methodological note. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 18, 199-203.
Fletcher, C.R., Hummel, J.E., & Marsolek, C.J. (1990). Causality and the allocation of attention during comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16, 233-240.

Teaching

I teach the following courses:

Psychology 1001: Introductory Psychology - I give five lectures in Introductory Psychology each semester. These lectures cover human memory, cognition and language. More information is available at the Psychology 1001 web site.

Psychology 4994: Honors Research Practicum - This course is designed to give honors students first-hand experience conducting research and writing a research reports before they begin their honors theses. It is offered each spring semester.

Psychology 5054: The Psychology of Language - This course provides students with a broad introduction to psycholinguistics. The topics covered include language and the brain, speech perception, reading, lexical access, semantic memory, sentence comprehension and production, discourse comprehension and production, pragmatics, and the relationship between language and thought. This course will next be offered in spring, 2004. More information is available at the Psychology 5054 web site.

Psychology 8056: Seminar in the Psychology of Language - This course offers a follow-up to Psycholgy 5054 for graduate students and honors undergraduates. The topic varies from year to year. Past toipics have included the the evolution of language, the cognitive neuroscience of language, spatial language, and the whole language approach to reading instruction. This course is being offered offered in spring, 2003.

Cognitive Science 8001: Cognitive Science Proseminar - This course introduces students to cognitive science as it is practiced here at the University of Minnesota. Students read and discuss research reports written by University of Minnesota faculty. This course is designed primarily for students in the graduate minor program in cognitive science. It will next be offered in fall, 2004.

The Psychology of Paranormal Phenomena - This course uses the paranormal as a vehicle for teaching students about critical thinking and research methods. It is offered each summer through the University Honors College, a program that offeres college credit to high ability high school students.

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.

This page was last updated on 01/13/06.