Publications

Note: Past and present Emotion & Cognition Lab graduate student, undergraduate, research assistant and postdoc authors are shown in red. To browse the most highly cited papers from the list below, click here.

In Press

Barber, S. J., & Mather, M. (in press). Stereotype threat in older adults: When and why does it occur, and who is most affected? To appear in P. Verhaeghen & C. Hertzog (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Emotion, Social Cognition, and Everyday Problem Solving During Adulthood. PDF

Gorlick, M. A., Giguere, G., Glass, B. D., Nix, B. N., Mather, M., & Maddox, W. T. (in press). Attenuating age-related learning deficits: Emotional valenced feedback interacts with task complexity. Psychology and Aging. PDF

Lighthall, N. R., Gorlick, M. A., Schoeke, A., Frank, M. J., & Mather, M. (in press). Stress modulates reinforcement learning in younger and older adults. Psychology and Aging. PDF

Mather, M., & Nga, L. (in press). Age differences in thalamic low frequency fluctuations. NeuroReport. PDF

Nashiro, K., Sakaki, M., Huffman, D., & Mather, M. (in press). Both younger and older adults have difficulty updating emotional memories. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences. PDF data files

Sakaki, M., Nga, L., & Mather, M. (in press). Amygdala functional connectivity with medial prefrontal cortex at rest predicts the positivity effect in older adults. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. PDF

2013

Clewett, D., Schoeke, A., & Mather, M. (2013). Amygdala functional connectivity is reduced after the cold pressor task. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience. DOI 10.3758/s13415-013-0162-x PDF abstract and supplementary material

Knight, M., & Mather, M. (2013). Look out--it's your off-peak time of day! Time of day matters more for alerting than for orienting or executive attention. Experimental Aging Research, 39, 305-321. PDF data files

Mather, M., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kanwisher, N. (2013). Introduction to the special section: 20 years of fMRI--What has it done for understanding cognition? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8, 41-43. PDF

Mather, M., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kanwisher, N. (2013). How fMRI can inform cognitive theories. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8, 108-113. PDF

Nashiro, K., Sakaki, M., Nga, L., & Mather, M. (2013). Age-related similarities and differences in brain activity underlying reversal learning. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. abstract

2012

Barber, S. J., & Mather, M. (2012). Forgetting in context: The effects of age, emotion, and social factors on retrieval-induced forgetting. Memory & Cognition, 40, 874-888. PDF data files

Lee, T.H., Itti, L., & Mather, M. (2012). Evidence for arousal-biased competition in perceptual learning. Frontiers in Emotion Science, 3:241. read online data files

Lighthall, N. R., Sakaki, M., Vasunilashorn, S., Nga, L., Somayajula, S. Chen, E. Y., Samii, N., & Mather, M. (2012). Gender differences in reward-related decision processing under stress. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 7, 476-484. PDF

Mather, M. (2012). The emotion paradox in the aging brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1251, 33-49. PDF

Mather, M, & Lighthall, N. R. (2012). Risk and reward are processed differently in decisions made under stress. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 36-41. PDF

Mather, M., Mazar, N., Gorlick, M. A., Lighthall, N. R., Burgeno, J., Schoeke, A. & Ariely, D. (2012). Risk preferences and aging: The "Certainty Effect" in older adults' decision making. Psychology and Aging, 27, 801-816. PDF data file (Excel format)

Mather, M, & Sutherland, M. (2012). The selective effects of emotional arousal on memory. Psychological Science Agenda. read online

Nashiro, K., Sakaki, M., & Mather, M. (2012). Age differences in brain activity during emotion processing: Reflections of age-related decline or increased emotion regulation? Gerontology, 58, 156-163. PDF

Nashiro, K., Sakaki, M., Nga, L., & Mather, M. (2012). Differential brain activity during emotional vs. non-emotional reversal learning. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24, 1794-1805. PDF

Sakaki, M., & Mather, M. (2012). How reward and emotional stimuli induce different reactions across the menstrual cycle. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6, 1-17. PDF

Sakaki, M., Niki, K., & Mather, M. (2012). Beyond arousal and valence: The importance of the biological versus social relevance of emotional stimuli. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 12, 115-139. PDF supp. materials

Sutherland, M. R., & Mather, M. (2012). Negative arousal amplifies the effects of saliency in short-term memory. Emotion, 12, 1367-1372. PDF data files

2011

Feng, M. C., Courtney, C. G., Mather, M., Dawson, M. E., & Davison, G. C. (2011). Age-related affective modulation of the startle eyeblink response: Older adults startle most when viewing positive pictures. Psychology and Aging, 26, 752-760. PDF

Ko, S. G., Lee, T. H., Yoon, H. Y., Kwon, J. H., & Mather, M. (2011). How does context affect assessments of facial emotion? The role of culture and age. Psychology and Aging, 26, 48-59. PDF data file data variables

Mather, M., & Schoeke, A. (2011). Positive outcomes enhance incidental learning for both younger and older adults. Front. Neurosci., 5:129. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2011.00129 read it online

Mather, M., & Sutherland, M. R. (2011). Arousal-biased competition in perception and memory. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 114-133. PDF read online

Nashiro, K., & Mather, M. (2011). The effect of emotional arousal on memory binding in normal aging and Alzheimer's Disease. American Journal of Psychology, 124, 301-312. PDF data files

Nashiro, K., & Mather, M. (2011). How arousal affects younger and older adults' memory binding. Experimental Aging Research, 37, 108-128. PDF data files

Nashiro, K., Mather, M., Gorlick, M. A., & Nga, L. (2011). Negative emotional outcomes impair older adults' reversal learning. Cognition & Emotion, 25, 1014-1028. PDF read it online data files

Nielsen, L., & Mather, M. (2011). Emerging perspectives in social neuroscience and neuroeconomics of aging. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 6, 149-164. PDF

Sakaki, M., Gorlick, M. A., & Mather, M. (2011). Differential interference effects of negative emotional states on subsequent semantic and perceptual processing. Emotion, 11, 1263-1278. PDF data files

Sakaki, M., Niki, K., & Mather, M. (2011). Updating existing emotional memories involves the frontopolar/orbitofrontal cortex in ways that acquiring new emotional memories does not. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 3498-3514. PDF

2010

Mather, M. (2010). Aging and cognition. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1, 346-362. PDF read it online

Mather, M., Lighthall, N. R., Nga, L., & Gorlick, M. A. (2010). Sex differences in how stress affects brain activity during face viewing. NeuroReport, 21, 933-937. PDF

2009

Hirst, W., Phelps, E. A., Buckner, R. L., Budson, A. E., Cuc, A., Gabrieli, J. D. E., Johnson, M. K., Lyle, K. B., Lustig, C., Mather, M., Meksin, R., Mitchell, K. J., Ochsner, K. N., Schacter, D. L., Simons, J. S., Vaidya, C. J. (2009). Long-term memory for the terrorist attack of September 11: Flashbulb memories, event memories, and the factors that influence their retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 138, 161-176. PDF

Knight, M., & Mather, M. (2009). Reconciling findings of emotion-induced enhancement and impairment of preceding items. Emotion, 9, 763-781. PDF

Kryla-Lighthall, N., & Mather, M. (2009). The role of cognitive control in older adults' emotional well-being. In Berngtson, V., Gans, D., Putney, N., & Silverstein, M. (Eds.), Handbook of Theories of Aging, 2nd Edition, Springer Publishing, 323-344. PDF

Lighthall, N. R., Mather, M., & Gorlick, M. A. (2009). Acute stress increases sex differences in risk seeking in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. PLoS ONE. PDF read it online

Mather, M. (2009). When emotion intensifies memory interference. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 51, 101-120. PDF

Mather, M., Gorlick, M. A., & Lighthall, N. R. (2009). To brake or accelerate when the light turns yellow? Stress reduces older adults' risk taking in a driving game. Psychological Science, 20, 174-176. PDF read it online driving game available here

Mather, M., Gorlick, M. A., & Nesmith, K. (2009). The limits of arousal's memory impairing effects on nearby information. American Journal of Psychology, 122, 349-370. PDF read it online

Mather, M., & Sutherland, M. (2009). Disentangling the effects of arousal and valence on memory for intrinsic details. Emotion Review, 1, 118-119. PDF

Novak, D. L., & Mather, M. (2009). The tenacious nature of memory binding for arousing negative items. Memory & Cognition, 37, 945-952. PDF read it online

2008

Mather, M., & Knight, M. (2008). The emotional harbinger effect: Poor context memory for cues that previously predicted something arousing. Emotion, 8, 850-860. PDF read it online

Mather, M., & Nesmith, K. (2008). Arousal-enhanced location memory for pictures. Journal of Memory and Language, 58, 449-464. PDF read it online

2007

Henkel, L. A., & Mather, M. (2007). Memory attributions for choices: How beliefs shape our memories. Journal of Memory and Language, 57, 163-176. PDF

Kennedy, Q., & Mather, M. (2007). Aging, affect and decision making. In K.D. Vohs, R.F Baumeister, & G. Loewenstein (Eds.), Do Emotions Help or Hurt Decision Making? A Hedgefoxian perspective (pp. 245-265). New York, Russell Sage Foundation Press. PDF

Knight, M., Seymour, T. L., Gaunt, J. T., Baker, C., Nesmith, K., & Mather, M. (2007). Aging and goal-directed emotional attention: Distraction reverses emotional biases. Emotion, 7, 705-714. PDF

Mather, M. (2007). Emotional arousal and memory binding: An object-based framework. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2, 33-52. PDF

Novak, D. L., & Mather, M. (2007). Aging and variety seeking. Psychology and Aging, 22, 728-737. PDF

Sison, J. A. G., & Mather, M. (2007). Does remembering emotional items impair recall of same-emotion items? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14, 282-287. PDF

2006

Budson, A. E.., Mather, M., & Chong, H. (2006). Memory for choices in Alzheimer's Disease. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 22, 150-158. PDF

Carstensen, L. L., Mikels, J. A., & Mather, M. (2006). Aging and the intersection of cognition, motivation and emotion. In J. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, 343-362. PDF

Knight, M., & Mather, M. (2006). The affective neuroscience of aging and its implications for cognition. In T. Canli (Ed.), The Biological Bases of Personality and Individual Differences. Guilford Press, 159-183. PDF

Mather, M. (2006). A review of decision making processes: Weighing the risks and benefits of aging. In L. L. Carstensen & C. R. Hartel (Eds.), When I'm 64. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 145-173. PDF

Mather, M. (2006). Why memories may become more positive with age. In B. Uttl, N. Ohta, & A. L. Siegenthaler (Eds.), Memory and Emotion: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Blackwell Publishing, 135-159. PDF

Mather, M., & Knight, M. R. (2006). Angry faces get noticed quickly: Threat detection is not impaired among older adults. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 61, P54-P57. PDF

Mather, M., Mitchell, K. J., Raye, C. L., Novak, D. L., Greene, E. J., & Johnson, M. K. (2006). Emotional arousal can impair feature binding in working memory. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, 614-625. PDF zip file with behavioral data

Mitchell, K. J., Mather, M., Johnson, M. K., Raye, C. L., Greene, E. J. (2006). An fMRI investigation of short-term source and item memory for negative pictures. NeuroReport, 17, 1543-1546. PDF

2005

Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. (2005). Aging and motivated cognition: The positivity effect in attention and memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 496-502. PDF

Mather, M., & Knight, M. (2005). Goal-directed memory: The role of cognitive control in older adults' emotional memory. Psychology and Aging, 20, 554-570. PDF Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award winner

Mather, M., Knight, M., & McCaffrey, M. (2005). The allure of the alignable: Younger and older adults' false memories of choice features. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 134, 38-51. PDF

Yoon, C., Laurent, G., Fung, H., Gonzalez, R. Gutchess, A. H., Hedden, T., Lambert-Pandraud, R., Mather, M., Park, D. C., Peters, E., & Skurnik, I. (2005). Cognition, persuasion and decision making in older consumers. Marketing Letters, 16, 429-441. PDF

2004

Kennedy, Q., Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. (2004). The role of motivation in the age-related positivity effect in autobiographical memory. Psychological Science, 15, 208-214. PDF

Mather, M. (2004). Aging and emotional memory. In D. Reisberg and P. Hertel, (Eds.) Memory and Emotion. NY: Oxford University Press, 272-307. PDF

Mather, M., Canli, T., English, T., Whitfield, S., Wais, P., Ochsner, K., Gabrieli, J. D. E., Carstensen, L. L. (2004). Amygdala responses to emotionally valenced stimuli in older and younger adults. Psychological Science, 15, 259-263. PDF

2003

Charles, S. T., Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. (2003). Aging and emotional memory: The forgettable nature of negative images for older adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132, 310-324. PDF

Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. (2003). Aging and attentional biases for emotional faces. Psychological Science, 14, 409-415. PDF

Mather, M., & Johnson, M. K. (2003). Affective review and schema reliance in memory in older and younger adults. American Journal of Psychology, 116, 169-189. PDF

Mather, M., Shafir, E., & Johnson, M. K. (2003). Remembering chosen and assigned options. Memory & Cognition, 31, 422-433. PDF

Mitchell, K. J., Johnson, M. K., & Mather, M. (2003). Source monitoring and suggestibility to misinformation: Adult age-related differences. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 107-119. PDF

2001

Lane, S., Mather, M., Villa, D., & Morita, S. (2001). How events are reviewed matters: Effects of varied focus on eyewitness suggestibility. Memory & Cognition, 29, 940-947.PDF

2000

Kixmiller, J. S., Verfaellie, M., Mather, M., & Cermak, L. S. (2000). Role of perceptual and organizational factors in amnesics' recall of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure: A comparison of three amnesic groups. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 22, 198-207.

Mather, M., & Johnson, M. K. (2000). Choice-supportive source monitoring: Do our decisions seem better to us as we age? Psychology and Aging, 15, 596-606. PDF

Mather, M., Shafir, E., & Johnson, M. K. (2000). Misrememberance of options past: Source monitoring and choice. Psychological Science, 11, 132-138. PDF

Mitchell, K. J., Johnson, M. K., Raye, C. L., Mather, M., & D'Esposito, M. (2000). Aging and reflective processes of working memory: Binding and test load deficits. Psychology and Aging, 15. 527-541. PDF

1999 and earlier

Mather, M., Johnson, M. K., & De Leonardis, D. M. (1999). Stereotype reliance in source monitoring: Age differences and neuropsychological test correlates. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 16, 437-458. PDF

Mitchell, K. J., Livosky, M., & Mather, M. (1998). The weapon focus effect revisited: The role of novelty. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 3, 287-303. PDF

Cermak, L.S., Mather, M., & Hill, R. (1997). Unconscious influences on amnesics' word-stem completion. Neuropsychologia, 35, 605-610. PDF

Johnson, M.K., Nolde, S.F., Mather. M., Kounios, J., Schacter, D.L., & Curran, T. (1997). The similarity of brain activity associated with true and false recognition memory depends on test format. Psychological Science, 8, 250-257. PDF

Mather, M., Henkel, L.A., & Johnson, M.K. (1997). Evaluating characteristics of false memories: Remember/know and memory characteristics questionnaire compared. Memory & Cognition, 25(4), 826-837. PDF

Cermak, L.S., Verfaellie, M., Lanzoni, S., Mather, M. & Chase, K.A. (1996). The spacing effect on the recall and recognition ability of amnesic patients. Neuropsychology, 10, 219-227. PDF