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Sara Festini, associate professor of psychology at The University of Tampa, recently received a three-year, $277,536 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Festini’s research assesses how people prioritize information within working memory, which is the temporarily maintained and manipulated information that one is currently thinking about in one’s mind. The implications of the research, titled “Executive Control of Working Memory: Prioritization Based on Value,” may impact future research on treatment for psychological disorders (e.g., PTSD) or classroom learning strategies.

“The ability to prioritize information in memory requires strategic mental processing and is an example of an executive control process,” Festini said. “Similar to how an executive of a company oversees the behaviors of employees, executive control processes are used to regulate and plan one’s own thoughts and behaviors.”

Festini, who was recognized with the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award at UT in 2020, will engage undergraduate students to help perform the research. The undergraduate students will assist with experiments designed to understand the consequences, mechanisms and contextual requirements of prioritizing information within working memory when importance cues are provided after initial studying.

Festini, who will serve as the principal investigator, said the grant also will facilitate collaboration with the Glazer Children’s Museum in downtown Tampa to create an interactive experience that will educate children and caregivers about memory and executive control, exposing children to psychological science at an early age.

Holley Tankersley, dean of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education, said faculty research at UT is particularly valuable since it “creates sophisticated research opportunities for students to work closely with faculty outside the classroom.” Tankersley also noted that Festini's work involves invaluable outreach to the community, deepening UT's existing relationship with the Glazer Children's Museum.

For more information, contact Festini at sfestini@ut.edu.