# Our Research Focus

The Attention and Working Memory Lab studies cognitive functioning from an <mark style="color:blue;">**individual differences**</mark> perspective. We assess a wide range of cognitive abilities (working memory capacity, attention control, task switching, updating, discrimination ability, prospective memory, and speed-accuracy tendencies) to:

* Gain theoretical insight into the mechanisms underlying these constructs
* Explore how these abilities relate to each other
* Understand how they predict real-world outcomes such as fluid intelligence, multitasking, language learning, and military performance

Our primary focus is on the <mark style="color:blue;">**nature and measurement of attention control**</mark>. We define attention control as the ability to focus on task-relevant information and resist distraction or interference. This ability is central to complex cognition; it helps individuals stay on task, avoid mistakes, remember key information, and prioritize what matters most.

[**Our publications**](https://englelab.gatech.edu/publications) have been cited over 55,000 times on Google Scholar, making us the 10th most cited lab at Georgia Tech. Our work spans a broad range of topics, including:

* Genetic predictors of intelligence
* Using working memory tasks to predict flight simulation errors in sleep-deprived Air Force pilots
* Predicting intelligence from baseline pupil size
* Measuring brain activity during complex tasks using EEG