{"id":7,"date":"2013-06-18T09:04:38","date_gmt":"2013-06-18T13:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/psychology.cos.ucf.edu\/acat\/?page_id=7"},"modified":"2026-10-08T18:28:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:28:04","slug":"welcome-to-the-applied-cognition-technology-lab","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the Applied Cognition &amp; Technology Lab!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Applied Cognition and Technology (ACAT) Laboratory is the result of a collaboration between cognitive psychologist Dr. Valerie Sims and social psychologist Dr. Matthew Chin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Our research examines humans\u2019 experiences of non-human others, including technology such as computers and companion animals.<\/strong> We apply this basic research to applied questions such as designing interfaces and ameliorating animal cruelty.\u00a0In addition, we research the role of individual differences in understanding these variables. Specifically, we examine the roles of spatial ability and cognitive attributional style.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1821\" src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-3.58.23-PM-300x268.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"262\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-3.58.23-PM-300x268.png 300w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-3.58.23-PM-768x686.png 768w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-3.58.23-PM.png 838w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px\" \/>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1826\" src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-4.18.45-PM-267x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-4.18.45-PM-267x300.png 267w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-4.18.45-PM.png 452w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1822\" src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-3.58.36-PM-300x275.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-3.58.36-PM-300x275.png 300w, https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-21-at-3.58.36-PM.png 754w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Our lab has a variety of research projects going on at any given time. The topics of these projects include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Spatial Abilities\/\u00a0Mental Rotation<\/li>\n<li>Schema Theory<\/li>\n<li>Anthropomorphism<\/li>\n<li>Individual Differences<\/li>\n<li>Human-Computer Interaction<\/li>\n<li>Technology Use\/Behaviors<\/li>\n<li>Emergency Warnings<\/li>\n<li>Cognitive Load Theory and Higher Education<\/li>\n<li>Human-Animal Interaction<\/li>\n<li>Natural Disasters \/ Beach Safety<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>RECENT MEDIA FEATURES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bravery by Design: Exploring the Impact of TVY Through Research (Summer 2026). Our lab\u2019s work examining the developmental benefits of theatre for the very young will be presented as part of the Orlando Family Stage\u2019s Presentation at American Alliance for Theatre and Education.<\/p>\n<p>UCF Today: Orlando Family Stage Sets the Mark with UCF Collaboration (March 2026). Features our lab\u2019s work examining the developmental benefits of theatre for young audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Pegasus: The Magazine of the University of Florida. The Examined Life. (Summer 2019). Interviews Dr. Valerie Sims about her curiosity and research.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Our graduate students are from the Psychology Department&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/graduate\/ph-d-human-factors-and-cognitive-psychology\/\">Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Program<\/a>. and our undergraduate students often work in collaboration with the <a href=\"https:\/\/our.ucf.edu\/\">Office of Undergraduate Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2013\/06\/ACAT-Poster-2012.pdf\">\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Applied Cognition and Technology (ACAT) Laboratory is the result of a collaboration between cognitive psychologist Dr. Valerie Sims and social psychologist Dr. Matthew Chin. Our research examines humans\u2019 experiences of non-human others, including technology such as computers and companion animals. We apply this basic research to applied questions such as designing interfaces and ameliorating [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Welcome to the Applied Cognition &amp; Technology Lab! - Applied Cognition and Technology Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welcome to the Applied Cognition &amp; Technology Lab! - Applied Cognition and Technology Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Applied Cognition and Technology (ACAT) Laboratory is the result of a collaboration between cognitive psychologist Dr. Valerie Sims and social psychologist Dr. Matthew Chin. 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