Alexander P. Burgoyne

Research Scientist II at Georgia Tech

Alexander Burgoyne Download CV
Current Grant Funding:
$7,499,317 - Office of Naval Research MURI
Understanding and building overall cognitive capability through attention control.
Co-PI: Alexander P. Burgoyne

$1,034,940 - Army Research Institute
Understanding change in performance: The roles of cognitive abilities, "hot cognition", and context.
Co-PI: Alexander P. Burgoyne

$117,193 - Defense University Research Instrumentation Program Grant
Investigating the physiological underpinnings of attention control.
Co-PI: Alexander P. Burgoyne
Teaching:
Psychology 6011(A): Graduate-Level Cognitive Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology

Psychology 1101(SF): Introductory Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
- Overall instructor effectiveness: 5/5, 100th percentile at GT
- Inclusivity: 5/5, 100th percentile at GT
- Enthusiasm: 5/5, 100th percentile at GT

Psychology 1101(G): Introductory Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
- Overall instructor effectiveness: 4.9/5, 99th percentile at GT
- Inclusivity: 4.9/5, 99th percentile at GT
- Enthusiasm: 4.9/5, 99th percentile at GT

Alexander P. Burgoyne

Hi, I'm Alex. I'm a cognitive psychologist who is fascinated by individual differences in cognitive ability, personality, and motivation, and their consequences for skill acquisition and expertise. My current work combines experimental, differential, and computational approaches to better understand the nature of intelligence and specific cognitive abilities, such as attention control, problem solving, working memory capacity, and placekeeping ability. This work cuts across basic and applied research areas; for example, it has been used to inform personnel selection procedures used by the U.S. Navy. An important goal of mine in this context is to reduce adverse impact and increase the equity of high-stakes tests.

I use a range of statistical and computational approaches in my work, including meta-analysis, meta-regression, multigroup structural equation modeling, multilevel modeling, and drift diffusion modeling. I also enjoy scientific writing, and have written popular press articles for outlets such as Scientific American, Slate, and The New York Times.
Ongoing Projects:
Using Computational Modeling to Understand Sub-Optimality in Decision Making
We are using drift diffusion modeling and structural equation modeling to better understand suboptimalities in decision making resulting from impulsivity, excessive response caution, lapses of attention, and monitoring failures.

Introducing the Flight Lab
We bought and built FAA-approved flight simulators to research skill acquisition in the cockpit. We will investigate training techniques that ramp-up learning curves and use discriminant function analyses to identify learner profiles that have consequences for effective training.

Developing Efficient, Reliable, and Valid Attention Control Tests
The study of individual differences in attention control has been stymied by the use of psychometrically unsound tasks. We are developing novel attention control tests that are highly efficient, reliable, and valid. This work combines data collected in our laboratory at Georgia Tech, online, and at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute (NAMI) in Pensacola, Florida. Our goal is to improve selection procedures currently used by the U.S. Military.

How Firm Are the Foundations of Mindset Theory?
Much ado has been made about mindset in educational contexts. However, there is mixed evidence regarding central premises of mindset theory, including its impact on academic achievement. In this series of experiments, we're testing proponents' major claims about mindset.

Cognitive Abilities, Complex Task Performance, and Training
This work examines the predictive validity of broad cognitive abilities for performance in different kinds of complex task environments before and after training. This is a joint research project at Georgia Tech, Case Western Reserve University, and TAMUC, funded by the Army Research Institute.

Publications


Burgoyne et al. (2023)

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

Nature and measurement of attention control

Burgoyne et al. (2023)

Journal of Intelligence

The ACT predicts academic performance, but why?



Macnamara and Burgoyne (2022)

Psychological Bulletin

Do Growth Mindset Interventions Impact Students’ Academic Achievement? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Recommendations for Best Practices

Burgoyne et al. (2022)

Psychological Research

Revisiting the self-generation effect in proofreading.



Burgoyne et al. (2022)

Intelligence

Attention control and process overlap theory: Searching for cognitive processes underpinning the positive manifold

Burgoyne et al. (2021)

Clinical Psychiatry

Individual differences in spatial and mathematics skills: Implications for educational and clinical psychology.

Burgoyne & Macnamara (2021)

Journal of Intelligence

Reconsidering the use of the mindset assessment profile in educational contexts

Johnson, Burgoyne, Mix, Young, & Levine (2021)

Cognition

Spatial and mathematics skills: Similarities and differences related to age, SES, and gender

Burgoyne & Engle (2020)

Current Directions in Psychological Science

Attention control: A cornerstone of higher-order cognition

Burgoyne, Mashburn, & Engle (2021)

Intelligence

Reducing adverse impact in high-stakes testing

Burgoyne et al. (2020)

Learning & Motivation

Can a brief intervention alter genetic and environmental influences on psychological traits?

Burgoyne et al. (2020)

Learning & Motivation

Differential and Experimental Approaches to Studying Intelligence in Humans and Non-Human Animals

Burgoyne, Hambrick, & Macnamara (2020)

Psychological Science

How Firm Are the Foundations of Mind-Set Theory? The Claims Appear Stronger Than the Evidence

Burgoyne, Hambrick, & Altmann (2020)

Psychological Research

Incremental Validity of Placekeeping as a Predictor of Multitasking

Hambrick, Burgoyne, & Altmann (2020)

The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence

Problem-Solving and Intelligence

Burgoyne & Engle (2020)

Journal of Intelligence

Mitochondrial Functioning and Its Relation to Higher-Order Cognitive Processes

Burgoyne, Harris, & Hambrick (2019)

Intelligence

Predicting piano skill acquisition in beginners: The role of general intelligence, music aptitude, and mindset

Burgoyne, Hambrick, & Altmann (2019)

The American Journal of Psychology

Placekeeping Ability as a Component of Fluid Intelligence: Not Just Working Memory Capacity

Hambrick & Burgoyne (2019)

Current Issues in Sport Science

Beyond nature vs. nurture in expertise research – comment on J. Baker and N. Wattie

Hambrick, Burgoyne, & Oswald (2019)

Vocational Interests in the Workplace: Rethinking Behavior at Work

The Role of Interests in the Development of Expertise: A Multifactorial Perspective

Burgoyne, Hambrick, & Altmann (2019)

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

Is Working Memory Capacity a Causal Factor in Fluid Intelligence?

Burgoyne et al. (2019)

The American Journal of Psychology

The Impact of Domain-Specific Experience on Chess Skill: Re-Analysis of a Key Study

Sisk & Burgoyne et al. (2018)

Psychological Science

To What Extent and Under Which Circumstances Are Growth Mind-Sets Important to Academic Achievement? Two Meta-Analyses

Hambrick, Burgoyne, & Oswald (2019)

The Oxford Handbook of Expertise

Domain-General Models of Expertise: The Role of Cognitive Ability

Mix et al. (2018)

Cognition

The Latent Structure of Spatial Skill: A Test of the 2 x 2 Typology

Burgoyne et al. (2018)

Journal of Research in Personality

Analysis of a Mindset Intervention

Hambrick & Burgoyne et al. (2018)

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Toward a Multifactorial Model of Expertise: Beyond Born Versus Made

Hambrick, Altmann, & Burgoyne (2018)

The American Journal of Psychology

A Knowledge-Activation Approach to Testing the Circumvention-of-Limits Hypothesis

Hambrick & Burgoyne et al. (2018)

International Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning

Working Memory, Thinking, and Expertise

Macnamara et al. (2018)

The Science of Expertise

The Deliberate Practice View: An Evaluation of Definitions, Claims, and Empirical Evidence

Sala & Burgoyne et al. (2017)

Intelligence

Checking the “Academic Selection” Argument. Chess Players Outperform Non-Chess Players in Cognitive Skills Related to Intelligence: A Meta-Analysis

Burgoyne et al. (2016)

Intelligence

The Relationship between Cognitive Ability and Chess Skill: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis

Popular Writing


Programs

Choose-A-Move Chess Test

Choose-A-Move Shortened Chess Test

Chess Knowledge Test

Change Detection (Luck & Vogel, 1997)

Pattern Comparison

Reading Comprehension


These programs were developed for E-Prime by Alex Burgoyne.
Email burgoyn4@gmail.com for password.