Dr. Howard Thorsheim
I teach classes in Cognitive science, Learning & Memory, Psychophysiology,
History and Systems of Psychology, and Psychology of Narrative.
Together with colleagues Jim Dickson, Dana Gross, Elizabeth Hutchins, and Bonnie Sherman, I participate in the NSF-funded laboratory-based, first course in psychology: Principles of Psychology-Experimental Foundations.
Research Interests
Systems theory provides an integrating theme in all of my research interests, and include systems such as social systems, information systems, physiological systems, and knowledge systems. A current focus of my research is narrative as a system. Particular kinds of narrative of interest to me that combine several levels of my interest in systems are remembering and thinking of one's experiences as story, sharing those stories with others, and listening to stories of others. I am particularly interested in the role that storysharing plays in helping people thrive as they age as measured by physiological indicators.
Narrative Memory
Narrative memory manifests itself in stories of life experience. The particular kinds of narrative memory of interest to me are those narrative memories that encode what a person finds to be personally meaningful, and that the person selects to communicate that meaning to others.
Topics of current interest in our research include the following:
Intergenerational reminiscing--mutual storysharing of life experiences
Psychology of storytelling narrative structure Influence of settings
in which people share lifestories (narrative and the social support
it generates when people find common ground with each other) Gerontological
implications of storysharing for healthy aging Psychophysiological
approaches to examining links between storysharing, physical health
and well-being.
For more research topics, click here to visit my page.
