Interview with Michael I. Posner.

Michael Posner has been professor of psychology at the University of Oregon since 1965. His work has generally been in the area of selective attention. During the 1960s and 1970s, Posner's work relied primarily on chronometric methods and is best described in his Paul Fitts lectures published as Chronometric Explorations of Mind. From 1979 to 1985 Posner directed a laboratory at Good Samaritan Hospital and worked on the role of the parietal lobe and other structures involved in visual orienting. From 1985 to 1988 Posner directed a neuropsychology laboratory in St. Louis where he worked with Marc Raichle and Steve Petersen in developing PET methods appropriate to cognitive studies (see Images of Mind with M. Raichle). Since 1988, Posner has been working on combined spatial and temporal studies exploring the plasticity of human attention and skill acquisition. Posner's work has been recognized by membership in the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, APAs Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award and William James book award (with M. Raichle), and by the Vollum award for outstanding contribution to science and technology in the pacific northwest.