Emily Elliott, Professor

Office: Audubon Hall
Department of Psychology
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Office Phone: 225--578-8745
Email: [email protected]
View my lab website.

Dr. Elliott will be on sabbatical for the 2024-2025 academic year. 

Research Interests

My research focus includes the areas of short-term memory and working memory, and also the interaction of attention with memory performance.

My interest in short-term memory stems from the close relationship between the items that a person is attending to and the ability to retain these items over short periods of time. To understand the interaction between memory and attention, it is helpful to be able to manipulate carefully what a person is attending to, or purposefully ignoring. In this way, the auditory modality is very useful for study. The direction of one's attention in the visual modality can be easily modified by gaze, or even closing one's eyes. This is not the case in the auditory modality. For this reason, much of my research includes auditory stimuli, which of course are ever-present in the natural environment. Additionally, I study the development of memory in children. I believe that studying children can be a valuable tool for understanding the origins of adult cognition.

Dr. Elliott has a primary research interest in memory, working memory, attention, and the development of attention and memory in children. One current line of research includes an investigation of how people perform in the presence of sounds that are irrelevant to the main task. For more information, contact Dr. Elliott by number 578-7460 or email, [email protected].

Representative Publications

Morey, C. C., AuBuchon, A. M., Attwood, M., Castelain, T., Cowan, N., Crepaldi, D., Fjerdingstad, E., Fredriksen, E., Jarrold, C., Koch,C.,  Lelonkiewicz, J. R.,  Lupyan, G., Mendenhall, W., Moreau, D., Schonberg, C.,  amnes, C. K.,  Vlach, H., & Elliott E. M., (2024): Is Verbal Rehearsal Strategic? An Investigation into Overt Rehearsal of Nameable Pictures in 5- to 10-Year-Old Children, Journal of Cognition and Development, DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2024.2389123

Jimenez, M. N., & Elliott, E. M. (2024). Musical Training as a Continuum: Relationships of Short-Term Memory and Musical Aptitudes. Auditory Perception & Cognition, 7(1), 50–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/25742442.2023.2289823

Cowan, N. & Elliott, E. M. (2023). Deconfounding serial recall: Response timing and the overarching role of grouping. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 49, 249-268. http://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001157 

Ma, Y. Q., Baker, D. J., & Elliott, E. M. (2023). Lyrics and melodies: Do both affect emotions equally? Musicae Scientiae. https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649221149109

AuBuchon, A. M., Elliott, E. M., Morey, C. C., et al. (2022). Lexical access speed and the development of phonological recoding during immediate serial recall. Journal of Cognition and Development. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2022.2083140 

Elliott, E. M., Bell, R., Gorin, S., Robinson, N., & Marsh, J. E. (2022). Auditory distraction can be studied online! A direct comparison between in-person and online experimentation. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 34, 307-324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2021.2021924 

Elliott EM, Morey CC, AuBuchon AM, et al. Multilab Direct Replication of Flavell, Beach, and Chinsky (1966): Spontaneous Verbal Rehearsal in a Memory Task as a Function of Age (2021). Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/25152459211018187

Cherry, K. E., DeVito, A., Calamia, M. R., & Elliott, E. M., Yu, S., Sampson, L., Galea, S., Mansoor, M., McKneely, K. J., Nguyen, Q. P. (2021).  Disaster stressors and psychological well-being after a flood.  Psychology and Aging, 36(5), 660-666. http://dx.doi.org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1037/pag0000602 ; http://dx.doi.org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1037/pag0000602.supp (Supplemental)

Baker, D. J., Ventura, J. A., Calamia, M., Shanahan D. T., & Elliott, E. M. (2020). Examining musical sophistication: A replication and theoretical commentary on the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index. Musicae Scientiae, 24(4), 411-429. https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864918811879

Cherry, K. C., Elliott, E.M., Golob, E. J., Brown, J. S., Kim, S., & Jazwinski, S. M. (2020). Strategic encoding and retrieval processes in verbal recall among middle-aged and older adults. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12349

AuBuchon, A. M., McGill, C. I., & Elliott, E. M. (2020). Decomposing the role of rehearsal in auditory distraction effects in adults’ serial recall. Auditory Perception and Cognition, https://doi.org/10.1080/25742442.2020.1872996 

Vuvan, D. T., Simon, E., Baker, D. J., Monzingo, E., & Elliott, E. M. (2020). Musical training mediates the relation between working memory capacity and preference for musical complexity. Memory and Cognition, https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-020-01031-7

Elliott, E. M., Marsh, J. E., Zeringue, J., & McGill, C. I. (2020). Are individual differences in auditory processing efficiency related to auditory distraction by irrelevant sound? A replication study. Memory and Cognition, 48, 145-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-019-00968-8  

Cherry, K. E., Lyon, B. A., Boudreaux, E. O., Blanchard, A. B., Hicks, J. L., Elliott, E. M., Myers, L., Kim, S., & Jazwinski, S. M. (2019). Memory self-efficacy and beliefs about memory and aging in oldest-old adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). Experimental Aging Research, 45(1), 28-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2018.1560107

Aubuchon, A., McGill, C. I., & Elliott, E. M. (2019). Auditory distraction does more than disrupt rehearsal processes in children’s serial recall. Memory & Cognition.

Barker, B., & Elliott, E. M. (2019). The role of talker familiarity in auditory distraction. Experimental Psychology.

Lutfi-Proctor, D. A., Elliott, E. M., & Golob, E. J. (2018). Spatial integration and the underlying mechanisms of cross-modality interference. Journal of Cognition, 1, 1-15

Elliott, E. M., Hughes, R. W., Briganti, A. M., Joseph, T. N., Marsh, J. E., & Macken, W. J. (2016). Distraction in verbal short-term memory: Insights from developmental differences. Journal of Memory & Language, 88, 39-50.

Bornstein, B. H., Robicheaux, T. R., & Elliott, E. M. (2015). The role of semantic relatedness in producing the revelation effect: A test of the Global Matching Model. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 27, 207-217.

van Lamsweerde, A. E., Beck, M. R., & Elliott, E. M. (2014). Retrieval from long-term memory reduces working memory representations for visual features and their bindings. Memory & Cognition, 43, 237-246.

Elliott, E. M., Morey, C. C., Morey, R. D., Shelton, J. T., Eaves, S. D., & Lutfi-Proctor,D. A. (2014). The role of modality: Visual and auditory distractors in Stroop interference effects. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 46, 15-26.

Lutfi-Proctor, D. A., Elliott, E. M., & Cowan, N. (2014). The role of the visual stimulus on cross-modal Stroop interference. PsyCh, 3, 17-29.

Hill, B. D., Foster, J., Elliott, E. M., Shelton, J. T., McCain, J., & Gouvier, W. D. (2013). Need for cognition is related to higher general intelligence, fluid intelligence, and crystallized intelligence, but not working memory. Journal of Research inPersonality,47, 22-25.

Morey, C. C., Elliott, E. M., Wiggers, J., Eaves, S. D., Shelton, J. T., & Mall, J. T. (2012). Goal- neglect links Stroop interference with working memory capacity. Acta Psychologica, 141, 250-260

Elliott, E. M., & Briganti, A. M. (2012). Investigating the role of attentional processes in the irrelevant speech effect. Acta Psychologica,140, 64-74.

Pella, R.D., Hill, B.D., Shelton, J.T., Elliott, E., & Gouvier, W.D. (2012). Evaluation of embedded malingering indexes in a non-litigating clinical sample using control, clinical, and derived groups. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 27, 45-57.

Elliott, E. M., Cherry, K. E., Silva, J. L., Smitherman, E. M., Jazwinski, S. M., Volaufova, J., & Yu, Q. (2011). Working memory in the oldest-old: Evidence from output serial position curves. Memory & Cognition, 39, 1423-1434.

Shelton, J. T., Elliott, E. M., Matthews, R. A., Hill, B. D., Gouvier, W. D. (2010). The relationships of working memory, secondary memory, and general fluid intelligence: Working memory is special. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 36, 813-820.

Hill, B. D., Elliott, E. M., Shelton, J. T., Pella, R., O’Jile, J., & Gouvier, W. D. (2010). Can we improve the clinical assessment of working memory? An evaluation of the WAIS-III using a working memory criterion construct. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 32, 315-323.

Shelton, J. T., Elliott, E. M., Eaves, S. D. L., & Exner, A. L. (2009). The distracting effects of a ringing cell phone: An investigation of the laboratory and the classroom setting. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 513-512.

Shelton, J. T., Elliott, E. M., Hill, B. D., Calamia, M. R., & Gouvier, W. D. (2009). A comparison of laboratory and clinical working memory tests and their prediction of fluid intelligence. Intelligence, 37, 283-293.

Elliott, E. M., Bhagat, S. P., & Lynn, S. D. (2007). Can children with (central) auditory processing disorders ignore irrelevant sounds? Research in Developmental Disabilities,28,506-517.

Shelton, J. A., Metzger, R. L., & Elliott, E. M. (2007). A group-administered lag task as a measure of working memory. Behavior Research Methods,39,482-493.

Cherry, K. E., Elliott, E. M., & Reese, C. M. (2007). Age and individual differences in working memory: The size judgment span task. Journal of General Psychology, 134, 43-65

Cowan, N., Fristoe, N. M., Elliott, E. M., Brunner, R. P., & Saults, J. S. (2006). Scope of attention, control of attention, and intelligence in children and adults. Memory & Cognition, 34, 1754-1768.

Elliott, E. M., Barrilleaux, K. M., & Cowan, N. (2006). Individual differences in the ability to avoid distracting sounds. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 18, 90-108.

Cowan, N., Elliott, E. M., Saults, J. S., Nugent, L., Bomb, P., & Hismjatullina, A. (2006). Rethinking speed theories of cognitive development: A response speed that correlates with short-term memory but does not affect it. Psychological Science, 17, 67-73.

Elliott, E. M., & Cowan, N. (2005). Individual differences in memory span and in the effects of irrelevant sounds on memory performance: The coherence of the irrelevant sound effect. Memory & Cognition, 33, 664-675.

Cowan, N., Elliott, E. M., Saults, J. S., Morey, C. C., Mattox, S., & Hismjatullina, A. (2005). On the capacity of attention: Its estimation and its role in working memory and cognitive aptitudes. Cognitive Psychology, 51, 42-100.

Cowan, N., Baddeley, A. D., Elliott, E. M., & Norris, J. (2003). List composition and the word length effect in immediate recall: A comparison of localist and globalist assumptions. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,10, 74-79.

Cowan, N., Towse, J., Hamilton, Z., Saults, S., Elliott, E., Lacey, J., Moreno, M., & Hitch, G. (2003). Children's working-memory processes change with practice: Evidence from a response-timing analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132, 113-132.

Elliott, E. M. (2002). The irrelevant-speech effect and children: Theoretical implications of developmental change. Memory & Cognition, 30, 478-487.

Elliott, E. M., & Cowan, N. (2001). Habituation to auditory distractors in a cross-modal, color-word interference task. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 27, 654-667.