Barbara A. Eriksen

Barbara A. Eriksen is an American psychologist renowned for her contributions to the field of cognitive psychology, particularly in the study of attention and response inhibition. She is best known for co-developing the Eriksen Flanker Task, a widely used experimental paradigm that assesses an individual's ability to manage conflicting information and maintain focus on relevant stimuli.

🧠 Early Life and Education

While specific details about Barbara A. Eriksen's early life and education are limited in public records, her collaborative work with Charles W. Eriksen, presumed to be her husband, has been influential in cognitive psychology research.

🔬 The Eriksen Flanker Task

Introduced in 1974 by Barbara A. Eriksen and Charles W. Eriksen, the Eriksen Flanker Task is designed to measure an individual's selective attention and the ability to suppress responses to irrelevant stimuli. In this task, participants are required to focus on a central target stimulus while ignoring flanking stimuli that may be congruent or incongruent with the target. The task assesses how quickly and accurately individuals can respond to the target stimulus amidst potential distractions.

The Flanker Task has become a standard tool in cognitive psychology and neuroscience for studying attention, response inhibition, and the effects of interference on cognitive processing. It has been applied in various research areas, including developmental studies, clinical assessments, and investigations into neurological conditions.

📚 Selected Publications

Eriksen, B. A., & Eriksen, C. W. (1974). Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task. Perception & Psychophysics, 16, 143–149.
Eriksen, C. W., & Eriksen, B. A. (1971). Visual perceptual processing rates and backward and forward masking. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 89(2), 306.
Eriksen, B. A., & Eriksen, C. W. (1972). Perception and Personality. General Learning Press.

🌟 Legacy and Impact

Barbara A. Eriksen's work has had a lasting impact on the understanding of cognitive processes related to attention and response control. The Eriksen Flanker Task remains a fundamental tool in psychological research, aiding in the exploration of cognitive functions across various populations and conditions.