Research
Current PhD Project
Relational Representations in Visual Perception, Language Processing and Memory
My thesis investigates how structured relational information — the binding of entities by meaningful relations — is processed and represented across three cognitive domains. In language, I use frequency-tagging EEG to ask whether the relational structure of compound words (e.g. book+shelf) is processed automatically and pre-attentively. In memory, I examine how minimal relational cues drive superior recall of phrase-level material over equivalent word lists. The overarching goal is to understand whether a common representational format underlies relational cognition across perception, language, and memory.
Focus Areas
Relational Representations
How the mind encodes and organises relations in visual perception, language, and memory — including the phrase superiority effect and relational memory organisation.
EEG & Frequency Tagging
Using steady-state EEG (SSVEP / frequency-tagging) to probe automatic and implicit processing of linguistic and visual structure in the human brain.
Chinese Language Processing
Phonological and morphological planning in Mandarin spoken word production; orthographic learning in L2 Chinese character acquisition.
Memory & Language
Investigating how relational information in linguistic input shapes how we remember phrases and sentences — and why relations lead to superior memory performance.
Second Language Acquisition
The role of radical markings, stroke order animations, and orthographic cues in L2 Chinese character learning, with evidence from reaction time and ERP studies.
Spoken Word Production
Syllable and phoneme-level planning units in Mandarin spoken word production, investigated through ERP and behavioural paradigms.