Dr. Dorothy Buchli

Associate Professor of Psychology

Co-Chair of Psychology Department

Dorothy BuchliDr. Dorothy (Doe) Buchli (Ph.D., UCLA, 2015) holds the position of associate professor and is a cognitive psychologist. She teaches Introduction to Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Sports Psychology, Introduction to Disability Studies, Research Methods and Statistics I, and History and Systems of Psychology. Her research interests include learning and memory, executive control, and embodied cognition. She is particularly interested in the mechanisms that underlie memory retrieval and everyday forgetting. She is also currently researching the lived experiences of those with disabilities in the hopes of broadening the scope of disability history and helping others to develop a positive and empowering disabled identity.

Education

  • Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology, UCLA
  • M.S., Cognitive Psychology, UCLA
  • B.S., Psychology, Sweet Briar College

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Psychology (PSY 101)
  • Cognitive Psychology (PSY 215)
  • Sports Psychology (PSY 285.W1)
  • Introduction to Disability Studies (PSY 285)
  • Research Methods and Statistics I (PSY 306)
  • History and Systems of Psychology (PSY 401)

Specialty

Human learning and memory

Professional Interests

My primary research focuses on learning and memory. Intuitively, it may seem that remembering and forgetting reflect two ends of a single continuum — that to remember is to avoid forgetting. In many instances, however, forgetting plays an essential and adaptive role in our ability to remember. A major focus of my research has been to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the forgetting of unwanted and irrelevant information in memory. I also explore the intersection between memory and other psychological processes (e.g., trauma, psychopathology, learning, emotion, daydreaming, and embodied cognition). Recently, I have started a new program of research that aims to understand the psychosocial processes that reduce discrimination and enhance positive self-acceptance for persons with disabilities. Additionally, I am interested in how American history has shaped the lives of disabled people.

Other Interests

I have three dogs, and I love each of them dearly. I also have a somewhat unhealthy fascination with early ’90s sitcoms, especially “Seinfeld” and “NewsRadio.” I love to read and visit monuments and museums regularly, especially those in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and my hometown of Yorktown, Virginia. I also sincerely enjoy teaching and getting to know all of my students during their journey as undergraduates at Mercer.

Recent Publications

  • Buchli, D.R. (2019). False fame effects emerge following an internal context shift and are abolished with contextual reinstatement, Memory, 27:8, 1024-1033
  • Buchli, D. R., Storm, B. C., & Bjork, R. A. (2016). Explaining retrieval-induced forgetting: A change in mental context between the study and restudy practice phases is not sufficient to cause forgetting. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(6), 1197-1209.
  • Giebl, S., Storm, B. C., Buchli, D. R., Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2016). Retrieval-induced forgetting is associated with increased positivity when imagining the future. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(2), 351-360.
  • Murayama, K., Miyatsu, T., Buchli, D.R., & Storm, B. C. (2014). Forgetting as a consequence of retrieval: a meta-analytic review of retrieval-induced forgetting. Psychological bulletin, 140(5), 1383.
  • Storm, B. C., Angello, G., Buchli, D. R., Koppel, R. H., Little, J. L., & Nestojko, J. F. (2015). A review of retrieval-induced forgetting in the contexts of learning, eyewitness memory, social cognition, autobiographical memory, and creative cognition. Psychology of learning and motivation, 62, 141-194.

Contact Dr. Dorothy Buchli


(757) 813-1414
buchli_dr@mercer.edu
Office: Willet Science Center, Room 123