Kat McNeely-White

Graduate Student · Colorado State University

I am a Ph.D. student in the Cognitive Psychology program at Colorado State University studying under Dr. Anne Cleary.

My research focuses on recognition memory processes in humans, specifically during instances of retrieval failure. Frequently, people fail to remember the details of how they met someone, where they left something, the name of a song, or what was on their grocery list. During these moments, although the details are momentarily inaccessible, people still have access to other information about the memory. My research examines how people are able to make decisions during retrieval failure by relying on familiarity signals. To study this phenomenon, known as recognition without identification, I use a variety of methodologies, including behavioral paradigms, simulations, eye-tracking, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Contact Information:

katherinelmwhite@gmail.com

1876 Campus Delivery Department of Psychology Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523-1876

Experience

Graduate Student Researcher

Cleary Memory Lab · Colorado State University

Designed and programed experiments examining recognition memory, focusing on déjà vu, tip-of-the-tongue states, and feature processing
- Programs included E-Prime, PsychoPy, and Qualtrics
Processed and analyzed data using R Studio, IBM SPSS, and JASP
Developed and published manuscripts on experimental findings
Performed lab manager responsibilities, such as hiring undergraduate research assistants, coordinating lab schedule, and managing 12-14 undergraduate research assistants

August 2017 - Present

Research and Evaluation Assistant

Research Evaluation Consulting

Processed and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data using SPSS and Excel
- Developed key themes from qualitative data using a Grounded Theory Approach
Conducted literature reviews, which entailed annotating articles and providing summary of findings reports
Collaborated with team members in developing evaluation reports, focusing on communicating results to clients with actionable recommendations
Survey development and implementation using SurveyMonkey

June 2019 - February 2020

Study Coordinator

Cole Neuroscience Center · University of Tennessee Medical Center

Assisted Randy Trudell, M.D., and Shelley Lott, N.P., in a study investigating methods for testing cognitive impairment in individuals suffering from Multiple Sclerosis
Administered neuropsychological testing to study participants
- Testing included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Assessments (BRB), and Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II)
Administered neuropsychological testing as standard of care to neurology clinic outpatients
Collaborated with faculty across departments for research needs and inquiries
Managed a participant information database in compliance with hospital standards

July 2016 - June 2017

Publications

Huebert, A. M., McNeely-White, K. L., Cleary, A. M. (2021). Can cue familiarity during recall failure prompt illusory recollective experience? Memory & Cognition
McNeely-White, K. L., McNeely-White, D. G, Huebert, A. M., Carlaw, B. N., & Cleary, A. M. (2021). Specifying a relationship between semantic and episodic memory in the computation of a feature-based familiarity signal using MINERVA 2. Memory & Cognition.

Cleary, A. M., McNeely-White, K. L., Hausman, H., Dawson, J., Kuhn, S., Osborn, R. M., Huebert, A. M., & Rhodes, M. G. (2021). Wearable technology for automatizing science-based study strategies: Reinforcing learning through intermittent smartwatch prompting. Journal of Applied Research on Memory and Cognition.

McNeely-White, K. L., McNeely-White, D. G., & Cleary, A. M. (2021). How musical features combine across memory traces to increase familiarity with the whole in which they are embedded: Support for global matching in music familiarity. Journal of Memory and Language.

Cleary, A. M., McNeely-White, K. L., Russell, S., Huebert, A. M., & Hausman, H. (2020). The tip-of-the-tongue states as a form of access to information: Use of tip-of-the-tongue states for strategic test-taking. Journal of Applied Research on Memory and Cognition
Cleary, A. M., Huebert, A. M., & McNeely-White, K. L. (2020). The tip of the tongue bias permeates into unrelated concurrent decisions and behavior Memory & Cognition.

Cleary, A. M., Huebert, A. M., McNeely-White, K. L., & Spahr, K. S. (2019). A postdictive bias associated with déjà vu. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 26, 1433-1439.

McNeely-White, K. L., & Cleary, A. M. (2019). Music recognition without identification and its relation to déjà entendu: A study using "Piano Puzzlers." New Ideas in Psychology, 55, 50-57.

Cleary, A. M., McNeely-White, K. L., Huebert, A. M., & Claxton, A. B. (2018) Déjà vu and the feeling of prediction during retrieval failure: An association with familiarity strength. Memory (Special Issue on Déjà vu).

Conference Presentations

Select conference presentations. See CV for full list

McNeely-White, K. L. (March 2022). Déjà entendu: The auditory déjà vu experience and its associated biases. Invited talk at the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, Mobile, AL.

McNeely-White, K. L., Huebert, A. M., & Cleary, A. M. (August 2021). Does the Tip-of-the-Tongue State Entail a Feeling of Being on the Tip of the Prediction? Poster presented at APA Convention, virtual conference.

McNeely-White, K. L., Huebert, A. M., & Cleary, A. M. (November 2020). How Features Interact Across Memory Traces to Produce Familiarity-based Recognition. Poster presented at Psychonomics, virtual conference.

McNeely-White, K. L., & Cleary, A. M. (November 2019). Haven't I heard this before? The mechanism and bias of déjà entendu. Poster presented at Psychonomics, Montreal, QC.

*Kerr, J. E., *Hughes, E., McNeely-White, K. L., & Cleary, A. M. (April 2019). Embedding familiarized musical features into novel song sequences. Poster presented at Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

*Russell, S., *Dawson, J., *Kerr, J. E., McNeely-White, K. L., Huebert, A. M., & Cleary, A. M. (April 2019). The use of smartwatches to encourage effective study habits. Poster presented at Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

McNeely-White, K. L., & Cleary, A. M. (March 2019). Déjà entendu: That strange feeling of knowing a song. Invited talk at Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, Cincinnati, OH.

McNeely-White, K. L., Cleary, A. M., & Claxton, A. M. (November 2018). Embedding familiarized rhythm or pitch sequences in musical pieces increases subjective song familiarity. Poster presented at Psychonomics, New Orleans, LA.

McNeely-White, K. L., Huebert, A. M., & Cleary, A. M. (April 2018). Irrational feelings of prediction during tip-of-the-tongue states. Talk presented at Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

*denotes undergraduate mentee at time of work

Teaching

Applying Effective Learning Strategies to Human Physiology, Colorado State UniversityFall 2020, Spring 2021

Cognitive Psychology Lecturer, Colorado State UniversitySummer 2020 - Summer 2022

Science of Learning Guest Lecturer, Colorado State UniversitySpring 2020

Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory Instructor, Colorado State UniversityFall 2019, Fall 2021

Applied Cognitive Psychology Laboratory Instructor, Colorado State UniversityFall 2018, Spring 2019

Cognitive Neuroscience Guest Lecturer, Colorado State University Fall 2017, Spring 2018

Curriculum Vitae

Please find below the most recently updated version of my CV (April 24, 2022)

Download CV