Attention & Learning Lab

Updated for 2025-26

Exciting changes are coming to our lab for the 2025-26 academic year! Stay tuned for important announcements.

We are actively recruiting undergraduate and graduate students interested in the following research areas:

  • Psychological Determinants of Distracted Driving: Investigating the impact of mind wandering and cross-modal attention on driver performance using life-like driving simulators and portable eye tracking. Our goal is to bridge the gap between laboratory findings and real-world driving scenarios.
  • Shared Attention Dynamics in AI-Assisted Technologies: Exploring human adaptation and interaction with AI assistance, particularly in automated driving systems. This research aims to inform the personalization of automated systems based on individual cognitive differences.
  • Age-Related Cognitive Decline in Real-World Contexts: Extending cognitive decline research from explanation to intervention. Using virtual reality (with motion capture) and driving simulations, we'll connect lab-based measures of cognitive control to real-world activities critical for older adults' daily functioning.
Undergraduate Students: Honours and/or Volunteers

We are currently accepting new undergraduate students who are interested in human cognition and want to gain research experience, programming, running experiments, and analyzing data. New volunteers and honours students are generally accepted in September and January for positions over the following year.

We are also accepting undergraduate students for summer positions, either through the Undergraduate Research Awards or the Psychology Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) Awards programs.

If you are interested in joining the lab, please email nicholaus.brosowsky@umanitoba.ca.

Graduate Students

We strongly encourage prospective graduate students to reach out before submitting a formal application. This initial contact is an excellent opportunity to:

Here's how to get started:

  1. Review our current research areas and ongoing projects on this website.
  2. Prepare a brief statement (1-2 paragraphs) outlining your research interests and how they align with our lab's focus.
  3. Email Dr. Nicholaus Brosowsky at nicholaus.brosowsky@umanitoba.ca with the subject line "Prospective Graduate Student - [Your Name]".
  4. Include your CV or resume highlighting your relevant academic and research experience.

I am happy to schedule a video call or in-person meeting (if you're local) to discuss your interests, potential projects, and how you might fit into our research team. These conversations are invaluable for both of us to determine if there's a good match before you invest time in the formal application process.

Don't hesitate to reach out, even if you're in the early stages of considering graduate school. I look forward to hearing from you and exploring how we might work together.

Information about the psychology graduate program at the University of Manitoba can be found here

In particular, see the graduate student brochure and frequently asked questions pdfs: here