Richard Abrams

Richard Abrams

Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences​
PhD, University of Michigan
MA, University of Michigan
BS, Columbia University

contact info:

mailing address:

  • Washington University
    CB 1125
    One Brookings Drive
    St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

​Professor Abrams conducts research on aspects of perception, attention, and motor control. His work addresses questions about the mental mechanisms that underlie overt movements of the eyes and limbs and covert movements of visual attention.

Abrams' work addresses questions about the mental mechanisms that underlie overt movements of the eyes and limbs and covert movements of visual attention. One ongoing project focuses on the role of perceptual objects in attention and action; another examines the types of visual stimuli that can capture attention.

Selected Publications

  • Smith, K. C., & Abrams, R. A. (2018).  Motion onset really does capture attention.  Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 80, 1775–1784.
  • Suh, J., & Abrams, R. A. (2020).  Approach and avoidance movements modulate value-driven attentional capture.  Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 46, 105-123.
  • Ma, X., & Abrams, R. A. (2022). Spatial task relevance modulates value-driven attentional capture.  Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 84, 1826-1844.
  • Ma, X., & Abrams, R. A. (2023). Ignoring the unknown: Attentional suppression of unpredictable visual distraction.  Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 49, 1-6.
  • Ma, X., & Abrams, R. A. (2023). Visual distraction’s “silver lining”: Distractor suppression boosts attention to competing stimuli. Psychological Science, 34, 1336-1349.

in the news:

A surprising ingredient for improved visual focus? Distraction.

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