Timothy Ricker

Timothy Ricker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Dakota, where he conducts research on working memory, cognition, attention, and perception. His work combines behavioral experimentation, mathematical process modeling, and Bayesian estimation to investigate how visual sensations transform into robust working memories and the mechanisms of forgetting during multitasking. He teaches courses related to cognition and statistics, framing the brain as a computer and life as probabilistic events.

Education:

• Ph D, Psychology, University of Missouri, 2013
• MA, Psychology, University of Missouri, 2009
• BA, Psychology, Michigan State University, 2006

Ricker's research focuses on short-term consolidation in working memory, examining how fleeting sensory representations become durable memories. His lab investigates boundary conditions for cognitive load effects, the relationship between working memory and multitasking, and how memory representations change across different tasks. Using computational models, his team differentiates fine-detail and categorical-gist memory representations, with recent work challenging traditional views that multitasking causes forgetting—instead proposing it prevents standard memory creation processes.

His publication record shows a clear trajectory toward understanding memory consolidation mechanisms, with increasing emphasis on computational modeling approaches like drift diffusion modeling. Recent work explores the relationship between working memory and long-term memory, the impact of mind-wandering on cognitive performance, and translating laboratory findings to everyday cognitive functioning.

Scientific Awards:

• Arts & Sciences Faculty Travel Grant, College of Arts & Sciences, University of South Dakota (2022)
• Arts & Sciences Faculty Travel Grant, College of Arts & Sciences, University of South Dakota (2023)
• Arts & Sciences Faculty Travel Grant, College of Arts & Sciences, University of South Dakota (2024)

Ricker has secured substantial grant funding including a $1.5M award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2025-2030) for his Bayesian Neurocomputational Model of Cognitive Change in Multiple Sclerosis. His research program is supported by diverse funding sources including the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Center for Brain and Behavior Research at USD.

He directs the Memory & Attention Laboratory at USD, which employs behavioral experiments, eye tracking, pupillometry, and computational modeling to study fundamental memory and attention processes. The lab has developed a distinctive focus on translating laboratory findings to everyday cognitive functioning and understanding suboptimal cognitive performance in daily life contexts, moving beyond traditional ideal observer models.