Brandon Turner

Dr. Brandon Turner is a Professor in the Psychology Department at The Ohio State University, specializing in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. He leads the Model-based Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, which focuses on understanding how the brain produces behavior through cognitive modeling tools and neuroscientific data integration.

Dr. Turner received his B.S. from Missouri State University in mathematics and psychology in 2008, followed by a MAS in statistics from The Ohio State University in 2010, and completed his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 2011. His academic journey included a postdoctoral researcher position at University of California, Irvine, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University.

His research interests span dynamic models of cognition and perceptual decision making, efficient Bayesian inference methods, and unifying behavioral and neural explanations of cognition. Dr. Turner's current work focuses on understanding 'cognitive inertia' - patterns of information search dictated by previous attention allocations - and how curated information platforms like Google and YouTube can distort learning processes.

Dr. Turner's recent publications demonstrate strong interdisciplinary connections between cognitive modeling, neuroscience, and mathematical psychology, with particular emphasis on attention mechanisms, decision-making processes, and the integration of behavioral and neural data. His work on cognitive inertia has generated significant insights into systematic biases in information processing.

• Fred Brown Research Award, The Ohio State University Department of Psychology (2024)
• Mid-career Faculty Excellence Award, The Ohio State University (2021-2022)
• CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2019)
• Early Career Award, Psychonomic Society (2019)
• William K. Estes Early Career Award, Society for Mathematical Psychology (2016)

Dr. Turner's research has been supported by multiple grants, including an NSF CAREER award. His interdisciplinary approach combines cognitive modeling with neuroscientific methods to address fundamental questions about human cognition. His Model-based Cognitive Neuroscience Lab serves as a hub for researchers interested in the intersection of cognitive theory, mathematical modeling, and brain function, with particular focus on attention mechanisms and decision processes.