Mario Fific

Professor Mario Fifić at Grand Valley State University's Psychology Department specializes in Systems Factorial Technology (SFT) to decode cognitive architectures in decision-making and perception. His work bridges mathematical psychology, computational modeling, and experimental design.

• Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Indiana University
• Developed diagnostic tools for mental architectures (serial, parallel, coactive)
• Focus on age-related attentional control and face perception

His NSF-funded research (SES-1854762/1854763) examines how humans combine multiple information streams during decisions. The R. Duncan Luce Outstanding Paper Award (2020) recognized his work on attentional capacity in aging. Collaborations span institutions like Max Planck Institute, National Cheng Kung University, and Indiana University, focusing on cognitive synthesis between architectures, random-walk processes, and decision-bound theories.

Key SFT applications include:

• Visual and memory search organization
• Integral-separable dimension processing
• Face perception holisticity
• Reading process architecture
• Decision strategies under bounded rationality

His methodology addresses double jeopardy in cognitive inference through nonparametric analysis and factorial designs. The DecideLab at GVSU trains students in adaptive experimental design and Bayesian cognitive modeling, with applications from airline pilot cognition to clinical population diagnostics.