Michael Spivey

Michael Spivey is a Professor in the Cognitive & Information Sciences department at the University of California, Merced. His work bridges cognitive science, linguistics, and neuroscience, focusing on how embodied processes shape cognition and language.

Dr. Spivey's research interests span language processing, eye movements, embodied cognition, and dynamical systems. He investigates how cognitive processes unfold in real-time through methods like eye-tracking and mouse-tracking. His work challenges traditional computational models of cognition, advocating for dynamical systems approaches that emphasize continuous, non-linear processes. He has made significant contributions to understanding how language and vision interact, how moral decisions are shaped by sensorimotor processes, and how creativity relates to spatial foraging behaviors.

His recent publications reveal a strong trend toward investigating cognition as a dynamic, embodied process. Rather than viewing the mind as a digital computer, Spivey's work emphasizes continuous trajectories in cognitive state space, showing how seemingly discrete cognitive phenomena emerge from underlying continuous processes. His research often employs innovative methodologies that capture the temporal dynamics of cognitive processes.

Dr. Spivey is the author of "Who You Are: The Science of Connectedness" (2020, MIT Press), which explores how human cognition extends beyond the brain to incorporate the body and environment.

His laboratory investigates the real-time dynamics of cognitive processes through eye-tracking, mouse-tracking, and other behavioral measures. Current research examines how social context influences perspective-taking, how creativity relates to spatial search behaviors, and how physiological fluctuations relate to cognitive timing.