Victor Ferreira

Victor Ferreira is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California San Diego. His research focuses on understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying language production, including grammar, lexical structure, and speaker-hearer interactions. He employs computational and quantitative modeling methods to study how humans rapidly and accurately retrieve words and construct sentences, as well as the interplay between language and executive control processes in bilingual speakers.

Key research topics include audience design—the ability to tailor language to listeners’ needs—and language control in bilinguals, exploring how they manage language switching and avoid interference. Ferreira’s work bridges theoretical questions about linguistic representation with practical implications for neuropsychological assessment of aging bilinguals and those with neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

He collaborates with students and researchers in exploring syntactic processing, bilingual lexical representations, and the neural substrates of language production. Notable advisees include Danbi Ahn, Aubrey Lau, Adam Morgan, Alena Stasenko, and So Eun Ahn. His research has implications for cognitive science and clinical practices, aiming to refine diagnostic tools for multilingual populations.