Psychology

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Frances Rauscher, Ph.D.

Professor Emerita

Email: rauscher@uwosh.edu

Frances Rauscher is an Endowed Professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Although primarily interested in music cognition, other research interests include the role of hand gestures in speech production, the effects of environmental enrichment on animal cognition, and time perception. She has received the John McNaughton Rosebush award for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, as well as the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Dr. Rauscher holds Bachelor’s degrees in both cello performance and psychology, as well as Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Experimental Psychology from Columbia University. In 1992 she accepted a three-year post-doctoral position at the Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California Irvine, where she began investigating the effects of music on cognitive performance. In 1997 she received the William T. Grant Faculty Scholars Award to explore the relationship between music instruction and cognition in disadvantaged preschool children. She has since expanded her research to at-risk children in a public school setting. Other ongoing research involves the effects of auditory exposure on spatial cognition in rats, and interval timing. She has presented her research at universities and conferences throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Dr. Rauscher is married to cognitive neuroscientist Sean Hinton. Together they enjoy kayaking, hiking, and all manner of wildlife observation.

Selected Publications

  • Gruhn, W., & Rauscher, F.H. (2008). Neurosciences in music pedagogy. New York: Nova Science Press.
  • Gruhn, W., & Rauscher, F.H. (2008). Introduction to neurosciences in music pedagogy. In W. Gruhn & F.H. Rauscher (Eds.), Neurosciences in music pedagogy. New York : Oxford University Press.
  • Gruhn, W., & Rauscher, F.H. (2008). The neurobiology of learning: New approaches to music pedagogy. In W. Gruhn & F.H. Rauscher (Eds.), Neurosciences in music pedagogy. New York : Oxford University Press. PDF
  • Caterall, J., & Rauscher, F.H. (2008). Unpacking the impact of music on intelligence. In W. Gruhn & F.H. Rauscher (Eds.), Neurosciences in music pedagogy. New York : Oxford University Press. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. , & Hinton, S.C. (2006). The Mozart effect: Music listening is not music instruction. Educational Psychologist, 41 , 233-238. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. , (2006). The Mozart effect in rats: Reply to Steele. Music Perception, 23 , 447-453. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. , (2004). Can (and should) current music education research influence music education.? In S.D. Lipscomb, R. Ashley, R.O. Gjerdingen, & P. Webster (Eds.), Proceeding of the International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition. Evanston, IL : Northwestern University.
  • Rauscher, F.H. (2003). Can music instruction affect children’s cognitive development? Eric Digest. [EDO-PS-03-12] PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. (2003). Effects of piano, rhythm, and singing instruction on the spatial reasoning of at-risk children. Proceedings of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, Hannover , Germany : Hannover University Press. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. & Hinton , S.C. (2003). Type of music training selectively influences perceptual processing. Proceedings of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, Hannover , Germany : Hannover University Press. PDF
  • Gruhn, W., & Rauscher, F.H. (2002). The neurobiology of music cognition and learning. In R. Colwell & C. Richardson (Eds.), Second handbook on music teaching and learning (pp. 445-460). New York : Oxford University Press.
  • Rauscher, F.H. (2002). Mozart and the mind: Factual and fictional effects of musical enrichment. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Improving academic achievement: Impact of psychological factors on education (pp. 269-278). New York : Academic Press. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H., Bowers, M.K., Dettlaff, D.M., & Scott, S.E. (2002, April). Effects of environmental, social, and auditory enrichment on maze learning in rats: Implications for arousal. Poster presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco , CA . PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. (2001). Current research in music, intelligence, and the brain. In M. McCarthy (Ed.), Enlightened advocacy: Implications of research for arts education policy and practice (pp. 5-16). . College Park , MD : University of Maryland Press.
  • Rauscher, F.H. (2000, August). Is the “Mozart effect” debunked? Poster presented at the bi-annual meeting of the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Keele University , Keele , UK . PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. , & Zupan, M. (2000). Classroom keyboard instruction improves kindergarten children’s spatial-temporal performance: A field experiment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15 , 215-228. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. (1999). Music exposure and the development of spatial intelligence in children. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 142 35-47. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. (1999). Reply: Prelude or requiem for the ‘Mozart effect’? Nature, 400 , 827-828.
  • Rauscher, F.H. , Robinson, K.D., & Jens, J. (1998). Improved maze learning through early music exposure in rats. Neurological Research, 20 , 427-432. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. , & Shaw, G.L. (1998). Key components of the “Mozart Effect.” Perceptual and Motor Skills, 86 , 835-841. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. , Shaw, G.L., Levine, L.J., Wright, E.L., Dennis, W.R., & Newcomb, R. (1997). Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children’s spatial-temporal reasoning abilities. Neurological Research, 19 , 1-8. PDF
  • Sarnthein, J., von Stein, A., Rappeisberger, P., Petsche, H., Rauscher, F.H. , & Shaw, G.L. (1997). Persistent patterns of brain activity: an EEG coherence study of the positive effect of music on spatial-temporal reasoning. Neurological Research, 19 , 107-116. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. (1997). A cognitive basis for the facilitation of spatial-temporal cognition through music instruction. In Verna Brummett (Ed.), Ithaca Conference ’96 Music as Intelligence: A Sourcebook (pp.31-44). Ithaca : Ithaca College Press. PDF
  • Rauscher, F.H. , Robinson, K.D., & Jens, J. (1997, June). Spatial performance as a function of early music exposure in rats (Rattus norvegicus). In A. Gabrielsson (Ed.), Third triennial conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music . Uppsala , Sweden : Uppsala University Press.
  • Rauscher, F.H. , Krauss, R.M., & Chen, Y. (1996). Gesture, speech and lexical access: The role of lexical movements in speech production. Psychological Science, 7 (4), 226-231.
  • Krauss, R.M., Dushay, R.A., Chen, Y., & Rauscher, F.H. (1995). The communicative value of conversational hand gestures. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31 , 533-552.
  • Rauscher, F. H. , Shaw, G.L., & Ky, K.N. (1995). Listening to Mozart enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: Towards a neurophysiological basis Neuroscience Letters, 185 , 44-47. PDF
  • Schachter, S., Rauscher, F. , Christenfeld, N., & Crone, K. (1994). The vocabularies of academics. Psychological Science, 5 , 37-41.
  • Rauscher, F.H. , Shaw, G.L., & Ky, K.N. (1993). Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365 , 611. PDF
  • Christenfeld, N., Schachter, S., & Bilous, F. (1991). Filled pauses and gestures: it’s not coincidence. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 20 (1), 1-10.
  • Schachter, S., Christenfeld, N., Ravina, B., & Bilous, F. (1991). Speech disfluency and the structure of knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60 (3), 362-367.
  • Bilous, F. , & Krauss, R.M. (1988). Dominance and accommodation in the conversational behaviors of same- and mixed-gender dyads. Journal of Language and Communication, 8 , 183-194.

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Psychology Department

Clow Faculty, Room F010
(920) 424-2300
 Email Us

Associate Professor

  • M.A. University of Lodz, Poland
  • Ph.D. Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
  • Visiting Researcher at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

 

Curriculum vitae

The constructive nature of memory can be shown in paradigms in which inferences are made based on encoded material and then the inferences are recalled as information actually presented. My research is aimed at the scientific understanding of memory errors that arise both, in short term and long term memory. I seek answers to the following sorts of questions:

- why memory errors occur and how we can avoid them?

- how different input modality affects veridical memory and false recalls and recognitions

- what is the role of individual characteristics i.e., a cognitive style, time perspectives, and dominant affect, in creating false memories for an original event presented in various formats and modalities?

To answer these questions I use a variety of paradigms, ranging from those related to naturally occurring to suggestion dependent memory distortions.

In addition, I am collaborating with the Polish team on the project in which we investigate time-of-day effect on neural mechanisms underlying false memories formation in short-term memory.

Currently Teaching: Cognitive Psychology & Personality and Individual Differences

Recent Publications

 

  • Bednarek, H., Przedniczek, M., Olszewska, J., Niewiarowski, J., & Orzechowski, J. (2021). The near- and far-transfer effects of cognitive training on attentional networks in women and men. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 33, 453-469.
  • Falkowski, A., Sidoruk, M., Olszewska, J., & Jablonska, M. (2021). Positive-Negative Asymmetry in Evaluation of Natural Stimuli: Empirical Study in the Contrast Model of Similarity Extended to Open Sets. American Journal of Psychology, 134, 1-11.
  • Olszewska, J., Falkowski, A., Conway, S., Sidoruk-Blach. M., & Jablonska, M. (2021). Ideal and anti-ideal as framing in political evaluations. Psychological analysis of political candidates in the theory of similarity. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02168-7
  • Olszewska, J., Falkowski, A., *Hodel, A., *Woldt, B., Bednarek, H., & *Luttenberger, D. (2021). Meaningful vs. meaningless sounds and words: A false memories perspective. Experimental Psychology, 68, 4-17.
  • Ulatowska, J., & Olszewska, J. (2020). Asocjacyjne zniekształcenia pamięci. Metody ich badania i redukcji. In M. Trojan & M. Gut (Eds.), Nowe technologie i metody w psychologii.
  • Ulatowska, J., Olszewska, J., & *Hanson, M. D. (2020). Does Test Type Influence False Recognition in the DRM Paradigm? Comparison of the Yes/No Recognition Test and Two-Alternative Forced-Choice Test. American Journal of Psychology, 133, 49-62.
  • Ulatowska, J., Olszewska, J., Wisniewska, D., & *Rogowski, T. (2019). The DRM paradigm in sign language: An investigation of associative memory errors in deaf and hearing signers. Current Psychology. Advance online publication.
  • Fafrowicz, M., Bohaterewicz, B., Ceglarek, A., Cichocka, M., Lewadowska, K., Sikora-Wachowicz, B., Oginska, H., Beres, A., Olszewska, J., & Marek, T. (2019). Beyond the low frequency fluctuations: morning and evening differences in human brain. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 1-6.
  • Olszewska, J. & Ulatowska, J. (2019). The effect of presentation format and encoding strategy on associative memory distortion. European Review of Applied Psychology, 69, 65-72.
  • Falkowski, A., Sidoruk-Blach, M., Bartosiewicz, Z., & Olszewska, J. (2018). Asymmetry in similarity formation: Implications for the negativity effect. American Journal of Psychology, 131, 151-159.
  • Ulatowska, J., Olszewska, J., & Hanson, M.D. (2016). Do format differences in the presentation of information affect susceptibility to memory distortions? The three stage misinformation procedure reconsidered. American Journal of Psychology, 4, 407-417.
  • Olszewska, J., Reuter-Lorenz, P.A., Munier, E., & Bendler, S.A. (2015). Misremembering What You See or Hear: Dissociable Effects of Modality on Short- and Long-Term False Recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory and Cognition, 41, 1316-1325.
  • Olszewska. J., Grochowska, A., & Gasiorowska. A. (2014). The role of imagination in memory for sentences. Przeglad Psychologiczny (The Review of Psychology. Official Journal of the Polish Psychological Association), 57, 213-228.
  • Falkowski, A., Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2014). Are look-alikes confusing? The application of the DRM paradigm to test consumers’ confusion in counterfeit cases. Marketing Letters. DOI 10.1007/s11002-014-9279-0.
  • Gasiorowska, M., Grochowska, A., & Olszewska, J. (2014). The role of knowledge, product category and information in false memories formation of advertisements. Przedsiebiorczossc & Zarzadzanie, 15, 243-260.
  • Ulatowska, J. & Olszewska, J. (2013). Creating associative memory distortions - a Polish adaptation of the DRM paradigm. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 4, 449-456.
  • Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2013). Encoding strategy affects false recall and recognition: Evidence from categorical study material. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 9(1), 44-52.
  • Olszewska, J. (2011). Memory distortions as a result of prior knowledge and different encoding strategies. Psychological Annals, 2, 189-206.
  • Falkowski, A., Du Cane, D., & Olszewska, J. (2011). Color and shape in brand identification Part 1: Associative strength of perceptual features. Marketing & Rynek, 4, 13-18.
  • Falkowski, A., Du Cane, D., & Olszewska, J. (2011). Color and shape in brand identification Part 2: Psychological analysis of positioning in the market of low-involvement products. Marketing & Rynek, 5, 16-21.

Recent Conference Presentations

 

  • Jablonska, M., Falkowski, A., Mackiewicz, R., & Olszewska, J. (April, 2021). When good is stronger than bad? A study on the differentiation between positive and negative options. Virtual poster presented at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association.
  • Olszewska, J., Ulatowska, J., Opolka, S. & Markle, S. (2020, November) . Environmental Sounds and the Verbal Overshadowing Effect.  61th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Austin, TX.
  • Hodel, A., Prieto, B., & Olszewska, J. (2020, November). Perceptual Similarity of Meaningful and Meaningless Logos on False Memory Formation. 61th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Austin, TX.
  • Olszewska, J., Ulatowska, J., *Smith, A., *Peterson, M. (2019, November). The effect of diurnal changes on memory for environmental sounds. 60th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Montreal, Canada.
  • Bednarek, H., Orzechowski, J., Przedniczek, M., Niewiarowski, J., Olszewska, J., (2019, November). Cognitive training and susceptibility to visual illusions in the context of field dependence/independence. Working memory training reduces Ponzo effect. 60th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Montreal, Canada.
  • Olszewska, J., *Conway, S., Falkowski, A., Jablonska, M., & Sidoruk-Blach, M. (2019, November). Ideal and anti-ideal as framing in political evaluations. Psychological analysis of politician’s evaluation in the light of the contrast model of similarity. 60th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Montreal, Canada.
  • Bednarek, H., Orzechowski, J., Przedniczek, M., Wujcik, R., Niewiarowski, K., & Olszewska, J. (September, 2019). The impact of cognitive training of working memory, executive attention and exogenous attention on working memory capacity. XXI Conference ESCOP Cognitive Psychology, Tenerife, Spain.
  • Bednarek, H., Orzechowski, J., Przedniczek, M., Wujcik, R., Olszewska, J., Niewiarowski, J. (September, 2019). The working memory training reduces susceptibility to Ponzo illusions in a group of field-dependent subjects. XXI Conference ESCOP Cognitive Psychology, Tenerife, Spain.
  • Olszewska, J., Conway, S., Falkowski, A., Jablonska, M., Barnes, J., Hodel, A., & Michels, S. (2019, April). Do Comparisons Matter? Valence Framing and Evaluation of Political Candidates. Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
  • Hodel, A., & Olszewska, J. (2019, March). Perceptual Similarity of Concrete and Abstract Images and False Memories Formation. International Convention of Psychological Science, Paris, France.
  • Bednarek, H., Orzechowski, J., Przedniczek, M., Olszewska, J., & Wujcik, R. (2018, November). The Influence of Cognitive Training on Susceptibility to Visual Illusions. 59th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Falkowski, A., Sidoruk - Blach, M, Olszewska, J., & Jablonska, M. (2018, November). Asymmetry in Similarity Formation and its Implication for Emotion and Choice: An Approach of Similarity Theory Extended to Open Sets of Features. 59th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Olszewska, J., Hodel, A., & Luttenberger, D. (2018, November). The Effects of Diurnal Variability and Modality on False Memories Formation. 59th Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Gasiorowska, M., Olszewska, J., & Grochowska, A. (2018, June). Product Knowledge and Memory Distortions in Print Advertisements: The Effects for Product Category and Information Similarity.  2018 International Conference on Research in Advertising (ICORIA), Valencia, Spain.
  • Olszewska, J., Hodel, A., Luttenberger, D., & Woldt, B. (2018, May). Memory for Perceptually Similar Environmental Sounds and Words. Poster presented at the 30th annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • Olszewska, J., Ulatowska, J., & Hanson, M. (2018, April). The effect of a test type on false recognition. Poster presented at the 90th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
  • Olszewska, J., Hodel, A., Luttenberger, D. (2018, April). The Effects of Diurnal Variability and Modality on False Memories Formation. Poster presented at the 90th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
  • Bednarek, H., Orzechowski, J., Przedniczek, M., Szewczyk, R., Olszewska, J., & Ziembowicz, M. (2017, September). Cognitive Trainings of Executive Functions and Resistance to Visual Illusions.  20th Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP), Postdam, Germany.
  • Bednarek, H., Orzechowski, J., Przedniczek, M., Szewczyk, R., Olszewska, J., & Ziembowicz, M. (2017, July). Can a set of cognitive trainings of executive functions improve functioning of the orienting and executive control system? International Society for the Study of Individual Differences. Warsaw, Poland.
  • Falkowski, A., Sidoruk-Blach, M., Bartosiewicz, Z., & Olszewska, J. (May, 2017). Asymmetry in Similarity Formation. Implications for the Negativity Effect. 29th APS Annual Convention, Boston, USA.
  • Bednarek, H., Przedniczek, M., & Olszewska, J. (May, 2017). The Effect of Inhibition Mechanisms on Susceptibility to the Ponzo Illusion. 29th APS Annual Convention, Boston, USA.
  • Ulatowska, J., Olszewska, J., Wisniewska, D., & Rogowski, T. (May, 2017). Associative memory errors in the sign language. 29th APS Annual Convention, Boston, USA.
  • Ulatowska, J., Olszewska, J., & Hanson, M.D. (2016). Do differences in the format of information affect susceptibility to suggestion? The Three Stage Misinformation Procedure Reconsidered. XIII PSPS Conference, Wroclaw, Poland.
  • Olszewska, J. & Ulatowska, J. (2016, July). Associative errors formation in deaf people. International Conference on Memory, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Olszewska, J. & Ulatowska, J. (2015, November).  Beware of critical lure. The effect of explicit warning and training on memory performance. 57th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Chicago, USA.
  • Ulatowska, J. & Olszewska, J. (2015, July). Reducing memory distortions level by means of encoding strategy in the DRM paradigm. 19th Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCOP 2015), Paphos, Cyprus.
  • Ulatowska, J. & Olszewska, J. (2015, July). Is a picture worth a thousand words? The effect of encoding, misinformation and test formats on susceptibility to memory distortions. 19th Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCOP 2015), Paphos, Cyprus.
  • Ulatowska, J. & Olszewska, J. (2015, September). Is a picture worth a thousand words? Reducing misinformation effect by means of encoding-test format match. XII Zjazd PSPS, Lodz, Poland.
  • Olszewska, J., Reuter-Lorenz, P.A., Munier, E., & Bendler, S. (2014, November). What you think you saw or heard depends on test delay: Modality effects on short- and long-term false memories. 55 Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Long Beach, CA, USA.
  • Olszewska, J. & Ulatowska, J. (2014, November). Reducing false recognition with a two alternative forced choice test in the DRM paradigm. 55 Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Long Beach, CA, USA.
  • Ulatowska, J. & Olszewska, J. (2014, November). What we see, read or hear may be distorted differently. The effect of encoding format on recognition performance. 55 Annual Meeting Psychonomic Society, Long Beach, CA, USA.
  • Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2014, July). Reducing false recognition with a format of memory test. 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology, Paris, France.
  • Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2013, September). The influence of different types of warning instructions on misinformation effect. EAPL Conference, Coventry, England.
  • Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2013, September). Reducing the misinformation effect: The role of type and temporal placement of warning instructions. XVIII Conference ESCOP Cognitive Psychology, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Ulatowska, J., & Olszewska, J. (2013, September). Encoding strategy effect on false recall and recognition in the DRM paradigm. XVIII Conference ESCOP Cognitive Psychology, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Olszewska, J., Bendler, S. & Reuter-Lorenz, P.A. (2013, September). Stimulus input modality affects the frequency of false working memories. XVIII Conference ESCOP Cognitive Psychology, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2012, May). The effect of imagery encoding on false recall and recognition in category repetition procedure. APS Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, USA.
  • Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2012, April). Is counterfeiting profitable Asymmetry in recognition of original and lookalike product packages. European Associations of Psychology and Law EAPL Conference, Nikosia, Cyprus.
  • Olszewska, J., & Ulatowska, J. (2011, July). The effect of imagery encoding on false recall and recognition in DRM paradigm. V International Conference on Memory. York, England