Event Cognition

Much of our behavior is guided by our understanding of events. We perceive events when we observe the world unfolding around us, participate in events when we act on the world, simulate events that we hear or read about, and use our knowledge of events to solve problems. In this book, Gabriel A. Radvansky and Jeffrey M. Zacks provide the first integrated framework for event cognition and attempt to synthesize the available psychological and neuroscience data surrounding it. This synthesis leads to new proposals about several traditional areas in psychology and neuroscience including perception, attention, language understanding, memory, and problem solving.

Radvansky and Zacks have written this book with a diverse readership in mind. It is intended for a range of researchers working within cognitive science including psychology, neuroscience, computer science, philosophy, anthropology, and education. Readers curious about events more generally such as those working in literature, film theory, and history will also find it of interest.

Gabriel A. Radvansky is a professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, where he teaches introductory psychology and courses on learning and memory. He is the author of over 70 journal articles and book chapters. Radvansky received his BA from Cleveland State University and his PhD from Michigan State University. He is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Midwest Psychological Association, and has served as an associate editor of the journalsMemory & Cognition and the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.


Jeffrey M. Zacks is a professor of psychology and radiology at Washington University in St. Louis, where he teaches advanced cognitive psychology and courses on the cognitive neuroscience of film. He is the editor (with Tim Shipley) ofUnderstanding Events (Oxford 2008) and the author of over 70 journal articles and book chapters. Zacks received his BA from Yale University and his PhD from Stanford University. He is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Midwest Psychological Association, and has served as chair of the Governing Board of the Psychonomic Society and a member of the US National Committee for Psychology, and as an associate editor of the journalCognition.