Timothy P. McNamara

Timothy P. McNamara is a psychologist currently serving as the Searcy Family Dean of the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University. ^[1] He heads the Spatial Memory & Navigation Lab (MemNav Lab) ^[2]

Life

McNamara received his B.G.S. from the University of Kansas in 1979 and his Ph.D. in psychology from Yale University in 1984. His Ph.D. advisor was Robert Sternberg. He started his career at Vanderbilt University in 1983. He was promoted to associate professor in 1989 and to Professor in 1995. At Vanderbilt University, McNamara has served as Chair of the Department of Psychology (1996–2004, 2022–2023); Associate and Vice Provost (2004–2015); and Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Science (2023–2024). He has been involved in higher education accreditation, and served on the Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges from 2014 to 2019. ^[3]

Research

McNamara's research investigates human memory, cognition, and decision making, with a particular focus on spatial processing. His research has investigated the metric structure of spatial memory, the spatial reference systems used in memory to represent the locations of objects in the environment, and how people update representations of their own location and orientation during locomotion. ^[4] McNamara and his colleagues developed the Principal Reference Theory of spatial memory. ^{[4] [5]}  This theory posits that learning a new environment involves selecting a preferred, or “principal”, reference direction. Locations, distances, and directions are represented in memory terms of this principal reference direction. When a person or animal later recalls or makes judgments about the space, performance is fastest and most accurate when adopting this perspective. Recent studies have examined how people use spatial cues to location and orientation (e.g., landmarks in the environment and body-based cues, such as vestibular, proprioceptive, and efference-copy information) during navigation to estimate their positions and the locations of goals. These studies have used statistical decision theory as a theoretical framework for examining the complex sensory-perceptual and decision processes involved in navigation. ^[6]

Awards and honors

• 1977 Undergraduate Research Participation Awards (Spring & Summer), University of Kansas
• 1978 Beulah Morrison Award for Excellence in Psychology, University of Kansas
• 1978 Department of Psychology Chairman's Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, University of Kansas
• 1979 Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society in Computer Science
• 1979 Pi Mu Epsilon Honor Society in Mathematics
• 1979 Bachelor of General Studies awarded summa cum laude, University of Kansas
• 1986–1988 National Academy of Education Spencer Fellow ^[7]
• 1994 Elected Fellow of American Psychological Association, Division 3
• 1999 Elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science ^[8]
• 2003 Elected Fellow of Association for Psychological Science ^[9]
• 2019 Thomas Jefferson Award, Vanderbilt University ^[10]
• 2022 Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Social and Natural Sciences, Vanderbilt University ^[11]

Selected works

• McNamara, T. P. (1986). Mental representations of spatial relations. Cognitive Psychology, 18(1), 87–121. ^[12]
• Shelton, A. L., & McNamara, T. P. (2001). Systems of spatial reference in human memory. Cognitive Psychology, 43, 274–310. ^[4]
• Mou, W., & McNamara, T. P. (2002). Intrinsic frames of reference in spatial memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 28, 162–17. ^[13]
• Mou, W., McNamara, T. P., Valiquette, C. M., & Rump, B. (2004). Allocentric and egocentric updating of spatial memories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30, 142–157. ^[14]
• McNamara, T. P. (2005). Semantic priming: perspectives from memory and word recognition. New York: Psychology Press. ^[15]
• Kelly, J. W., McNamara, T. P., Bodenheimer, B., Carr, T. H., & Rieser, J. J. (2008). The shape of human navigation: How environmental geometry is used in the maintenance of spatial orientation. Cognition, 109, 281–286. ^[16]
• Chen, X., He, Q., Kelly, J. W., Fiete, I. R., & McNamara, T. P. (2015). Bias in human path integration is predicted by properties of grid cells. Current Biology, 25 (13), 1771–6. ^[17]
• Chen, X., McNamara, T. P., Kelly, J. W., & Wolbers, T. (2017). Cue combination in human spatial navigation. Cognitive Psychology, 95, 105–144. ^[18]
• He, Q., McNamara, T. P., Bodenheimer, B., & Klippel, A. (2019). Acquisition and transfer of spatial knowledge during wayfinding. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 45(8), 1364–1386. ^[19]
• McNamara, T. P., & Chen, X. (2022). Bayesian decision theory and navigation. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 29, 721–752. ^[20]

References

1. "Our Dean". as.vanderbilt.edu.
2. "MemNav Lab". www.memnavlab.com.
3. "Cognitive scientist and respected leader Tim McNamara named dean of College of Arts and Science". news.vanderbilt.edu.
4. Shelton, A. L.; McNamara, T. P. (December 2001). "Systems of spatial reference in human memory". Cognitive Psychology. 43 (4): 274–310. doi:10.1006/cogp.2001.0758. ISSN   0010-0285. PMID   11741344.
5. Marchette, Steven A.; Yerramsetti, Ashok; Burns, Thomas J.; Shelton, Amy L. (November 2011). "Spatial memory in the real world: long-term representations of everyday environments". Memory & Cognition. 39 (8): 1401–1408. doi:10.3758/s13421-011-0108-x. ISSN   1532-5946. PMID   21584854.
6. Zhang, Hui; Mou, Weimin; McNamara, Timothy P. (2011-06-01). "Spatial updating according to a fixed reference direction of a briefly viewed layout". Cognition. 119 (3): 419–429. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2011.02.006. ISSN   0010-0277.
7. "Timothy McNamara". National Academy of Education. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
8. "Elected Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
9. Impexium. "APS Fellows". member.psychologicalscience.org. Archived from the original on 2025-04-04. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
10. "Faculty Awards and Distinctions". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
11. "Cognitive scientist and respected leader Tim McNamara named dean of College of Arts and Science". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
12. McNamara, Timothy P (1986-01-01). "Mental representations of spatial relations". Cognitive Psychology. 18 (1): 87–121. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(86)90016-2. ISSN   0010-0285.
13. Mou, Weimin; McNamara, Timothy P. (January 2002). "Intrinsic frames of reference in spatial memory". Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 28 (1): 162–170. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.28.1.162. ISSN   0278-7393. PMID   11827078.
14. Mou, Weimin; McNamara, Timothy P.; Valiquette, Christine M.; Rump, Bjorn (January 2004). "Allocentric and egocentric updating of spatial memories". Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 30 (1): 142–157. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.30.1.142. ISSN   0278-7393. PMID   14736303.
15. McNamara, Timothy P., ed. (2005). Semantic priming: perspectives from memory and word recognition. Essays in cognitive psychology. New York Hove: Psychology Press. ISBN   978-0-203-33800-1.
16. Kelly, Jonathan W.; McNamara, Timothy P.; Bodenheimer, Bobby; Carr, Thomas H.; Rieser, John J. (November 2008). "The shape of human navigation: how environmental geometry is used in maintenance of spatial orientation". Cognition. 109 (2): 281–286. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.09.001. ISSN   1873-7838. PMC   2612041 . PMID   18952206.
17. Chen, Xiaoli; He, Qiliang; Kelly, Jonathan W.; Fiete, Ila R.; McNamara, Timothy P. (2015-06-29). "Bias in Human Path Integration Is Predicted by Properties of Grid Cells". Current biology: CB. 25 (13): 1771–1776. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.05.031. ISSN   1879-0445. PMID   26073138.
18. Chen, Xiaoli; McNamara, Timothy P.; Kelly, Jonathan W.; Wolbers, Thomas (June 2017). "Cue combination in human spatial navigation". Cognitive Psychology. 95: 105–144. doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2017.04.003. ISSN   1095-5623. PMID   28478330.
19. He, Qiliang; McNamara, Timothy P.; Bodenheimer, Bobby; Klippel, Alexander (August 2019). "Acquisition and transfer of spatial knowledge during wayfinding". Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 45 (8): 1364–1386. doi:10.1037/xlm0000654. ISSN   1939-1285. PMID   30124310.
20. McNamara, Timothy P.; Chen, Xiaoli (2022-06-01). "Bayesian decision theory and navigation". Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 29 (3): 721–752. doi:10.3758/s13423-021-01988-9. ISSN   1531-5320.