• Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, 2020-Present
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, 2017-2020

My work examines how representation affects relational concept learning. Because relational concepts underlie many complex tasks, my research spans various domains (e.g., concept and category learning, analogy, causal reasoning, problem solving, and judgment and decision making). In addition to this work, my research examines the extent to which present learning theories (e.g., testing effect, spacing effect) can explain concept learning and transfer in humans. To investigate these questions, I run behavioral experiments and build computational models. I am also interested in whether this work can be applied to improve learning and instruction in the classroom, particularly in STEM-based fields where relational concepts are ubiquitous (e.g., science, mathematics).

Corral, D., & Carpenter, S. K. (2020). Facilitating transfer through incorrect examples and explanatory feedback. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73, 1340–1359. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021820909454

Corral, D., Carpenter, S. K., Perkins, K. M., & Gentile, D. A. (2020). Assessing students’ use of optional online reviews. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 34, 318-329. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3618

Corral, D., Quilici, J.L. & Rutchick, A.M. The effects of early schema acquisition on mathematical problem solving. Psychological Research 84, 1495–1506 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01164-8

Corral, D., Kurtz, K.J., & Jones, M. (2018). Learning Relational Concepts From Within- Versus Between-Category Comparisons. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147, 1571–1596. DOI:10.1037/xge0000517

Corral, D., & Jones, M. (2014). The effects of relational structure on analogical learning. Cognition, 132, 280-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2014.04.007