Associate Professor
Campbell Hall, Room 310-C
(205) 934-3850
Research Interests: Visual Perception; Aging; Cognitive Science; Cognitive Neuroscience; Philosophy of Mind
Office Hours: By appointment
Education:
- B.A., University College Dublin, Ireland, Psychology
- KDS, Kleine Deutsche Sprachdiplom, Goethe Institut (Ireland) and Ludwig- Maximillians Universitat, (Munich, Germany), German
- DStats, Diploma in Statistics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, Statistics
- M.A., University College Dublin, Ireland, Psychology
- Ph.D., Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, Psychology
Born and raised in Ireland, Mike Sloane joined the department as an Assistant Professor in September 1982 having completed his doctoral work at the Cresap Neuroscience Laboratory of Northwestern University. He directed the Psychology Honors Program for over 12 years, served as Director of Undergraduate Studies, and was the first Vice Chair of the department. In the mid 1980s he launched the Psychology Club, facilitated the development of UAB's chapter of Psi Chi, and organized the annual Southeastern Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference, which ran for 21 years. He was also instrumental in instigating and funding the department's annual John W. P. Ost Undergraduate Research Competition.
Dr. Sloane previously directed the cognitive science minor and the doctoral program in cognitive science. In 2003, he was selected to direct the University Honors Program, UAB’s flagship honors program established in 1983, which offers an interdisciplinary arts and sciences curriculum to a select group of highly motivated and talented undergraduates. In 2004 he authored a White Paper proposing the establishment of a UAB Honors College, an Office of Undergraduate Research, and an annual undergraduate research conference at UAB. He returned to the department fulltime in December 2024 having served as Director of the University Honors Program for over 21 years and has facilitated the re-launching of The Psychology Club at UAB.
-
Research Interests
Dr. Sloane's research has been in the areas of visual psychophysics, aging (spatial vision, cognition, & mobility), cognitive science, and honors pedagogy. His papers have been published in such journals as: Science; Journal of the American Medical Association; Perception; Perception and Psychophysics; Journal of Experimental Psychology; Vision Research; Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences; Journal of Gerontology; Gerontology; Journal of Applied Gerontology; British Journal of Ophthalmology; Journal of the Optical Society of America; Clinical Vision Sciences; Psychology & Aging; Accident Analysis & Prevention; Language, Speech, and Hearing; Archives of Ophthalmology; and Optometry & Vision Science, the Journal of National Collegiate Honors Council and Honors in Practice. Dr. Sloane was awarded the 2009 Frederick W. Conner Prize in the History of Ideas, presented annually to a UAB faculty member for an outstanding essay on the history of ideas. He was inducted as a Fellow of the National Collegiate Honors Council in recognition of his scholarship and leadership in honors education.
-
Recent Courses
Dr. Sloane has developed a new course, PY 199 Irrational Thinking, for the Reasoning category of the Blazer Core Curriculum. At the undergraduate level, he also teaches PY 253 Brain, Mind & Behavior (a course he introduced many years ago); PY 380 Sensation and Perception; PY 363 Cognitive Psychology; PY 303 Introduction to Cognitive Science; PY 420 Broken Brains, Broken Minds; and PY 463 Cognitive Neuroscience.