Faculty bio | Cognitive Dynamics Lab
Biography:
Ulrich Mayr is an academic expert in multitasking, brain training, effects of aging on cognitive functioning, eye-witness memory, concussions, ADHD, gender differences in competitiveness, and altruism. Ulrich’s research examines neuro-cognitive functioning across the entire life span with a particular focus on executive control and memory. He uses neuroimaging and behavioral methods to better understand complex social phenomena, such as altruism or competitive behavior. Media frequently comes to him on issues of brain training (does it work?) and altruism.
Recent Media:
- How aging might encourage altruism (Next Avenue, March 20, 2025)
- 6 signs your memory loss isn't normal (HuffPost, Nov. 3, 2023)
- Keeping your brain in shape (Eugene Weekly, Jan. 7, 2021)
- Do people become more selfless as they age? (The Conversation, April 14, 2020)
- Athletes find strategies to 'psych out' opponents, study says (OregonNews, Oct. 31, 2019)
- At UO, benevolence funds the science behind it (The Register-Guard, Jan. 11, 2017)
- The weak evidence behind brain-training games (The Atlantic, Oct. 3, 2016)
- Altruism (Oregon Public Broadcasting, Aug. 24, 2016)
- The surprising relationship between taxes and charitable giving (Marketwatch, Jan. 22, 2016)
- Older people perform better in the morning, study finds (Reuters, Aug. 15, 2014)
- Ulrich Mayr receives one of Germany's top academic prizes (OregonNews, May 28, 2014)