Matthew Langley

Mathew Langley was born and raised in the Midwest and was fascinated by phenomenology from a young age. Early memories include asking the adults around him questions about perceptual experiences: Is the blue you see the same blue that I see? How do they know that dogs can’t see red or green? What do you mean bats use echoes to fly around? These were no doubt difficult questions, and they only became more complex as he aged.

During his undergraduate education, Langley was exposed to research showing that biological constraints, such as wearing a heavy backpack, can literally change the way we see the world - with hills appearing steeper and distances farther. This spurred a moment of realization that he has not been able to shake. Specifically, we know and define reality by the information that we receive from our senses. However, if small, transient bodily changes can influence what we perceive, then maybe reality isn’t as stable as we would like or hope it to be. For Langley, the study of perception and action remains the most interesting topic, and he hopes his life-long passion is infectious to those around him.

Areas of Expertise/Interest

Cognitive psychology, perception, perception-action, perceptual bias, spatial bias, object perception, scene perception, affordances, natural regularities.