Research

Gabriela Ilie's research examines, from an experimental point of view, the affective and social-cognitive processes underlying music and speech communication. She studies the perception and experience of specific and shared attributes of music and speech. Dr. Ilie believes that our perception and experience of shared attributes of music and speech affect our social-cognitive processes (e.g., experiences of the world) and our cognitions (e.g., spatial-temporal performance, rapid-decision making, and creativity). She also believes that these effects are not limited to the auditory domain, but extend to the visual, motor and sensory domains, as well. Her plan of research for this year includes several experimental investigations examining the latter. She uses a theoretical model of perception and experience she developed from a review of the literature and direct observations of perceptual and experiential auditory data during her doctoral reserach. Her methods of examination include self-reports of perceived and experienced affect, reports of self-perception and the perception of others, preference, and cognitive performance on a variety of cognitive tasks.