Roger Chaffin

Professor Emeritus

Psychological Sciences

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Education

Ph.D., 1976, University of Illinois

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Research Interests

Dr. Chaffin’s goal is to understand the cognitive processes involved in human communication, particularly musical performance. His longitudinal case studies of experienced musicians preparing for performance combine the third-person perspective of the scientist with the first-person perspective of the musician. Together with musician colleagues, he has shown how the principles of expert memory apply to the domain of music performance. In current work on the role of movement in music performance, his goal is to understand the role of spontaneity and creativity in highly prepared music performance. His other interests consist of: 

• music performance
• memory
• consciousness

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Publications

Recent 

Demos, A.P., Lisboa, T, Logan, T., Begosh, K. T., & Chaffin, R. (2018). A longitudinal study of the development of expressive timing. Psychology of Music. https://doi: 10.1177/0305735618783563.

Demos, A.P., & Chaffin, R. (2018). How Music Moves Us: Entraining to Musicians€™ Movements. Music Perception, 35(4), 405-424.

Demos, A. P., Chaffin, R., & Logan, T. (2017). Musicians body sway embodies musical structure and expression: A recurrence-based approach. Musicae Scientiae, 22(2), 244€“263.

Demos, A.P., Lisboa, T, & Chaffin, R. (2016). Flexibility of expressive timing in repeated musical performances. Frontiers in Psychology, 1490(7).

Representative 

Chaffin, R. Lisboa, T., Logan, T.,& Begosh, K.T. (2010). Preparing for memorized cello performance: The role of performance cues. Psychology of Music, 38, 3-3

Demos, A.P., Chaffin, R., Begosh, K.T., Daniels, J.R. & Marsh, K.L. (2012). Rocking to the beat: Effects of music and partner€™s movements on spontaneous interpersonal coordination. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141, 49-53.

Chaffin, R., Morris, R.K., & Seely, R.E. (2001).  Learning new word meanings from context: A study of eye movements.  Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 27, 225-235.

Chaffin, R. (1979). Knowledge of language and knowledge about the world: A reaction time study of invited and necessary inferences. Cognitive Science, 3, 55-80.