Ben Denkinger, Ph.D., is a cognitive and biological psychologist specializing in age-related changes in memory and the perception of time. Ben has taught courses in introductory psychology and research methods, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and the psychology of aging. He currently serves as Augsburg University’s Director of Assessment.
Ben directs research on campus for the Augsburg Aging Lab, where students and faculty collaborate to research normal, age-related changes in thinking, memory, and cognition in a variety of experiments. This research lab helps to inform public policy, advance the field of geropsychology, educate members of the community, and develop the skills of our students in experimental settings.
Most recently, he investigated age-related changes in memory for faces, eyewitness memory in older adulthood, the impact of causal inference on memory formation, and how our perception of time’s passage is shaped by emotional and motivational states.
AUGSBURG Aging Lab
Dr. Denkinger is an active public speaker who presents on age-related changes in cognition, as well as other foundational topics in psychological science. He has presented invited public talks at Alexandria Senior College, The Selim Center for Learning in Later Years at the University of St. Thomas, and at various community organizations, faith-based groups, and senior centers. For more information on speaking engagements, contact him at denkinge@augsburg.edu.
Education
* B.A. Hamline University
* Ph.D. University of Minnesota
Frequently Taught Courses
* PSY 105 – Principles of Psychology
* PSY 215 – Research Methods and Statistics I
* PSY 253 – Aging and Adulthood
* PSY 354 – Cognitive Psychology
* PSY 491 – Advanced Research Seminar
Selected Scholarship
Recent Publications
Denkinger, B. & Kinn, M. (2018). Own-age bias and positivity effects in facial recognition. Experimental Aging Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2018.1521493
Denkinger, B. & Koutstaal, W. (2014). A set of 265 pictures standardized for studies of the cognitive processing of temporal and causal order information. Behavior Research Methods, 46, 229 – 239. doi: 10.3758/s13428-013-0338-x
Denkinger, B. & Koutstaal, W. (2009). Perceive-Decide-Act, Perceive-Decide-Act: How abstract is decision learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 35, 742 – 756. doi: 10.1037/a0015263.
Recent Presentations
Denkinger, B. (2019). Improving the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET). IUPUI Assessment Conference, Indianapolis, IN.
Denkinger, B., Chamberlain, K., Krajewski, S., Kwame-Ross, T., Pike, D., & Richardson Blackwell, K. (2019). Reducing bias in university course survey design. National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Pete’s Beach, FL.
Denkinger, B. (2014). Age-related changes in time estimation. Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco, CA.
Denkinger, B. & Koutstaal, W. (2008). Perceive-decide-act, perceive-decide-act: The benefits and costs of previous decisions on object priming. Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL.
Denkinger, B. (2003, April). The Effects of Motivation on Long Time Interval Perception. National Conference of Undergraduate Research, Salt Lake City, UT.
Student Mentored Projects & Presentations
Sande-Martin, B.* & Denkinger, B. (2019). The Impact of Smartphone Notifications and its Effect on Proofreading Accuracy. 31st Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention, Washington, DC.
Sande-Martin, B.* (2019). The Impact of Smartphone Notifications and its Effect on Proofreading Accuracy. Scholars at the Capital, Saint Paul, MN.
Enriquez Blas, J* (2018). Age Related Changes in Emotion Facial Recognition. McNair Scholars Symposium, University of Buffalo, NY.
Sande-Martin, B.* (2018). The Impact of Smartphone Notifications and Their Effect on Proofreading Accuracy. McNair Scholars Symposium, University of Buffalo, NY.
Jader, A.* (2018). Adaptability of offline hand representations in the rubber hand illusion. Midwest Psychology Association, Chicago, IL.
Mcready, M.* & Patterson, A.* (2018). Own-age biases in recognition memory and visual scanning of faces. Midwest Psychology Association, Chicago, IL.
Enriquez Blas, J.* (2018). The Influence of Confidence on Flow State Experience and Time Perception. Midwest Psychology Association, Chicago, IL.
Paz-Basurto, D.* (2018). The influence of emotional imagery on duration estimates in a dual-task design. Midwest Psychology Association, Chicago, IL.
Kinn, M.* & Denkinger, B. (2017). Visual scanning techniques and the age-related positivity effect in facial recognition. Midwest Psychology Association, Chicago, IL.
Hillebrand, R.* & Denkinger, B. (2017). Time estimation in a lexical decision task. Midwest Psychology Association, Chicago, IL.
Kanan, A.* & Denkinger, B. (2016). Investigating the Influence of Motivational Traits on Exercise Persistence. Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Augsburg College, MN.
Johnson, J.*, Krenz, P*., Denkinger, B. & Steblay, N. (2016). Eyewitness memory procedures in older adulthood. Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Augsburg College, MN.
Ross, H.*, Kraft, J.*, Matz, D., & Denkinger, B. (2016). The influence of motivation on attention to temporal feedback. Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Augsburg College, MN.
Boyum, A.*, Kraft, J.*, Matz, D. & Denkinger, B. (2015). The influence of motivation on attention to temporal feedback. Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Macalaster College, MN.
Allen, M.*, Denkinger, B. & Steblay, N. (2015). Eyewitness memory procedures in older adulthood. Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Macalaster College, MN.
Block, K.* & Denkinger, B. (2015). Homophily in relationships: Do politics and race affect romantic relationships? Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Macalaster College, MN.
Mattson, B.* & Denkinger, B. (2014). Victim blame, gender, and sexual orientation. Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Bethel College, MN.
Christensen, B.*, Mattson, B.*, Simpson, B.*, Aguilar, J.* & Denkinger, B. (2014). Time warp: How emotional experience influences time perception. Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Bethel College, MN.
*indicates undergraduate student researcher