Research

My work focuses on attentional control and the exploitation/exploration tradeoff - how rational decision variables (response speed, reward, uncertainty, respiration) shape whether we rely on internal representations or consult the environment. I use behavioral experiments, eye-tracking, and computational modeling (GLMMs, Bayesian methods) with both younger and older adult populations. PI: Prof. Ulrich Mayr, University of Oregon.

Journal Articles

Hubbard, J., Graetz, D., & Mayr, U. (2026). Switching between Certainty and Uncertainty: General and Age-Related Dynamics of Seeking Environmental Support. [DOI]

Mayr, U. & Graetz, D. (2024). Does Cognitive Control have a General Stability/Flexibility Tradeoff Problem? Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 57, 101389. [DOI]

Mirjalili, S., Wanjia, G., Graetz, D., Wang, E., Mayr, U., & Kuhl, B. A. (under review). Hippocampal transformations occur along dimensions of memory interference. [Preprint]

Moss, M., Graetz, D., & Mayr, U. (under review). Levels of Hierarchical Control Organize Individual Differences in Cognition along Two Distinct Dimensions. [OSF]

Christo, M. M. S., Klein, Â. I., de Resende, L. M. M., Szmoski, R. M., Borges, R. R., & Graetz, D. (2020). Análise dos movimentos oculares durante a leitura de questões matemáticas por alunos de Engenharia. Revista Linguagem & Ensino, 23(2), 347–363.

Conference Posters

Own works

Graetz, D. & Mayr, U. (2025). Value Contexts Modulate Attentional Capture. Psychonomic Society 66th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. [DOI]

Graetz, D. & Mayr, U. (2024). Does Being Slow Make Us Distracted? Testing a Value-Based Decision Model. Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting, New York, NY. [DOI]

Graetz, D., Guo, W., Mirjalili, S., Wang, E., Mayr, U. & Kuhl, B. A. (2024). Hippocampal Repulsion as a Function of Memory Similarity and Experience. Neuroscience, Chicago, IL. [DOI]

Graetz, D. & Mayr, U. (2023). Slower Response Speed Moves Us from Exploitation to Exploration. Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. [DOI]

Graetz, D., Moss, M. E., & Mayr, U. (2023). Should I Stay or Should I Go? Breathing Modulates the Attentional Exploitation/Exploration Balance. Graduate Student Research Forum, UO. [DOI]

Graetz, D., Froeber, K., & Mayr, U. (2022). Does distraction make you slow, or does being slow make you distracted? Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA. [DOI]

Collaborations & Works of Mentees

Romero, A., Mirjalili, S., Graetz, D., Guo, W., Wang, E., Mayr, U., & Kuhl, B. (2025). Hippocampal Repulsion as a Function of Memory Similarity and Experience. CNS Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. [DOI]

Dodge, C., Graetz, D., & Mayr, U. (2025). Attention as Optimization: Reward-Guided Exploration and Its Limits in ADHD. Undergraduate Research Symposium, UO. [DOI]

Ahmad, S., Graetz, D., & Mayr, U. (2023). Rational Distraction: Understanding the Adaptive Nature of Reliance on External Information. Undergraduate Research Symposium, UO. [DOI]

Wang, E., Graetz, D., & Mayr, U. (2023). Task-Relevant Spatial Attention and Distractibility in Cognitive Aging. Undergraduate Research Symposium, UO. [DOI]

Arora, N., Graetz, D., & Mayr, U. (2022). Does the breathing cycle modulate the orientation of our attention? Undergraduate Research Symposium, UO. [DOI]