derek besner, University of Waterloo

Latest papers

Beyond mean RTs in visual word recognition: Extensions of a remarkably stable three-way interaction amongst word frequency, stimulus degradation, and RT distributions.
Acta psychologica · 2026 · senior author
Judgments of Direction About Words and Arrows: The Neglected Influence of Task Set.
Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) · 2026 · first author
Revealing hidden interactions in mean performance through distributional analyses: Evidence from Chinese lexical decision performance.
Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2025 · senior author

All 54 publications

Latest funding

Basic processes in visual word identification
NSERC · 2017 · Principal investigator
$150,000
""Visual Word Recognition: Intention, Attention, and Computational Modelling""
NSERC · 2012 · Principal investigator
$235,000
An ERP laboratory for collaborative cognitive neuroscience research
NSERC · 2008 · Co-investigator
$90,500

All 7 grants and awards

54 publications.

01

Beyond mean RTs in visual word recognition: Extensions of a remarkably stable three-way interaction amongst word frequency, stimulus degradation, and RT distributions.

Yap MJ, Balota DA, Young T, Besner D

Acta psychologica2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106769 PMID: 41946141

02

Judgments of Direction About Words and Arrows: The Neglected Influence of Task Set.

Besner D, McCann RS, Young TP, Van Kessel K, MacLeod CM

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)2026First author

DOI: 10.1177/17470218261423867 PMID: 41631661

03

Revealing hidden interactions in mean performance through distributional analyses: Evidence from Chinese lexical decision performance.

Yap MJ, Tse CS, Lim AQ, Balota DA, Besner D

Psychonomic bulletin & review2025Senior author

DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02609-x PMID: 39511108

04

Correction to: On the relationship between spatial attention and semantics in the context of a Stroop paradigm.

Besner D, Young T

Attention, perception & psychophysics2025First author

DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02987-3 PMID: 39560888

05

On the relationship between spatial attention and semantics in the context of a Stroop paradigm.

Besner D, Young T

Attention, perception & psychophysics2024First author

DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02911-9 PMID: 38886301

06

Intention and performance when reading aloud: Context is everything.

Besner D, McLean D, Young T, Risko E

Consciousness and cognition2021First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103211 PMID: 34600297

07

Do eyes and arrows elicit automatic orienting? Three mutually exclusive hypotheses and a test.

Besner D, McLean D, Young T

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)2021First author

DOI: 10.1177/1747021821998572 PMID: 33586520

08

Attentional constraints on semantic activation: Evidence from Stroop's paradigm.

White D, Besner D

Acta psychologica2018Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2016.08.008 PMID: 27594342

09

Is semantic activation from print capacity limited? Evidence from the psychological refractory period paradigm.

Besner D, Reynolds M

Psychonomic bulletin & review2017First author

DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1178-3 PMID: 27812959

10

Reading Aloud: Discrete Stage(s) Redux.

Robidoux S, Besner D

Frontiers in psychology2017Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00218 PMID: 28289395

Basic processes in visual word identification

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: besner, derek

$150,000

""Visual Word Recognition: Intention, Attention, and Computational Modelling""

Principal investigatorNSERC2012Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Besner, Derek

$235,000

An ERP laboratory for collaborative cognitive neuroscience research

Co-investigatorNSERC2008Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Principal investigators: Fugelsang, Jonathan

$90,500

Dyanamic processes in visual word recognition

Principal investigatorNSERC2007Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Besner, Derek

$259,025

Processing dynamics of visual word recognition

Principal investigatorNSERC2002Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Besner, Derek

$270,000

Automaticity and stages of processing in visual word recognition

Principal investigatorNSERC1997Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Besner, Derek

$255,990

Orthographies and phonology in visual word recognition

Principal investigatorNSERC1991Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Besner, Derek

$264,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Psychology

Co-authors at University of Waterloo, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Michael Reynolds

Psychology

1 shared papers, latest 2017

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Subject: Prospective PhD student Dear Professor besner, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Beyond mean RTs in visual word recognition: Extensions of a remarkably stable three-way interaction amongst word frequency, stimulus degradation, and RT distributions." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

derek besner

Latest papers

Latest funding

Beyond mean RTs in visual word recognition: Extensions of a remarkably stable three-way interaction amongst word frequency, stimulus degradation, and RT distributions.

Judgments of Direction About Words and Arrows: The Neglected Influence of Task Set.

Revealing hidden interactions in mean performance through distributional analyses: Evidence from Chinese lexical decision performance.

Correction to: On the relationship between spatial attention and semantics in the context of a Stroop paradigm.

On the relationship between spatial attention and semantics in the context of a Stroop paradigm.

Intention and performance when reading aloud: Context is everything.

Do eyes and arrows elicit automatic orienting? Three mutually exclusive hypotheses and a test.

Attentional constraints on semantic activation: Evidence from Stroop's paradigm.

Is semantic activation from print capacity limited? Evidence from the psychological refractory period paradigm.

Reading Aloud: Discrete Stage(s) Redux.

Basic processes in visual word identification

""Visual Word Recognition: Intention, Attention, and Computational Modelling""

An ERP laboratory for collaborative cognitive neuroscience research

Dyanamic processes in visual word recognition

Processing dynamics of visual word recognition

Automaticity and stages of processing in visual word recognition

Orthographies and phonology in visual word recognition

Frequent collaborators

Daniel Smilek

Evan Risko

Jonathan Fugelsang

Britt Anderson

James Danckert

Michael Reynolds