Metadata
Title
Stefanie Becker
Category
general
UUID
86026506d13c49fc8552959df2155aab
Source URL
https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1951
Parent URL
https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/601
Crawl Time
2026-03-23T12:01:58+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown 
# Stefanie Becker

**Source**: https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1951
**Parent**: https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/601

Associate Professor

# Stefanie Becker

Email:
:   [s.becker@psy.uq.edu.au](mailto:s.becker@psy.uq.edu.au)

Phone:
:   [+61 7 334 69517](tel:+61 7 334 69517)

## Positions

Centre Director of Centre for Perception and Cognitive Neuroscience
:   Centre for Perception and Cognitive Neuroscience
:   Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences

Associate Professor
:   School of Psychology
:   Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences

### Background

Stefanie was awarded a PhD in Cognitive Psychology / Experimental Psychology in 2007, from the University of Bielefeld, Germany, and was subsequently awarded two awards for it (amongst them the National German Dissertation Award). She then took up a 1-year post-doc position with Prof Roger Remington at UQ. Subsequently, her work was supported by various fellowships from UQ and the ARC, allowing Stefanie to focus mainly on research from 2009 - 2018. Afterwards she was employed on a Teaching and Research position at UQ, where she is currently employed as an Associate Professor.

Personal website: [www.sibecker.com](http://www.sibecker.com)

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### Availability

Associate Professor Stefanie Becker is:
:   Available for supervision

### Fields of research

[Biomedical and Clinical Sciences](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/search?research-field=4760)
[Cognitive and computational psychology](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/search?research-field=4985)
[Neurosciences](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/search?research-field=4960)
[Psychology](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/search?research-field=4754)

### Qualifications

- Doctor of Philosophy, Universität Bielefeld

### Research interests

- #### Testing the relational account of attention (Becker, 2010)

  In 2010, I proposed a new relational account of attention and eye movements. Contrary to the standard feature detector views, it proposes that attention is always tuned to the relative features of objects (e.g., larger, redder, darker). Relative features are encoded at a very early stage of processing and are very stable against variations in lighting, distance and perspective. We have tested and confirmed the predictions of the relational account using eye tracking, EEG and fMRI, but there is still much to do to arrive at a complete and correct theory of attention.

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- #### Emotion and Attention

  Can emotional factors such as happy or angry faces involuntarily attract our attention, possibly because angry faces may constitute a threat? In my lab, this question has been intensely studied, often with EEG or eye movements, and our research has shown that both perceptual factors such as saliency and emotional states such as our own mood can modulate attention to emotional faces.
  Please see Projects at http://www.sibecker.com for further details.

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### Research impacts

My research focus is broadly in the area of Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience, and specifically, in attention research. My perhaps most important contribution to date is that I formulated a new relational theory of attention and eye movements (Becker, 2010; JEP-General). Deviating from the most prominent feature-specific theories of attention, my research shows that attention can be tuned in a highly context-dependent manner to objects, to select the reddest, darkest or largest object. There is also a long-standing debate whether attention is controlled by stimulus-driven factors that are outside of of our control or goal-driven factors such as our intentions. My own work shows that we indeed have a large amount of control over visual selective attention, as we can tune attention to sought-after objects which then quickly attract the gaze when they are present. There are however also bottom-up limitations to this goal-driven selection process that can completely frustrate our attempts to find an object.

The findings are relevant, as conscious perception is severely capacity-limited: Attention selects objects for further processing and determines which items we can consciously appraise first. My own relational account has recently been extended to Inattentional Blindness, Awareness and Memory, allowing even more accurate predictions about what items we will consciously perceive first, and which we will miss. This has important implications about how we should design environments to ensure that important signals and signs capture our attention, and prevent that we miss them.

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[Search Professor Stefanie Becker’s works on UQ eSpace](http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/list/author_id/72032)

[All
(127)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/1951/all)
[Journal Article
(105)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/1951/4748)
[Conference Publication
(21)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/1951/4751)
[Book Chapter
(1)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/1951/4752)

2025

Conference Publication

##### How do relative features guide attention in visual search?

Becker, Stefanie, Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary and Amarasekera, Koralalage Don Raveen (2025). How do relative features guide attention in visual search?. Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting 2025, St. Pete Beach, FL United States, 16-20 May 2025. Rockville, MD United States: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. doi: 10.1167/jov.25.9.2956

[How do relative features guide attention in visual search?](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:10e10db)

2025

Journal Article

##### Visual search is relational without prior context learning

Becker, Stefanie I., Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary and Amarasekera, Koralalage Don Raveen (2025). Visual search is relational without prior context learning. Cognition, 260 106132, 106132. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106132

[Visual search is relational without prior context learning](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:67a8287)

2025

Journal Article

##### Participant mood modulates attention and eye movements in visual search for emotional faces

Hughes, Michael J., Stoddart, Madeleine M., Horstmann, Gernot, Lipp, Ottmar V. and Becker, Stefanie I. (2025). Participant mood modulates attention and eye movements in visual search for emotional faces. Emotion, 25 (7), 1852-1871. doi: 10.1037/emo0001509

[Participant mood modulates attention and eye movements in visual search for emotional faces](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:d89e3ab)

2025

Journal Article

##### Inhibition in large set sizes depends on search mode, not salience

Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary, Pratt, Jay and Becker, Stefanie I. (2025). Inhibition in large set sizes depends on search mode, not salience. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 87 (3), 874-883. doi: 10.3758/s13414-025-03020-x

[Inhibition in large set sizes depends on search mode, not salience](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:ed6ac65)

2023

Journal Article

##### Faces capture spatial attention only when we want them to: an inattentional blindness EEG study

Qiu, Zeguo, Lei, Xue, Becker, Stefanie I. and Pegna, Alan J. (2023). Faces capture spatial attention only when we want them to: an inattentional blindness EEG study. Biological Psychology, 183 108665, 108665. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108665

[Faces capture spatial attention only when we want them to: an inattentional blindness EEG study](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:a927758)

2023

Journal Article

##### Tuning to non-veridical features in attention and perceptual decision-making: An EEG study

Becker, Stefanie I., Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary, Xia, Hongfeng and Qiu, Zeguo (2023). Tuning to non-veridical features in attention and perceptual decision-making: An EEG study. Neuropsychologia, 188 108634, 108634. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108634

[Tuning to non-veridical features in attention and perceptual decision-making: An EEG study](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:dc041be)

2023

Journal Article

##### Fixation-related electrical potentials during a free visual search task reveal the timing of visual awareness

Qiu, Zeguo, Becker, Stefanie I., Xia, Hongfeng, Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary and Pegna, Alan J. (2023). Fixation-related electrical potentials during a free visual search task reveal the timing of visual awareness. iScience, 26 (7) 107148, 1-17. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107148

[Fixation-related electrical potentials during a free visual search task reveal the timing of visual awareness](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2e6227c)

2023

Journal Article

##### Attentional selection is a sufficient cause for visual working memory interference

Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary and Becker, Stefanie I. (2023). Attentional selection is a sufficient cause for visual working memory interference. Journal of Vision, 23 (7) 15, 1-11. doi: 10.1167/jov.23.7.15

[Attentional selection is a sufficient cause for visual working memory interference](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:e87da00)

2023

Journal Article

##### Which processes dominate visual search: bottom-up feature contrast, top-down tuning or trial history?

Becker, Stefanie I., Grubert, Anna, Horstmann, Gernot and Ansorge, Ulrich (2023). Which processes dominate visual search: bottom-up feature contrast, top-down tuning or trial history?. Cognition, 236 105420, 1-17. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105420

[Which processes dominate visual search: bottom-up feature contrast, top-down tuning or trial history?](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:955ef0a)

2023

Journal Article

##### Good-enough attentional guidance

Yu, Xinger, Zhou, Zhiheng, Becker, Stefanie I., Boettcher, Sage E. P. and Geng, Joy J. (2023). Good-enough attentional guidance. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27 (4), 391-403. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.01.007

[Good-enough attentional guidance](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:a718b6c)

2023

Journal Article

##### Attentional capture by fearful faces requires consciousness and is modulated by task-relevancy: a dot-probe EEG study

Qiu, Zeguo, Jiang, Jiaqin, Becker, Stefanie I. and Pegna, Alan J. (2023). Attentional capture by fearful faces requires consciousness and is modulated by task-relevancy: a dot-probe EEG study. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 17 1152220, 1152220. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1152220

[Attentional capture by fearful faces requires consciousness and is modulated by task-relevancy: a dot-probe EEG study](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:a78c868)

2023

Journal Article

##### Attentional prioritisation and facilitation for similar stimuli in visual working memory

Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary, Low, Jia Xuan and Becker, Stefanie I. (2023). Attentional prioritisation and facilitation for similar stimuli in visual working memory. Psychological Research, 87 (7), 1-8. doi: 10.1007/s00426-023-01790-3

[Attentional prioritisation and facilitation for similar stimuli in visual working memory](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:e3b9f30)

2023

Journal Article

##### Mirror blindness: our failure to recognize the target in search for mirror-reversed shapes

Becker, Stefanie I., Retell, James D. and Wolfe, Jeremy M. (2023). Mirror blindness: our failure to recognize the target in search for mirror-reversed shapes. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 85 (2), 418-437. doi: 10.3758/s13414-022-02641-w

[Mirror blindness: our failure to recognize the target in search for mirror-reversed shapes](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:218c8eb)

2022

Journal Article

##### Semi-supervised EEG clustering with multiple constraints

Dai, Chenglong, Wu, Jia, Monaghan, Jessica J. M., Li, Guanghui, Peng, Hao, Becker, Stefanie I. and McAlpine, David (2022). Semi-supervised EEG clustering with multiple constraints. IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, 35 (8), 1-15. doi: 10.1109/tkde.2022.3206330

[Semi-supervised EEG clustering with multiple constraints](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:e0daf14)

2022

Journal Article

##### Spatial attention shifting to fearful faces depends on visual awareness in attentional blink: an ERP study

Qiu, Zeguo, Becker, Stefanie I. and Pegna, Alan J. (2022). Spatial attention shifting to fearful faces depends on visual awareness in attentional blink: an ERP study. Neuropsychologia, 172 108283, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108283

[Spatial attention shifting to fearful faces depends on visual awareness in attentional blink: an ERP study](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:6b4dbb0)

2022

Journal Article

##### Eye movements reveal the contributions of early and late processes of enhancement and suppression to the guidance of visual search

Hamblin-Frohman, Zachary, Chang, Seah, Egeth, Howard and Becker, Stefanie I. (2022). Eye movements reveal the contributions of early and late processes of enhancement and suppression to the guidance of visual search. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 84 (6), 1913-1924. doi: 10.3758/s13414-022-02536-w

[Eye movements reveal the contributions of early and late processes of enhancement and suppression to the guidance of visual search](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:b3d3977)

2022

Journal Article

##### ShVEEGc: EEG clustering with improved cosine similarity-transformed shapley value

Li, Guanghui, Shen, Jiahua, Dai, Chenglong, Wu, Jia and Becker, Stefanie I. (2022). ShVEEGc: EEG clustering with improved cosine similarity-transformed shapley value. IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational Intelligence, PP (99), 1-15. doi: 10.1109/tetci.2022.3189385

[ShVEEGc: EEG clustering with improved cosine similarity-transformed shapley value](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:f2f9fe0)

2022

Journal Article

##### The effects of spatial attention focus and visual awareness on the processing of fearful faces: an ERP study

Qiu, Zeguo, Becker, Stefanie I. and Pegna, Alan J. (2022). The effects of spatial attention focus and visual awareness on the processing of fearful faces: an ERP study. Brain Sciences, 12 (7) 823, 823. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12070823

[The effects of spatial attention focus and visual awareness on the processing of fearful faces: an ERP study](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:0a47ad5)

2022

Journal Article

##### Neural activities during the processing of unattended and unseen emotional faces: a voxel-wise meta-analysis

Qiu, Zeguo, Lei, Xue, Becker, Stefanie I. and Pegna, Alan J. (2022). Neural activities during the processing of unattended and unseen emotional faces: a voxel-wise meta-analysis. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 16 (5), 2426-2443. doi: 10.1007/s11682-022-00697-8

[Neural activities during the processing of unattended and unseen emotional faces: a voxel-wise meta-analysis](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:677dcee)

2022

Journal Article

##### Spatial attention shifting to emotional faces is contingent on awareness and task relevancy

Qiu, Zeguo, Becker, Stefanie I. and Pegna, Alan J. (2022). Spatial attention shifting to emotional faces is contingent on awareness and task relevancy. Cortex, 151, 30-48. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.02.009

[Spatial attention shifting to emotional faces is contingent on awareness and task relevancy](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:5f3ff92)

### Current funding

- 2024 - 2028

  Can the Relational Account predict search in multiple-element displays?

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/62162)

### Past funding

- 2021 - 2025

  Attention vs Perception: When is selection optimal, when relational?

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/47239)
- 2017 - 2020

  Testing a relational account for visual working memory

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/29824)
- 2015 - 2016

  Do feature relationships play a role for conscious visual perception and awareness

  UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards - DVC(R) Funding

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/23046)
- 2014 - 2018

  Can the relational account of attention explain search in natural environments and inattentional blindness?

  ARC Future Fellowships

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/21013)
- 2012 - 2014

  Cortical Regulation of Attentional Capture

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/14053)
- 2011 - 2014

  The role of relational information in the guidance of visual attention

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/12452)
- 2011

  An eye-tracking and neuro-stimulation laboratory for cognitive neuroscience research

  UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/12996)
- 2010

  Search for emotional schematic faces: What determines the search asymmetry for angry faces?

  UQ Early Career Researcher

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/11686)
- 2009 - 2011

  Are visual attention and eye movements guided by relational information?

  UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/10526)

### Availability

Associate Professor Stefanie Becker is:
:   Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on [how to choose a supervisor](https://study.uq.edu.au/study-options/phd-mphil-professional-doctorate/how-to-choose-a-supervisor).

### Available projects

- #### [Attention and eye movements](http://www.sibecker.com)

  There are continuously a range of projects available in my lab to work on visual attention and/or eye movements. The exact topic is negotiated with students. PhD students will learn how to program experiments, analyse the data, present the results to the lab as well as at conferences, and write up the results for publication. The dissertation or PhD thesis usually consists of 3 research articles with 2-3 experiments each, a general introduction and general discussion. Students from my lab are encouraged to present their work at conferences nationally as well as overseas, and to visit other labs to further hone their skills. Please contact me if you would like to know more. :-)

  Read more
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### Supervision history

#### Current supervision

- Doctor Philosophy

  ##### Investigating the importance of VSTM in visual attention vs target identification

  Principal Advisor
- Doctor Philosophy

  ##### Investigating Visual Search with Multi-coloured Conjunction Stimuli: Relational or Feature-specific?

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Mark Horswill](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1158)
- Doctor Philosophy

  ##### Investigating Visual Attention Mechanisms

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Associate Professor Philip Grove](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1637)
- Doctor Philosophy

  ##### Characterising visual responses to objects defined by various forms of contrast.

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Associate Professor Philip Grove](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1637)
- Doctor Philosophy

  ##### The limits and boundaries of early relational visual processes

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Associate Professor Philip Grove](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1637)
- Doctor Philosophy

  ##### The sensory make-up of virtual environments and its role in the effective transfer of learning to real-world tasks

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Guy Wallis](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/601), [Associate Professor Philip Grove](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1637)

#### Completed supervision

- 2022

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Attentional Templates in Visual Attention and Working Memory: Exploring the levels of attentional guidance and representation](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2326cac)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Associate Professor Philip Grove](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1637)
- 2019

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [How relational features modulate attention, awareness and visual short-term memory (VSTM)](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:cfa60d1)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Mark Horswill](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1158)
- 2019

  Master Philosophy

  ##### [Top-down modulation of oculomotor capture: The role of feature relationships in guiding visual attention.](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:bb25b20)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Dr David Sewell](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/13901)
- 2018

  Master Philosophy

  ##### [Visual sensory substitution: Initial testing of a custom built visual to tactile device](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:7b6487e)

  Principal Advisor
- 2016

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Top-down influences on the attentional orienting to and disengagement from threat](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:411628)

  Principal Advisor
- 2015

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [In search of the emotional face: Anger or happiness preference and the effect of face inversion in visual search](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:372186)

  Principal Advisor
- 2024

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Do Fearful Faces Attract Spatial Attention under Different Conditions of Visual Awareness?](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:6d38fa3)

  Associate Advisor
- 2024

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Age-Related Influences on Propositional Language: Attention Modulation of Novel Ideas](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2630038)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Gail Robinson](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/2299)
- 2015

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Face to Face: Flexibility in the Processing of Multiple Facial Cues](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:372176)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Eric Vanman](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1856)
- 2015

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Attentional control: the role of task-expectations in determining attentional selection](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:354455)

  Associate Advisor

### Enquiries

For media enquiries about Associate Professor Stefanie Becker's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

[communications@uq.edu.au](mailto:communications@uq.edu.au)

## External profiles

- [ORCID](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4198-5056)
- [Scopus](https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7402398864)

## Personal links

- [Personal profile](http://www.sibecker.com)

Log in to Academic Portal to update your profile

[Update my profile](https://academicportal.app.uq.edu.au/profile/)