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 Kim-Phuong L. Vu
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
California State University, Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840
Office: PSY 333; Phone: (562) 985 5021; Fax: (562) 985 8004
Picture of Kim Vu

Education:                                                                                                                      E-mail:  kvu8@csulb.edu

Ph.D., 2003, Purdue University, Cognitive Psychology                                                        Quick Links:  BeachBoard
M.S., 2000, Purdue University, Cognitive Psychology                                                                              Webmail
B.A., 1999, California State University Long Beach, Psychology                                                              PSI CHI 
                                                                                                                                                               HFES Student Chapter   

Specialty Area(s):                                             Courses:

  • Human Cognition                                       Research Methods
  • Human Performance                                  Cognition
  • Human Factors                                          Human Factors
  • Human-Computer Interaction                     Perception and Attention
To view my vita, which contains information about my professional preparation, honors and awards, publications, and synergistic activities, click on the Curriculum Vitae link below.  You will need a PDF viewer to open the file. To download a version of Adobe PDF, click here.
Curriculum Vitae
Research Interests:

Human Cognition and Performance
My primary area of research focuses on the topic of action, or response, selection. Action selection refers to how a speeded decision is made regarding which action to take in response to perceptual events. One of the major factors affecting efficiency of action selection is stimulus-response compatibility (SRC). SRC refers to the fact that performance is better with certain mappings of stimuli to responses than others. For example, if participants are asked to press a left or right key in response to a light appearing to the left or right, performance is better with the compatible mapping of left stimulus to left response and right stimulus to right response than the alternative incompatible mapping. Studies of SRC effects have been a valuable tool to study automatic and intentional processes associated with the response selection that intervene between perception and action. In addition, research in the area of action selection has implications for how displays and controls should be organized and mapped in order to achieve efficient performance, with minimal errors.

Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction
My secondary area of research focuses on human factors and human-computer interaction. A fundamental idea underlying human factors is that systems and interfaces must be designed with the users in mind if the systems are to accomplish their goals effectively. This is particularly true for transactions initiated through the Internet because they often involve extensive human interactions with the system. Thus, my basic research on human cognition and performance has much to offer to the design of user interfaces and applications for the Internet. My work in this area includes use of metacognitive judgments to predict computer expertise, human factors issues in Web design and the role of password restrictions in the memorability and security of passwords for single and multiple accounts.  I am co-editor of the Handbook of Human Factors in Web Design (2005) and co-author of the forthcoming book, Stimulus-Response Compatibility: Data, Theory, and Application (2006).

Human Factors Research and Training:

Currently, I am the Associate Director of two centers of excellence in human factors' research and development, Center for the Study of Advanced Aeronautic Technologies (CSAAT), and Center for Usability in Design and Accessibility (CUDA)  These centers provide practicum and research experiences for students in our graduate programs in Psychology, especially the Master Science Human Factors' Psychology Program.

CSAAT, founded in 2003, is a collaborative facility for research on the impact of advanced aeronautics' technologies on human operators in the National Airspace System.  CSAAT recently has been supported by The Boeing Company, NASA Ames Research Center and CSULB.  In CSAAT, simulations are used to investigate the human factors issues in advanced air vehicles, air traffic management concepts and automation technologies, and to evaluate interface design solutions for the advanced displays and controls associated with these new technologies. Currently, Dr. Tom Strybel, as Principal Investigator, and I, as Co-Investigator, are leading a NASA-sponsored consortium of researchers from universities and private industry for quantifying operator situation awareness, workload, and performance in relation to operator management of Automated Separation Assurance Systems for safe operation under the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

CUDA serves as a usability testing laboratory and user-centered design resource for private and non-private organizations in the community.  Established 1996, CUDA evaluates software products for a variety of organizations: educational institutions (e.g., CSU Office of the Chancellor), colleges and universities in the CSU System, government agencies (e.g., Veterans Administration) and private industry (e.g., Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc., Southern California Edison, Honda, and First American Real Estate). 

Links to My Affiliated Universities:
 CSU Long Beach: Psychology Department

CSU Northridge: Psychology Department

Purdue University: Department of Psychological Sciences