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Mitchell Meltzer

Mitchell
Meltzer

Assistant Professor of Psychology
Principal Investigator and Director, Face Perception and Memory Laboratory
Smiddy 137

Mitchell Meltzer received his B.S. in psychology from Truman State University, M.S. in clinical psychology from Marquette University, and M.S. and Ph.D. in cognition and neuroscience from the University of Texas at Dallas.

As a teacher, he seeks to maximize student engagement and performance in the courses he teaches, which include History and Contemporary Issues in Psychology, Senior Seminar in Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Introduction to Psychology, Psychology of Human Motivation, Psychology of Learning, Personality, and Integrated Statistics and Methodology for the Social Sciences. In addition to teaching, Dr. Meltzer conducts research into the fundamental processes that support face recognition, as well as the psychological predictors of eyewitness recognition accuracy.

He enjoys spending his free time outdoors engaging in activities such as hiking, kayaking, and mountain biking.

Grant Funding

The Role of Personal Relevance in Predicting Eyewitness Recognition Accuracy (Principal Investigator). Funded by the University of Virginia’s Grand Challenge Brain and Neuroscience Seed Grant ($18,375 for the 2025/2026 academic year).

Sleep Quality and Holistic Face Processing (Principal Investigator). Funded by the University of Virginia’s College at Wise Summer Scholars Program ($3,000 for the Summer of 2024).

Relevant Publications

Meltzer, M.A., & Charles, A.A. (2025). Recognising faces, objects, and words: The holistic-unitisation hypothesis accounts for cross-stimulus differences in intra-item associative memory. Visual Cognition, 33(3), 166 – 177. Https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2025.2547275.

Meltzer, M.A. (2023). Learning facilitates dual-process face recognition regardless of holistic processing. Memory & Cognition51, 1416-1430. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-023-01399-2

Weatherford, D.W., Meltzer, M.A., Carlson, C.A., & Bartlett, J.C. (2021).  Never forget a face:  Verbalization facilitates recollection as evidenced by flexible responding to contrasting recognition memory tests.  Memory & Cognition49, 323-339. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-020-01085-7

Meltzer, M.A. & Bartlett, J.C. (2019).  Holistic processing and unitization in face recognition memory.  Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(8), 1386-1406.  https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000640

Meltzer, M.A. & Nielson, K.A. (2010).  Memory for emotionally provocative words in alexithymia: A role for stimulus relevance.  Consciousness and Cognition, 19(4), 1062-1068.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2010.05.008.

Nielson, K.A. & Meltzer, M.A. (2009). Modulation of long-term memory by arousal in alexithymia: The role of interpretation.  Consciousness and Cognition, 18(3), 786-793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2009.06.001

Martin, M.V., Dong, H., Meltzer, M.A., Ali, Z., Czeisler, B., Csernansky, J.G. (2005). Neuroprotective effects of Olanzapine in a rat model of neurodevelopmental injury. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 83(2), 208-215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2006.01.009

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