In terms of research, Dr. Larochelle is interested in the categorization processes that are active in perception and underlie our conceptualization of the world around us. The approach adopted in this research involves an experimental dimension aimed at inferring the nature of categorization processes and the resulting representations, as well as a calculatory dimension aimed at simulating their properties. Certain work in progress (with D. Cousineau and C. Lefebvre) is looking at the automatic detection of different categories of objects in the field of vision, and suggesting a model of visual attention. Other work (with G. Lacroix) is looking at the mnesic traces left by exemplars encountered and the relative importance of these traces in categorizing objects (in contrast to the role played by classification rules, for instance). Previous work (with H. Pineau and S. Richard and I. Soulières) contributed to a detailed analysis of the time taken to verify membership in natural categories (e.g. trees, birds) and nominal categories (e.g. numbers), so as to better specify these different types of mental representations. Lastly, other earlier work (with D. Saumier and M. Izaute and J. Morency) concentrated on the knowledge and meta-knowledge of the meaning of words.