Indiana University, B.A., May 1974, Psychology
Northwestern University, M.S., August 1977, Psychology
Northwestern University, Ph.D., June 1979, Psychology
Northwestern University, Post-Doc, 1979-1984, Psychology

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Dr. Karlene Ball, an experimental psychologist, is currently the Psychology Dept's Chairman  and  Director of the UAB Edward R. Roybal Center for Research on Applied Gerontology, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and is Associate Director of the university-wide Center for Aging. Dr. Ball recently chaired the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Technical Group on Aging, and she is a member of the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council. Dr. Ball is investigating visual and cognitive correlates of mobility difficulties among older adults, with an emphasis on driving skills. She has served frequently on expert panels charged with setting the vision standards for commercial and older drivers, and she has authored numerous publications on visual, attentional, and cognitive changes with age, as well as on the identification of at-risk older drivers. She recently received a M.E.R.I.T. award from the National Institutes of Health to extend her basic research program on the everyday activity problems of older adults to the development of interventions to prevent or retard age-related declines. A further description of the UAB Roybal Center, along with its investigators, resources, and projects, may be found at www.uab.edu/roybal.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS:

Ball, K., Beard, B., Roenker, D., Miller, R. & Griggs, D. Age and visual search: Expanding the Useful Field of View. Journal of the Optical Society A, 1988, 5(12), 2210-2219.

Ball, K., Owsley, C. & Beard, B. Clinical visual perimetry underestimates peripheral field problems in older adults. Clinical Vision Sciences, 1990, 5, 113-125.

Ball, K., Roenker, D. & Bruni, J. Developmental changes in attention and visual search throughout adulthood. In Enns, J. (Ed.), The Development of Attention: Research and Theory. North Holland: Elsevier Science Publishers, 1990, 489-508.

Owsley, C., Ball, K., Sloane, M., Roenker, D.L. & Bruni, J.R. Visual Perceptual/Cognitive Correlates of Vehicle Accidents in Older Drivers. Psychology and Aging, 1991, 6, 403-415.

Ball, K., Owsley, C. Identifying Correlates of Accident Involvement for the Older Driver. Human Factors, 1991, 33(5), 583-595.

Sloane, M.E., Ball, K., Owsley, C., Bruni, J.R., & Roenker, D. L. The Visual Activities Questionnaire: Developing an Instrument for Assessing Problems in Everyday Visual Tasks. Technical Digest; Noninvasive Assessment of the Visual System, 1992, Vol. 1, 26-29.

Owsley, C., Ball, K., Sloane, M. Visual Attention Problems Predict Vehicle Crash Involvement in Older Adults. Perception, 1992, 21, 20.

Ball, K., & Owsley, C. The Useful Field of View Test: A New Technique for Evaluating Age-Related Declines in Visual Function. Journal of the American Optometric Association , 1993, Vol. 64, 71-79.

Ball, K., & Owsley, C. Assessing Visual Function in the Older Driver. W. B. Saunders: Clinics in Geriatric Medicine: Medical Considerations in the Older Driver, 1993, 9, 389-401.

Ball, K., Owsley, C., Sloane, M.E., Roenker, D.L., & Bruni, J.R. Visual Attention Problems as a Predictor of Vehicle Crashes among Older Drivers. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 1993, 34, No. 11, 3110-3123.

Ball, K., & Rebok, G. Evaluating the driving ability of older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 1994, 13, 20-38.

Owsley, C., Ball, K., & Keeton, D.M. Relationship between visual sensitivity and target localization in older adults, Vision Research, 1995, 35, 579-587.

Lundberg, C., Johansson, K., Ball, K., Bjerre, B., Blomquist, C., Braekhus, A., Brouwer, W.H., Bylsma, F.W., Carr, D.B., Englund, L., Friedland, R.P., Hakamies-Blomquist, L., Kelmetz, G., O'Neill, D., Odenheimer, G., Rizzo, M., Schelin, M., Seideman, M., Tallman, K., Viitanen, M., Waller, P.F., Winblad, B., Dementia and Driving: An Attempt at Consensus. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 1997; 11(1) 28-37.

Ball, K. Enhancing Mobility in the Elderly: Attentional Interventions for Driving. Assessment and Intervention Issues Across the Lifespan , 1997, Lawrence Erlbaum, Publishers, 267-292.

Ball, K. Attentional Problems and Older Drivers. Alzheimer's Disease and Associated Disorders, 11, 1997, Suppl. 1, 42-47.

Duchek, J.M., Hunt, L., Ball, K., Buckles, V., & Morris, J.C. The role of selective attention in driving and dementia of the Alzheimer type. Alzheimer's Disease and Associated Disorders, 1997, 11, Suppl. 1, 48-56.

Duchek, J.M., Hunt, L., Ball, K., Buckles, V., & Morris, J.C. Attention and Driving Performance in Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 1998, 53B, P130-141.

Sims, R. V., Owsley, C., Allman, R.M., Ball, K., & Smoot, T.M. A Preliminary Assessment of the medical and functional factors associated with vehicle crashes by older adults. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 1998, 46, 556-561.

Owsley, C., Ball, K., McGwin, G., Sloane, M.E., Roenker, D.L., White, M.F., & Overley, E.T. Visual Processing Impairment and Risk of Motor Vehicle Crash Among Older Adults. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998, 279, 1083-1088.

Ball, K., Owsley, C., Stalvey, B., Roenker, D.L., and Graves, M. Driving avoidance, functional impairment, and crash risk in older drivers. Accident Analysis & Prevention., 1998, 30, 313-322.

Goode, , K.T., Ball, K.K., Sloane, M., Roenker, D.L., Roth, D.L., Myers, R.S., & Owsley, C. Useful field of view and other neurocognitive indicators of crash risk in older adults. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 1998, 5, 425- 440.

McGwin, G., Owsley, C., & Ball, K. Identifying crash involvement among older drivers: Agreement between self-report and state-records. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 1998, 30, 781-791.

Owsley, C., Ball, K., McGwin, G., Sloane, M.E., Roenker, D.L., White, M.F., & Overley, E.T. . Visual processing impairment and risk of motor vehicle crash among older adults. Journal of the American Medical Association, 279, 1998, 1083-1088.

Owsley, C., McGwin., G., & Ball, K. Vision impairment, eye disease, and injurious motor vehicle crashes in the elderly. Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 1998, 5, 101-113.

Sims, R.V., Owsley, C., Allman, R.M., Ball, K., & Smoot, T.M. A preliminary assessment of the medical and functional factors associated with vehicle crashes in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1998, 46, 556-561.

Stalvey, B., Owsley, C., Sloane, M.E., Ball, K. The Life Space Questionnaire: A measure of the extent of mobility of older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 1999, 18: 479-498.

Ball, K, Owsley, C. Increasing mobility and reducing accidents of older drivers. In K.W. Schaie, M. Pietrucha (Eds.) Mobility and Transportation in the Elderly. 2000, New York: Springer, pp. 213-250.

Sims, R.V., McGwin, G. Jr., Allman, R.M., Ball, K., Owsley, C. An exploratory study of incident vehicle crashes among older drivers. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2000, 55A: M22-M27.

Ball, K. & Owsley, C. (2000). Increasing mobility and reducing accidents in older drivers. In K.W. Schaie, M. Pietrucha (Eds.) Mobility and Transportation in the Elderly. New York: Springer, pp 213-250.

Myers, R.S., Ball, K.K., Kalina, T.D., Roth, D.L. & Goode, K.T. Relation of useful field of view and other screening tests to on-road driving performance. Perceptual Motor Skills, 2000, 91(1): 279-90.

Rizzo, M., Anderson, S.W., Dawson, J., Myers, R., & Ball, K. Visual attention impairments in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology, 2000, 54 (10): 1954-9.

Sims, R.V., McGwin, G. Jr., Allman, R.M., Ball, K., & Owsley, C. Exploratory study of incident vehicle crashes among older drivers. Journal of Gerontology: A Biological Sciences Medical Sciences, 2000, 55(1): M22-7.

Jobe, J.B., Smith, D.M., Ball, K., Tennstedt, S. L., Marsiske, M., Willis, S.L., Rebok, G.W., Morris, J.N., Helmers, K.F., Leveck, M.D., Kleinman, K. ACTIVE: A cognitive intervention trail to promote independence in older adults. Control Clinical Trials, 2001, 22(4): 453-479.

Rizzo, M., Anderson, S., Dawson, J., Myers, R., & Ball, K. (in press). Visual attention impairments in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology.

Owsley, C., Sloane, M., McGwin, G. & Ball, K. (in press). Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TIADL) Tasks: Relationship to Cognitive Function and Everyday Performance Assessments in Older Adults. The Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences.

TEACHING INTERESTS:

Psychology of Aging, Gerontology