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Knowing More Than We Can Tell: People Are Aware Of Their Biased Self-Perceptions, Kathryn Leigh Bollich Aug 2012

Knowing More Than We Can Tell: People Are Aware Of Their Biased Self-Perceptions, Kathryn Leigh Bollich

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

There is no question that biases exist in people’s self-perceptions of their personality. However, it is not known whether people are aware of these self-biases. In two studies: N = 130), I examined whether people have insight into their positive and negative self-biases across a range of traits. I predicted that self-biases result from self-deception: i.e., the intentional distortion of more realistic self-views), and as such, people should have some awareness of their self-biases. As predicted, people with positive biases: i.e., self-perceptions that are more positive than a reputation-based criterion measure) described themselves as positively biased, and people with overly …


The Effects Of Diagrams And Relational Complexity On User Performance In Conditional Probability Problems In A Non-Learning Context, Vincent J. Kellen Jun 2012

The Effects Of Diagrams And Relational Complexity On User Performance In Conditional Probability Problems In A Non-Learning Context, Vincent J. Kellen

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Many disciplines in everyday life depend on improved performance in conditional probability problems. Most adults struggle with conditional probability problems and several prior studies have shown participant accuracy is less than 50%. This study examined user performance when aided with computer-generated Venn and Euler type diagrams in a non-learning context. Despite the prevalence of research into diagrams and extensive research into conditional probability problem solving, this study is one of the only studies to apply theories of working memory to predict user performance in conditional probability problems with diagrams. Following relational complexity theory, this study manipulated problem complexity in computer …


Personality Assessment In African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Kristina Marie Horback May 2012

Personality Assessment In African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Kristina Marie Horback

Dissertations

The following study assessed personality in twelve African elephants using both observational behavior coding and standardized trait rating methods, thus demonstrating consistent individual differences across time and contexts. During the summer of 2010 and 2011, over 640 hours of behavioral data were collected onsite at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, CA. Four coding-based personality traits were determined after analysis: PLAYFUL, CURIOUS, TOLERANT, and, AGGRESSIVE. This data was then compared to survey ratings completed by the animal keeper staff during both summers. Four rating-based personality traits resulted from this analysis: PLAYFUL, CURIOUS, TIMID, and, AGGRESSIVE. All eight composite …


Explaining Individual Differences In Physical Aggression Among A Community Sample, Erica Begelhole, Nicole Guse, Bruce Watt Mar 2012

Explaining Individual Differences In Physical Aggression Among A Community Sample, Erica Begelhole, Nicole Guse, Bruce Watt

Bruce Watt

Violence poses an ongoing concern for society. Numerous risk factors have been implicated as contributors to individual differences in levels of physical aggression. The current study examined variations in physical aggression using a community sample in South East Queensland (N = 151). Selfreport measures of alcohol misuse, retrospective conduct disorder, emotional control, violent fantasies and attitudes to violence were examined in the prediction of involvement in physical aggression. Over half of the variance was accounted for by the combination of the independent variables. Attitudes to violence emerged as the greatest contributor in explaining individual differences in physical aggression. The findings …


Predicting Individual Differences In Future Violence Among Juvenile Offenders, Bruce Watt, Michelle Perrin Mar 2012

Predicting Individual Differences In Future Violence Among Juvenile Offenders, Bruce Watt, Michelle Perrin

Bruce Watt

Screening tools in forensic and mental health settings are utilised to assess individual differences in risk for future violence. The Child and Youth Forensic Outreach Service Violence Screening Tool (CYFOS VST) was developed for use with juveniles referred to mental health and juvenile justice settings. The reliability and validity of the VST was evaluated based on 222 consecutive referrals to a Youth Justice Service in South East Queensland. Data on future violence was obtained from official Youth Justice Service records as well as case workers recorded observations of youth violence. The VST was found to have adequate inter-rater and test-retest …


Physiological Reactions To Uncanny Stimuli: Substantiation Of Self-Assessment And Individual Perception, Tatiana Ballion Jan 2012

Physiological Reactions To Uncanny Stimuli: Substantiation Of Self-Assessment And Individual Perception, Tatiana Ballion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is abundant anecdotal evidence substantiating Mori’s initial observation of the "uncanny valley", a point at which human response to non-human entities drops sharply with respect to comfort (Mori, 1970), and the construct itself has a long-standing history in both Robotics and Psychology. Currently, many fields such as design, training, entertainment, and education make use of heuristic approaches to accommodate the anticipated needs of the user/consumer/audience in certain important aspects. This is due to the lack of empirical substantiation or, in some cases, the impossibility of rigorous quantification; one such area is with respect to the user’s experience of uncanniness, …


Enhancing Training Outcomes In The Context Of E-Learning: The Impact Of Objective Learner Control, Training Content Complexity, Cognitive Load, Learning Goal Orientation, And Metacognitive Strategies, Benjamin P. Granger Jan 2012

Enhancing Training Outcomes In The Context Of E-Learning: The Impact Of Objective Learner Control, Training Content Complexity, Cognitive Load, Learning Goal Orientation, And Metacognitive Strategies, Benjamin P. Granger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Learner-controlled e-learning has become a preferred medium for the delivery of organizational training. While e-learning offers organizations and trainees many advantages, it also comes with several potential disadvantages. The aim of this study was to explore the relative efficacy of learner- and program-controlled e-learning for content that differs in its complexity. This study also explored cognitive load as a differential mediator of the interaction between learner control and training content complexity for predicting cognitive and behavioral learning outcomes. Finally, learning goal orientation was explored as a motivational individual difference that helps learners cope with complex, learner-controlled e-learning environments. Results suggest …


Trauma Severity And Defensive Emotion-Regulation Reactions As Predictors Of Forgetting Childhood Trauma, Bette L. Bottoms, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Michelle A. Epstein, Matthew J. Badanek Jan 2012

Trauma Severity And Defensive Emotion-Regulation Reactions As Predictors Of Forgetting Childhood Trauma, Bette L. Bottoms, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Michelle A. Epstein, Matthew J. Badanek

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Using a retrospective survey, we studied a sample of 1679 college women to determine whether reports of prior forgetting of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other traumas could be explained by trauma severity and individual differences in the use of defensive emotion-regulation reactions (i.e., repressive coping, dissociation, and fantasy proneness). Among victims of physical abuse (but not sexual abuse or other types of trauma), those who experienced severe abuse and used defensive reactions were sometimes more likely to report temporary forgetting of abuse, but other times less likely to report forgetting. We also found unanticipated main effects of trauma severity …


Training Evaluation In Virtual Worlds: Development Of A Model, Richard N. Landers, Rachel C. Callan Jan 2012

Training Evaluation In Virtual Worlds: Development Of A Model, Richard N. Landers, Rachel C. Callan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many organizations have adopted virtual worlds (VWs) as a setting for training programs; however, research on appropriate evaluation of training in this new setting is incomplete. In this article, we address this gap by first exploring the unique issues relevant to evaluation faced by training designers working in VWs. At the macro-organizational level, the primary issue faced is an organizational culture unreceptive to or otherwise skeptical of VWs. At the micro-organizational level, two major issues are identified: individual trainees unreceptive to VWs and general lack of experience navigating VWs. All three of these challenges and their interrelationships may lead to …