Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Cognitive Maps Through Sketching, Melissa M. Nantais

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Periodic testing has been found to improve the accuracy of participants’ cognitive maps when an onscreen map is provided, however, it is unclear whether the same results would occur without the onscreen map. The current study investigated whether drawing a map periodically while exploring the virtual environment Silcton would improve cognitive map accuracy. Participants explored Silcton and were stopped every 4 minutes to either sketch a map of Silcton, identify items seen in Silcton, or colour an unrelated picture, and a baseline group was not stopped. All groups drew a final sketch map and completed a direction estimation task. …

Examining The Self-Schema Within A Cognitive Vulnerability-Stress Framework Of Mania, Nadia Maiolino

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation aimed to inform a cognitive vulnerability-stress theory of mania, which addresses both the content and structure of the self-schema, along with the conditions under which these self-relevant cognitions are activated. Extant research on mania has primarily considered self-schema content, or an individual’s actual beliefs (e.g., “I am incompetent”). Although these investigations have successfully identified maladaptive self-beliefs associated with bipolar disorder, this research has been prone to inconsistencies and limited in distinguishing between mania and related forms of psychopathology (e.g., unipolar depression). Furthermore, very little research on mania has considered the organization of self-schema beliefs, referred to here as …

Child And Adolescent Sleep Disturbances And Psychopathology In A Mental Health Clinic Sample, Aviva Blacher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sleep disturbances in children and adolescents (hereafter children) are associated with significant short-term and long-term impairments including more severe psychopathology, reduced cognitive functioning, and poorer general health. We know that children being treated in specialty mental health services are more likely to have sleep disturbances than community samples. We also know that relationships exist between sleep and psychopathology in children with specific disorders (e.g. ADHD, depression, etc.). However, few studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and psychopathology in a broad sample of children seen at mental health agencies. Both child factors and family factors may influence both sleep and …

Exploring The Links Between Social Anxiety And Depression In The Maintenance Of Romantic Relationships, Christian M. Hahn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social anxiety is characterized by fear and avoidance of social encounters and has recently been associated with a variety of difficulties in romantic relationships. Complicating further investigation of these associations is the high degree of comorbidity between social anxiety and depressive symptomatology, which share several similarities in expression despite disparate underlying causes. The present thesis examines the unique influences of social anxiety and depression on a number of central aspects of relationship functioning and provide the first longitudinal investigation of the impacts of actor and partner social anxiety and depression on relationship quality and functioning. In Study 1, three independent …

Baseline And Stress-Induced Cognitive Control Deficits And Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines In Currently, Remitted, And Never Depressed Individuals, Katerina Rnic

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: Cognitive theories posit that cognitive control deficits promote depression by reducing ability to self-regulate under stress. When activated by stress and accessible to working memory, negative cognitive content and structure (i.e., schemas), may interfere with cognitive control abilities, resulting in even greater declines in executive functioning. Moreover, burgeoning evidence indicates that social stress upregulates inflammation, resulting in a pro-inflammatory phenotype that drives depression pathogenesis. However, cognitive mechanisms underlying this process are not well understood. An objective of this study was to examine depression-related deficits in cognitive control and their association with poor self-regulation. Another purpose was to evaluate the …

A Developmental And Symptom-Level Approach To Comorbid Mental Health Disorders In Children, Elizabeth Thornley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation addresses current issues in the conceptualization and classification of childhood mental health issues (e.g., impact of sex/age on symptoms, comorbidity, limits of traditional models). In contrast to traditional models, the importance and value of utilizing individual symptoms as primary variables of interest is presented. This first study consisted of 9565 participants (M = 12.06, SD = 3.57, 58% males). Results for youth with no history of trauma indicated sex differences in symptom expression consistent with what has been previously shown in the literature; however, a complex presentation of attention-related symptoms was identified for females. Similar sex differences …

The Role Of Social Disconnection In The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Psychological Distress, Samantha Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation investigated the interpersonal mechanisms through which various aspects of perfectionism confer risk for psychological outcomes. Three studies were conducted based on the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (Hewitt, Flett, & Mikail, 2017), which proposes that individuals with higher levels of perfectionism may experience significant social disconnection, which then lead to a variety of maladaptive outcomes. Study 1 examined the longitudinal impacts of trait perfectionism and sense of relatedness on the variance in change in psychological outcomes. Findings showed that negative perceptions of relatedness partially mediated the link between socially prescribed perfectionism and psychological distress three months later; however, this …

Adaptation To Conflict Frequency: Non-Conflict Learning Is Not The Whole Story, Giacomo Spinelli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the Stroop task, smaller congruency effects (i.e., the color-naming difference between incongruent items, e.g., the word RED in the color blue, and congruent items, e.g., RED in red) are found in conditions in which incongruent items are frequent vs. infrequent. Although the traditional explanation for these “Proportion-Congruent effects” is that attention to task-relevant information is more focused in frequently-conflicting conditions (a process involving adaptation to conflict frequency), Proportion-Congruent paradigms typically have not controlled for the impact of more general learning processes, particularly 1) learning of word-response contingencies (contingency learning), 2) learning about the predictive nature of the stimuli (stimulus …

Death Of The Clinic: Trans-Informing The Clinical Gaze To Counter Epistemic Violence, Diana E. Kuhl

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This case study research (Patton, 2002, 2014; Flyvberg, 2006) has grown out of an awareness of deep resistance from the psy disciplines to trans-informed epistemologies as a source of legitimate knowledge (Tosh, 2015, 2016; Winters, 2008). It focuses on examining how the closure of The Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) for Children and Youth at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, signaled a paradigm shift from the ‘treatment model’ to the ‘affirmative model’ with respect to clinical approaches for supporting trans and gender diverse children and youth. As such the case study involved tracing the …

In Search Of Psychiatric Kinds: Natural Kinds And Natural Classification In Psychiatry, Nicholas Slothouber

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In recent years both philosophers and scientists have asked whether or not our current kinds of mental disorder—e.g., schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder—are natural kinds; and, moreover, whether or not the search for natural kinds of mental disorder is a realistic desideratum for psychiatry. In this dissertation I clarify the sense in which a kind can be said to be “natural” or “real” and argue that, despite a few notable exceptions, kinds of mental disorder cannot be considered natural kinds. Furthermore, I contend that psychopathological phenomena do not cluster together into kinds in the way that paradigmatic natural kinds (e.g., chemical …

Promoting Mentally Healthy Classrooms: Evaluation Of Online Mental Health Literacy Instruction In Pre-Service Teacher Education, E. Robyn Masters

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

To better understand how to prepare large numbers of pre-service teachers for their role in creating and leading mentally healthy classrooms, this program evaluation explores outcomes related to an online mental health literacy course at a large central Canadian university. The course was delivered to 275 teacher education students simultaneously over 10-weeks and 20-hours of online instruction and professional reflection. Results indicated significant improvement in self-reported levels of mental health literacy, stigma toward mental illness, and self-efficacy for teaching students with diverse challenges. Qualitative reviews of participant feedback identified the most valuable aspects of the course and the ways in …

How Do Humans Process Magnitudes? An Examination Of The Neural And Cognitive Underpinnings Of Symbols, Quantities, And Size In Adults And Children, Helen Moriah Sokolowski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A striking way that humans differ from other species is our unique ability to represent and manipulate symbols. This ability to process numerical magnitudes symbolically (e.g., ‘three’, ‘3’) is widely thought to be supported by an ancient system that evolved to process nonsymbolic numerical magnitudes (i.e., quantities). In this thesis, I present four empirical studies to uncover whether symbolic representations are indeed supported by the system that evolved to process quantities, or if symbolic representations are sub-served by a similar but ultimately distinct system.

In experiments 1 and 2, I investigate how the adult brain processes symbols and quantities using …

How Does The Brain Represent Digits? Investigating The Neural Correlates Of Symbolic Number Representation Using Fmri-Adaptation, Celia Goffin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

How does the brain represent numerical symbols (e.g., Arabic digits)? Activity in left parietal regions correlates with symbolic number processing. Research with functional resonance imaging adaptation (fMRI-A) indicates that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) exhibits a rebound (increase in activation) effect when a repeatedly presented number is followed by a new number. Importantly, this rebound effect is modulated by numerical ratio as well as the difference between presented numbers (distance). This ratio-dependent rebound effect could reflect a link between symbolic numerical representation and an approximate number system (ANS). In this doctoral dissertation, fMRI-A is used to investigate mechanisms underlying symbolic number …

Adolescents’ Perceptions And Responses To Peer Mental Health Challenges And Problematic Behaviours Following A Social-Emotional Learning Program, Jessica Sommers

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Vulnerable youth may be more susceptible to developing problematic behaviours and mental health challenges, including anxious and depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, substance misuse, and unhealthy relationships. Social-emotional learning programs like The Healthy Relationships Plus Program (HRPP) can foster positive youth development by including training on mental health literacy, developing skills in help-seeking, and providing opportunities to practice difficult conversations. This study explored youth’s responses to hypothetical challenges faced by peers with a group of sixty-three adolescents who had participated in the HRPP. Responses to four distinct scenarios were collected to examine youths’ perceptions of various challenges and problematic behaviours, including …

The Impact Of Statistical Learning On Language And Social Competency In Asd And Adhd: Divergent Findings, Kaitlyn M.A Parks

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Statistical learning is a process that allows individuals to extract regularities from the environment and plays an important role in language acquisition, speech segmentation, and aspects of social behaviour. Little is known about the contribution of statistical learning impairments on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) related traits. The current study examined whether impairments in auditory and visual statistical learning are related to ASD and ADHD traits, language, and social competency. Decreased auditory, but not visual statistical learning abilities was related to increased autism traits and visual statistical learning and social competency abilities were mediated by language comprehension. …

Ceos Don't Wear Afros: Exploring The Justification-Suppression Of Prejudice Against Black Women In The Workplace, Bukun F. Adegbembo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There have been numerous cases where Black women have been disparaged for wearing their natural hair or Afrocentric hairstyles in the workplace. While some have argued that such mistreatment was due to racism, others have stated that it was a case of not adhering to a professional dress code. In line with the justification-suppression model of prejudice, this research investigated whether prejudice against Black women in the workplace is expressed when they wear Afrocentric hairstyles as this allows the bias to be justified under the guise of normative standards of professionalism. Our pilot and main study showed that the Black …

Who I Am Is Shaped By My Past And Impacts My Future: Exploring Antecedents And Outcomes Of Self-Views Across International, Immigrant, And Canadian Born Undergraduate Students, Anjana Balakrishnan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation focused on how various self-views variables (self-esteem, self-concept, and self-concept clarity) differ across and within groups of university students, are influenced by internal and external factors, and predict academic and non-academic variables. Key models of self and group perceptions were used in deriving hypotheses (i.e., Shavelson, Hubner & Stanton, 1976; Bosson & Swann Jr, 2009; Stephan, Ybarra, & Morrison, 2009). Across the four studies, self-report questionnaires were used. Studies 1 and 4 were completed online by international, immigrant, and Canadian born students. Studies 2 and 3 examined only international students, involved an experimental manipulation, and were conducted in-lab. …

Cognitive, Neural, And Educational Contributions To Mathematics Performance: A Closer Look At The Roles Of Numerical And Spatial Skills, Zachary C.K. Hawes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The principal aims of this thesis were to (1) provide new insights into the cognitive and neural associations between spatial and mathematical abilities, and (2) translate and apply findings from the field of numerical cognition to the teaching and learning of early mathematics.

Study 1 investigated the structure and interrelations amongst cognitive constructs related to numerical, spatial, and executive function (EF) skills and mathematics achievement in 4- to 11-year old children (N=316). Results revealed evidence of highly related, yet separable, cognitive constructs. Together, numerical, spatial, and EF skills explained 84% of the variance in mathematics achievement (controlling for chronological age). …

The Relations Between Newcomer Integration Processes And Youth Athletes’ Perceptions Of The Group Environment In Competitive Ice Hockey, Jeffrey J. Chamberlain

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

The ways in which new members are integrated into a particular group environment—also known as organizational socialization processes—have been shown to be a powerful predictor of newcomer adjustment in the workplace. Yet, there is a scarcity of research on how sport teams manage the integration of new team members, and the consequences of different tactics. The current research uses the recently developed Sport Team Socialization Tactics Questionnaire (STSTQ) to evaluate how socialization processes are systematically related to youth athletes’ perceptions of their group environment. Across two time points, 202 competitive adolescent ice hockey players (M_age = 14.47, …

Using Meditation To Improve Measures Of Attention In Older Adults, Sabrina Ford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Age-related cognitive decline greatly impacts quality of life for older adults. Previous research has indicated that meditation may act as a neuroprotective factor to prevent age-related cognitive decline. This thesis sought to replicate previous findings and investigate if a four-week meditation intervention would improve sustained attention. Participants 60 years and older (n=27, 17 female) were recruited and assigned to a focused-attention (FA) meditation or relaxation group which met for four weeks, three times a week. Resting-state EEG was used to collect individual alpha peak frequency (iAPF) and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA). The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) was also …

Interpreting Intentions: Evidence For Cross-Language Influences In Bilinguals, Maziyah Mohamed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In Malay, accidental actions are marked with the prefix -ter. Malay speakers typically assume a deliberate intent when the prefix is absent. I investigated whether Malay-English bilinguals are more likely than English monolinguals to interpret actions in English sentences as deliberate when they are not clearly indicated as being accidental. In Experiment 1, Malay speakers completed a recognition memory task. The results showed that Malay speakers remembered unintentionality accurately. This accuracy in remembering unintentionality suggests that Malay speakers encode the intentions of others. In Experiment 2, participants completed a cross-modal priming task. They first heard scenarios in which a …

The Effect Of Perceived Role Suitability On Prestige, Dominance, Performance, And Communication., Lynden Jensen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The pursuit of social rank is pervasive across societies and cultures. Previous studies have identified two distinct avenues for attaining social rank: prestige and dominance. While prestige (communication of skill/ability) and dominance (communication of superiority) are crucial to interpersonal interactions, it is unclear how people communicate prestige or dominance and how such communication affects team performance. To investigate these ideas, 206 individuals participated in a cooperative dyadic building task. A computer randomly assigned dyad members to one of two roles—builder (who handled and placed model pieces) and instructor (who directed the builder's actions). Additionally, using a false feedback paradigm, a …

Pilot And Adaptation Of A Social-Emotional Learning Program In Youth Justice Settings, Amanda J. Kerry

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Interventions for youth offenders should aim to reduce risk factors and promote protective factors. Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs aim to enhance intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive competencies. Research demonstrates that SEL programs reduce antisocial behaviours and improve prosocial skills; however, to date, SEL programs have been primarily implemented in schools. This integrated-article dissertation explored the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of implementing a SEL program in youth justice settings. The first paper proposes the implementation of SEL programs in youth justice settings and identifies unique programming and implementation considerations for this population.

The second paper presents a two-phase study examining the feasibility, …

Using The Health Action Process Approach (Hapa) To Understand And Change Sedentary Behaviour In Office Workers: Effects On Motivation, Behaviour, And Health Outcomes, Andrew Scott Rollo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sedentary behaviour (SB) is positively associated with all-cause mortality, as well as numerous chronic diseases, including fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, and metabolic syndrome. Interventions targeting reductions in sedentary time among office workers who are an at-risk population for high levels of SB are needed. The main objective of this dissertation was to contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding theory-based behavioural interventions targeting SB among office working adults. First, a systematic review of the literature (study 1, chapter 2) was conducted that highlighted important cognitive and motivational factors associated with SB, which …

Pattern Separation In The Ventral Visual Stream, Kayla Ferko

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pattern separation is a neural computation thought to underlie our ability to form distinct memories of similar events. It involves transforming overlapping inputs into less overlapping outputs. In the ventral visual stream (VVS) there is considerable evidence for hierarchical transformation from feature-based visual representations to conjunctive whole-object representations, with the latter allowing for distinct coding even when objects have significant feature overlap. In the current study, we asked whether this transformation can be understood as pattern separation, and whether pattern separation can be observed even outside the context of classic recognition-memory tasks. To investigate pattern separation in the VVS, we …

The Relationship Between Perceived Sedentary Behaviour And Psychological Health, Kelsey Sick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present study examined relationships between individuals’ perceptions of their level of sedentary behaviour, as compared with other people their age, and mental health and well-being. Adults (n = 374, M_age= 60% between 18 and 24) completed the online Perceived Sedentary Behaviour and Psychological Health Survey which assessed perceptions of sedentary behaviour on a typical weekday and weekend day, mental health and well-being (i.e., depression, state anxiety, perceived stress, mental well-being, mental health function), and potential covariates that have known associations with mental well-being (e.g., sociodemographic characteristics, health status factors, actual sitting time). Perceived sedentary behaviour …

Double Jeopardy: What Is Mentorship And Diversity-Valuing On Perceived Competence?, T. Eva Kwan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Previous research has found that female managers and those who might benefit from diversity initiatives receive lower perceived competence ratings when they engage in activities that support or value diversity. Theoretically, this is supported by the role congruity theory, expectation states theory, and stereotype content model. This study sought to replicate these findings in the context of highly competent non-managerial employees and to examine the impact of mentorship on perceived competence ratings. The demerit to perceived competence from gender and using one’s voice to support diversity was not replicated in this study. However, mentorship had a modest positive effect on …

Biofeedback Use In Sport, Kendra Nelson Ferguson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The general purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of biofeedback training on sport performance. This dissertation was divided into three studies. Study 1 qualitatively explored athletes’ perspectives of biofeedback post-intervention. Five varsity athletes were provided with a five-session biofeedback intervention training respiration rate, heart rate variability, and skin conductance. Following the intervention, an interview was conducted. Athletes perceived biofeedback to enhance self-regulation skills both in sport and academics, contributing to perceptions of superior performance.

To further examine perspectives of biofeedback training, Study 2 qualitatively explored mental performance consultants’ use of biofeedback and their perceptions of the tool. …

Improving Stimulus Realism: The Effect Of Visual Dimension On Affective Responding, Shannon Compton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

For decades researchers have used 2D stimuli under the assumption that they accurately represent real objects. This assumption has been challenged by recent vision and neuroeconomics research which has found that 2D images can evoke different neural and behavioural responses than real objects. The current study continues this line of research in the field of affective cognitive neuroscience; a field where small effect sizes are common and rapid habituation to affective stimuli used in the lab often occurs. The present study uses realistic 2D and 3D emotional images to determine the impact of visual dimension on affective responding. Subjective ratings …

Not In My Occupation: An Examination Of Occupational Identification And Unethical Pro-Organizational Behaviour, Trevor Thomas Coppins

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Workplace identification has been investigated as a predictor of unethical pro-organizational behaviour (UPB), a form of unethical behaviour that primarily benefits the organization. While there have been fruitful findings for organizational identification, there is currently a lack of understanding for how other sources of identification influence this relationship. I sought to investigate whether occupational identification, defining oneself as a member of an occupation, would negatively moderate the relationship between organizational identification and UPB in an ethical decision-making study utilizing a sample of 193 accountants. Similarly, to past research, I hypothesized that moral disengagement would be a mediator in the model. …