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An Examination Of Working Memory, Spatial Awareness And Expertise In Athletes, Non-Athletes And Sports-Fans, Camilia Rios
An Examination Of Working Memory, Spatial Awareness And Expertise In Athletes, Non-Athletes And Sports-Fans, Camilia Rios
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Sport-specific practice of movement techniques is undoubtedly important in young athletes' sport performance. However, in sports that are more heavily reliant on open skills, cognitive factors, such as working memory (WM), attention, and spatial awareness, are more likely to become a barrier for proficiency than form or physical prowess. Nevertheless, the intricacies of the relationships that exist between these cognitive factors has gone relatively unexplored, particularly in the context of sport. The present research explored the impact of sport-specific experience on measures of WM, attentional control, and spatial awareness, and their interactions, through the lens of athletic expertise. Participants consisted …
Functional Opponency In Working Memory Capacity Predicts Cognitive Flexibility In Problem Solving., Charles A. Van Stockum Jr.
Functional Opponency In Working Memory Capacity Predicts Cognitive Flexibility In Problem Solving., Charles A. Van Stockum Jr.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Cognitive flexibility is a hallmark of individuals with higher working memory capacity (WMC). Yet, research demonstrates that higher WMC individuals are sometimes more likely to adopt rigid problem-solving approaches. The present research examines a novel account for these contradictory findings—that different WMC mechanisms interact in ways that both support and constrain cognitive flexibility. Across three studies, participants completed the water jug task—a problem-solving task requiring them to first establish and then break mental set using a complex strategy. Participants then completed measures targeting three WMC mechanisms: attention control, primary memory, and secondary memory. Study 1 demonstrated that primary memory and …
Dual Task Testing Of The Adaptive Combination View In Spatial Reorientation, Donald G. Sullens
Dual Task Testing Of The Adaptive Combination View In Spatial Reorientation, Donald G. Sullens
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
If an organism is trained to approach a location within an enclosure the organism will approach the correct location and it’s geometrically identical location within the environment upon removal of any features. This phenomenon has been turned spatial reorientation, and further studies on how, and to what, organisms reorient have conducted in the last several decades. In the reorientation literature, two theories have surfaced to fill the void left by the rejection of the initial reorientation theory, the Geometric Module theory. I attempt look to discern if the synonym judgement dual task will hinder reorientation in a similar or different …
The Near And Far Transfer Effects Of Multimedia Cognitive Training, Alison M. Mcginnis
The Near And Far Transfer Effects Of Multimedia Cognitive Training, Alison M. Mcginnis
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The aim of this study was to determine the degree to which “brain games,” such as Lumosity, have an effect on the young adult population and their capabilities of near and far transfer. Previous research on this topic has displayed both positive and negative results, with some research suggesting that training has increased subjects’ cognitive abilities and showed signs of transfer, with other results showing no increase in cognitive ability for training. Participants for this study were 26 undergraduates. The study entailed an experimental group that played Lumosity, an active control group that played Bejeweled, and a passive control group …
Quantile Regression Analyses Of The Component Skills In Various Comprehension Tests, Anh Ngoc Hua
Quantile Regression Analyses Of The Component Skills In Various Comprehension Tests, Anh Ngoc Hua
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Many studies to date have examined cognitive factors that drive individual differences in reading comprehension. However, these studies often focused on typical readers, and it is not clear whether their findings apply similarly to readers performing in the extreme ends of the distribution, i.e., poor and good readers. In this dissertation, we used quantile regression on a sample of 834 children (age 8-18) to advance our understanding of the relative importance of different component processes of comprehension not just for the typical but also for poor and skilled readers. In Study 1, we examined how the relative importance of components …
Further Exploring Processing Differences Between Geometric Shapes And Shape Words, Chelsea V. Scordas
Further Exploring Processing Differences Between Geometric Shapes And Shape Words, Chelsea V. Scordas
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The current study sought to expand upon the research of geometric shape processing in relation to theories of domain specificity and modularity. Sturz, Edwards, and Boyer (2014) presented results for possible processing differences between geometric shapes and geometric shape words. The authors found that when processing a bi-dimensional sample (i.e., a shape word transposed inside either the same or a different picture of a shape), there was asymmetric interference. Shape words would interfere with identifying the correct shape in a delayed match-to-sample (DMTS) task but there was no such interference from geometric shapes when identifying shape words. It was concluded …
The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson
The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Acute stress is commonly experienced by many throughout their lives. Given the demanding lifestyle of many career paths, it's important to gauge the influence of these stressors upon cognitive performance. The present dissertation focus' upon explicit learning in attempts to explore one avenue of the stress-cognition relationship. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was used as a lab stressor for Experiments 1 and 2, in which participants are asked to give a speech and complete a difficult math task in front of 2 evaluators trained to monitor non-verbal behavior. Experiment 1 investigates the dynamic stress response during the minutes following …
The Impact Of Prefrontal Cortex "Warm Up" On Immediate Cognitive Reappraisal Ability In Older Adolescents With Elevated Symptoms Of Depression, Emma L. Peterson
The Impact Of Prefrontal Cortex "Warm Up" On Immediate Cognitive Reappraisal Ability In Older Adolescents With Elevated Symptoms Of Depression, Emma L. Peterson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Cognitive Reappraisal (CR) is a central component of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for adolescent depression. Yet, previous research indicates that a brain region highly associated with successful CR in adults, the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), is not fully developed until early adulthood. Thus, there is growing concern that CBT interventions directed at building CR abilities in depressed teens might be constrained by PFC immaturity. However, CR is an effective strategy for regulating affect. The current study evaluated an intervention aimed at enhancing CR performance through PFC “warm up” with a working memory task. Additionally, the study examined moderators of intervention response, as …
Phonological Working Memory Deficits In Adhd Revisited: The Role Of Lower-Level Information Processing Deficits In Impaired Working Memory Performance, Joseph Raiker
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Working memory deficits in children with ADHD are well established; however, insufficient evidence exists concerning the degree to which lower-level cognitive processes contribute to these deficits. The current study dissociates lower level information processing abilities (i.e., visual registration, orthographic conversion, and response output) in children with ADHD and typically developing children and examines the unique contribution of these processes to their phonological working memory performance. Thirty-four boys between 8 and 12 years of age (20 ADHD, 14 typically developing) were administered novel information processing and phonological working memory tasks. Between-group differences were examined and bootstrap mediation analysis was used to …
Impacts Of Complexity And Timing Of Communication Interruptions On Visual Detection Tasks, Sally Stader
Impacts Of Complexity And Timing Of Communication Interruptions On Visual Detection Tasks, Sally Stader
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Auditory preemption theory suggests two competing assumptions for the attention-capturing and performance-altering properties of auditory tasks. In onset preemption, attention is immediately diverted to the auditory channel. Strategic preemption involves a decision process in which the operator maintains focus on more complex auditory messages. The limitation in this process is that the human auditory, or echoic, memory store has a limit of 2 to 5 seconds, after which the message must be processed or it decays. In contrast, multiple resource theory suggests that visual and auditory tasks may be efficiently time-shared because two different pools of cognitive resources are used. …
Functional Processing Aspects Of Working Memory: Capacity Limitations And Mechanisms Of Forgetting, Christopher L. Blume
Functional Processing Aspects Of Working Memory: Capacity Limitations And Mechanisms Of Forgetting, Christopher L. Blume
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Previous working memory literature has considered the occurrence of an increase in reaction time following an object-switch as evidence supporting a single-item focus of attention. Much literature has also identified interference from other information as the principle cause of forgetting. These hypotheses are here challenged by (1) postulating reaction time differences are indicative of a multiple-item focus of attention that preferentially orders items based upon task-relevance, rather than a single preferred item and (2) presenting evidence of a decay process concurrently causing forgetting alongside interference. In Experiment 1 participants completed a task in which multiple repetitions of a single item …
Hyperactivity In Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd): Testing Functional Relationships With Phonological Working Memory Performance And Attention, Dustin Sarver
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Excessive gross motor activity is currently considered a ubiquitous and disruptive feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, an alternative model challenges this premise and hypothesizes a functional relationship between activity level, attention, and working memory. The current study investigated whether, and the extent to which, particular forms of gross motor activity are functionally related to children’s attention and phonological working memory performance. Objective observations of children’s gross motor movements and attention by independent observers were conducted while children with ADHD (n = 29) and typically developing children (n = 23) completed multiple counterbalanced tasks entailing low and high phonological working …
Do Programs Designed To Train Working Memory, Other Executive Functions, And Attention Benefit Children With Adhd? A Meta-Analytic Review Of Cognitive, Academic, And Behavioral Outcomes, Sarah Orban
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Children with ADHD are characterized frequently as possessing underdeveloped executive functions and sustained attentional abilities, and recent commercial claims suggest that computer-based cognitive training can remediate these impairments and provide significant and lasting improvement in their attention, impulse control, social functioning, academic performance, and complex reasoning skills. The present review critically evaluates these claims through meta-analysis of 25 studies of facilitative intervention training (i.e., cognitive training) for children with ADHD. Random effects models corrected for publication bias and sampling error revealed that studies training short-term memory alone resulted in moderate magnitude improvements in short-term memory (d= 0.63), whereas training attention …
Adhd And Working Memory: The Impact Of Central Executive Deficits And Overwhelming Storage/Rehearsal Capacity On Observed Inattentive Behavior, Michael Kofler
Adhd And Working Memory: The Impact Of Central Executive Deficits And Overwhelming Storage/Rehearsal Capacity On Observed Inattentive Behavior, Michael Kofler
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Inattentive behavior is considered a core and pervasive feature of ADHD; however, an alternative model challenges this premise and hypothesizes a functional relationship between working memory and inattentive behavior. The current study investigated whether inattentive behavior in children with ADHD is functionally related to domain-general central executive and/or subsidiary storage/rehearsal components of working memory. Objective observations of children's attentive behavior by independent observers were conducted while children with ADHD (n=15) and typically developing children (n=14) completed 10 counterbalanced tasks that differentially manipulated central executive, phonological storage/rehearsal, and visuospatial storage/rehearsal demands. Results of latent variable and effect size confidence interval analyses …
Tactile Working Memory And Multimodal Loading, Peter Terrence
Tactile Working Memory And Multimodal Loading, Peter Terrence
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This work explored the role of spatial grouping, set size, and stimulus probe modality using a recall task for visual, auditory, and tactile information. The effects of different working memory (WM) loading task modalities were also examined. The Gestalt spatial organizing principle of grouping showed improvements in response times for visual and tactile stimulus probes with large set sizes and apparently allowed participants to effectively chunk the information. This research suggests that tactile information may use spatial characteristics typically associated with visual information, as well as sequential characteristics normally associated with verbal information. Based on these results, a reformulation of …
Warning Compliance: Effects Of Stress And Working Memory, Jessica Helmick-Rich
Warning Compliance: Effects Of Stress And Working Memory, Jessica Helmick-Rich
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study investigated the effects of cross-modality warning presentation and retention in a dual-task paradigm in a simulated military environment under various task-induced stress levels. It was also intended to determine what role working memory played in the mode of warning presentation that resulted in the highest retention and subsequent compliance. An all within participant design was created in order to determine if scores on working memory span tasks predicted performance across the varying forms of warning presentation. Furthermore, task-induced stress levels were varied over the course of the experiment to identify if workload transitions affected performance. Results revealed that …