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Memory And Identity: Inter-Generational Resilience And Construction Of Diasporic Identities Among Somali Refugees, Hamida Dahir Sheikh Ahmed May 2021

Memory And Identity: Inter-Generational Resilience And Construction Of Diasporic Identities Among Somali Refugees, Hamida Dahir Sheikh Ahmed

Master's Theses

The violence and displacement many refugees face often create a lifelong trauma that manifests in many ways within themselves, their families, and communities. The Somali refugee community in the United States is no different. Since their resettlement in America started in the 1990s following the civil war, the community has struggled with different manifestations of that trauma; substance abuse and gang violence among the youth, prominence of depression and suicide rates, rise of domestic violence, as well as other direct and indirect results associated with mental health. This is the reality of many refugee and immigrant communities, coming directly from …


Processing Speed For Action And Semantic Memory, Tyler A. Surber Dec 2019

Processing Speed For Action And Semantic Memory, Tyler A. Surber

Master's Theses

Previous research suggests that the processing of affordances may require more perceptually relevant information than words can provide (Surber et al., 2018; Chainay & Humphreys, 2002). The present study investigates this hypothesis with the shoebox task used in Bowers and Turner (2003). A list of 81 object nouns (targets) and associated features (primes: affordance, semantic, and non-associates) was compiled from the McRae, Cree, Seidenberg, and McNorgan (2005) norms. Affordances denote possibilities for action in relation to the object (e.g. chair – sit), whereas semantic features indicate definitional characteristics (e.g. chair – has legs). Affordances and semantic features served as primes …


Multiple Species Of Distinctiveness In Memory: Separating Task Distinctiveness From Statistical Distinctiveness, Matthew Robert Gretz Aug 2019

Multiple Species Of Distinctiveness In Memory: Separating Task Distinctiveness From Statistical Distinctiveness, Matthew Robert Gretz

Master's Theses

Distinctiveness refers to the memorial benefit of processing unique or item-specific features of a memory set relative to a non-distinctive control. Traditional distinctiveness effects are accounted for based on qualitative differences in how distinctive items are encoded at the time of study. This thesis project aims to evaluate whether a different species of distinctiveness—statistical distinctiveness—may provide a separate contribution to memory beyond traditional encoding-based processes. Statistical distinctiveness refers to the relative frequency with which a specific memory item or set is processed. The current study evaluated statistical distinctiveness through a series of mixed groups in which DRM lists were studied …


Effects Of Instruction And Parent-Child Conversation On Children's Stem Learning And Transfer, Maria Marcus Jan 2014

Effects Of Instruction And Parent-Child Conversation On Children's Stem Learning And Transfer, Maria Marcus

Master's Theses

This study examined the effects of direct instruction and parent-child conversation on children's STEM learning, transfer abilities, and remembering. A total of forty mothers and their 5- to 6-year-old children (M = 5.87) participated in this study. Mother-child dyads were randomly assigned to one of two conditions that differed in the amount of engineering information they received prior to engaging in a building activity in a museum exhibit. The provision of engineering information fostered dyads building activities and their long-term recall of the museum visit. Implications for museum research and practice are discussed.


Working Memory In Schizophrenics And Older Adults : A Mediator For Episodic Memory Deficits?, Matthew W. Webster Jan 2002

Working Memory In Schizophrenics And Older Adults : A Mediator For Episodic Memory Deficits?, Matthew W. Webster

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of working memory on episodic memory in older adults and adults with schizophrenia. This study included 15 adults with schizophrenia, 20 young adults without psychopathology, and 21 older adults without psychopathology. Storage working memory scores were greater than processing working memory scores in all groups. Young adults had the fewest problems with episodic and working memory, compared to older adults and adults with schizophrenia, who had similar deficits in both memory types. Speed of processing was found to be the greatest predictor of working memory capacity.


Attention, Memory, And Self-Efficacy Differences Between Adhd And Aging Individuals, Douglas Lee Welsh Jan 2000

Attention, Memory, And Self-Efficacy Differences Between Adhd And Aging Individuals, Douglas Lee Welsh

Master's Theses

Attention and memory abilities decline with age. Although a similar pattern of attentional and memory decrement has been observed in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), these two populations have never been directly compared. The present study examined performance on attention, self-efficacy (SE), and memory tasks by ADHD young adults and non-ADHD younger and older adults. ADHD adults displayed lower attentional SE than both non-ADHD younger and older adults, but performed comparably to older adults on an attention task on which non-ADHD younger adults outperformed both groups. ADHD adults and older adults had lower memory SE than non-AD HD …


Semantic And Self-Referent Encoding Techniques And Recall Of Meanings Of Unfamiliar Adjectives, Maria K. Whittington Jan 1989

Semantic And Self-Referent Encoding Techniques And Recall Of Meanings Of Unfamiliar Adjectives, Maria K. Whittington

Master's Theses

In order to test the efficacy of levels of processing on memory, recall of unfamiliar adjectives among five encoding groups: a) semantic, b) self-reference specific, c) self-reference general, d) semantic (plural), and e) self-reference specific (plural) was examined. Introductory psychology students at the University of Richmond viewed twenty unfamiliar adjectives and definitions for forty-five seconds each, followed by a five minute distractor task and a seven minute test for recall of the definitions. A second seven minute recall test was administered one week later. There were no significant differences in recall between groups, but a significant effect of time upon …


The Effects Of Levels Of Processing On Retention Of Word Meaning, Dorothy A. Flannagan Aug 1986

The Effects Of Levels Of Processing On Retention Of Word Meaning, Dorothy A. Flannagan

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of the three encoding techniques of rote memory, semantic, and self-reference, on short-term and long-term retention levels of unfamiliar vocabulary words and their meanings. Seventy-two college students participated in the experiment, with 24 students in each encoding group. All participants viewed 20 target words and their definitions, and were exposed to each word for 30 seconds. Each group was given instructions designed to promote a type of encoding specific to their group. After a five-minute distractor task, subjects were given a list of the target words and were tested on …


Endurance And Affiliation : Traits As A Priori Self Schemata In Memory, Nancy Mackay Bruckner May 1986

Endurance And Affiliation : Traits As A Priori Self Schemata In Memory, Nancy Mackay Bruckner

Master's Theses

This study investigated the hypotheses that subjects' scores on the trait of endurance would have s. positive, significant correlation with their recall of endurance-related adjectives, and that subjects' scores on the trait of affiliation would have a positive, significant correlation with their recall of affiliation-related words. One hundred forty-five male and female undergraduates from the University of Richmond answered questions from the Affiliation and Endurance scales of the Personality Research Form (Jackson, 1967). As a separate task subjects decided whether or not each of fortyeight adjectives described themselves. Sixteen of these adjectives referred to endurance, sixteen to affiliation, and sixteen …


Closed-Loop Theory And The Partial Recall Hypothesis : Explanations Of The Sources Of Information About Knowledge In Memory, Thomas Beverly Watkins Jan 1975

Closed-Loop Theory And The Partial Recall Hypothesis : Explanations Of The Sources Of Information About Knowledge In Memory, Thomas Beverly Watkins

Master's Theses

Examples of information about knowledge in memory are described, and two conceptualizations of the source of such information--the partial recall hypothesis and the closed-loop theory--are reviewed. Wearing (1970) conducted a study to support the closed-loop theory using 60 CVC pairs in a paired-associate task with recall measure and confidence ratings. An attempt is made to replicate and extend some of his findings. Some are replicated, except for one finding with which he supported closed-loop theory. With support for closed-loop theory thus reduced, the partial recall hypothesis seems more plausible.


Effectiveness Of Experimenter-Supplied And Subject-Originated First Letter And Descriptive Sentence Mnemonics In Learning Word Pairs, Michael B. Pines Jan 1973

Effectiveness Of Experimenter-Supplied And Subject-Originated First Letter And Descriptive Sentence Mnemonics In Learning Word Pairs, Michael B. Pines

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.


The Role Of Interference And Trace Decay In The Retention Of A Simple Psychomotor Task, Stephen David Southall Jan 1970

The Role Of Interference And Trace Decay In The Retention Of A Simple Psychomotor Task, Stephen David Southall

Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to try to distinguish between the interference theory and trace decay theory and to try to establish whether one or a combination of the two best accounts for the forgetting shown in motor short-term memory (STM). The experiment was a seven by three factorial design with repeated measures on the second factor. The first factor was number of prior responses which the S experienced on the linear slide apparatus, and the number of responses ranged from zero through six. The second factor, length of the retention interval between practice and recall, had values …


Effects Of Category-Relevance, Retention Measure, And Category-Affiliation Upon Retention Of The Aging, Gary M. Tyson Jan 1968

Effects Of Category-Relevance, Retention Measure, And Category-Affiliation Upon Retention Of The Aging, Gary M. Tyson

Master's Theses

The present investigation represents an attempt to further explore several parameters of short-term memory as a function of the relevance of appropriateness of the verbal materials utilized. It is the author's contention that due to changing patterns of interests and experiences accompanying chronological aging, certain types of verbal material vary with respect to their relevance for use with aging populations. In regard to parameters of short-term memory, the present study contains provisions for exploring efficiency of retention as a function of the retention measure; and category•affiliated as opposed to randomly-selected words. A more complete and integrated formulation is presented in …