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Processes Influencing Visual Awareness During Motion-Induced Blindness, Erika T. Wells

Doctoral Dissertations

Visual illusions, such as motion-induced blindness, arise when the visual system, balancing speed and efficiency, summarizes the information it receives to form a percept. Motion-induced blindness (MIB) is characterized as the disappearance of a salient target when surrounded by a moving mask. Efforts to determine the mechanism have focused on the role of target characteristics on perceived disappearance by a coherently moving mask. In this dissertation, I take another approach, paying specific attention to the role of motion characteristics of the mask.

In Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 4, I investigate whether the property of common fate influences target disappearance …

An Investigation Of Non-Spatial Cognitive Abilities In An Asocial Corvid, The Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana), Jan K. Tornick

Doctoral Dissertations

A great deal of research suggests that the cognitive abilities of birds in the family Corvidae (crows and jays) are comparable in many aspects to that of apes. Scientists have posited competing hypotheses to explain how complex cognitive abilities arise in a species or group of animals. One such hypothesis, the social-intelligence hypothesis, states that the demands of living in a large, dynamic group drive an animal's need for complex cognitive skills. The ecological-intelligence hypothesis, predicts that generalist foragers develop more highly flexible behaviors and a wider cognitive repertoire than specialist foragers. To date, cognitive research on corvids has focused …

Testing The Procedural Justice Model Of Legal Socialization: Expanding Beyond The Legal World, Rick Trinkner

Doctoral Dissertations

The procedural justice model of legal socialization predicts that perceptions of legitimacy and cynicism toward rules mediate the relation between procedural justice and engagement in rule-violating behavior. This dissertation used a multi-methodological approach to test this model in terms of three authority figures: parents, police, and teachers. In Study 1, cross-sectional methodology was used to test the model in a community sample of adolescents and young adults. Participants completed online surveys assessing the degree to which they perceived three authority figures as procedurally fair, the degree to which they perceived the authorities as legitimate, how cynical they were about the …

Flatfish Stock Enhancement: Examining Conditioning Strategies To Promote Success, Michelle Lynn Walsh

Doctoral Dissertations

Conditioning is the process of providing individuals reared for stock enhancement with some degree of "wild" experience prior to release. Flatfish trained for "wild" conditions may more easily and successfully transition to natural environments. This dissertation identifies strategies that optimize feeding-related performance of flatfish in the hatchery and subsequently post release in the wild.

The influence of live feed conditioning on feeding performance of juvenile winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, was investigated. In the hatchery, fish reared on live feeds exhibited significantly higher survival (P < 0.0001) and growth (P < 0.01) than those reared on formulated feed. Once released into cages in the wild, amphipodreared fish had higher mean Stomach Contents Index and RNA/DNA of all feed types, including wild fish. Wild and worm-reared fish exhibited the most similar survival, baseline RNA/DNA values, overall stomach fullness, and diet composition profiles over time.

Pre-release, experimental cage conditioning was conducted for stocking Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, in Wakasa Bay, Japan. …

Violent Socialization Processes And Criminal Behavior: An International Perspective On Variations In Social Control During Late Adolescence And Emerging Adulthood, Aimee Delaney Lutz

Doctoral Dissertations

Using Gottfredson and Hirschi's parental socialization thesis as a theoretical framework, the present study explores whether or not violent socialization processes are associated with criminal behavior, both at the micro-level and macro-level, across 32 different nations. Analyses were conducted on data from the International Dating Violence Study (Straus & Members of the International Dating Violence Research Consortium, 2004). Bivariate statistical analyses show that violent socialization tends to be more prevalent among nations with indicators of violence (e.g., laws supporting the death penalty) compared to nations without such indicators. The results of ordinary least squares regression analysis indicate that violent familial …