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A Psychophysical Approach To Standardizing Texture Compression For Virtual Environments, Jeremy Flynn
A Psychophysical Approach To Standardizing Texture Compression For Virtual Environments, Jeremy Flynn
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Image compression is a technique to reduce overall data size, but its effects on human perception have not been clearly established. The purpose of this effort was to determine the most effective psychophysical method for subjective image quality assessment, and to apply those findings to an objective algorithm. This algorithm was used to identify the minimum level of texture compression noticeable to the human, in order to determine whether compression-induced texture distortion impacted game-play outcomes. Four experiments tested several hypotheses. The first hypothesis evaluated which of three magnitude estimation (ME) methods (absolute ME, absolute ME plus, or ME with a …
Childhood Experiences And Domestic Violence: The Role That Interpartner Violence Plays In Relationship Functioning And Parenting Behaviors In Adulthood., J'Nelle Stephenson
Childhood Experiences And Domestic Violence: The Role That Interpartner Violence Plays In Relationship Functioning And Parenting Behaviors In Adulthood., J'Nelle Stephenson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
It is estimated that approximately 25% of women and 7.6% of men report experiencing violence from their romantic partner during their lifetime. Additionally, in households where interpartner violence occurs, there are between 3.3 and 10 million children in the United States alone. It is important to understand the cycle of domestic violence that can occur, as it can inform us about expected outcomes across time. This study examined mothers' childhood exposure to their own parents' domestic violence. It was hypothesized that childhood exposure to domestic violence would be related to unhealthy intimate relationships and to the development of maladaptive parenting …
Sleep Disturbances Among Firefighters: The Impact Of Shift Work On Sleep And Cognition, Jeremy Stout
Sleep Disturbances Among Firefighters: The Impact Of Shift Work On Sleep And Cognition, Jeremy Stout
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A comprehensive sleep assessment of 45 firefighters was conducted over 9- days in an effort to determine the impact of their 24 hour work and 48 hour off work schedule on their sleep duration, sleep quality, processing speed, sustained attention, vigilance, and mental health. Chronic patterns of poor sleep are associated with an increased likelihood of performing poorly on tasks that require processing speed and sustained attention/vigilance which could lead to firefighters' suboptimal work performance or an increased risk of injury. Firefighters completed sleep actigraphy, self- report measures, as well as neuropsychological sub-tests at their beginning of their shift and …
Examining Followership Role Orientation, Douglas Monsky
Examining Followership Role Orientation, Douglas Monsky
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study attempts to make steps toward filling significant gaps in the followership literature. The study of followership has often been seen through the lens of leaders' ability to impart change in follower behavior. In doing so, the literature has primarily focused on leader behavior as the agent of change rather than acknowledging followers as active agents in their own behaviors. However, some recent research has shown the emergence of followers as the primary focus, even looking at how their actions can change the way leaders act. This research focuses primarily on followership role orientations as mental models which specify …
Is Proactive Behavior Always Positive? An Examination Of Leader Reactions Based On Employee Gender And Organizational Crisis, Nicole Carusone
Is Proactive Behavior Always Positive? An Examination Of Leader Reactions Based On Employee Gender And Organizational Crisis, Nicole Carusone
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organizations are increasingly looking to hire employees who are willing to take initiative and go above and beyond expectations (Campbell, 2000). To that aim, proactive behaviors have been increasingly considered as a potentially important characteristic of today's workers (Campbell, 2000). With workplaces becoming more decentralized and work becoming increasingly innovative and self-directed, organizations require employees who are able and willing to be proactive (Campbell, 2000; Frese & Fay, 2001). Researchers have found many benefits to proactive behavior, including increases in individual performance and innovation (Seibert, Kraimer, & Crant, 2001; Tornau & Frese, 2013). While proactive behavior may have many benefits, …
Adaptation And Resilience Of Extreme Teams: A Qualitative Study Using Historiometric Analysis, Lauren Campbell
Adaptation And Resilience Of Extreme Teams: A Qualitative Study Using Historiometric Analysis, Lauren Campbell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The business and academic worlds agree that team resilience and team adaptation are in increasing need of study. This study explores the behavioral processes of team adaptation—specifically, those action phase and interpersonal processes mapped by Marks, Mathieu, and Zaccaro (2001) and overlapping with the team adaptation model by Burke, Stagl, Salas, Pierce, and Kendall (2006) and expanded by Rosen et al. (2011). Additionally, the impact of trigger type on adaptive behaviors is explored as suggested by Maynard and Kennedy (2016). These explorations are conducted within the context of extreme teams, and the primary method used is Crayne and Hunter's (2018) …
Oculomotor Mechanisms Underlying Attentional Costs In Distracted Visual Search, Joanna Lewis
Oculomotor Mechanisms Underlying Attentional Costs In Distracted Visual Search, Joanna Lewis
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Performance consequences have been long established when humans multitask. This research concerns the impact of distraction on the attentional shifts during a task that underlies many cognitive processes and everyday tasks, searching for a target item among non-target items (e.g., scanning the road for potential collisions). There is evidence that increasing the mental workload by introducing additional tasks influences our ability to search our environment or interferes with processing fixated information. In the current studies, I aimed to evaluate the changes in gaze behaviors during visual search to evaluate how multitasking impairs our attentional processes. Participants completed a visual search …
Rumination And Executive Dysfunction: Risk Factors For Vascular Depression, David Brush
Rumination And Executive Dysfunction: Risk Factors For Vascular Depression, David Brush
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Introduction: The widely-supported vascular depression hypothesis is underspecified with respect to cognitive mechanisms by which high cerebrovascular burden (CVB) and neuropathology relate to depressive symptoms. Integration of the vascular depression hypothesis with the CaR-FA-X model, a framework of affect regulation mechanisms, suggest that Rumination (R) and executive dysfunction (X) may increase due to altered recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex resulting from high CVB and underlying neuropathology. This process would contribute to depressive symptomatology among older adults with high CVB. The progression of examined hypotheses included mediation models examining mechanistic relationships between predictors (CVB, DLPFC activation), cognitive correlates (rumination, executive …
Working Memory Capacity And Executive Attention As Predictors Of Distracted Driving, Jennifer Louie
Working Memory Capacity And Executive Attention As Predictors Of Distracted Driving, Jennifer Louie
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The present study empirically examined the effects of working memory capacity (WMC) and executive attention on distracted driving. Study 1 examined whether a Grocery List Task (GLT) distractor would load onto WMC. Forty-three participants completed a series of WMC tasks followed by the GLT. They then completed two driving trials: driving without the GLT and driving while completing the GLT. It was hypothesized that WMC would positively correlate with GLT performance. A bivariate correlation indicated that WMC was positively associated with performance on the GLT. Study 2 tested a series of distractor tasks (GLT, Tone Monitoring, and Stop Signal) to …
Olfaction, Memory, And Presence In Warfighters: Do The Scents Of War Matter?, Benson Munyan
Olfaction, Memory, And Presence In Warfighters: Do The Scents Of War Matter?, Benson Munyan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Background: Exposure therapy (EXP) is a first-line intervention for combat-related PTSD. EXP works by repeatedly exposing the patient to the feared stimuli, situation, or physical sensations in the absence of actual danger until the stimuli no longer evoke maladaptive responses. Over the past decade, multiple technologies have been introduced to augment the EXP process by presenting multi-sensory cues (e.g., sights, smells, sounds) to increase patients' sense of presence. Exploratory research has only broadly examined the effect of odorants on the patient's sense of presence during simulated exposure tasks. This study hypothesized that those with autobiographical memories similar to the virtual …
Does Constructive Criticism Boost Creativity? Examining The Moderating Role Of Leader-Member Exchange, Learning Goal Orientation, And Feedback Seeking Behavior, Devin Burnell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This research investigates whether constructive criticism enhances creative performance within the relationship context of leaders and followers. Previous research on leadership and creativity defines creative products as novel and useful, but overlooks antecedents to creative action—the immediate precondition of creative products. Creative action, or creative performance, includes (1) identifying a problem, (2) searching for information, (3) generating solutions, and (4) evaluating the best solution. Previous research informs that three psychological mechanisms are responsible for creative actions: (1) sense-making, (2) motivation, and (3) knowledge processes. Constructive criticism is posited to act simultaneously on each of these processes to encourage creative performance …
Investigating The Role Of Cognitive Load In Synthetic Learning Environments For Training, Joelene Goh
Investigating The Role Of Cognitive Load In Synthetic Learning Environments For Training, Joelene Goh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Ensuring effectiveness of training programs has been a dominant theme in the training industry, and is constantly evolving with the steady incorporation of emerging technology. This field study offers an investigation into the intersection between the applied and research world, and examines the practicality of recommended best practices for implementing synthetic learning environments (SLEs) in the military. Specifically, cognitive load has been identified as a significant factor in influencing the effectiveness of training programs. Research on this topic has focused on utilizing the affordances of SLEs to decrease cognitive load imposed by the material and system in order to allow …
Dissecting The Components Of Neuropathic Pain, Dale George
Dissecting The Components Of Neuropathic Pain, Dale George
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Pain is a public health issue affecting the lives of nearly 116 million adults in the US, annually. Understanding the physiological and phenotypic changes that occur in response to painful stimuli is of tremendous clinical interest, but, the complexity of pain and the lack of a representative in vitro model hinders the development of new therapeutics. Pain stimuli are first perceived and transmitted by the neurons within the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) which become hyperexcitable under these conditions. It has now been established that satellite glial cells (SGCs) that ensheathe the DRG cell body actively contribute to this neuronal dysregulation. …
Psychophysiology Meets Computer Science: Predicting The Magnitude Of Participant Physiological Response With Machine Learning, Avonie Parchment
Psychophysiology Meets Computer Science: Predicting The Magnitude Of Participant Physiological Response With Machine Learning, Avonie Parchment
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The present inquiry uses methods from psychophysiology and machine learning to reduce overall error in classification models. The field of psychophysiology, though rooted in decades of experimentation, has never reached the same level of precision as some aspects of medical inquiry. In fact, while some medical regression models, when determining some way to classify a patient's illness based on certain symptoms, can result in highly significant results with large effect sizes, equal levels are virtually unheard of in psychophysiology. The present investigation attempts to unravel some part of this mystery and determines some possible reasons for the difficulty in finding …
The State Of Trauma-Informed Care In The Preschool, Ellen Kolomeyer
The State Of Trauma-Informed Care In The Preschool, Ellen Kolomeyer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study aimed to provide a foundational knowledge base from which to begin bridging the gap between research on trauma-informed, relationship-based therapeutic interventions in early childhood preschool classrooms and the practice of such classroom-based interventions. Specifically, this study identified several specific predictors (e.g., funding) and barriers (e.g., lack of knowledge and training in assessment instruments and referral options) to gaining trauma-informed knowledge and engaging in trauma-informed practices in preschool classrooms. Individuals in leadership roles at preschools were sampled anonymously with regard to their current trauma-informed knowledge and program practices. Participants included 98 preschool leaders from Florida, 36 preschool leaders from …
Influence Of Selected Factors On A Counselor's Attention Level To And Counseling Performance With A Virtual Human In A Virtual Counseling Session, John Hart
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Virtual humans serve as role-players in social skills training environments simulating situational face-to-face conversations. Previous research indicates that virtual humans in instructional roles can increase a learner's engagement and motivation towards the training. Left unaddressed is if the learner is looking at the virtual human as one would in a human-to-human, face-to-face interaction. Using a modified version of the Emergent Leader Immersive Training Environment (ELITE-Lite), this study tracks visual attention and other behavior of 120 counselor trainees counseling a virtual human role-playing counselee. Specific study elements include: (1) the counselor's level of visual attention toward the virtual counselee; (2) how …
Subjective-Objective Discrepancies Among Patients With Sleep Complaints In The Patient-Centered Medical Home, Keri Bayley
Subjective-Objective Discrepancies Among Patients With Sleep Complaints In The Patient-Centered Medical Home, Keri Bayley
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Sleep misperception – the discrepancy between objective and subjective measures of sleep – has been shown to be prevalent among patients with insomnia and may be a promising target for sleep intervention. This study examined sleep misperception in a diverse outpatient medical sample using consumer-grade wearable actigraphs (i.e., Fitbit Charge HR™). Forty-four self-identified problem sleepers aged 20 to 79 participated in the study. Participants completed sleep diaries for one week while also tracking their sleep using the Fitbit Charge HR™. After receiving a personalized sleep report based on these data, participants repeated another week of sleep assessment. Sleep misperception was …
Human Factor Effects Of Simulating Battlefield Malodors In Field Training, William Pike
Human Factor Effects Of Simulating Battlefield Malodors In Field Training, William Pike
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In order to explore how to better utilize simulated odors for live training, a study of 180 United States Military Academy at West Point cadets was undertaken to determine whether pre-exposure to a simulated malodor may result in an amelioration of performance issues, as well as improving performance of a complex task. Exposure to malodors has long been shown to increase stress and escape behavior, and reduce performance of complex tasks, in addition to degrading other human factor areas. However, desensitization to a particular odor through a process known as olfactory adaptation, could ameliorate these performance issues. In this study, …
Eye Movements And Spatial Ability: Influences On Thinking During Analogical Problem Solving, Bradford Schroeder
Eye Movements And Spatial Ability: Influences On Thinking During Analogical Problem Solving, Bradford Schroeder
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Classic studies have examined the factors that influence the way in which people can solve difficult "insight" problems, which require creative solutions. Recent research has shown that guiding one's eye movements in a pattern spatially congruent with the solution improves the likelihood of formulating a spatial solution. The authors in this line of research argued that guiding eye movements in a pattern spatially equivalent to the solution of the problem yields an embodied cognitive benefit that aids problem solving. Specifically, guiding eye movements leads to the generation of a mental representation containing perceptual information that helps a problem solver mentally …
Potential Relationship Between Vascular Depression And Autobiographical Memory Specificity In An Older Adult Population According To The Car-Fa-X Model, Manuel Herrera Legon
Potential Relationship Between Vascular Depression And Autobiographical Memory Specificity In An Older Adult Population According To The Car-Fa-X Model, Manuel Herrera Legon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Vascular depression is a type of depression that has its onset later in life, and it has been associated with cardiovascular or metabolic diseases. Depression can be costly and associated with other health problems, which is why it becomes imperative to uncover the multiple mechanisms of action for depression symptomatology. A proposed mechanism of action for the emergence of depressive symptomatology is poor autobiographical memory specificity according to the CaR-FA-X model. However, it remains unclear whether this mechanism contributes somehow to the vascular depression specific type. The purpose of this research was to determine the potential relationship between the mechanisms …
Young Adult Development And Caregiving: Disposition And Involvement In Care, Nicholas James
Young Adult Development And Caregiving: Disposition And Involvement In Care, Nicholas James
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Caregivers are a diverse group of individuals with a variety of backgrounds and roles; however, research has widely overlooked young adults in this population. This study investigated young adult caregiver circumstance, burden, and use of support services with the purpose of improving future caregiving research and interventions. Study 1 compared burden and circumstance among young, middle aged, and older adult caregivers (N = 285) in addition to developmental indicators among young adults caregiver and demographically matched non-caregiver peers (n = 225). Study 2 surveyed caregivers from each age group (N = 151) on barriers to care, treatment preferences, and interest …
Categorical Change: Exploring The Effects Of Concept Drift In Human Perceptual Category Learning, Andrew Wismer
Categorical Change: Exploring The Effects Of Concept Drift In Human Perceptual Category Learning, Andrew Wismer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Categorization is an essential survival skill that we engage in daily. A multitude of behavioral and neuropsychological evidence support the existence of multiple learning systems involved in category learning. COmpetition between Verbal and Implicit Systems (COVIS) theory provides a neuropsychological basis for the existence of an explicit and implicit learning system involved in the learning of category rules. COVIS provides a convincing account of asymptotic performance in human category learning. However, COVIS – and virtually all current theories of category learning – focus solely on categories and decision environments that remain stationary over time. However, our environment is dynamic, and …
Understanding Human Performance And Social Presence: An Analysis Of Vigilance And Social Facilitation, Victoria Claypoole
Understanding Human Performance And Social Presence: An Analysis Of Vigilance And Social Facilitation, Victoria Claypoole
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Social facilitation is characterized by improved performance on simple, or well-known, tasks and impaired performance on complex, or unfamiliar, tasks. Previous research has demonstrated that the use of social presence may improve performance on cognitive-based tasks that are relevant to many organizational contexts, such as vigilance. However, to date, there has not been consolidation of the research regarding the different implementations of social facilitation, or any analysis indicating which types of social presence are best under varying conditions. The present dissertation describes three experiments that seek to contribute to a taxonomic framework of social facilitation. Experiment One statistically established a …
Alcohol Pathology And The Triarchic Model Of Psychopathy: The Role Of Protective Behavioral Strategies And Impulsivity, Matthew Kramer
Alcohol Pathology And The Triarchic Model Of Psychopathy: The Role Of Protective Behavioral Strategies And Impulsivity, Matthew Kramer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
OVERVIEW: Psychopathy has been an area of growing interest in psychology for the last half century. Currently, the most common conceptualization of psychopathy breaks it down into two factors: primary and secondary psychopathy. More recently, psychopathy has been viewed through a more nuanced model, the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy. The present study examines the relationship between the three facets of the Triarchic Model and alcohol pathology via aspects of impulsivity and Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS). METHOD: A college student sample of n = 967 individuals who endorsed consuming alcohol completed surveys regarding the Triarchic Model, impulsivity, PBS use, and alcohol …
The Efficacy Of A 6-Week Evidence-Based Support Group For Caregivers Of Dementia In A Primary Care Setting, Mona Shah
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
More than 16 million Americans provide unpaid care for those with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Extant literature has well documented the increased risk for physical, emotional, social and financial burden associated with caregiving. While intensive support groups may be well-suited to caregiver needs, they are often difficult to implement given financial, personnel and resource constraints. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of a theoretically-based, 6-week caregiver support group in a community primary care setting. The group focuses on self-care, behavior management techniques and interdisciplinary caregiver resources. A total of 22 participants completed the active …
The Relationship Between Team Role Sub-Dimensions, Personality, And Team Effectiveness, Ryan Howell
The Relationship Between Team Role Sub-Dimensions, Personality, And Team Effectiveness, Ryan Howell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A manned mission to Mars would be the longest manned mission (both by distance and duration) to date by a considerable margin. Such a mission poses a unique set of challenges to astronaut teams, including extreme levels of isolation and confinement never before experienced by Earth-bound teams. A crucial step in ensuring the team will arrive back on Earth safely is selecting those individuals who are most apt for the job. To facilitate the selection process and development of countermeasures, this work (as part of a larger NASA research grant) involves examining the relationship between personality (Big 5; openness, conscientiousness, …
How Much Is Enough? Trauma Recall And The Exposure Therapy Process, Krystal Morrison
How Much Is Enough? Trauma Recall And The Exposure Therapy Process, Krystal Morrison
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Prevailing theoretical models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as exposure therapy (EXP) methodology suggest that recall of a trauma is crucial to altering the conditioned fear response associated with PTSD (Benito & Walther, 2015; Craske et al., 2008; Foa & Kozak, 1986). However, it is unclear whether limited recall of the event impacts the EXP process and treatment outcomes. This study examined whether incomplete trauma recall affected pre-treatment PTSD severity, Initial Fear Activation (IFA), Overall Fear Activation (OFA), Within-Session Habituation (WSH), Between-Session Habituation (BSH; overall extinction), average length of EXP sessions, number of EXP sessions, and post-treatment PTSD …