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The Effects Of A Serious Game On Learning, Gary Timmins
The Effects Of A Serious Game On Learning, Gary Timmins
Honors Capstones
This study tested the hypothesis that video game attributes (e.g., points, competition, pedagogical agents) affect learning and engagement in a computerized learning environment. Thirty-two undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to two computerized learning environments meant to teach aspects of scientific inquiry (e.g., the need for control groups). Both groups read, critiqued and identified flaws in short descriptions of research. One group used a program that simulates a video game environment while the other used a traditional computer-assisted instructional format. Both conditions were given a pre-test and post-test. An interaction between time of test and the game was found, indicating …
A Comparison Of Alcoholics Memories Of Their First Drinks As Compared To Non-Alcoholics, Jill Mech
A Comparison Of Alcoholics Memories Of Their First Drinks As Compared To Non-Alcoholics, Jill Mech
Honors Capstones
This study examined the relationship between alcoholics' memories of their first drinks as compared to non-alcoholics' memories of their first drinks. The participants were 36 members of Alcoholics Anonymous and 12 non-alcoholic volunteers (39 male, 8 female, 1 did not indicate gender). Results did not indicate a significant relationship between whether or not the participant was an alcoholic and the vividness of their memories of their first drink. However, results did indicate that alcoholics remembered their drink as being slightly more pleasant than non-alcoholics.
Can Contempt Cost You An Election?, Megan Geyer
Can Contempt Cost You An Election?, Megan Geyer
Honors Capstones
Are politicians who show contempt less likely to attract support from voters? In this project we tested this question using a laboratory experiment. 37 students were recruited from undergraduate courses at NIU. Participants viewed video clips of politicians (both signaling contempt and more neutral emotions), respond to a number of survey quesitons. The emotions signaled in the stimulus videos were FACS coded. Although statistical significance was not achieved, the results were in the hypothesized direction, indicating that politicians were perceived more negatively when contemptuous compared to when facially neutral.
Gender And Ethnicity As Moderator Of Young Adults' Perception With Their Mother And Grandparents, Erika Quezada
Gender And Ethnicity As Moderator Of Young Adults' Perception With Their Mother And Grandparents, Erika Quezada
Honors Capstones
Limited research is available on adolescent-grandparent relationships, especially from the young adult perspective and across ethnicities. This study explores the perception of the child-mother and the grandchild-grandparent relationships across Caucasian, African American and Hispanic ethnicities as well as the role young adults' gender plays in predicting the quality of the grandchild-grandparent relationship. This study was based on answers to a structured questionnaire from a sample of274 undergraduate students aged 19-24 at a large Midwestern university. Mixed results suggest that perception of the relationship is moderated by ethnicity and gender. Findings suggest that young adults of Caucasian descent perceived a more …
The Effect Of Audience Type On Written Argumentation, Chelsey Gibson
The Effect Of Audience Type On Written Argumentation, Chelsey Gibson
Honors Capstones
Many students have difficulty constructing a quality written argument, especially when they must consider an audience. The difficulty may be that they do not possess an adequate schema for constructing an argument. In this study, we manipulated two conditions: audience type (friendly, hostile, mixed) and instructions (tutor, no tutor) in order to determine the effect they have on number of rebuttals, explanations, counters, reasons, adaptations, appeals, and pejoratives, We hypothesized that participants in the tutor condition will perform better than those in the no tutor condition at all levels of audience type. We also hypothesized that students with a hostile …
The Role Of Executive Functions In Facilitating Soothing Behavior During Interactions With A Simulated Distressed Infant, Katie M. Laws
The Role Of Executive Functions In Facilitating Soothing Behavior During Interactions With A Simulated Distressed Infant, Katie M. Laws
Honors Capstones
Prior work has noted the importance of parenting for supporting the development of emotion regulation in infants/children. The goal of this study was to examine the influence of adult EF on behavioral responses to infant distress. The current investigation used a novel methodological approach, the infant simulator paradigm (ISIM), to evaluate the effects of participant EF on soothing behavior during interactions with an inconsolable, simulated infant. Given the importance ofEF in regulation of behavior, it was predicted that participants with lower EF would engage in fewer soothing behaviors (i.e., sensitive vocalizations, soothing touch, distracting, and caretaking efforts) than participants with …
Do Higher Exam Grades Predict Higher Standards Of Success And More Test Anxiety?, Shannon B. Iverson
Do Higher Exam Grades Predict Higher Standards Of Success And More Test Anxiety?, Shannon B. Iverson
Honors Capstones
The current study used a short-term, prospective design to examine the relationships among test anxiety, test performance, students' standards for success, and students' test selfefficacy (i.e., performance expectancies). College freshmen (N = 171) enrolled in an introductory psychology course during their first semester of college completed Time 1 questionnaires about one week before their first in-class exam. One hundred two participants (56% of Time 1 participants) completed Time 2 questionnaires up to one week after learning the results of their test scores and about two weeks prior to their second in-class exam. Irrelevant Thinking subscale scores on the Revised Test …
Children Giving Eyewitness Testmionies In A Court Of Law, Kaitlin Hargate
Children Giving Eyewitness Testmionies In A Court Of Law, Kaitlin Hargate
Honors Capstones
In a court of law, the issue of a child giving an eyewitness account has been debated among professionals. There is a significant amount of evidence suggesting that children are unable to give a reliable account. Their cognitive ability to perceive a questionable situation is not fully developed, and neither is their ability to recall memories. In order to examine the different variables surrounding this issue, a literature review was conducted. The results of numerous studies suggest that although children may not be the most reliable witnesses, sometimes they are the only witnesses. The following literature review discusses the conditions …
Assessing Hormones In Response To Trauma, Corina E. Klein
Assessing Hormones In Response To Trauma, Corina E. Klein
Honors Capstones
Hormones produced in the body may be important in ameliorating the effects of traumatic stress. Previous research bas shown that the concentration of several hormones, such as cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA-sulfated (DHEAS) in a given individual who has been exposed to a traumatic event may be indicative of the likelihood that the individual will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study assessed whether higher levels of cortisol in comparison to DHEA or DHEAS could indicate a predisposition toward future mental illness following an emotionally stressful event. Female students from Northern lllinois University provided salivary samples before and following …
Effects Of Utility Value And Goals On Task Performance And Interest, Jeffery J. Kosovich
Effects Of Utility Value And Goals On Task Performance And Interest, Jeffery J. Kosovich
Honors Capstones
The perception of utility in tasks has been shown to facilitate performance and interest. This study (N = 160) is an extension of work by Hulleman and colleagues and is a 2 (success expectancy: high, low) x 2 (utility level: No Utility, Utility) x 2 (goal level: no goal, difficult goal), between-subjects design. Previous findings have shown that individuals with low success expectancies benefit from a utility manipulation, but high success expectancy individuals do not. The current study aimed to facilitate performance and interest, particularly in high expectancy participants. Participants learned a new math technique. After the practice session, participants …