Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Imagery Practice To Improve Airline Pilot Situational Awareness, Brian Christopher Sajdak

Dissertations

Pilot error remains the primary cause of airline airplane accidents (Federal Aviation Administration, n.d.). Airline pilots have relied on Crew Resource Management and Threat Error Management to reduce or eliminate errors (Helmreich & Foushee, 2019). Unfortunately, the worldwide accident rate continues to increase (International Air Transport Association, 2021), demonstrating the need for further research into improving aviation safety. Current regulations do not require imagery training for airline pilots to improve situational awareness (Federal Aviation Administration, 2017a). Athletes and other professionals, such as musicians and medical professionals, use imagery to improve performance (Munzert et al., 2009). Imagery practice may improve the …

The Influence Of Word Pair Associative Direction On Judgment Of Learning Reactivity, Nicholas Maxwell

Dissertations

Judgments of learning (JOLs) are commonly used by researchers to assess whether individuals can accurately predict later memory performance. While the JOL literature has generally operated under the assumption that providing judgments at study does not affect the learning process, recent studies have shown a reactivity effect in which memory differs between participants who do and do not make JOLs at study. The effects of providing JOLs on memory have been mixed: Some studies report memory improvements (i.e., positive reactivity), while others report memory costs (i.e., negative reactivity). Additionally, little work has evaluated the effects of associative direction (i.e., credit-card …

Regional Differences In Wild North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Behavior And Communication, Sarah Walkley

Dissertations

This study focuses on the vocalization repertoires of wild North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) in New York and California. Although they are the same species, these two established populations of river otters are separated by a significant distance and are distinct from one another. River otters are semi-aquatic social predators that can be found throughout North America. This is the first study to examine the vocalizations of wild river otters, and results are compared across field sites in the different regions. River otter vocalizations and behaviors in New York were recorded using Bushnell Aggressor trail cameras that …

Memories Of Emotions Of First Consensual Sexual Encounters, Mario Herrera

Dissertations

Are people’s memories of their most intimate moments prone to memory distortions? There is some limited research that has found that to be the case—memories of past consensual sexual encounters have been prone to memory biases. However, no past research has looked into whether memory of emotions toward a person’s first consensual sexual encounter are malleable. A combination of reconstructive memory and appraisal theories would predict that memory for emotions are prone to distortions based on the changes in current appraisals of the event and/or person. In the current experiment, we investigated the effects of current reappraisals of participants’ first …

Non-Traditional Church Involvement As A Life-Course Turning Point: Qualitative Interviews With Religious Offenders, William Hunter Holt

Dissertations

This research project conducted and then analyzed qualitative interviews from former and current addicts and criminal offenders who are voluntarily participating in the Christian faith at the same non-traditional, Protestant church. An abridged case study of this church is also provided for background and context. Life-course theory and grounded theory are utilized.

Both the offenders and this church were chosen in an attempt to better understand how the offenders’ involvement at this house of worship, along with their faith in general, have impacted them. Obtaining the perspectives of the offender is essential for three reasons. First, qualitative research conducted in …

Person-Level Sources Of Continued Influence Effect: The Roles Of Attention Control, Intolerance Of Ambiguity And Conservatism, Jinhao Chi

Dissertations

People continually rely on disinformation to make judgments after it is corrected or discredited. This phenomenon is termed the continued influence effect (CIE). Using a sample of 152 participants, the current study examined whether the CIE can be explained by a person’s political orientation, attention control (AC) levels, intolerance of ambiguity (IA) and need for specific closure (NSC). It was found that when political orientation was based on self-reports, the overall political conservatism did not predict the CIE (r = .13, p = .09) but economic conservatism did (r = .19, p < .05), suggesting that those with higher self-reported fiscally conservative attitudes may show more prolonged influence of disinformation. In addition, the overall AC levels did not predict the CIE (r = .08, p = .30), but the antisaccade scores reflecting the ability to inhibit automatic responses were a significant positive predictor of the CIE (r = .18, p < .05). Lastly, neither IA nor NSC significantly predicted the CIE (ps > .05). These findings were obtained with only one …

Systems Of Quantity Judgment In Various Species: A Meta-Analysis, Tiffany A. Woodard Baker

Dissertations

An abundance of behavioral and neuroimaging literature supports the presence of two cognitive systems for quantity judgments (Agrillo & Bisazza, 2014). In particular, small quantities are thought to be guided by the object-file system, a precise system that uses mental files to map onto real world objects, and large quantities by the approximate number system, an imprecise, estimation system (Dehaene, 1997). Evidence supporting both systems exists in a variety of species including nonhuman primates (Boysen & Hallberg, 2000), birds (Garland, Low, & Burns, 2012), amphibians (Uller, Jaeger, Guidry, & Martin, 2003), and fish (Agrillo, Dadda, Serena, Bisazza, 2009), but support …

Characterization Of Swine Production Using Measurements Collected Via Indoor Positioning System, Shaun Perisho

Dissertations

Legislative and market initiatives are requiring that gestating sows move from individual housing to group settings. Little information is known about coping styles of individual sows in these more socially complex environments and thus the impact of different behavioral strategies on sow reproductive success and efficiency was investigated. The movements of 70 sows during periods of reintroduction into large pen gestational housing following insemination was measured with a commercially available system that tracked animal location and accelerations. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to establish composite variables characterizing each animal’s behavioral response to social reintroduction and revealed the presence of …

More Than Mere Synonyms: Examining The Differences Between Criminogenic Thinking And Criminogenic Attitudes, David W. Gavel

Dissertations

More than 75% of prison inmates are arrested for a new crime within five years of being released from prison. Known as recidivism, this trend of repeated criminal activity accounts for more than half of annual prison admissions, and rehabilitative programs demonstrate varying degrees of success in reducing recidivism. Andrews, Bonta, and Hoge (1990) demonstrated that offenders are less likely to recidivate when they receive services that match their assessed level of risk factors (e.g., history of violence), intervention needs (e.g., mental health diagnosis), and responsivity (e.g., ideal learning environment). Criminogenic cognition, mental events (e.g., thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs) often …

Optimizing Workforce Performance: Perceived Differences Of Army Officer Critical Thinking Talent Across Level Of Education, Richard B. Ayers

Dissertations

The U.S. Army’s operating environment continues to become increasingly complex and unpredictable, where U.S. technological advantage continues to erode. The complexities stem from the Army’s doctrinal assumption that the future operating environment is unknown and constantly changing (Department of the Army [DA], 2014a). Diminishing technological advantage results in more reliance on soldiers’ cognitive capability, and less on high technology weapons systems (McMaster, 2015).

A review of military literature shows extensive research on the importance of Army leaders to be talented critical thinkers (Fischer, Spiker, & Riedel, 2008, 2009; Gerras, 2008; Thomas & Gentzler, 2013). Human capital literature reveals many college …

Olfactory Enrichment In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus), Mystera M. Samuelson

Dissertations

In the wild, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are exposed to a wide array of sensory information at all times. However, it is impossible for captive environments to provide this level of complexity. Therefore unique procedures and practices are necessary for the maintenance of physiological and psychological health in captive animals (Wells, 2009). This project aims to explore the behavioral effect of scent added to the environment, with the goal of improving the welfare of captive sea lions by introducing two scent types: 1.) Natural scents, found in their native environment, and 2.) Non-natural scents, not found in …

An Electrophysiological Examination Of Adhd-Associated Symptoms And Selective Attention In Adults, Erica Diane Prentkowski

Dissertations

A main component of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a deficit of inattention. This deficit causes impairment for both children and adults in a variety of settings including school and work. The current study examined auditory selective attention in a community sample of adults. It was the aim of this project to examine possible differences in selective attention for adults with high levels of ADHDassociated symptoms, when compared to adults with low levels of ADHD-associated symptoms, including conditions under which these differences may be an advantage. Specifically, it was expected that adults with high ADHD-associated symptoms would benefit from the high …

Hope, Optimism, Stress, And Social Support In Parents Of Children With Intellectual Disabilities, Josephine Estelle Cooke

Dissertations

Hope, optimism, and social support have been shown to be important protective factors for parents of children with intellectual disabilities, and these factors have been shown to have important relationships with parenting behaviors. Hope and optimism have not been studied as possible predictive variables for parenting behaviors for this population, and the interactions of these three variables with parenting behaviors have not been examined with this population. Stress has been shown to relate to positive and negative parenting behaviors (Abidin, 1995), and high levels of stress are correlated with a perception of low levels of social support. No studies have …