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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Effects Of Proficiency And Task Context On L2-L1 Noncognate Masked Translation Priming In Chinese-English Bilinguals, Mark J. Mcphedran Dec 2018

The Effects Of Proficiency And Task Context On L2-L1 Noncognate Masked Translation Priming In Chinese-English Bilinguals, Mark J. Mcphedran

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The masked translation priming effect was examined in Chinese-English bilinguals using three experimental paradigms: lexical decision, semantic categorization, and speeded episodic recognition. A machine-learning approach was used to assess the subject- and item-specific factors that contribute to the sizes of translation priming effects across these tasks. The factors that contributed to translation priming effects were found to be task specific. Priming effects in lexical decision were associated with higher self-rated listening and writing abilities in English, especially when primes were high-frequency and targets were low-frequency. Priming effects in semantic categorization were associated with more frequent use of English in daily …


The Effects Of Semantic Priming On Lexical Processing, Alexander Taikh Dec 2018

The Effects Of Semantic Priming On Lexical Processing, Alexander Taikh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present experiments were designed to investigate the locus of the semantic priming effect, a phenomenon that has received much research attention. Semantically related primes (e.g., cat) might activate the lexical representations of their targets (e.g., DOG) through automatic spreading activation at short stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) between the prime and target, or through generation of words expected to follow the prime at long SOAs. Alternately, semantically related primes might be used strategically to aid responding after target identification. The effects of masked orthographic primes (e.g., judpe-JUDGE), in contrast, are assumed to be strictly lexical and automatic. Lexical processing of …


Conceptual Representation In Bilinguals: A Feature-Based Approach, Eriko Matsuki Dec 2018

Conceptual Representation In Bilinguals: A Feature-Based Approach, Eriko Matsuki

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A challenge for bilinguals is that translation equivalent words often do not convey exactly the same conceptual information. A bilingual exhibits a “semantic accent” when they comprehend or use a word in one language in a way that is influenced by knowledge of its translation equivalent. Semantic accents are well-captured by feature-based models, such as the Distributed Conceptual Feature model and the Shared (Distributed) Asymmetrical model, however, few empirical studies have used semantic features to provide direct evidence for these models. The goal of this thesis is to use a feature-based approach to identify conceptual differences in translation equivalent words …


The Cognitive Psychology Of Humour In Written Puns, James Boylan Nov 2018

The Cognitive Psychology Of Humour In Written Puns, James Boylan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The primary purpose of this dissertation was to investigate how humour from written puns is produced. Prior models have emphasized that novel or surprising incongruities should be important to humour appreciation­ (Suls, 1972; Topolinski, 2014). In study 1, a new approach to operationalizing incongruity as semantic dissimilarity was developed and tested using Latent Semantic Analysis (Landauer, Foltz & Laham, 1998). “Latent semantic incongruity” was associated with humour ratings, but only for puns with low ratings of familiarity from a prior occasion or for those with a low level of aggressive content. Overall, there was also an unexpected strong positive association …


Semantic Processing Of Nominal Metaphor: Figurative Abstraction And Embodied Simulation, Hamad Al-Azary Nov 2018

Semantic Processing Of Nominal Metaphor: Figurative Abstraction And Embodied Simulation, Hamad Al-Azary

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In a metaphor such as that lawyer is a shark, the concept lawyer, which is the metaphor topic, and the concept shark, which is the metaphor vehicle, interact to produce a figurative meaning such that lawyers are predatory. Some theorists argue that sensorimotor properties of the vehicle are the basis of metaphor comprehension (Gibbs & Matlock, 2008; Paivio, 1979; Wilson & Gibbs, 2007). As such, that lawyer is a shark is processed by an embodied simulation where sensorimotor imagery associated with sharks is simulated (e.g., sharks hunting in deep water). However, the long-standing assumption is that metaphors are …


The Effects Of Perceptual Fluency On Emotional Word Recognition, Joseph M. Nidel Aug 2018

The Effects Of Perceptual Fluency On Emotional Word Recognition, Joseph M. Nidel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

To investigate if making a word harder to read attenuates emotional influences like valence and arousal, we used a sample of Warriner and colleagues’ (2013) corpus with valence and arousal norms, a font manipulation from the perceptual fluency paradigm, and a word naming task. We found that, contrary to our hypotheses, emotional influences of words on RT were not attenuated in the disfluent condition; in fact, disfluency seemed to amplify the facilitative effects of high arousal. These results suggest that models of word recognition should consider the role that emotions play in recognition. They also provide limited support to models …


Characterizing The Cognitive And Emotional Effects Of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol In Distinct Hippocampal Sub-Regions, Dinat Khan Aug 2018

Characterizing The Cognitive And Emotional Effects Of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol In Distinct Hippocampal Sub-Regions, Dinat Khan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The objective of this study is to determine the potential differential effects of THC in the DH or VH sub-regions, as well as the upstream effects on PFC neuronal activity and oscillations. Rodents used for electrophysiology were infused with THC or vehicle in the DH or VH regions, combined with PFC recordings. Additionally, a battery of behavioural paradigms was performed. Deficits in short-term memory when THC was infused into both regions was observed, however working memory was impaired with VH infusions only. This could be due to THC-induced dysregulation in the PFC, as beta oscillations were significantly decreased selectively in …


Ipad Use To Enhance Conversations Between Persons With Dementia And Their Family Caregivers, Kelsey Dynes Aug 2018

Ipad Use To Enhance Conversations Between Persons With Dementia And Their Family Caregivers, Kelsey Dynes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Electronic conversational memory notebooks, a more current application of previous hardcopy versions, consist of personally relevant photographs and accompanying sentences. The notebooks help persons with dementia access memories during conversations. Person-centred communication (PCC) recognizes the individual, accommodating for personal beliefs and intentions. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether persons with dementia and their family caregivers could be educated and trained to use PCC while using an iPad-based electronic conversational memory notebook. Seven persons with mild to moderate dementia and their family caregiver completed the six-week study. Participants were educated and trained to use PCC while conversing …


Spatial Memory For Isolated Arm Locations On The Radial Maze, Hayden Macdonald Aug 2018

Spatial Memory For Isolated Arm Locations On The Radial Maze, Hayden Macdonald

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The ability to encode and retrieve information describing spatial locations allows organisms to solve a variety of natural problems. When multiple spatial locations vary with respect to foraging, predatory or environmental factors, successfully discriminating between these locations may result in increased fitness. Although, how do the spatial relations of multiple locations affect the encoding or retrieval of spatial information? Across three radial maze experiments, I addressed how spatial configuration affects working memory for multiple locations. Specifically, I asked 1) how spatial patterns affect memory for multiple locations, 2) how spatial isolation between to-be-visited locations may affect spatial memory, and 3) …


Investigating The Interaction Of Emotion And Cognition: Conflict Adaptation And The Impact Of Emotionally-Salient Distraction, Samantha Goldsmith Jun 2018

Investigating The Interaction Of Emotion And Cognition: Conflict Adaptation And The Impact Of Emotionally-Salient Distraction, Samantha Goldsmith

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Individual differences in cognitive control have significant implications for a broad range of everyday functions, from driving a car to maintaining healthy relationships. In a world filled with salient, task-irrelevant information, it is imperative to investigate cognitive control in the context of distraction. The current study investigated the interference effect of emotional versus non-emotional distraction in a conflict adaptation paradigm. Forty-seven young adults completed several individual difference measures and an emotional flanker task. Results failed to support the hypothesis that distractor valence would interact with prior and current flanker congruency, but showed a trend toward an effect of distractor valence …


The Validity Of Inferring Real-World Cognitive Mapping Ability Based On Performance In A Virtual Environment, Chantelle M. Cocquyt Apr 2018

The Validity Of Inferring Real-World Cognitive Mapping Ability Based On Performance In A Virtual Environment, Chantelle M. Cocquyt

Brescia Psychology Undergraduate Honours Theses

This study investigated whether virtual environments (VE) have ecological validity in studies of cognitive mapping ability. Forty female undergraduate students completed the spatial orientation test (SOT) and other tasks that assessed their cognitive of real-world locations they visit often and a VE, through direction estimation and map accuracy tasks. Participants had lower error scores on real-world direction estimation than VE direction estimation, suggesting that the accuracy of their cognitive maps was associated with familiarity and exposure to an environment. Real-world direction estimation, VE direction estimation, and VE map building were all correlated with the SOT, suggesting a shared reliance on …


Supporting Dynamic And Distributed Decision Making In Acute Care Environments: Insights From A Cognitive Ethnography, Anthony Naimi Mar 2018

Supporting Dynamic And Distributed Decision Making In Acute Care Environments: Insights From A Cognitive Ethnography, Anthony Naimi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The way that medical decisions are carried out in hospital environments has undergone radical changes in recent years, in part as a result of the changing landscape of care. To make decisions, physicians are expected to keep abreast of a growing and changing body of medical and patient knowledge, collaborate more with clinical colleagues, and utilize more technologies to inform care than ever before. This dissertation reports on a five month cognitive ethnography in an ICU in Ontario Canada, and utilizes distributed cognition to understand the challenges that physicians face in making decision in modern acute care environments. It also …


The Impact Of Beauty, Body Image, And Health Discourses On Eating Disorder Risk In South Asian-Canadian Women, Nazia Bhatti Feb 2018

The Impact Of Beauty, Body Image, And Health Discourses On Eating Disorder Risk In South Asian-Canadian Women, Nazia Bhatti

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explores socio-cultural influences that impact South Asian women’s self-perceptions and eating behaviours. The findings revealed that cultural gender ideologies played a substantial role in shaping the way women view themselves and their bodies. The analysis of interviews conducted with seven South Asian-Canadian women between the ages of 19-29 years, demonstrate that women’s perceptions of their own physical appearance is framed within the context of their South Asian cultural identity and cultural norms. This study was approached through the lens of post-colonial feminism by examining cultural factors that contribute to South Asian women’s increased risk for developing eating disorders. …