Psychology Commons^™

Assessing Mindfulness As A Moderator Between Trait Worry And Working Memory Capacity Performance In Undergraduates, William Farmer

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Mindfulness and worry have some antithetical qualities, yet mixed or non-significant findings suggest that practicing mindfulness alone will not disrupt worry. Working memory capacity (WMC) has been implicated in the relationship between worry and mindfulness, with some research showing that the combined practice of mindfulness and WMC test exercises had the greatest impact on reducing worry. The present study sought to test the relationship between worry, trait mindfulness, behavioral mindfulness as assessed by a Mindfulness Activities Questionnaire (MAQ) created by the researcher, and both the verbal and visuospatial domains of WMC. Worry was shown to be negatively associated with mindfulness. …

A Relational Study Of Self-Taught And Formally Trained Musicians: Trends Within Memory And Socioeconomic Factors, Matthew N. Jimenez, Emily M. Elliott

LSU Master's Theses

It has been well documented that musicians perform better in memory tasks than non-musicians. The current study utilized self-taught musicians, formally trained musicians, and non-musicians, and focused on short-term memory (STM), musicianship, and SES factors to explore this finding. Do the memory benefits of musical training extend to self-taught musicians? First, we addressed musicianship amongst all groups using the Goldsmith’s Musical Sophistication Index (GMSI), which contained subjective and objective measures. The subjective measure was a survey regarding the role of music in daily life. In the objective measures, participants completed tests of beat and melody perception. To measure STM, participants …

Moderation Of Effects Of Anxiety On Verbal And Visuospatial Short-Term Memory In Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rachael Arowolo

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit developmental differences in a number of domains, including memory. Short-term memory (STM) has been studied in children with ASD but the findings have been mixed. Children with ASD are also at increased risk of developing an anxiety disorder. Anxiety has been found to impact short-term (STM) and other cognitive functions in typically developing children. Limited research suggests that trait anxiety is associated with poorer STM in school-aged children with ASD. Given that STM develops throughout early childhood, understanding the impact of anxiety in younger children with ASD may be beneficial in providing the …

The Effect Of Color, Preference, And The Interaction Of Color And Preference On Short-Term Memory, Shreya Patel

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The link between color and memory has sparked a lot of curiosity over the past few years. Previous research suggests that color can affect short term recall of word lists (Singg, 2017). Other studies have shown that color can generally help increase object memory (Lloyd-Jones & Nakabayashi, 2009). Color increases attention and emotional arousal, which can lead to better memory of certain objects, words, and ideas (Dzulkifli & Mustafar, 2013). This study aimed to determine if there was a relationship between color, color preference, and short-term recall of a list of words. A total of forty participants were randomly selected. …

Effects Of Testing On Retroactive Interference And Proactive Interference In The A-B/A-C Paradigm, Stephanie Crocco

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In an A-B/A-C paradigm, testing A-B pairs before A-C learning reduces retroactive interference (RI, Halamish & Bjork, 2011) and proactive interference (PI, Wahlheim, 2015). In four experiments, after A-B and RI control pairs were studied in List 1, these pairs were either tested or restudied. A-C pairs and PI control pairs were then learned in List 2, followed by a final test on both lists or only List 1. Four procedural factors were manipulated: (1) Swahili-English pairs vs. weakly related English pairs, (2) List 1 restudy vs. test review between- vs. within-subjects, (3) some List 1 pairs studied vs. not …

The Effect Of Unresolved Interruptions On Prospective Memory, Joseph T. Slayton

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

I investigated how memory for future intentions (termed prospective memory or PM) was impacted by interruptions, unresolved interruptions, and delays. The PM task was to shop for eight items within an environmental sustainability rating task. A comedy routine appeared after participants had rated several items for both interruption groups, while the delay group viewed the comedy routine before beginning the shopping task. In the unresolved interruption group the comedy routine never reached its conclusion. I predicted that 1) PM performance would be hindered by interruptions with the unresolved group performing worst, 2) that working memory capacity would moderate effects of …

An Investigation Of Short-Term Memory Functioning In A Neurodevelopmental Rat Model Of Schizophrenia, Ashley M. Moyett

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder characterized by positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. Cognitive deficits affect one’s learning and memory due to a dysfunction in the brain, inhibiting a normal functioning life. The self-medicating hypothesis states that ninety percent of people with schizophrenia smoke, because nicotine use improves these cognitive deficits. The cytokine hypothesis states that inflammation due to prenatal infection is associated with schizophrenia. These increased proinflamatory cytokines can damage the brains of the fetuses, which can cause schizophrenic-like symptoms in rats. The present study used Lipopolysaccharides to activate the cytokine-mediated inflammatory response injected into pregnant dams. A T-maze was …

Dispositional Mindfulness And Working Memory In The Context Of Acute Stress., Lauren M. Vines

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The neuropsychological domain of working memory and the nearly 3000 year-old Buddhist construct of mindfulness appear to be disparate concepts. However, the measurable decline of working memory capacity (WMC) under stress, in combination with the stress-reducing and attention-focusing effects of mindfulness suggest potential augmentation of working memory through the engagement of mindful practice. A theoretical process through which dispositional mindfulness exerts a moderating effect on WMC reduction following an acute stressor is proposed. To investigate processes within this theoretical framework, a sample of undergraduate college students (N = 67) were assessed across various measures, including level of dispositional mindfulness, affective …

Release From Proactive Interference : The Impact Of Emotional And Semantic Shifts On Recall Performance, Hugh Knickerbocker

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Proactive interference (PI) occurs when the recall of newly learned information is blocked by previously learned information (e.g., recalling an old list of food items when trying to recall a current list of food items during grocery shopping). Release from PI occurs when newly learned information is recalled without interference from previously learned information. Release from PI has been observed when making changes to the to-be-remembered items. Experiment 1 found significant release from PI when category shifted from a neutral category to an emotion category or an emotion-laden category. Experiments 2 and 3 compared the release from PI when shifting …

Environmental- And Ethanol-Induced Effects On Reference And Short-Term Memory In The Rat, Kimberly Ramos

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Environmental enrichment (EE) is a combination of complex physical and social stimulation beyond that which would be received in standard or isolated laboratory housing. Continuous enrichment paradigms have been shown, among other influences, to increase neurogenesis and dendritic branching, and enhance learning and memory. Recently, the preventative effects of enrichment have been considered, specifically relating to drugs of abuse (Solinas, Thiret, Chauvet, & Jaber 2010; Stairs & Bardo 2009). This series of studies examined the effects of daily EE on reference memory and short-term memory, as assessed in the radial arm water maze (RAWM) and Morris water maze (MWM). Sprague-Dawley …

Visual Memory Improvement In Recognition, Allison Prandl

Theses : Honours

Fluid intelligence and working memory has been improved by training on a visual working memory n-back task (Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides & Perrig, 2008). The present study investigated whether n-back training can improve visual memory using a test of visual recognition. A sample of 47 participants were trained for 20 days on either the single n-back task (n = 26) or a general knowledge and vocabulary task (n = 21). The results showed that training using the single n-back task did not significantly increase scores on a test of visual recognition when compared with general knowledge and vocabulary training. However, when …

Improving Memory Using N-Back Training, Paul Beavon

Theses : Honours

Investigations into n-back training and near transfer to short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) have realised inconsistent results. A significant transfer to STM was reported using dual n-back training (Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Perrig, 2008). However, the majority of studies have found no significant transfer to WM as operationalised by complex span tasks using either single or dual n-back training. The current study examined the single n-back task and near transfer to STM and WM as operationalised by the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (Mather & Woodcock-Johnson, 2001). Forty-seven participants were divided into experimental treatment (n = 26) …

Estimating The Capacity Of Visual Short-Term Memory: A Transcranial Doppler Sonography Study, Natasha Ann Barrett

Psychology Theses

Estimates of the capacity of visuospatial short-term memory (VSTM) have ranged from less than 1 item to 4 +/- 1 items. The purpose of the present study was to find the capacity of VSTM by looking at the contribution of the other working memory systems (phonological loop and central executive) and determine the factor that limits VSTM capacity (either number of objects or object complexity). In this study, the psychophysiological measure of cerebral blood flow velocity also was incorporated to determine whether changes in cerebral blood flow velocity were indicative of VSTM performance and capacity. Both performance measures and cerebral …

The Mediating Role Of Receptive Language In The Relationship Between Verbal Memory And Language Production In Preschool Children, Anjali Vandrie

Psychology Theses

Research has demonstrated a close relationship between verbal short-term (STM) and working memory (WM) and receptive language in children (Baddeley, Gathercole, & Papagno, 1998; Ellis & Sinclair, 1996). Few studies have examined the relationship between memory and language production, and these studies focus on STM only. Though correlations have been found between verbal STM and production, the nature of the correlations are unclear. The current study examined the possibility that receptive language mediates the relationship between memory and language production. Children between 3;0 and 5;11 were administered tests assessing receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, expressive vocabulary, verbal STM, and verbal WM. …

The Association Of Working Memory And Anxiety With Skill Acquisition And Transfer In Young And Older Adults, Isabelle Valk

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Two studies, involving a total of 184 adults between 17 and 89 years of age, were conducted to determine whether age differences in skill acquisition and transfer could be related to age differences in working memory functioning and anxiety. In both experiments, working memory functioning was measured using the Digit Span task (Wechsler, 1997) und the Reading Span tusk (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980), while anxiety levels were measured using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983). Participants were required to perform a mental arithmetic task in Experiment I, and a visual numerosity task in Experiment …

Working Memory In Schizophrenics And Older Adults : A Mediator For Episodic Memory Deficits?, Matthew W. Webster

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of working memory on episodic memory in older adults and adults with schizophrenia. This study included 15 adults with schizophrenia, 20 young adults without psychopathology, and 21 older adults without psychopathology. Storage working memory scores were greater than processing working memory scores in all groups. Young adults had the fewest problems with episodic and working memory, compared to older adults and adults with schizophrenia, who had similar deficits in both memory types. Speed of processing was found to be the greatest predictor of working memory capacity.

Normative Data On The Auditory Memory Test Battery For Ages 9 Through 13 Years, Elisabeth Y. Carter

Dissertations and Theses

Auditory short-term memory (STM) is important for speech and language development and for learning new information presented auditorily. Research has shown that auditory STM ability is of a developmental nature in the 5 through 8 year age range for a variety of auditory stimuli. Many tests and subtests are available to measure auditory STM ability, however one test, the Auditory Memory Test Battery (AMTB) measures auditory memory span and memory for sequence for 5 types of stimuli.

The purpose of this study was to collect normative data on the AMTB scores of normal 9 through 13 year old students and …

Normative Data On The Auditory Memory Performance Of Three- And Four-Year Old Children As Measured By The Auditory Memory Test Package (Amtp), Patricia R. Davis

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to collect normative data on the auditory memory performance of three- and four-year old children as measured by the Auditory Memory Test Package (AMTP). Specifically, this investigation sought to answer one question: is the AMTP sensitive to age differences when administered to young children ages 3.0-4.11?

A Study Of The Relationship Between Visual Short Term Memory And Speechreading In Hearing Impaired Geriatrics, Catherine Hollevoet

Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between visual short term memory (as measured by the Memory for Designs Test) and speechreading ability (as measured by the Barley Speechreading Test) was investigated in a sample of twenty-seven hearing impaired geriatrics. Correlation analysis verified a statistically significant relationship between Memory for Designs Test scores and Barley Speechreading Test scores. Partial correlation revealed the relationship between speechreading scores and short term memory scores was rot influenced significantly by variance in chronological age or speech discrimination ability. Memory for Designs Test scores were shown to be accurate predictors of scores achieved on the Barley Speechreading Test.

Results of …

Material-Specific Processes In Tactile Short-Term Memory, Christina Anne Meyers

Dissertations and Theses

Studies concerning tactile short-term memory (short-term memory or the sense of touch) have often been contradictory. Some of these studies support the existence of modality-specific tactile memory, a separate, independent storage system for tactile information. Other studies do not support such a system. Further, confusion has arisen regarding the tactile test materials, since many of them use common shapes which are easily labeled verbally. It is hypothesized that information which can be labeled is stored in material-specific verbal memory in the left hemisphere, while patterned or spatial information is stored in material-specific nonverbal memory in the right hemisphere.

This paper …

Educational Ability, Practice And Short Term Memory, Barbara Jean Arthur

Master's Theses

Thirty-six fourth grade students were selected and classified into one of three groups on the basis of participation in the DISTAR Reading Program, educational ability as measured by the STEA and a reading readiness factor, Each group received two tests of short term memory (STM ) involving auditory presentation and either auditory or visual recall after a retention interval of 4, 8 or 12 seconds. Analysis verified previous research in this area with respect of task difficulty, retention as a function of interval length and acoustic similarity of response errors. Neither educational ability nor practice elevated the students' performance on …

The Effects Upon Short-Term Memory Of Acoustic Interference And The Cognitive Separation Of A Reduntant Element, Robert A. Smallwood

Master's Theses

Sperling (1963) noted that some subjects (Ss) stated they could "hear" material being held in short-term storage, and he suggested that short_term memory (STM) for verbal materials may be in the form of an auditory loop. The first major laboratory investigations of this topic were made by Conrad (1962;1964) who examined the errors made in immediate recall, and found that substitution errors tend to involve units that sound alike (acoustically-similar), even when the original stimuli were visual. He concluded that visual letters are recorded into auditory representations, which may subsequently be confused with one author. The auditory, or at least …