Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Brainwaves, Memory, And Reward, Rebecca Mccune

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The development of effective educational curricula for enhancing learning involves the crucial consideration of effort and rewards. In the realm of education, teachers commonly employ rewards as motivational tools. Traditionally, these rewards are given to students as a recognition of their successful performance. However, a thought-provoking idea emerges: What if we were to extend rewards to students not solely based on accurate answers, but also on the effort they invest, even in cases where their actual response might be incorrect? Our study explores the potential impact of this approach on the way information is absorbed and subsequently retained, specifically focusing …

Reviewing Research On Down Syndrome To Then Inform And Create A Children’S Book With A Child Protagonist Who Has Down Syndrome, Trey Williams

Honors Projects

Children's literature continually evolves, requiring a steadfast commitment to align with new insights into various disabilities for genuine and accurate portrayal. This project delves into leveraging research to craft a children's book featuring Bonnie Lynn, a protagonist with Down Syndrome, recognizing the growing presence of individuals with Down Syndrome in today's society and the imperative for empathetic understanding within this community.

Fraction Magnitude Understanding Across Learning Formats: An Fmri Study, Chloe A. Henry

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Knowledge of fraction magnitudes are an important, but notoriously difficult mathematical concept to master. Behavioural work has begun to explore and compare the instructional tools used for fraction learning. However, how fraction instructional tools are processed in the brain remains an underexplored question. Therefore, in the present thesis, we used functional brain MRI methodology to examine the neural activity of adult participants while completing a fraction verification task using the number line and area model, two common methods of fraction learning. We found that both models commonly recruited fronto-parietal activity, the neural regions typically implicated in number processing. However, we …

Consciousness, Evolution, And The Self-Organizing Brain, Karen Seymour

Journal of Conscious Evolution

While evolution is guided by natural selection, it is internally driven by self-organizing processes. The brain encompasses these complementary forces and dynamics of evolution in both its structure and dynamics by embodying a historical record of the factors that have shaped it throughout its evolutionary past, as well as by being shaped by selective parameters in real time. Self-organization is evident in not only the brain’s structure and form, but also in the processes that support consciousness. From the convergence of complex structure and the novelty-generating dynamics of chaos that both characterize the brain arises the experience of explicit consciousness, …

Self-Conscious Emotions And The Right Fronto-Temporal And Right Temporal Parietal Junction, Adriana Lavarco, Nathira Ahmad, Qiana Archer, Matthew Pardillo, Ray Nunez Castaneda, Anthony Minervini, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

For more than two decades, research focusing on both clinical and non-clinical populations has suggested a key role for specific regions in the regulation of self-conscious emotions. It is speculated that both the expression and the interpretation of self-conscious emotions are critical in humans for action planning and response, communication, learning, parenting, and most social encounters. Empathy, Guilt, Jealousy, Shame, and Pride are all categorized as self-conscious emotions, all of which are crucial components to one’s sense of self. There has been an abundance of evidence pointing to the right Fronto-Temporal involvement in the integration of cognitive processes underlying the …

Intergenerational Transmission Of Functional Connectivity Profiles In Isolated Reading And Math Networks: A Scoping Review And Study Proposal, Ashini Peiris, Ira Gupta, Lien Peters, Eric D. Wilkey

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The scoping review surveyed the existing literature on the topic of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and mathematical cognition. The review revealed that rsFC is indicative of distinct long-term developmental trends in mathematical processing, alluding to individual differences in math abilities. Though there have been multiple studies that investigate individual differences in functional connectivity patterns related to math development and math learning disorders, no study has directly investigated to what degree these neurobiological factors are heritable. To address this topic, the following intergenerational transmission (IT) study is proposed. IT is the transfer of personal values, abilities, behaviours, and traits, from parents …

Development Of Prefrontal Structure And Connectivity In Typical Children And Children With Adhd: Association With Language And Executive Function, Dea Garic

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The structure and connectivity of the prefrontal cortex has been extensively studied for its contribution to language and executive function (EF) development, but many questions still remain whether its microstructural tissue properties can reliably predict behavioral outcomes in very young typically and atypically developing populations. In particular, the bilateral frontal aslant tract (FAT) has garnered increasing interest with respect to its potential association with both language and EF, but has yet to be examined in childhood attention disorders, such Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). At the same time, with advances in diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), new diffusion models offer more …

Mental Associations And Music Therapy: Including The History Of Associationism And The Neurology Of Associations, Dianna Rose

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Associations are formed in our minds based upon three elements: sensory experience, emotions, and memories. These associations, unique to each individual, dictate thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and actions. Some are necessary and supportive, while others can be maladaptive. Established associations can be changed, and new associations can be formed, to align with a client’s goals. The literature presents a strong history of associationism, as well as a body of research that demonstrates the neurological processes of how mental associations are formed. There are also studies showing how music activates the brain. However, there is a lack of research which draws direct …

In Search Of Psychiatric Kinds: Natural Kinds And Natural Classification In Psychiatry, Nicholas Slothouber

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In recent years both philosophers and scientists have asked whether or not our current kinds of mental disorder—e.g., schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder—are natural kinds; and, moreover, whether or not the search for natural kinds of mental disorder is a realistic desideratum for psychiatry. In this dissertation I clarify the sense in which a kind can be said to be “natural” or “real” and argue that, despite a few notable exceptions, kinds of mental disorder cannot be considered natural kinds. Furthermore, I contend that psychopathological phenomena do not cluster together into kinds in the way that paradigmatic natural kinds (e.g., chemical …

Are Different Actions Mediated By Distinct Systems Of Knowledge In Infancy?, Peter Vishton

Peter Vishton

The Ush2a Gene: An Analysis Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations In A Mouse Model Of Usher Syndrome Type 2, Kiana R. Akhundzadeh

Honors Scholar Theses

Usher syndrome type 2 is a complex autosomal recessive genetic disorder that is characterized by moderate to severe congenital sensorineural hearing loss, the onset of retinitis pigmentosa in the second decade of life, and in some cases, vestibular dysfunction. Mutations in the USH2A gene account for 85% of cases of type 2. The USH2A gene is responsible for encoding the protein usherin, which has an important role in the development and function of inner ear hair cells and retinal photoreceptors. Until recently, it has been believed that carriers of the USH2A mutation were phenotype free. However, recent data has suggested …

Prosociality And Risk: How Risky Decision-Making In Young Adults Relates To Altruistic Tendencies, Empathic Concern, And Prosocial Peer Affiliation, Sarah J. Beard

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence involves an increase in risky decisions, such as reckless driving and illicit substance use, but prosocial characteristics and peer affiliation have yet to be investigated as protective factors. The present study assessed altruistic tendencies, prosocial peer affiliation (PPA), and empathic concern as predictors and moderators of risk-taking, including both self-reported health risks and riskiness in a behavioral task. Young adults from ages 20 to 25 (M = 22.55, SD = 1.38) completed a battery of behavioral tasks (including the Balloon Analogue Risk Task and the Dictator Game) and questionnaires on Amazon MTurk, measuring risk-taking (drunk driving, texting while …

Using Spiral Dynamic Theory For Adult Civic Engagement Research And Social Justice Education, Lisa R. Brown

Adult Education Research Conference

Empirical civic engagement research based in a South American context. Participants included adult learner populations engaged in revolutionary protests that opposed private for-profit education in Chile. Findings were higher order Spiral Dynamic Theory thinking at the for-profits and lower civic engagement.

Estrogen-Sensitive Learning Is Not Affected By Combination Ethinyl Estradiol And Levonorgestrel Oral Contraceptive Use, Darlene F. Ficco

Doctoral Dissertations

Two studies were conducted to explore the cognitive effects of combination ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel contraceptive use during late adolescence and young adulthood. Three groups of females, naturally cycling, active pill phase, and hormone-free interval phase, were tested on a battery of estrogen-sensitive, i.e., place learning and word generation, and estrogen-insensitive, i.e., map drawing, mental rotation, digit span, story recall, and object recall, tasks. Study 2 was conducted as a means to replicate the findings observed in Study 1 and to manipulate task difficulty and sensitivity. Two measures of mood were administered, and salivary estradiol levels at time of testing …

Brain Function Differences In Language Processing In Children And Adults With Autism, Diane L. Williams, Vladimir L. Cherkassky, Robert A. Mason, Timothy A. Keller, Nancy J. Minshew, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Distinctive Neural Processes During Learning In Autism, Sarah Schipul, Diane Williams, Timothy Keller, Nancy Minshew, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Brain Activation For Language Dual-Tasking: Listening To Two People Speak At The Same Time And A Change In Network Timing, Augusto Buchweitz, Timothy Keller, Ann Meyler, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Autism As A Neural Systems Disorder: A Theory Of Frontal-Posterior Underconnectivity, Marcel Just, Timothy Keller, Vicente Malave, Rajesh Kana, Sashank Varma

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

An Fmri Investigation Of Analogical Mapping In Metaphor Comprehension: The Influence Of Context And Individual Cognitive Capacities On Processing Demands., Chantel Prat, Robert Mason, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Exploring Commonalities Across Participants In The Neural Representation Of Objects, Svetlana V. Shinkareva, Vicente L. Malave, Marcel Adam Just, Tom M. Mitchell

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Identifying Bilingual Semantic Neural Representations Across Languages, Augusto Buchweitz, Svetlana V. Shinkareva, Robert A. Mason, Tom M. Mitchell, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Dissociable And Dynamic Components Of Cognitive Control: A Developmental Electrophysiological Investigation, Matthew Waxer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One standard task used to investigate the development of cognitive control is the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS). Performance and patterns of brain activity associated with the DCCS show continued age-related advances into early adolescence. According to many theoretical accounts, the DCCS places demands on a single underlying executive control process. Three experiments examined the possibility that the DCCS places demands on multiple control processes that follow distinct developmental trajectories. In Experiment 1, rule switching and conflict processing made orthogonal contributions to DCCS performance. Rule switching was associated with a cue-locked late frontal negativity (LFN) event-related potential (ERP) and conflict …

Differentiable Cortical Networks For Inferences Concerning People’S Intentions Versus Physical Causality, Robert Mason, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Autonomy Of Lower-Level Perception From Global Processing In Autism: Evidence From Brain Activation And Functional Connectivity, Yanni Liu, Vladimir L. Cherkassky, Nancy J. Minshew, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Inter-Regional Brain Communication And Its Disturbance In Autism, Sarah E. Schipul, Timothy A. Keller, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Modeling Of The Neural Representation Of Objects: How Semantic Feature Norms Can Account For Fmri Activation, Kai-Min Kevin Chang, Tom Mitchell, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Individual Differences In The Neural Basis Of Causal Inferencing, Chantel S. Prat, Robert A. Mason, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Commonality Of Neural Representations Of Words And Pictures, Svetlana V. Shinkareva, Vincente L. Malave, Robert A. Mason, Tom M. Mitchell, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

The Neural Basis Of Deictic Shifting In Linguistic Perspective-Taking In High-Functioning Autism, Akiko Mizuno, Yanni Liu, Diane L. Williams, Timothy A. Keller, Nancy J. Minshew, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Neural Dynamics Underpinning Individual Differences In Sentence Comprehension, Chantel S. Prat, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.