Cognition and Perception Commons^™

The Influence Of Children's Affective Ties On The Goal Clarification Step Of Social Information Processing, Amanda C. Thorn

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous studies have shown that children’s social goals are influenced by
emotion and that emotions can be manipulated using relationships. The present study combines these previous findings by examining the effect of children’s relationships on social goals. Social goals were examined in second and fifth grade children using hypothetical ambiguous provocation situations in which the relationship between the participant and the provocateur was manipulated by inserting the name of a friend, enemy, or a neutral peer into the story. After each situation, children rated the importance of four different social goals, indicating which of the four would be ...

Ages Of Engagement In Risk Taking And Self-Harm: An Investigation Of The Dual Systems Model Of Adolescent Risk Taking, Brittany Dykstra

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Risk taking (RT) and self-harm (SH) are clinically, conceptually, and empirically
related, yet separate constructs, which occur most frequently during adolescence. The current study utilized retrospective reports of college students to determine reported ages of engagement in RT and SH behaviors. Reported ages were compared with predictions for ages of high frequency engagement in RT based on the Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Risk Taking (DSMART; Steinberg, 2010). The sample consisted of 228 college students, ranging in age from 18 to 48 years (mean 22.8), who completed a survey of commonly investigated RT (12 items) and SH (18 items ...

Color In Context: Psychological Context Moderates The Influence Of Red On Approach- And Avoidance-Motivated Behavior, Brian P. Meier, Paul R. D'Agostino, Andrew J. Elliott, Markus A. Meier, Benjamin M. Wilkowski

Psychology Faculty Publications

A basic premise of the recently proffered color-in-context model is that the influence of color on psychological functioning varies as a function of the psychological context in which color is perceived. Some research has examined the appetitive and aversive implications of viewing the color red in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts, respectively, but in all existing empirical work approach and avoidance behavior has been studied in separate tasks and separate experiments. Research is needed to directly test whether red influences the same behavior differently depending entirely on psychological context.

The present experiment was designed to put this premise to direct test ...

The Influence Of Spatial Distance Priming On Test Anxiety And Judgments, Eric R Raap

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This paper examined the effects of distance priming on test anxiety and judgment. Research suggests that individuals’ perceived distance can impact their affect and judgments, which sheds light on the principle of “distance equals safety” (Williams & Bargh, 2008). Taking an exam invokes both cognitive and emotional anxiety, such as worry, panic, and tension. It is hypothesized that the distance priming may reduce test anxiety—particularly, the emotionality aspect—as well as perceived test difficulty. The results showed that, counter to the hypotheses, there was no significant difference among the three priming groups in their emotional test anxiety or perceived test ...

Contemporary Mediumship: Anthropological Perspectives On The Long Island Medium, Rasha Darghawth

Totem: The University of Western Ontario Journal of Anthropology

Bereavement following the loss of a loved one has and always will remain a panhuman constant. An increasingly popularized form of healing is asserting itself in the form of mediumship. This paper seeks to investigate contemporary forms of mediumship in North America through critical analysis of the TLC show, Long Island Medium. Rather than questioning the validity of such practices, it instead strives to deconstruct the symbolic healing system surrounding the medium. This healing system serves to assure cultural constructions of an afterlife while acknowledging the presence and ability of spirits gaining agency through after-death communication. Furthermore, this paper seeks ...

The Role Of Future Time Perspective And Perceived Stress In Delay Discounting, Usha Persaud

Master's Level Graduate Research Conference

Delay discounting rates quantitatively describe a person’s preference for smaller, immediate rewards than larger, later rewards. As the delay to receiving a reward increases, there is a decrease in value of the future reward. Discount rates vary relative to individual, situational, and contextual differences. Previous research has studied the roles of future time perspective and stress on decision making, but very few have investigated both factors in relation to delay discounting. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of future orientation and stress on delay discounting. Forty-nine participants were recruited through social media sites and online ...

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.

Event-Related Potentials Reflect The Affective Priming Capacity Of Music On Speech, Jacob Morgan

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Music, like language, is a universal means of communication unique to humans, and the overlap of music and linguistic cognitive and neurological processes is well established. Performers and listeners alike are drawn to music as an avenue of emotional expression, as music is recognized for its rich emotional content. The study of affective priming indicates the communication of emotion-based concepts: stimuli that are related by affect give rise to response facilitation, an effect not observed to stimuli that are unrelated by affect. The measure of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) reveal, with exquisite temporal accuracy, that music clearly conveys emotion concepts ...

Self-Defining Memories, Scripts, And The Life Story: Narrative Identity In Personality And Psychotherapy, Jefferson A. Singer, Pavel Blagov, Meredith Berry, Kathryn M. Oost

Psychology Faculty Publications

An integrative model of narrative identity builds on a dual memory system that draws on episodic memory and a long-term self to generate autobiographical memories. Autobiographical memories related to critical goals in a lifetime period lead to life-story memories, which in turn become self-defining memories when linked to an individual's enduring concerns. Self-defining memories that share repetitive emotion-outcome sequences yield narrative scripts, abstracted templates that filter cognitive-affective processing. The life story is the individual's overarching narrative that provides unity and purpose over the life course. Healthy narrative identity combines memory specificity with adaptive meaning-making to achieve insight and ...

Aspects Of Facial Contrast Decrease With Age And Are Cues For Age Perception, Aurelie Porcheron, Emmanuelle Mauger, Richard Russell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Age is a primary social dimension. We behave differently toward people as a function of how old we perceive them to be. Age perception relies on cues that are correlated with age, such as wrinkles. Here we report that aspects of facial contrast–the contrast between facial features and the surrounding skin–decreased with age in a large sample of adult Caucasian females. These same aspects of facial contrast were also significantly correlated with the perceived age of the faces. Individual faces were perceived as younger when these aspects of facial contrast were artificially increased, but older when these aspects ...

Balconies, Joe Guimera

The STEAM Journal

Recent developments in theoretical physics suggest the possibility of parallel universes. What if we could see two or more universes at the same time? In effect, superimpose a scene from one universe; say a street corner, over the image of the same scene from a second universe? The photograph “Balconies” imagines the possibilities.

The Effects Of Color On Cognitive Performance, Taylor N. Gray Mr, Meagan L. Lucas Miss, Katelyn M. Stewart Miss, Katie E. Deaton Miss

University of North Georgia Annual Research Conference

Typically, assessments are administered on white pieces of paper. This research experiment was designed to test the effects of colored paper on an individual’s cognitive performance. Researchers have administered an IQ test to approximately 60 male and female undergraduate participants. Participants were recruited through the NERD System and were given partial credit in their individual classes. The IQ tests were printed on four different colors of paper and given out to participants at random. It was hypothesized that utilizing colored paper on an administered test will increase the individual’s cognitive performance. Results will be discussed in terms of ...

Narrative Paradigms In Muslim Identity: A Qualitative Investigation Of Seven Atlanta Case Studies, Sonia Jamani

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

The Good, The Bad, And The Funny: An Erp Study Of Laughter As A Meaningful Socioemotional Cue, Nicholas P. Bello, R. Toby Amoss, Jessica R. Wise, Gwen A. Frishkoff

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Response To Mild Cognitive Impairment: How To Run A Cognitive Rehabilitation Class, Ryan Miller, Jesse Kopel, Nehala Pullam, Katie Mackor, Kristoffer Molloy, Chelsey Grigsby, Amanda Graves, Devan Buckingham

Academic Excellence Showcase

Many older adults experience cognitive impairment that negatively affects their quality of life. Previous research has shown that the onset of dementia can be delayed by participation in cognitive stimulation programs that are designed to counteract these effects. Cognitive stimulation can even lead to improvements in cognition (e.g., attention, encoding, and working memory capacity). This presentation will describe how these classes are run and the benefits to one’s cognitive wellness. We will demonstrate a number of cognitively stimulating activities, as well as several activities recently developed and tested by the Cognitive Rehabilitation Team at Western Oregon University.

Comparing The Cognitive Screening Tools Mmse And Slums, Nehala Pullam, Katie Mackor, Kristoffer Molloy, Jesse Kopel, Chelsey Grigsby, Ryan Miller, Amanda Graves, Devan Buckingham

Academic Excellence Showcase

We compared the MMSE and SLUMS cognitive tests. The MMSE is the most widely used neuropsychology tests and dementia screening tools. The SLUMS is a newer and possibly better screening tool. Many practitioners have used MMSE scores to recommend treatment and they are unsure how these scores compare to SLUMS scores. Older adult participants in a variety of living environments were given both tests. Significant differences between test scores such that the MMSE scores were higher than SLUMS were found. The difference between MMSE and SLUMS scores as a function of educational attainment and other demographic variables will be discussed.

The Effects Of Aging On Visual Contour And Shape Perception, Eugenie Roudaia

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Human vision has an incredible ability to translate light reaching the retinae into a coherent, three-dimensional representation of the outside world in a fraction of a second. Much research has been devoted to understanding how local orientation information is integrated to form global contours and shapes -– a crucial step in visual processing. This dissertation describes experiments examining how contour and shape perception are affected in healthy aging.

Chapter 2 examined contour grouping at low contrast and in the absence of distracters. Unlike younger subjects, older subjects did not benefit from co-alignment of local orientations with the contour’s outline, suggesting ...

Are All Older Adult Transgressors Treated Equally?, Heather Marie Dahlgren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that young adults treat older adults with less blame and more forgiveness when they commit a social transgression. This study sought to understand whether the stereotype of an assumed positive personality and/or a supposed lack of cognitive ability are potential driving forces behind the greater leniency that young adults display toward older transgressors. Seventy-five young adult participants were randomly assigned to one of five experimental conditions. Participants’ aging stereotypes were primed with one of four paragraphs that depicted older adults as (a) socially warm and cognitively competent, (b) socially cold but cognitively competent, (c) socially warm ...

Age Differences In Reward Anticipation And Memory, Kristen L. Cushman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Aging research on item- and associative-recognition memory has demonstrated that older adults are deficient in forming associations between two unrelated stimuli. Although older adult performance on tests of item-recognition is similar to younger adult performance, older adults perform worse than younger adults on tests of associative memory (Naveh-Benjamin, Hussain, Guez, & Bar-On, 2003). In addition to the idea that younger adult performance on associative-recognition tests is superior to that of older adults, research has shown that reward cues can enhance motivated learning and item memory performance of younger adults. In an fMRI study that examined the influence of reward anticipation on ...

Processing Of Facial Expressions By Older And Younger Adults, Sarah E. Creighton

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Older adults tend to show overall recognition deficits and qualitatively different patterns in the particular expressions that are most difficult to identify (Ruffman et al., 2008). In the current study, 23 younger (18-33 years old) and 23 older (60-80 years old) adults performed a 4AFC (angry, fearful, happy, sad) facial expression categorization task varying orientation (upright/inverted) and stimulus duration (100, 500, 1000 ms). For both groups, happiness was the easiest expression to identify and fear and sadness were the most difficult. Compared to younger adults, older adults were more affected by stimulus orientation, and generally benefit less from increased ...