Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Expressions Of Optimism Bias And "Self" Versus "Other" Perceived Controllability In The Context Of Military-Related Risks, Lauren Lachica-Muschett

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study aimed to examine expressions of optimism bias and perceived controllability specifically regarding risks often associated with military service. Optimism bias refers to people’s tendency to believe they are less susceptible to experiencing negative life events compared to others. Previous studies show high levels of optimism bias are associated with strong perceptions of personal controllability. Optimism bias is a significant aspect of health promotion research particularly in the field of general occupational health and safety (OHS). However, optimism bias has never been investigated in the military OHS domain. Given the number of risks associated with military occupations, examination ...

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 ...

Assessing Multiple Participant View Positioning In Virtual Reality-Based Training, Jonathan W. Kelly, Eliot Winer, Stephen B. Gilbert, Michael Curtis, Eduardo Rubio, Ken Kopecky, Joseph Scott Holub, Julio De La Cruz

Stephen B. Gilbert

As cost, time, and other challenging resource requirements are placed on U.S. Joint forces training, the role of simulations will play an even greater role than it does today. To effectively aid a Warfighter in gaining critical skills and to assess the proficiency of those skills, computer-based training must advance beyond traditional desktop simulations and monoscopic projection technology. Virtual Reality (VR) based training has been proven in fields such as medical and engineering to increase a trainee’s level of immersion, and increase training performance in several metrics including accuracy and efficiency, while simultaneously decreasing cost. Warfighter training offers ...

Evaluating Distributed Teams With The Team Multiple Errands Test, Jamiahus Walton, Stephen B. Gilbert, Eliot Winer, Michael C. Dorneich, Desmond Bonner

Stephen B. Gilbert

Modern day teams, whether in the military or civilian workplace, have the ability to achieve goals that are otherwise unobtainable by individuals. The timing and characteristics of feedback that teams receive during training are critical. Though there is a solid foundation of research on optimal feedback, there is limited exploration of what constitutes ideal team feedback including addressing the individual team member versus the whole team and whether that feedback is public (visible to the entire team) or private (visible only to one member of the team). Previous research that studied the effect of feedback on team performance has yielded ...

Fusing Self-Reported And Sensor Data From Mixed-Reality Training, Trevor Richardson, Stephen B. Gilbert, Joseph Holub, Frederick Thompson, Anastacia Macallister, Rafael Radkowski, Eliot Winer

Stephen B. Gilbert

Military and industrial use of smaller, more accurate sensors are allowing increasing amounts of data to be acquired at diminishing costs during training. Traditional human subject testing often collects qualitative data from participants through self-reported questionnaires. This qualitative information is valuable but often incomplete to assess training outcomes. Quantitative information such as motion tracking data, communication frequency, and heart rate can offer the missing pieces in training outcome assessment. The successful fusion and analysis of qualitative and quantitative information sources is necessary for collaborative, mixed-reality, and augmented-reality training to reach its full potential. The challenge is determining a reliable framework ...

Comparing Training Performance With Vibrotactile Hit Alerts Vs. Audio Alerts, Stephen B. Gilbert, Anthony Civitate, Jonathan W. Kelly, Frederick Thompson, Alisha Smith, Ken Kopecky, Eliot Winer, Julio De La Cruz

Stephen B. Gilbert

Live, virtual, and constructive training that integrates dismounted warfighter training with convoy training, pilot training, and other systems has been demonstrated to reduce training time, and studies have shown that a high level of immersion and the illusion of presence in a VR environment contribute to this success. However, current force-on-force training simulators lack one major quality that is needed to impart this strong sense of presence for warfighters: the consequence of getting shot.

Simulated return-fire systems have been developed for different purposes including military, police and entertainment. Some use projectiles, but that approach is usually limited to a shoot ...

Evaluating Distributed Teams With The Team Multiple Errands Test, Jamiahus Walton, Stephen B. Gilbert, Eliot Winer, Michael C. Dorneich, Desmond Bonner

Michael C. Dorneich

Modern day teams, whether in the military or civilian workplace, have the ability to achieve goals that are otherwise unobtainable by individuals. The timing and characteristics of feedback that teams receive during training are critical. Though there is a solid foundation of research on optimal feedback, there is limited exploration of what constitutes ideal team feedback including addressing the individual team member versus the whole team and whether that feedback is public (visible to the entire team) or private (visible only to one member of the team). Previous research that studied the effect of feedback on team performance has yielded ...

The Impact Of Three Interfaces For 360-Degree Video On Spatial Cognition, Wutthigrai Boonsuk, Stephen B. Gilbert, Jonathan W. Kelly

Stephen B. Gilbert

In this paper, we describe an experiment designed to evaluate the effectiveness of three interfaces for surveillance or remote control using live 360-degree video feeds from a person or vehicle in the field. Video feeds are simulated using a game engine. While locating targets within a 3D terrain using a 2D 360-degree interface, participants indicated perceived egocentric directions to targets and later placed targets on an overhead view of the terrain. Interfaces were compared based on target finding and map placement performance. Results suggest 1) non-seamless interfaces with visual boundaries facilitate spatial understanding, 2) correct perception of self-to-object relationships is ...

Virtual Displays For 360-Degree Video, Stephen B. Gilbert, Wutthigrai Booksuk, Jonathan W. Kelly

Jonathan W. Kelly

In this paper we describe a novel approach for comparing users' spatial cognition when using different depictions of 360- degree video on a traditional 2D display. By using virtual cameras within a game engine and texture mapping of these camera feeds to an arbitrary shape, we were able to offer users a 360-degree interface composed of four 90-degree views, two 180-degree views, or one 360-degree view of the same interactive environment. An example experiment is described using these interfaces. This technique for creating alternative displays of wide-angle video facilitates the exploration of how compressed or fish-eye distortions affect spatial perception ...

Implicit Theories Of Ability Of Grade 6 Science Students: Relation To Epistemological Beliefs And Academic Motivation And Achievement In Science, Jason Chen, Frank Pajares

Jason Shih-Hao Chen

We investigated (a) the associations of implicit theories and epistemological beliefs and their effects on the academic motivation and achievement of students in Grade 6 science and (b) the mean differences of implicit theories, epistemological beliefs, and academic motivation and achievement as a function of gender and race/ethnicity (N = 508). Path analysis revealed that an incremental view of ability had direct and indirect effects on adaptive motivational factors, whereas fixed entity views had direct and indirect effects on maladaptive factors. Epistemological beliefs mediated the influence of implicit theories of ability on achievement goal orientations, self-efficacy, and science achievement. Results ...

Youth Stem Motivation: Immersive Technologies To Engage And Empower Underrepresented Students, Jason Chen, Chris Dede

Jason Shih-Hao Chen

There is no learning without engagement, a situation that happens all too often in our typically lecture-based classrooms. At the same time, engagement without learning, which frequently happens in today’s digital worlds, is not a healthy alternative. Some claim that online gaming is one answer to engaging and motivating students in their academic work. Yet, students can frequently be engaged in these virtual worlds without actually learning anything or being more academically motivated. In this white paper we describe a project underway at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in which we are designing innovative technological environments that draw ...

Pulse - A Consultation, Barry J. Mauer

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. We may never know or understand what was in Mateen’s mind, but we can situate his attack within the history of eliminationism in America. Islamist terrorism is just part of a larger phenomenon: right wing eliminationism. But despite centuries of right wing eliminationist words and deeds in the U.S., there is little or no mainstream recognition of the phenomenon. Instead, we are treated to more denial, more distraction, more obfuscation. Until we look this problem squarely in the face ...

Spatial-Relational Learning And Memory Deficits Associated With Nmdar Autoantibodies In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Brittany L. Bascetta

All Graduate Works by Year: Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Individuals with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) experience inflammation that may target any organ within the body, including the central and peripheral nervous systems. Additionally, these individuals often demonstrate psychological dysfunctions including emotional and cognitive deficits; however, research is inconsistent as to the nature and cause of these dysfunctions. While there are multiple factors that may increase risk for variability in cognitive function, such as population differences, socioeconomic status (SES), mood disorders (depression and anxiety), medication effects, and disease activity, these factors do not reliably predict the severity and extent of cognitive deficits. A growing body of animal research associates autoantibodies ...

Automatically Guilty: Associations Between Evidence And Guilt, William E. Crozier Iv

All Graduate Works by Year: Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Both real-life cases and laboratory research demonstrate that confession evidence is very convincing—even when it should not be. Could this be due to an automatic association between a confession and guilt? We tested this possibility using a Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) list, which measures automatic associations by presenting participants with a list of words that are thematically related but, importantly, lack the word describing the theme (“critical lure”). When the association between the list words and the theme is sufficiently strong, participants incorrectly report seeing the critical lure. We hypothesized that participants would show more false recall for seeing “guilty” on ...

Radio Dispatch Cognitive Abilities And Working Memory, David A. Buitron

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Public safety radio dispatchers incontrovertibly have to manage multiple tasks at any given time, from relaying lifesaving information to field units, to simultaneously overseeing several monitors and keeping up with the radio transmissions in a timely manner. Interestingly, however, the underlying cognitive abilities necessitated for performing such tasks have not been thoroughly investigated. To begin understanding the cognitive faculties that underlie dispatching tasks, we gauged cognitive ability measures relevant to dispatcher duties and introduced Working Memory Capacity (WMC) as underlying the differentiation on performance. The four general dispatcher cognitive factors identified by Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) literature, were ...

Hindsight Bias In Clinical Decision Making, Amanda Beltrani

Student Theses

The tendency for an individual to believe that a specific event, in hindsight, was more predictable than it was in foresight is known as hindsight bias. This phenomenon has been demonstrated in the psychological literature across a variety of samples, methodologies, and predictions for decades. The current study used a sample of 95 mental health professionals to explore the impact of advanced outcome knowledge on the decision making process. Participants reviewed a hypothetical risk assessment in the form of a hospital chart and then responded to a series of questions, using only their clinical judgment. Analyses revealed that evaluators who ...

Details In Testimony: How Hedge Words Influence People’S Perceptions Of Victim Testimony Credibility, Justine B. Rayborn

Student Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine whether hedge words and the age of a memory can influence the way participants (mock jurors) perceive an alleged sexual assault victim’s credibility. Prior research has demonstrated many issues that can affect the accuracy of memory for childhood events such as childhood amnesia, fragmented and distorted memories, false memories and source monitoring errors and the way in which jurors’ decisions can be swayed based on verbal cues to confidence. Here, we further investigated whether jurors' decisions are sensitive to the age of the memory—an event that happened in the recent ...

Using Classification Images To Understand Models Of Lightness Perception, Minjung Kim, Jason M. Gold, Richard F. Murray

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Modeling Distribution Learning In Visual Search, Andrey Chetverikov

MODVIS Workshop

Chetverikov, Campana, and Kristjansson (2017) used visual search to demonstrate that human observers are able to extract statistical distributions of visual features. Observers searched for an odd-one-out target with distractors randomly drawn from the same distribution over the course of several “prime” trials. Then, on test trials parameters of the target and distractors changed and response times (RT) were analyzed as a function of the distance between the target position in feature space and the mean of distractor features during prime trials. The resulting RT curves followed the probability density of prime distractor distributions. This approach provides a detailed estimation ...

Down Syndrome, The Image Of God, And Personhood, Paris Webb

Dialogue & Nexus

People with Down syndrome help Christians understand what being made in the image of God truly means. After describing Down syndrome, we will examine the different views of the image of God and how these relate to people with Down syndrome. Another approach will be to define personhood in light of God’s image and relate it to Down syndrome. We will use the principles held by the L’Arche community as an exemplar in this discussion to demonstrate that those with Down syndrome encourage us to expand our understanding of the image of God. Consequently, Down’s persons allow ...