Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons^™

Understanding Why Individuals Maltreated As Children Do Not Retrospectively Self-Report, Kristin S. Lynch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Individuals with documented histories of childhood maltreatment who do not retrospectively self-report these childhood experiences demonstrate better emotional and psychological outcomes in adulthood. Understanding why these individuals do not retrospectively self-report is important for the development of effective interventions focused on mitigating the long-term consequences of maltreatment. The current study compared maltreated individuals who did not retrospectively self-report (O-R group) to those who did retrospectively self-report (O+R group) to examine theoretical explanations related to intentional nondisclosure (i.e., social desirability and discomfort during the interview) and memory processes (i.e. infantile amnesia, use of mental health services, avoidant coping …

Multilingualism And Memory: Investigating Possible Differences In The Abilities Of Monolingual And Multilingual College Students, Clara E. Barned

Honors Projects

This study investigated whether there is a difference in the memories of monolingual and multilingual undergraduate students using simple memorization tasks. There were 46 participants, 30 of which were monolingual (only knew one language) and 16 of which were multilingual (knew two or more languages). There was found to be no significant difference between the performance of the two groups, with the data generating a p-value of 0.557. This study further suggests related avenues of research and ways in which the study could be improved in the future.

Early Life Exposure To Unpredictable Parental Sensory Signals Shapes Cognitive Development Across Three Species, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Kari Mccormack, Hina Arora, Desiree Sharpe, Annabel K. Short, Jocelyne Bachevalier, Laura M. Glynn, Curt A. Sandman, Hal S. Stern, Mar Sanchez, Tallie Z. Baram

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Exposure to early life adversity has long term consequences on cognitive function. Most research has focused on understanding components of early life adversities that contribute to later risk, including poverty, trauma, maltreatment, and neglect. Whereas these factors, in the aggregate, explain a significant proportion of emotional and cognitive problems, there are serious gaps in our ability to identify potential mechanisms by which early life adversities might promote vulnerability or resilience. Here we discuss early life exposure to unpredictable signals from the caretaker as an understudied type of adversity that is amenable to prevention and intervention. We employ a translational approach …

An Innocent Bystander Walks Into A Bar: The Influence Of Temporal Proximity And Familiarity On Unconscious Transference, Nia Gipson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to The Innocence Project, 69% of DNA exonerations in the United States involved mistaken eyewitness identification as a contributing factor to these errant convictions. Psychologists have contributed towards minimizing mistaken identifications by proposing best practices that law enforcement still follow today. One understudied cause of mistaken eyewitness identification is unconscious transference (UT). UT is a memory error in which a person encountered in an innocent context becomes confused with a person seen in a guilty context (Loftus, 1976). Past research has established some boundary conditions for when UT can occur; however, the limited methodology has resulted in narrow conclusions …

Effects Of Music Exposure On Autobiographical Memory In Alzheimer's Patients: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Gregory Vance

Honors Theses

The progression of Alzheimer’s disease is primarily characterized by a loss of memory concerning past events, as well as a lack in ability to create new memories. While this spans across many subsets of memory, such as recognition, recall, and autobiographical memory, there seems to be a lesser impact on musical memory in those with Alzheimer’s. Multiple studies have suggested that exposure to music and introduction of music therapy can even improve other aspects of memory in Alzheimer’s patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to examine the relationship between music exposure and autobiographical memory specifically. A pool of electronic …

Mental Construal And Alterations In Emotional Memory, Olivia D. Beers

Dissertations

Psychological distancing refers to a shift from a psychologically immersed perspective that involves thinking about the details of an event (concretely) or stepping back from it and watching the event from an outside point of view (abstractly)––this can help individuals change how they feel about the experience. Investigating how construal levels affect emotional memories may provide more insight into how individuals may potentially alter the recall of their memories. The current study reflects a new examination of the effect of primed high and low construal levels on the recall of positive and negative arousing stimuli. This study included a pilot …

Exploring Attentional And Emotional Biases As A Function Of Trauma And Dissociation Symptomology, Claudia Clinchard

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is evidence that threatening facial expressions (e.g., angry faces) direct attention toward the target, and that for facial expressions that are less threatening but still convey negative valence (e.g., fear faces) direct attention outward and to one’s environment, therefore causing a shift in memory performance and attentional bias depending on the level of threat in emotional facial expressions presented. Extant literature provides evidence for attentional biases both towards and away from threat in those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology. The current study aimed to replicate the previous findings of the effects stimulus and emotion have on memory performance …

What Makes An Image Memorable? Effects Of Encoding On The Mechanism Of Recognition, Asiya Gul

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Memory is undoubtedly one of the most important processes of human cognition. A long line of research suggests that recognition relies on the assessment of two explicit memory phenomena: familiarity and recollection. Researchers who support the Dual Process Signal Detection (DPSD) model of recognition memory link the FN400 component (a negative ERP deflection peaking around 400 ms at frontal electrodes) with familiarity; however, it is currently unclear whether the FN400 reflects familiarity or implicit memory. Three event-related potentials (ERP) studies were conducted to determine whether implicit memory plays a role in setting up encoding strategies, and how these encoding strategies …

What U.S Defense Attorneys Know About Facial Composites, Marisa H. Jaross

Student Theses

The Innocence Project’s DNA exoneration database (2018) indicates that approximately 27% of wrongful conviction cases containing eyewitness evidence also included a composite or sketch[1] of the perpetrator. This statistic is alarming, given that composites are rarely used in criminal investigations (PERF, 2013), but not surprising considering “good” composites are notoriously difficult to construct (e.g., Wells, Charman, & Olson, 2005). It is well understood that eyewitness evidence can be particularly persuasive evidence of guilt for juries and thus we were interested in learning more about how defense attorneys prepare for trial with respect to this specific type of eyewitness evidence. …

Word-List Intrusion Errors Predict Progression To Mild Cognitive Impairment, Kelsey R Thomas, Joel Eppig, Emily C Edmonds, Diane M Jacobs, David J Libon, Rhoda Au, David P Salmon, Mark W Bondi, Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

OBJECTIVE: Preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) defined by a positive AD biomarker in the presence of normal cognition is presumed to precede mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Subtle cognitive deficits and cognitive inefficiencies in preclinical AD may be detected through process and error scores on neuropsychological tests in those at risk for progression to MCI.

METHOD: Cognitively normal participants (n = 525) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were followed for up to 5 years and classified as either stable normal (n = 305) or progressed to MCI (n = 220). Cox regressions were used to determine whether baseline process scores on …

Sensation Seeking Impact On Skin Conductance Measures Of Deception And Memory, Andrew David Manson, Suzanna Lagerroos, Phillip Janz, Adam Lawson, Jonathan Gore

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We sought to determine whether sensation seeking would differentially predict measures of memory and deception (concealing information) as indexed by behavioral (response time, accuracy) and autonomic (skin conductance level) markers in a sample of college students. Participants were randomly assigned to a mock-crime group or an innocent-errand group. Both groups were trained to complete a task requiring the copying of documents from a secure location; the difference was the mock-crime group broke into the office whereas the errand group was given permission to enter the room and access the documents. After being trained to perform the crime or errand task, …

The Effects Of Abilify On Memory, Coordination, And Stereotypy In Cd-1 Mice, Jostein Andersen

Undergraduate Honors College Theses 2016-

The atypical antipsychotic Abilify is the second most popular treatment for schizophrenia and other related disorders. Its popularity and wide use is due to its unique pharmacological profile, working differently at dopamine and serotonin receptors compared to other antipsychotics. Schizophrenia is an infamous mental dysfunction involving cognitive impairment, positive symptoms, and negative symptoms. The current study investigated Abilify’s effect in a dose-dependent manner on memory, coordination and stereotypic movement. The sample consisted of 15 male and 15 female CD-1 mice. Memory was tested in a cognitive maze, the Rota-Rod series 8 model measured coordination, and the Coulbourn Tru-Scan Activity Box …