Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Musical Mood And Musical Arousal Affects Different Stages Of Learning And Memory Performance, Tram Nguyen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examined whether the effect of music on memory is attributable to musical mood, musical arousal, context, or some combination of these factors. In Experiment 1, participants performed a face-name paired-association task while music was played in the background. In Experiment 2, the perceptual context (Experiment 2A) and emotional context (Experiment 2B) of music was examined more thoroughly. Experiment 3 examined whether the context effect of musical mood and musical arousal occurs in a recall task (Experiment 3A), a recognition task (Experiment 3B), and an association task (Experiment 3C). The results showed that low arousal music enhanced memory while …

He Says, She Says: A Dyadic Approach To Understanding Safer Sex Behavior In Intimate Heterosexual Relationships, Corey Isaacs

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study examined the utility of a dyadic approach to the study of condom use in intimate relationships. The vast majority of research regarding risky or safer sexual behavior has focused on individual-level models for the prediction of behavior without considering the interpersonal context in which sexual decision-making and sexual behavior occur. A consideration of HIV/STI preventive behavior in the context of relationships is essential, as intimate relationships represent an often unrecognized source of HIV/STI risk. Traditional theories of health behavior such as the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior have proven fairly successful in predicting …

The Influence Of Proficiency And Age Of Acquisition On Second Language Processing: An Fmri Study Of Mandarin-English Bilinguals, Emily S. Nichols

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research investigating the neural correlates of second language (L2) processing has usually studied age of acquisition (AoA) and proficiency separately. Presently, we examined both in parallel, treated as continuous variables. We used fMRI to study neural activity for L2 processing in adult native Mandarin speakers who are L2 English speakers. Behavioral measures of language proficiency and AoA were obtained from subjects prior to performing a picture-word matching task during an fMRI scan. Brain activity during L2 English processing was shown to be independently affected by AoA and proficiency; activity in left superior temporal gyrus and right parahippocampal gyrus was modulated …

Tough But Fair: The Moderating Effects Of Target Status On The Relation Between Social Dominance Orientation And Fairness, Joel Armstrong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present research investigated the moderating effect of target status on the relation between social dominance orientation and fairness in either a positively or negatively framed limited resource allocation decision. Participants were asked to read medical case files about either a high or low status patient in need of a heart transplant, then assigned the patient a transplant priority rating based on information in the case file and rating criteria provided, before completing Sidanius and Pratto’s Social Dominance Orientation scale. In Study 1, the positively framed allocation task, we found a significant interaction, in which low SDO individuals were less …

The Effectiveness Of Gain- Versus Loss-Framed Advertisements To Minimize Hazardous Drinking Among University Students: A Test Of Regulatory Fit, Barlas Gunay

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

University binge drinking is a concern. Traditionally, social norms marketing campaigns have been employed. Regulatory focus theory – based on the premise that behavior is driven either by the motivation to maximize gains (promotion) or to minimize losses (prevention) – offers an alternative approach to crafting persuasive appeals in this population. This study investigated the effectiveness of gain-framed versus loss-framed advertisements in lowering drinking intentions in a university sample. It further explored whether the effects were moderated by regulatory focus – primed and dispositional – and trait reactance. Online surveys were completed by 208 Introductory Psychology students (51.7% female, mean …

Executive Functions And The Interaction Between Category Learning Systems, Sarah J. Miles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research on the cognitive processes underlying category learning provides evidence for two separate learning systems. A verbal system learns rule-defined (RD) categories and a nonverbal system learns non-rule-defined (NRD) categories. The objective of my dissertation is to explore the interaction between these systems. The verbal system is dominant in that adults tend to use it during initial learning but may switch to the nonverbal system when the verbal system is unsuccessful. The nonverbal system has traditionally been thought to operate independently of executive functions, but recent studies suggest that executive functions may be used to facilitate the transition away from …

Information Seeking In Rats On The Radial Maze, Chelsea R. Kirk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Metacognition is awareness of what one does and does not know. Students given a choice between studying material they have learned well and material they have learned poorly prefer to study the less mastered material (Metcalfe, 2009). Recent studies suggest that primates also know about the state of their own knowledge and will seek unknown information to complete a task (Call & Carpenter, 2001; Hampton et al., 2004). Two experimental paradigms can be used to test for the presence of metacognition within a species: uncertainty tasks and information seeking tasks. Uncertainty tasks ask animals to judge their confidence in the …

An Investigation Of The Association Between Arithmetic Achievement And Symbolic And Nonsymbolic Magnitude Processing In 5-9 Year-Old Children: Evidence From A Paper-And-Pencil Test, Nadia Nosworthy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on basic number processing competencies (such as the ability to judge which of two numbers is larger) and their role in predicting individual differences in school-relevant math achievement. Children’s ability to compare both symbolic (e.g. Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (e.g. dot arrays) magnitudes has been found to correlate with their math achievement. The available evidence, however, has focused on computerized paradigms, which may not always be suitable for universal, quick application in the classroom. Furthermore, it is currently unclear whether both symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison are related to children’s performance on tests …

Skill Learning Strengthens Cortical Representations Of Motor Sequences., Tobias Wiestler, Jörn Diedrichsen

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Motor-skill learning can be accompanied by both increases and decreases in brain activity. Increases may indicate neural recruitment, while decreases may imply that a region became unimportant or developed a more efficient representation of the skill. These overlapping mechanisms make interpreting learning-related changes of spatially averaged activity difficult. Here we show that motor-skill acquisition is associated with the emergence of highly distinguishable activity patterns for trained movement sequences, in the absence of average activity increases. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants produced either four trained or four untrained finger sequences. Using multivariate pattern analysis, both untrained and trained sequences could …

Erps Reveal The Temporal Dynamics Of Auditory Word Recognition In Specific Language Impairment., Jeffrey G Malins, Amy S Desroches, Erin K Robertson, Randy Lynn Newman, Lisa M D Archibald, Marc F Joanisse

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to compare auditory word recognition in children with specific language impairment (SLI group; N=14) to a group of typically developing children (TD group; N=14). Subjects were presented with pictures of items and heard auditory words that either matched or mismatched the pictures. Mismatches overlapped expected words in word-onset (cohort mismatches; see: DOLL, hear: dog), rhyme (CONE -bone), or were unrelated (SHELL -mug). In match trials, the SLI group showed a different pattern of N100 responses to auditory stimuli compared to the TD group, indicative of early auditory processing differences in SLI. However, the phonological mapping …

Understanding What Would Make Children Want To Attend A Bicycle Safety Training Program, Cassandra L. Ellis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative study targeted a heterogeneous sample of 9 to 12 year olds in the London, Ontario, Canada area. The purpose of this study was to understand children's’s perspectives in regards to bicycle safety and risk perception. Gender differences of these perceptions were compared. Five semi-structured focus groups (n=14, 10 boys and 4 girls) and six interviews (n=6, 3 boys and 3 girls) were conducted (n=23; 16 boys and 7 girls). Ongoing thematic analysis was used during data collection to review and interpret the collected discussions. As a result, this study determined that girls take fewer unnecessary risks and are …

Friendly Antagonism In Humorous Interactions: Explorations Of Prosocial Teasing, David J. Podnar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite research and theory noting the aggressive and destructive applications of teasing, few studies have investigated its positive uses. The present research explores the use of "prosocial teasing", a positively-intended form of teasing which relies on the playful use of seemingly negative remarks (e.g., "You’re an idiot"), which are incongruent with the established relationship, and aim to indirectly and ironically express positive relational messages to others (e.g., "I accept you"). The goals of the present research are to (1) present a theoretical model of prosocial teasing, (2) construct and validate a self-report measure of prosocial teasing behaviour [i.e., Prosocial Teasing …

Dynamic And Opposing Adjustment Of Movement Cancellation And Generation In An Oculomotor Countermanding Task., Brian D Corneil, Joshua C Cheng, Samanthi C Goonetilleke

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Adaptive adjustments of strategies help optimize behavior in a dynamic and uncertain world. Previous studies in the countermanding (or stop-signal) paradigm have detailed how reaction times (RTs) change with trial sequence, demonstrating adaptive control of movement generation. Comparatively little is known about the adaptive control of movement cancellation in the countermanding task, mainly because movement cancellation implies the absence of an outcome and estimates of movement cancellation require hundreds of trials. Here, we exploit a within-trial proxy of movement cancellation based on recordings of neck muscle activity while human subjects attempted to cancel large eye-head gaze shifts. On a subset …

Continuity Of Care In Children’S Mental Health: Development Of A Measure, Juliana I. Tobon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Continuity of care, which is how a patient experiences care over time as coherent and linked, has been identified as an indicator of health system performance and is considered an ethical principle of care. Yet, no instrument exists to measure continuity of care as experienced by families receiving services through the children's mental health (CMH) system. A new measure, Continuity of Care in Children’s Mental Health (C3MH), is presented. The project involved four phases: item generation, pre-testing, pilot testing, and validation. In the validation study, the 42-item C3MH was administered to 364 parents of children and youth (M =12 …

Two Distinct Ipsilateral Cortical Representations For Individuated Finger Movements., Jörn Diedrichsen, Tobias Wiestler, John W Krakauer

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Movements of the upper limb are controlled mostly through the contralateral hemisphere. Although overall activity changes in the ipsilateral motor cortex have been reported, their functional significance remains unclear. Using human functional imaging, we analyzed neural finger representations by studying differences in fine-grained activation patterns for single isometric finger presses. We demonstrate that cortical motor areas encode ipsilateral movements in 2 fundamentally different ways. During unimanual ipsilateral finger presses, primary sensory and motor cortices show, underneath global suppression, finger-specific activity patterns that are nearly identical to those elicited by contralateral mirror-symmetric action. This component vanishes when both motor cortices are …

Stimulus Control By Timing In Pigeons, Neil Mcmillan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Timing has been widely studied in humans and animals across a variety of different timescales. The concept of time as a stimulus dimension, and how it is processed relative to other stimulus dimensions, has only recently been scrutinized. In the current work I present a review of interval timing as it relates to stimulus control, and discuss the role of attention in timing in the context of three sets of studies in pigeons.

In the first set of studies, I analyzed whether the presence of a non-reinforced timed stimulus would disrupt timing of a stimulus reinforced on a fixed-interval schedule. …

Prefrontal Neurons Of Opposite Spatial Preference Display Distinct Target Selection Dynamics., Therese Lennert, Julio C Martinez-Trujillo

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Neurons in the primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) of one hemisphere are selective for the location of attended targets in both visual hemifields. Whether dlPFC neurons with selectivity for opposite hemifields directly compete with each other for target selection or instead play distinct roles during the allocation of attention remains unclear. We explored this issue by recording neuronal responses in the right dlPFC of two macaques while they allocated attention to a target in one hemifield and ignored a distracter on the opposite side. Forty-nine percent of the recorded neurons were target location selective. Neurons selective for contralateral targets (58%) …

Decoding The Neural Mechanisms Of Human Tool Use., Jason P Gallivan, D Adam Mclean, Kenneth F Valyear, Jody C Culham

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Sophisticated tool use is a defining characteristic of the primate species but how is it supported by the brain, particularly the human brain? Here we show, using functional MRI and pattern classification methods, that tool use is subserved by multiple distributed action-centred neural representations that are both shared with and distinct from those of the hand. In areas of frontoparietal cortex we found a common representation for planned hand- and tool-related actions. In contrast, in parietal and occipitotemporal regions implicated in hand actions and body perception we found that coding remained selectively linked to upcoming actions of the hand whereas …

Exploring Parental Experiences And Decision-Making Processes Following A Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis, Ramona L. Fernandez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Often the first indication that something may be wrong in a seemingly normal pregnancy occurs during the first detailed ultrasound appointment between 16 and 20 weeks gestation. Even the most tentative suspicions of fetal anomalies is jarring. Parent’s default reality of a normal pregnancy and a ‘perfect child’ changes to one of risk factors and the possibility of an ‘unhealthy child’. This study begins with the realization of this first loss in a series of losses that follow for parents as they grapple with diagnostic information to be able to make informed medical decisions regarding their fetus and pregnancy. The …

The Human Brain Processes Syntax In The Absence Of Conscious Awareness., Laura Batterink, Helen J Neville

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Syntax is the core computational component of language. A longstanding idea about syntactic processing is that it is generally not available to conscious access, operating autonomously and automatically. However, there is little direct neurocognitive evidence on this issue. By measuring event-related potentials while human observers performed a novel cross-modal distraction task, we demonstrated that syntactic violations that were not consciously detected nonetheless produced a characteristic early neural response pattern, and also significantly delayed reaction times to a concurrent task. This early neural response was distinct from later neural activity that was observed only to syntactic violations that were consciously detected. …

Examining Risk: Profiles Of Adult Male Perpetrators Of Intimate Partner Violence, Carolyn Carrier

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to examine risk profiles presented by men who have assaulted their partner versus those who have killed their partner in an act of intimate partner violence (N =526). Three groups of men were examined: men who have killed (DVDRC) and men involved in a batterer intervention program (BIP) either post-adjudication (CO) or as a part of a specialized pre-adjudication (EI) program for domestic violence offences. Twenty risk factors were compared across the three groups. Primary findings of the study suggest that men who kill their partners are different than men who did not and …

Shared Neural Substrates Of Emotionally Enhanced Perceptual And Mnemonic Vividness, Rebecca M. Todd, Taylor W. Schmitz, Josh Susskind, Adam K. Anderson

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

It is well known that emotionally salient events are remembered more vividly than mundane ones. Our recent research has demonstrated that such memory vividness is due in part to the subjective experience of emotional events as more perceptually vivid, an effect we call emotion-enhanced vividness, or EEV. The present study built on previously reported research in which fMRI data were collected while participants rated relative levels of visual noise overlaid on emotionally salient and neutral images. Ratings of greater EEV were associated with greater activation in the amygdala, visual cortex, and posterior insula. In the present study, we measured BOLD …

Psychopathy And Sentencing: An Investigative Look Into When The Pcl-R Is Admitted Into Canadian Courtrooms And How A Pcl-R Score Affects Sentencing Outcome, Katie Davey

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Little is known about how and when the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) is being introduced into Canadian Courts or how it affects sentencing outcomes. Using the Lexis-Nexis Quicklaw Academic Database to retrieve judge’s sentencing decisions, all 274 cases with PCL-R information for Canadian courts were included in this study. It was hypothesized correctly that PCL-R information would most often be introduced in Long Term Offender (LTO) and Dangerous Offender (DO) applications as well as sentencing cases for murderers and sex offenders. The 274 cases were then reduced to 37 cases in order to focus on sentencing without Dangerous Offender or …

Understanding Gendered Pathways To Criminal Involvement In A Community-Based Sample: Relevance Of Past Trauma With Female Offenders, Amelia S.Y. Wu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The study explored the relevance of gender and past trauma on the pathways to criminal justice involvement in a sample of community based offenders (N = 90). The primary focus was on women and their experiences in examining the association between their traumatic past experiences and their current criminal behaviours. Results from correlation and Chi-Square analyses suggested that the presence of past trauma plays a relevant role in understanding criminal justice pathways for all offenders regardless of gender. Findings also indicated that the experience of trauma is an important factor in defining women's experiences with criminal justice in terms …

Sexual Differentiation Of The Prefrontal Cortex In Humans: Examining Behavioural Sex Differences And The Modulatory Role Of Androgens, Kelly L. Evans

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sex hormones are important factors in the establishment of sex differences in the brain and behaviour during the prenatal developmental period and during adulthood. One brain area that has received little attention with respect to the study of sex differences is the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The PFC is involved in cognitive functions not limited to working memory, reinforcement learning, and inhibitory control. Currently, our understanding of the hormonal modulation of the PFC by sex steroids is also limited. The overall objectives of the present thesis were: to test the hypothesis that select cognitive functions known to depend on the PFC …

Gender And Grade Differences In How High School Students Experience And Perceive Cyberbullying, Jeremy D. Doucette

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Gender and grade differences in how high school students experience and perceive cyberbullying was examined through a survey and focus groups with youth in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Survey findings revealed that boys reported cyberbullying more often than girls on most items while girls reported experiencing cyberbullying more often than boys on most items. Grade alone did not account for significant differences, but interactions with gender were sometimes found. The focus groups revealed that most students believe that girls cyberbully more than boys, but that boys are more likely than girls to view cyberbullying as a form of joking, and to …

Adolescents Perceptions Of Victims And Perpetrators Of Cyberbullying, Jasprit K. Pandori

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that occurs through technological means, such as social networking, and instant messaging, among others. It can be constant, and at other times may occur in isolated incidents, but despite the timeline of progression, some scholars argue that the effects are almost always catastrophic (Kowalski, Limber, & Agatston, 2012). The present study examined the behavioural characteristics of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration, along with help seeking behaviours and reporting likelihood amongst adolescents in southwestern Ontario. A mixed methodology was utilized. Quantitative secondary data from a large scale survey completed by a school board in southwestern …

Children's Understanding And Experience Of Anger Within Their Peer Groups, Nicole J. Hamel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to describe how children understand, experience and express their anger with others in their peer group, from their perspectives. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with third grade students in an elementary school. Children were asked three questions: 1) What did you learn about dealing with anger this week? 2) What are some good/positive things that happened between you and your classmates this week? 3) What are some not so good or negative things that happened between you and your classmates this week? Six themes emerged from analysis of the transcripts of the semi-structured focus …

Understanding Gendered Criminal Involvement With A Community-Based Criminal Sample: Assessing Substance Abuse And Mental Health Needs, Stacy Taylor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored the gendered effect of substance abuse and mental health issues on the pathways to criminal convictions with a criminal population in the community setting. The data was retrieved through a file review of a sample of 48 female and 42 male offenders who received crisis care during a one-year period, at a community corrections agency in a medium-sized urban community in Ontario. The data collected was based upon factors derived from the LSI-R (Andrews & Bonta, 1995) and the Women’s Supplemental Risk/Needs Assessment (Van Voorhis, Wright, Salisbury & Bauman, 2010). Results of the present study revealed gender …

Conjoint Therapy For Intimate Partner Violence Among Aboriginal Couples: Service Providers' Perspectives On Risk And Safety, Ellissa M. Riel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been studied at length and consists of different forms including emotional, physical and sexual, which in isolation or combination have significant effects on the health of those involved. While there has been research on conjoint therapy for the mainstream population, there is no current research on Aboriginal couples. Interventions for family violence in Aboriginal communities should take a culture-based approach and focus on healing for the whole family. The purpose of this research was to identify risk and safety issues from the perspective of service providers for couples therapy with Aboriginal clients for IPV. A …