Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acute stress is commonly experienced by many throughout their lives. Given the demanding lifestyle of many career paths, it's important to gauge the influence of these stressors upon cognitive performance. The present dissertation focus' upon explicit learning in attempts to explore one avenue of the stress-cognition relationship. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was used as a lab stressor for Experiments 1 and 2, in which participants are asked to give a speech and complete a difficult math task in front of 2 evaluators trained to monitor non-verbal behavior. Experiment 1 investigates the dynamic stress response during the minutes following …

Cognitive Ability, Personality, And Academic Performance In Adolescence, Patrick Heaven, Joseph Ciarrochi, Peter Leeson

joseph Ciarrochi

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Relationship Between Cognitive Flexibility And Psychological Flexibility After Acquired Brain Injury, Diane L. Whiting, Frank Deane, Joseph Ciarrochi, Hamish Mcleod, Grahame Simpson

joseph Ciarrochi

Abstract presented at the Tenth World Congress on Brain Injury, 19-22 March 2014, San Francisco, United States

Cognitive Ability And Health-Related Behaviors During Adolescence: A Prospective Study Across Five Years, Joseph Ciarrochi, Patrick Heaven, Timothy Skinner

joseph Ciarrochi

Longitudinal research on the links between intelligence and health behaviors among adolescents is rare. We report longitudinal data in which we assessed the relationships between intelligence as assessed in Grade 7 and consequential health outcomes in Grade 11. The mean age of respondents (N=420; 188 males, 232 females) was 12.30 years (SD=0.49) in Grade 7and 16.17 years (SD=0.45) in Grade 11. They completed standardized verbal and numerical ability tests and a measure of conscientiousness in Grade 7 and health related questions in Grade 11. Results indicated that higher intelligence was associated with a number of healthy behaviors including delay in …

Cognitive Ability, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, And Social Dominance Orientation: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study Amongst Adolescents, Patrick C. L. Heaven, Joseph Ciarrochi, Peter Leeson

joseph Ciarrochi

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Short-Term Memory Functioning In A Neurodevelopmental Rat Model Of Schizophrenia, Ashley M. Moyett

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder characterized by positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. Cognitive deficits affect one’s learning and memory due to a dysfunction in the brain, inhibiting a normal functioning life. The self-medicating hypothesis states that ninety percent of people with schizophrenia smoke, because nicotine use improves these cognitive deficits. The cytokine hypothesis states that inflammation due to prenatal infection is associated with schizophrenia. These increased proinflamatory cytokines can damage the brains of the fetuses, which can cause schizophrenic-like symptoms in rats. The present study used Lipopolysaccharides to activate the cytokine-mediated inflammatory response injected into pregnant dams. A T-maze was …

Cognitive Influences On Constituent Order: Priming Evidence, Lee Prunier

Honors Scholar Theses

In spoken as well as signed language, a shift over time from the use of Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order to Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order has been observed. The use of pantomimed gesture and priming can help determine the extent to which this shift comes from pressures specific to language, as opposed to existing as a more broad feature of communication. Participants took turns matching images to videos showing gestured event descriptions primed in SVO or SOV order, and gesturing event descriptions to a camera. Results show a strong preference for orders consistent with SVO across prime types, and an increase …

The Influence Of Backlash On Self-Sexualization And Cognitive Depletion, Mallory Helen Elizabeth Nurse Grembowski

Master's Theses

A woman who acts agentically in the workplace is more likely to be disliked and viewed as less competent than a woman who acts caring and communal. The negative consequences for acting outside of a cultural stereotype are called backlash. Cultural gender stereotypes for western society depict women as warm and communal while men are agentic and independent. Women in the workplace act outside of the cultural stereotype, and thus face backlash from their peers. This study examines the extent to which women utilize self-sexualization as a recovery strategy to cope with the fear of backlash, and ultimately how these …

How Primary School Students Can Self-Manage Cognitive Load When Presented With Redundant Information, Faisal Mirza, Shirley Agostinho, Sharon K. Tindall-Ford, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 8th Cognitive Load Theory Conference, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, June 15th - 17th, 2015.

Using Cognitive Load Compliant Instructions To Support Working Memory For Anxious Students, Deborah Chadwick, Sharon K. Tindall-Ford, Shirley Agostinho, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 8th Cognitive Load Theory Conference, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, June 15th - 17th, 2015.

The Importance Of Context When Applying Social Cognitive Theory In Organizations, John Mccormick, Seyyed B. Alavi, Jose Hanham

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It is argued that whilst Social Cognitive Theory has universal application in work organizations, and human functioning generally, it should not be applied without taking account of the work context. Three broad contextual categories, conceptually distinct from general organizational contexts, are canvassed: individual, team and cultural. Specific sub-contexts are discussed, not with the view of providing an exhaustive typology, but rather to provide some examples from the very large number of contextual factors that could have been selected. It is concluded that investigation of contextual differences is likely to be a fruitful pursuit for future research into the application of …

Computerized And Virtual Reality Cognitive Training For Individuals At High Risk Of Cognitive Decline: Systematic Review Of The Literature, Hannah Coyle, Victoria Traynor, Nadia Solowij

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of cognitive training, specifically computerized cognitive training (CCT) and virtual reality cognitive training (VRCT), programs for individuals living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia and therefore at high risk of cognitive decline. After searching a range of academic databases (CINHAL, PSYCinfo, and Web of Science), the studies evaluated (N = 16) were categorized as CCT (N = 10), VRCT (N = 3), and multimodal interventions (N = 3). Effect sizes were calculated, but a meta-analysis was not possible because of the large variability of study design and outcome measures …

Effects Of Computer-Based Visual Representation On Mathematics Learning And Cognitive Load, Hsin I. Yung, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Visual representation has been recognized as a powerful learning tool in many learning domains. Based on the assumption that visual representations can support deeper understanding, we examined the effects of visual representations on learning performance and cognitive load in the domain of mathematics. An experimental condition with visual representations was compared to a control condition without visual representations among primary school students. The hypothesis that learning with visual representations would result in higher learning performance and lower cognitive load than learning without visual representations was confirmed by the results. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Reducing Cognitive Load: The Effects Of Gesturing On Children's Effective Working Memory Capacity, Sahar Bokosmaty, Steven J. Howard, Myrto F. Mavilidi, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 8th Cognitive Load Theory Conference, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, June 15th - 17th, 2015.

Cognitive Load, Cues, And Task Selection In Learning Probability Calculus, Jimmie Leppink, Steven F. Raaijmakers, Fred Paas, Tamara Van Gog, Anique De Bruin, Jeroen Van Merrienboer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 8th Cognitive Load Theory Conference, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, June 15th - 17th, 2015.

Behavioral And Fmri Evidence Of The Differing Cognitive Load Of Domain-Specific Assessments, Steven J. Howard, H Burianova, John F. Ehrich, Lisa K. Kervin, Alysha Calleia, Emma Barkus, John Carmody, S Humphry

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Standards-referenced educational reform has increased the prevalence of standardized testing; however, whether these tests accurately measure students' competencies has been questioned. This may be due to domain-specific assessments placing a differing domain-general cognitive load on test-takers. To investigate this possibility, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to identify and quantify the neural correlates of performance on current, international standardized methods of spelling assessment. Out-of-scanner testing was used to further examine differences in assessment results. Results provide converging evidence that: (a) the spelling assessments differed in the cognitive load placed on test-takers; (b) performance decreased with increasing cognitive load of …

Online Cognitive Training In Healthy Older Adults: A Preliminary Study On The Effects Of Single Versus Multi-Domain Training, Courtney C. Walton, Alexandra Kavanagh, Luke Downey, Justine Lomas, David A. Camfield, Con Stough

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It has been argued that cognitive training may be effective in improving cognitive performance in healthy older adults. However, inappropriate active control groups often hinder the validity of these claims. Additionally there are relatively few independent empirical studies on popular commercially available cognitive training programs. The current research extends on previous work to explore cognitive training employing a more robust control group. Twenty-eight healthy older adults (age: M = 64.18, SD = 6.9) completed either a multi-faceted online computerised cognitive training program or trained on a simple reaction time task for 20 minutes a day over a 28 day period. …

Economic Evaluation Of Concise Cognitive Behavioural Therapy And/Or Pharmacotherapy For Depressive And Anxiety Disorders, Denise Meuldijk, Ingrid V. Carlier, Irene M. Van Vliet, Albert M. Van Hemert, Frans G. Zitman, M E. Van Den Akker-Van Marle

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

BACKGROUND: Depressive and anxiety disorders cause great suffering and disability and are associated with high health care costs. In a previous conducted pragmatic randomised controlled trial, we have shown that a concise format of cognitive behavioural- and/or pharmacotherapy is as effective as standard care in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms and in improving subdomains of general health and quality of life in secondary care psychiatric outpatients. AIMS OF THE STUDY: In this economic evaluation, we examined whether a favourable cost-utility of concise care compared to standard care was attained. METHODS: The economic evaluation was performed alongside a pragmatic randomised controlled …

The Psychological Benefits Of Animal Assisted Therapy On Elderly Nursing Home Patients, Sophia M. Elliott

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This literature review of the benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is centered on four scholarly articles published in major psychological journals discussing the reduction of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairments as well as the increase in well-being and happiness in the elderly nursing- home population. Many time these residents are abandoned by family and experience little- to- no interaction with others due to understaffing at these homes. My goal through this literature review was to bring attention to an alternative form of therapy for these patients. Often patients grow sick from depression and lose their sense of self-worth …

Mindfulness And Cognitive Aging, Elise J. Herndon

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness meditation involves the cultivation of a focused, pre-conceptual consciousness that enables increased present-centered awareness of internal states, cognitive processes, and external stimuli (Mikulas, 2011; Kornfield, 2010). Studies suggest that mindfulness practice affects the brain structures and cognitive processes related to fluid intelligence, and may affect fluid intelligence itself among highly experienced practitioners (e.g., Gard, Taquet, et al., 2014; Lazar et al., 2005; Ritskes et al., 2003). Fluid intelligence includes higher-order reasoning and problem-solving abilities that are independent of cultural and environmental influences. These abilities peak in young adulthood, then begin to decay (Cattell, 1987; Goldberg, 2005).

The current study …