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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson
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 …
Taxing Working Memory: The Effects On Category Learning, Ashley Ercolino
Taxing Working Memory: The Effects On Category Learning, Ashley Ercolino
HIM 1990-2015
In the past decade, the COVIS model (Ashby, Alfonso-Reese, Turken, & Waldron, 1998) has emerged as the only neuropsychological theory for the existence of multiple brain systems for category learning. COVIS postulates that there are two systems, explicit and implicit, which compete against one another. These two systems reply on two discrete networks: explicit, or rule based categorization relies on executive function and working memory while implicit, or information integration categorization is mediated by dopaminergic pathways. The purpose of this pilot study was to further provide evidence for the existence of multiple systems of category learning. In all three experiments, …
Support For Gestalt Versus Business-As-Usual Theories Of Insight Depends On Operational Definition Of Insight, Kimberly D. Lee
Support For Gestalt Versus Business-As-Usual Theories Of Insight Depends On Operational Definition Of Insight, Kimberly D. Lee
Psychology Theses & Dissertations
Some theories propose that insight involves automatic processes that are responsible for restructuring. Other theories postulate that the mechanisms surrounding restructuring are controlled and effortful. The current study tested these theories by comparing different methodology and operational definitions that have been used in previous research to investigate the nature of “Aha!” experiences and impasse in insightful problem solving. One hundred two undergraduate psychology students from Old Dominion University completed working memory tasks, six classic insight problems, and gave initial problem representation ratings for the insight problems before solution attempt. Using a think-aloud protocol, we assessed the occurrence of impasse during …
Effects Of Nicotine On A Translational Model Of Working Memory, David Alderson Macqueen
Effects Of Nicotine On A Translational Model Of Working Memory, David Alderson Macqueen
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Cognitive research with human non-smokers has demonstrated that nicotine generally enhances performance on tasks of attention but, working memory does not appear to be affected. In contrast, nicotine has been shown to produce robust enhancements of working memory in non-human animals. To address this disparity, the present study investigated the effects of nicotine (2mg, 4mg nicotine gum, and placebo) on the performance of 30 non-smokers (15 male) completing a working memory task developed for rodents (the odor span task, OST). Nicotine has been reported to enhance OST performance in rodents and the present study sought to determine whether the effect …
Rats (Rattus Norvegicus) Flexibly Retrieve Objects’ Non-Spatial And Spatial Information From Their Visuospatial Working Memory: Effects Of Integrated And Separate Processing Of These Features In A Missing-Object Recognition Task, Corrine Nicole Keshen, Jerome Cohen
Rats (Rattus Norvegicus) Flexibly Retrieve Objects’ Non-Spatial And Spatial Information From Their Visuospatial Working Memory: Effects Of Integrated And Separate Processing Of These Features In A Missing-Object Recognition Task, Corrine Nicole Keshen, Jerome Cohen
Psychology Publications
After being trained to find a previous missing object within an array of four different objects, rats received occasional probe trials with such test arrays rotated from that of their respective three-object study arrays. Only animals exposed to each object’s non-spatial features consistently paired with both its spatial features (feeder’s relative orientation and direction) in the first experiment or with only feeder’s relative orientation in the second experiment (Fixed Configuration groups) were adversely affected by probe trial test array rotations. This effect, however, was less persistent for this group in the second experiment but re-emerged when objects’ nonspatial features were …
Using The Encoding Specificity Principle To Assess The Nature Of The Secondary Memory Component Of Working Memory, Dung Chi Bui
Using The Encoding Specificity Principle To Assess The Nature Of The Secondary Memory Component Of Working Memory, Dung Chi Bui
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recent theories and evidence suggest working memory involves secondary memory as well as primary memory. It is unclear, however, if the secondary memory component of working memory is the same as the secondary memory component underlying episodic long-term memory. The present investigation explores this issue by examining whether manipulating encoding and retrieval cues on a short-term memory task produces similar effects as to what is typically seen on episodic long-term memory tasks. More specifically, it is commonly observed on episodic long-term memory tasks that retrieval cues that were not also present during encoding produces worse recall compared to retrieval cues …
The Impact Of Evaluative Pressure And Higher Working Memory Capacity On Sensorimotor Skill Performance., Lauren Grant
The Impact Of Evaluative Pressure And Higher Working Memory Capacity On Sensorimotor Skill Performance., Lauren Grant
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses
Underperformance in high-pressure situations, commonly known as choking under pressure, has been well-documented in the literature. For well-learned sensorimotor skills, such as sports, choking is thought to occur because individuals devote explicit attention to the steps of the skill, which disrupts performance. The current study examines how the type of pressure situation an individual experiences, and individual differences in working memory capacity, influence choking on a sensorimotor skill. Participants (N = 96) performed a Sensorimotor Reaction Time Task (SRTT) either under monitoring pressure, outcome pressure, or no pressure (control). High working-memory individuals performed significantly worse while completing the SRTT under …
Empirical Validation Of An Executive Function Battery For Use In Childhood And Adolescence, Emma K. Phillips
Empirical Validation Of An Executive Function Battery For Use In Childhood And Adolescence, Emma K. Phillips
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This research explores the reliability and efficacy of a child and adolescent adaptation of an adult battery of executive functioning, measuring the constructs of reasoning, short-term memory and verbal processing. The intent of the research is twofold as it intends to support an age appropriate adjustment of a battery of tasks presented by Hampshire, Highfield, Parkin and Owen (2012), and secondly to display the necessity of looking at executive functions as multifaceted and therefore requiring multiple tasks to encompass their complexities. The adjusted battery in analysis is composed of nine tasks that have been amended to be age appropriate for …
Current Methods And Future Directions Regarding Working Memory Training Research, Emily G. Wright
Current Methods And Future Directions Regarding Working Memory Training Research, Emily G. Wright
Undergraduate Distinction Papers
Cognitive training is the process through which individuals perform a series of computerized tasks over a period of weeks for the purpose of improving a variety of cognitive abilities. Cognitive training is important in commercial, clinical, and educational fields alike, considering the possibilities of improving and sustaining cognitive abilities in both typically developing and cognitively deficient populations. The present review assesses cognitive training paradigms targeting working memory. Working memory is a predictor of academic achievement and is closely related to mechanisms of higher cognition. In particular, the present review focuses past studies which have investigated the effects working memory training …
The Impact Of Prefrontal Cortex "Warm Up" On Immediate Cognitive Reappraisal Ability In Older Adolescents With Elevated Symptoms Of Depression, Emma L. Peterson
The Impact Of Prefrontal Cortex "Warm Up" On Immediate Cognitive Reappraisal Ability In Older Adolescents With Elevated Symptoms Of Depression, Emma L. Peterson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Cognitive Reappraisal (CR) is a central component of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for adolescent depression. Yet, previous research indicates that a brain region highly associated with successful CR in adults, the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), is not fully developed until early adulthood. Thus, there is growing concern that CBT interventions directed at building CR abilities in depressed teens might be constrained by PFC immaturity. However, CR is an effective strategy for regulating affect. The current study evaluated an intervention aimed at enhancing CR performance through PFC “warm up” with a working memory task. Additionally, the study examined moderators of intervention response, as …
Impact Of Urban Nature On Executive Functioning In Early And Middle Childhood, Anne R. Schutte, Julia C. Torquati, Heidi L. Beattie
Impact Of Urban Nature On Executive Functioning In Early And Middle Childhood, Anne R. Schutte, Julia C. Torquati, Heidi L. Beattie
Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications
According to attention restoration theory, directed attention can become fatigued and then be restored by spending time in a restorative environment. This study examined the restorative effects of nature on children’s executive functioning. Sevento 8-year-olds (school aged, n = 34) and 4- to 5-year-olds (preschool, n = 33) participated in two sessions in which they completed an activity to fatigue attention, then walked along urban streets (urban walk) in one session and in a park-like area (nature walk) in another session, and finally completed assessments of working memory, inhibitory control, and attention. Children responded faster on the attention task after …
Emotional Enhancement And Repetition Effects During Working Memory In Persons With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Lucas S. Broster
Emotional Enhancement And Repetition Effects During Working Memory In Persons With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Lucas S. Broster
Theses and Dissertations--Clinical and Translational Science
This dissertation introduces a framework for understanding differences in how emotional enhancement effects might influence memory in aging adults and then summarizes the findings of three studies of how repetition effects and emotional enhancement effects influence working memory in older adults without cognitive impairment (NC), older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and older adults with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In these experiments, individuals with AD showed cognitive impairment in terms of accuracy and reaction time, but individuals with MCI showed milder behavioral impairment that was confined to manipulations of working memory. Individuals with AD showed relative sparing of …