Cognitive Science Commons^™

Navigating Online Dating: Exploring The Intersection Of Attachment Styles, Parental Attachments, And Sociosexuality In Online Dating Among College Students, Jensley Velez-Lozada

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The aim of this thesis is to explore the connection between attachment styles, parental attachment, and sociosexuality as predictors of online dating attitudes among college students. As society navigates this new digital era of online dating, how does it continue to transform young adults as they form romantic and sexual connections? It becomes increasingly important to understand the psychological mechanisms that influence these behaviors. This study examined how anxious and avoidant attachment styles, parental attachment, and sociosexuality may have contributed to online hookup attempts and outcomes behaviors. It also examined how these variables interacted and influenced both the likelihood of …

Sealing The Deal: A Case Study Of A Private, Southeastern, Regional College’S Student Onboarding Practices, Alicia R. Gaston, Kristen Meyer, Tyler Ogden, Jennifer Perkinson, Casey Yocum Michaels

Doctor of Education Capstones

Each year, higher education institutions offer support to new, incoming students through an onboarding process that requires dedication and collaboration across multiple departments. Offering streamlined guidance and clear communication throughout the onboarding process is essential to ensure incoming students understand action steps without becoming overwhelmed with new terminology, processes, and environments. This explanatory case study is set to understand the current communication practices and technology use across onboarding departments at Brightside College – also referred to as Brightside or BC (pseudonym). The research team aimed to understand Brightside's onboarding staff's perspective of current processes and practices. With emphasis on the …

Individual Differences In The Evolution Of Strategies In Spatial Problem Solving, Jade T. Moussa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Navigating the world requires a strategy – you must choose which information to attend to and use from a wealth of internal and external cues in order to find your way. People have biases to prioritize some kinds of information over other. This is, in part, determined by individual differences in cognitive abilities. For instance, some individuals have a bias for spatial information that leads them to not only solve spatial tasks faster but are also more likely to use spatial information to solve tasks even when other information is available. However, peoples' navigation strategies also evolve over time. Although …

Neural Correlates Of Attentional Biases In Dietary Choice: Role Of Childhood Socioeconomic Status, Justine Jamie N. Gotico

CMC Senior Theses

Childhood poverty has been shown to increase adult risk for obesity above and beyond its direct effects on adult socioeconomic status (SES). One proposed mechanism of these effects is by shifting behavioral patterns of dietary consumption and choice, for example by increasing rapid attention to high-calorie unhealthy foods. Yet, whether such neural mechanisms can explain observed differences in dietary behavior based on childhood SES remains an open question. Here we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine early attentional correlates of low childhood SES during a dietary choice task, based on research suggesting that early attentional biases toward high-calorie foods emerge …

The Meditative Mind In Sync: The Effects Of Meditative Interpersonal Synchrony On Self-Other Merging, Self-Representation, And Social Connection., Nathan Verba

CMC Senior Theses

This study investigates the effects of meditative interpersonal synchrony, operationalized through OM group chanting meditation (OM-GCM), on self-other merging, self-referential thinking, and the quality of social interactions between strangers. Interpersonal synchrony and meditation have been widely studied as distinct phenomena; however, this thesis is the first to examine the potential amplifying effects of their combination. This thesis hypothesized that OM-GCM would lead to higher conversation quality, increased self-other merging, and reduced self-referential thinking compared to a non-meditative synchronous control: humming. To test this, twenty-eight college students, paired into dyads of strangers, engaged in either the OM-GCM or humming condition, followed …

Leveraging Physiological Signal Activity And Self-Report Data To Assess Students’ Trust In “My Friendly Mind” App And Its Impact On Their Mental Health Knowledge: A Mixed-Method Phase 1 Clinical Trial Focusing On Depression And Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder From Human Factors Standpoint., Yeganeh Shahsavar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mental health issues have become a significant global public health concern, especially among younger generations. The growing number of mental health challenges, combined with limited access to quality care, makes the problem even worse. Studies reveal that over 70% of individuals worldwide in need of mental health services do not receive appropriate care. Digital health technologies have the potential to enhance mental health services by making them more accessible and affordable. Despite the increasing popularity of mental health mobile applications (mHealth), there remains a lack of robust evidence of their effectiveness and the level of user trust, particularly in areas …

Weighted Family History Density Of Substance Use: Influence On Participant Substance Use Onset, Escalation, And Duration, Carleigh A. Litteral

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Substance use disorders impose a staggering toll on the United States (U.S.), straining healthcare systems, destabilizing communities, and profoundly impacting both individuals and families. Approximately one in six Americans aged 12 and older had a past-year substance use disorder in 2022 (Key Substance Use, 2022), and nearly one-third of adults experience a substance use disorder in their lifetime (Wu, 2010), contributing to an economic burden exceeding $400 billion annually (National Drug Threat Assessment, 2011). Family history of substance use disorders is a key predictor of vulnerability, with individuals who have affected relatives being 2–8 times more …

Mini-Maps, Crucial Or Controversial: Assessing The Influence Of Perceived Spatial Orientation And Cognitive Mapping Performance On Video Game User Experience, Angela Le

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Decades of game studies, also known as video games research, have revealed frequent video gameplay is positively correlated with enhanced cognition. An area of study that is limited, however, is the relationship between spatial cognition, specifically the domains of spatial orientation and cognitive mapping and their effects on video game user experience for games employing visual navigational aids. Video game user experience is influenced by many factors such as graphics and audio, gameplay mechanics, user interface design, etc. The present study aims to explore whether spatial abilities influence and are significantly correlated with user experience for games using heads-up displays …

The Effect Of Need For Cognition & Need For Affect On Human Reliance And Artificial Intelligence Interactions, Aliyah Mcgowan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Abstract

With the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) automations in fields like medical diagnoses and mental health queries, there are concerns regarding an individual’s trust and reliance on the technology. Reliance on AI output may lead an individual to accept inaccurate or incorrect information without further analysis. Trust may influence reliance and trust formation may be a product of affective processing. This study investigated the relationship between Need for Affect (NFA), Need for Cognition (NFC), and trust and reliance on AI interactions. Participants were assessed on the NFA scale for willingness to approach or avoid emotional stimuli, the NFC …

An Unexpected Outcome Of An Ischemic Stroke On The Reward Pathways In The Human Brain, Karen Valadez-Cuen, Erica Kozorosky, Ferina Farahnik, Oscar Garcia

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Addiction affects millions of people, often resulting from a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors, and is frequently linked to mental health disorders. Many experts agree there is no cure for addiction, but there are effective treatments available. Many patients continue to succumb to addiction despite treatment. Therefore, more research is needed to develop new therapies in addiction medicine.

Case Presentation

This is the case of a 63-year-old woman with an extensive smoking history who suffered an acute stroke affecting her left-sided basal ganglia, including the caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens. The patient presented with bilateral strokes to …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Cbt) Interventions For Group Therapy For College Students Experiencing Depression, Ty Ogren

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This group manual was created to support college students struggling with a depressive mood disorder such as Major Depressive Disorder. The instance of mental health concerns, including depression, have increased greatly over the last several years. Depression is the most common mental health concern for college students, and the rate at which they experience depressive symptoms has exceeded that of the general population. Depressive symptoms in college students can lead to many concerns like poor academic achievement, self-isolation, poor diet and nutrition, and suicidal ideation (Liu et al., 2022). This group manual aims to equip college students struggling with depression …

Understanding The Transitional Needs Of Servicemembers To Veterans: A Focus On Mental, Social, And Behavioral Health, Marieann C. Raguso

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to fill the gaps on the transitional American veterans’ lived experience using their own voice. The reconstruction of an American Veteran’s identity after transitioning back into civilian life is a process with many challenges. Transitional practices often fail to help veterans to acculturate back into the civilian world. This includes the formulation of identities and associations. There is a lack of consistency in military transitional practices leading to identity loss and the formulation of mental and behavioral disorders. The aim of this study is to examine the lived experiences of veterans who have transitioned back …

Cultural Memory And The Search For Identity In Victorian Fantasy Fiction, Sadie Boggs

Honors College Theses

Fantasy literature's origins can be traced through myths and folktales, medieval romances, enlightenment fairy tale fantasy, and Romanticism, before finally taking firmer root in the Victorian period and blooming into its own genre in 20th century modern fantasy. Victorian thinkers reacted to the Enlightenment’s realism and technological innovation by “rediscovering” the Middle Ages as a time of beauty, simplicity, and moral virtue. Simultaneously, Psychology developed as a recognized field of study, and theories emerged about the psychological process of memory formation and retrieval, as well as its reliability and relation to identity.

Considering these psychological theories, Victorian fantasy's cultural memory …

The Utilization Of String Pulling To Determine Female Rats' Dual Cognitive Motor Task Performance Following Space Flight Stressor Exposure, Doc-Haden Rodgers, Nicole M. Atttallah, Teresa L. Garcia, Nuhamine A. Moges, N. A. Moges, K. D. Omengan, J. F. Cortez, K. S. Dhede, A. A. Blackwell

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

During deep space exploration, astronauts depend on mission-essential performance in Dual Cognitive Motor Tasks (DCMT), such as receiving information from ground control to assemble and configure wires during a spacewalk. DCMT relies upon processing cognitive and motor information simultaneously. Previous research on rodent models has shown various impairments in cognition and motor function in separate tasks after exposure to deep space radiation and sleep fragmentation (SF). However, an assessment of DCMT performance in rodents has not been established. Rats and humans use similar hand-over-hand movements to pull a string, and task demands may be varied to assess cognition and motor …

The Characterization Of Cooperative String-Pullung Behavior In Rats After Exposure To Space Flight Stressors, Teresa L. Garcia, Nuhamine A. Moges, Sierra Ordonez, Nicole M. Attallah, D. H. Rodgers, A. Adhikari, K. D. Omengan, D. Lloyd, S. L. Gleed, A. A. Blackwell

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Astronauts work cooperatively to complete tasks on missions through deep space where they will experience stressors, including radiation and sleep fragmentation, that may impair performance. Animals work together to achieve a common goal during cooperative tasks using string-pulling behaviors. While string-pulling behavior has revealed deficits in rat sensorimotor function after exposure to space flight stressors, it has yet to be determined if rats will engage in cooperative string-pulling or if these stressors will influence cooperation. Thus, to explore how space flight stressors impact cooperative behavior, female Wistar rats were exposed to either sham (n = 8) or 10 centi-grays of …

Unraveling The Impact Of Cognitive Test Anxiety On Academic Performance Among Adolescents: The Case Of Minority And Majority Communities, Zulfiqar Ullah Siddiqui, Wael M. F. Abuhassan

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Background: Within the Indian society and its many communities, adolescents exhibit a wide range of individual differences, including cognitive abilities, learning styles, and personality traits. These differences can influence how students perceive and cope with test anxiety and related stress. Objective: The primary goal of this research study was to investigate the influence of cognitive test anxiety on academic performance in adolescents from both minority (Muslims) and majority (Hindus) communities in India. Method: Based on descriptive-inferential research design, a sample of 450 students was selected, with 223 students representing the majority community and the remaining 227 students representing the minority …

Neural Correlates Of Socially Rewarding Memories In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Kyle P. Blidy

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Significance. Memory disturbances for emotional content are central to PTSD, yet most research focuses on trauma memories. Recent evidence suggests that enhancing access to positive memories could improve mood, affect regulation, self-esteem, and integration of trauma memories. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying positive memory encoding in PTSD are poorly understood. No study has examined memory for positive social items in PTSD, which is important because PTSD entails social withdrawal and reduced accessibility to positive memory. Additionally, positive memories embedded in a social context have enhanced subjective value and strengthening their accessibility may confer greater benefits to wellbeing compared to non-social …

The Effects Of Audio And Visual Stimuli On Working Memory, Suad H. Mohamed, Gavin Khamphouvong, Bailey A. Zobel, Kayley Erin Tiggs

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The rise in technology over recent years has led to a dramatic increase in distractions (Miller et al., 2020). Additionally, it has been well-established that visual and audio stimuli can make up the majority of these distractors on working memory. Working memory provides temporary storage and active manipulation of information that requires simultaneous processing (Baddeley, 1992). However, little research has experimentally tested to see if there is a significant difference between audio and visual stimuli on working memory. The purpose of the present study was to examine how an addition of audio or visual stimuli impacts performance on working memory …

Gsep Research Symposium Proceedings - 2024

GSEP Research Symposium

The 8th Annual GSEP Research Symposium, was themed "Dismantling Barriers between Research and Practice: Shining a Light on Global Interdisciplinary Solutions," took place on July 18-19, 2024, at the picturesque Château d'Hauteville in Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, Switzerland.

The annual symposium is hosted by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). The symposium served as a dynamic platform for students, faculty, alums, and staff to come together and explore innovative ideas across multiple disciplines. Featuring 69 selected presentations under five distinct tracks, the proceedings showcase groundbreaking research, foster meaningful discussions, and promote professional development.

The symposium aimed to bridge …

Brain Injury And Psychosocial Trauma: Outcomes Among Justice-Involved Individuals, Mahathi D. Kosuri

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Justice-involved individuals experience disproportionately high rates of both traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and psychosocial traumas. However, these traumas have yet to be conceptualized together, leaving a chasm of research on how they interact and influence this population. The current study was the first to measure the effects of TBIs as well as psychosocial trauma among justice-involved men, within the context of executive functioning, history of justice involvement, and recidivism. A sample of men (N=95) from a private correctional facility were given the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Questionnaire (OSU-TBI-ID), the Lifetime Stressor Checklist- Revised (LSC-R), along with …

Resting-State Eeg Microstate Features For Major Depressive Disorder Classification, George M. V. Quinn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Neuroimaging studies have revealed consistent abnormalities in functional connectivity within specific neural networks that may serve as biomarkers for major depressive disorder (MDD). It is important to find inexpensive, non-invasive techniques that target these biomarkers to make diagnosis easier and more objective. EEG microstates are quasi-stable potential topographies that are thought to reflect the quasi-stable network activity of the underlying neural generators. MDD has been shown to alter features of the four canonical EEG microstates (A, B, C, D) with some conflicting results. The most consistent network abnormalities in MDD are found in the anterior default mode network, and this …

Enhancing The Accuracy Of The Mild Cognitive Impairment Diagnosis In Community-Based, Racially/Ethnically Diverse Older Adults, Katherine H. Chang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is thought to represent an intermediate stage of cognitive impairment that is often, but not always, a transitional phase between normal aging and dementia. Diagnostic criteria for “MCI” and international consensus criteria have been developed and refined over decades beginning in the 1990s, but the definition is still debated. Moreover, the operationalization and measurement of one of the criteria for MCI (i.e., subjective cognitive concerns, SCC), which is included in most classification approaches, is highly variable and there is great inconsistency across the literature. Some research efforts even support the removal of this criterion on the …

The Beautiful And The Bullshit: Speaker And Listener Mental Representations Influence Bullshit Receptivity, Ryan Tracy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bullshit is a topic that has enjoyed an explosion of attention in both cognitive and social psychological research domains. While the picture painted thus far suggests that receptivity to such statements (i.e., perceiving meaning where none exists) hinges upon an individual’s ability to engage in reflective (vs. reflexive) cognitive processing, little attention has been paid to how purveyors of bullshit influence one’s willingness to engage with the message. This is critical to explore, given the status of misinformation in today’s media climate. A critical step involved in determining characteristics of speakers that predict bullshit receptivity is to understand how people …

Challenging Beliefs: Examining The Efficacy Of Corrections For Conspiratorial And Partisan Misinformation, Ava Zwolinski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The threat of misinformation is widely acknowledged among researchers and laypeople (NORC, 2021). When misinformation coalesces with conspiracy theories, the repercussions can be especially dangerous, sometimes even fatal. Events such as the January 6th insurrection and the Buffalo Tops Supermarket shooting were both, in part, inspired by misleading information and conspiracy theories (Burke, 2022; Dawsey, 2023). While misinformation involving conspiracy theories is recognized as possibly posing a greater threat to correction efforts (Lewandowsky, 2021a), no study has yet experimentally manipulated the presence or absence of conspiratorial elements within misinformation. This dissertation explores whether conspiratorial misinformation is more difficult to correct …

Archetypal Energies And Global Mental Health, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

As a keynote speaker at the Global Mental Health Conference 2024, held at Sophia University, Costa Mesa, CA, in-person and virtually, August 16-18, 2024, my topic was "Archetypal Energies As A Framework for Self-Empowerment and Well Being". The theme of this 2024 global conference was: Enlightened Minds, Compassionate Hearts, and Embodied Wisdom. To supplement my keynote address, I wrote this blog article titled "Archetypal Energies and Global Mental Health".

Emotional Response In Working Memory Of Individuals With Latent Toxoplasmosis, Antonella Quimbayo

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Toxoplasma gondii is a prevalent parasite that infects about 30% of the world population. House cats and other felids serve as definitive hosts and acquire Toxoplasma by consuming infected prey, which are intermediate hosts. This includes rats and avians, but also large mammals such as wolves and deer. Toxoplasma gondii is known to manipulate prey behavior to enhance its transmission. For example, infected rodents demonstrates attraction to and curiosity around cat urine. Wolves infected with Toxoplasma were 11 times more likely to disperse from their pack and start a new pack. The manipulation of intermediate host behavior observed in rodents …

Assessing Comprehension And Competence In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) On The Concept: Do Something Different, Charlotte M. Mulligan

Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have been conducted using a training paradigm based on the research of Pryor et al. (1969) wherein the participants are trained on the abstract concept: do something different. This paradigm challenges working memory and requires the participants to respond with a behavior, either previously trained or novel, which has not yet been offered within the session. The work of Braslau-Schneck (1994) expanded this concept and demonstrated the ability of dolphins to successfully complete this task in synchronized pairs, though the method of accomplishing this task remained unclear. The present research was conducted as part of a broader …

High Fat Diet & Social Isolation: Interactive Effects On Pain, Cognition, & Neuroinflammation, Ian M. Campuzano

Research Psychology Theses

Prior research has established a role for both social isolation and exposure to high fat Western diets in altering a range of behaviors from reduced memory performance to increased depression-like behaviors. The present study scrutinizes the interplay among these variables during the peri-adolescent developmental phase, utilizing Long-Evans rats as the experimental model. Our overarching hypothesis is that rats exposed to either social isolation, a high-fat diet, or both will result in heightened pain sensitivity, diminished cognitive flexibility, and increased neuroinflammatory responses within brain regions implicated in sociability, cognition, memory, and pain processing. Behavioral flexibility will be assessed using a maze-based …

Wired For Success: A Neurobiological Approach To Improving The Academic Outcomes Of Middle School Boys, Allison Emery

University Honors Theses

Male accomplishment in scholastic settings has been declining globally for the last decade, leading to long-term consequences for boys and men. Possible neurobiological underpinnings of the gender gap in education are discussed in this literature review. While male and female differences have, in the past, largely been considered socialized, recent science also confirms neurobiological variances between male and female development. These distinctions are assessed for their potential ties to the decline in male academic success, and are correlated to classroom practices, strategies and interventions meant to increase boys' engagement and performance.

An Analysis Of The Development Of Cognitive Control In Young Children Within An Auditory And Visual Modality., Lauren A. Schiro

LSU Master's Theses

The Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control Framework (DMC) posits that cognitive control is directed through two different modes: proactive and reactive control. Proactive control involves the maintenance and manipulation of information in preparation of a response while reactive control would involve little to no preparation until after a response prompt. The AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) is a cognitive control task that is often utilized in studies looking at proactive and reactive control as it measures context processing and goal maintenance. The aims of this study were to validate the auditory version of the AX-CPT and to then apply this task …