Psychology Commons^™

Connecting Numbers With Emotion: Review Of Numbers And Nerves: Information, Emotion, And Meaning In A World Of Data By Scott Slovic And Paul Slovic (2015), Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic (Eds.). Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data (Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2015). 272 pp. ISBN 978-0-87071-776-5.

It is common to view quantitative literacy as reasoning with respect to numbers. In Numbers and Nerves, the contributors to the volume make clear that we should attend not only to how students consciously reason with numbers, but also how our innate biases influence our actions when faced with numbers. Beginning with the concepts of psychic numbing, and then psuedoinefficacy, the contributors to the volume examine how our behaviors when …

Human Classifier: Observers Can Deduce Task Solely From Eye Movements, Brett Bahle, Mark Mills, Michael Dodd

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Computer classifiers have been successful at classifying various tasks using eye movement statistics. However, the question of human classification of task from eye movements has rarely been studied. Across two experiments, we examined whether humans could classify task based solely on the eye movements of other individuals. In Experiment 1, human classifiers were shown one of three sets of eye movements: Fixations, which were displayed as blue circles, with larger circles meaning longer fixation durations; Scanpaths, which were displayed as yellow arrows; and Videos, in which a neon green dot moved around the screen. There was an additional Scene manipulation …

Reliability And Validity Of The Hd-Pro-Triadtm, A Health-Related Quality Of Life Measure Designed To Assess The Symptom Triad Of Huntington's Disease., Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Janes S Paulsen, David Cella, Michael K Mccormack, Martha A Nance, Samuel Frank, Jin-Shei Lai, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington's disease (HD), is a neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments that diminish health related quality of life (HRQOL). The HD-PRO-TRIADTM is a quality of life measure that assesses health concerns specific to individuals with HD. Preliminary psychometric characterization was limited to a convenience sample of HD participants who completed measures at home so clinician-ratings were unavailable.

OBJECTIVES: The current study evaluates the reliability and validity of the HD-PRO-TRIADTM in a well-characterized sample of individuals with HD.

METHODS: Four-hundred and eighty-two individuals with HD (n = 192 prodromal, n = 193 early, and n …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Increases Amygdala Connectivity With The Cognitive Control Network In Both Mdd And Ptsd, Haochang Shou, Zhen Yang, Theodore Satterthwaite, Philip Cook, Steven Bruce, Russell Shinohara, Benjamin Rosenberg, Yvette Sheline

Psychology Faculty Works

BackgroundBoth major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by alterations in intrinsic functional connectivity. Here we investigated changes in intrinsic functional connectivity across these disorders as a function of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an effective treatment in both disorders.Methods53 unmedicated right-handed participants were included in a longitudinal study. Patients were diagnosed with PTSD (n = 18) and MDD (n = 17) with a structured diagnostic interview and treated with 12 sessions of manualized CBT over a 12-week period. Patients received an MRI scan (Siemens 3 T Trio) before and after treatment. Longitudinal functional principal components analysis …

Babies And Math: A Meta-Analysis Of Infants’ Simple Arithmetic Competence, Joan Christodoulou, Andrew Lac, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Wynn’s (1992) seminal research reported that infants looked longer at stimuli representing “incorrect” versus “correct” solutions of basic addition and subtraction problems and concluded that infants have innate arithmetical abilities. Since then, infancy researchers have attempted to replicate this effect, yielding mixed findings. The present meta-analysis aimed to systematically compile and synthesize all of the primary replications and extensions of Wynn (1992) that have been conducted to date. The synthesis included 12 studies consisting of 26 independent samples and 550 unique infants. The summary effect, computed using a random-effects model, was statistically significant, d = +0.34, p < .001, suggesting that the phenomenon Wynn originally reported is reliable. Five different tests of publication bias yielded mixed results, suggesting that while a moderate level of publication bias is probable, the summary effect would be positive even after accounting for this issue. Out of the 10 metamoderators tested, none were found to be significant, but most of the moderator subgroups were significantly different from a null effect. Although this meta-analysis provides support for Wynn’s original findings, further research is warranted to understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for infants’ visual preferences for “mathematically incorrect” test stimuli.

Identifying Sex-Specific Cognitive And Diagnostic Profiles Of Children On The Autism Spectrum, Jessica Lee Irwin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Although there has been great interest in identifying sex differences in diseases or disorders that differentially affect males versus females, relatively less effort has been devoted to research on the differences between males and females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), despite the known male preponderance in ASD. The identification of separate male and female phenotypes within ASD would help parents, teachers, and clinicians better identify girls who may need ASD-related intervention services, inform the targets and goals of such interventions, and lead to the refinement of diagnostic criteria and instruments designed to diagnose ASD in children.

The current study sought …

Child Temperamental Regulation And Classroom Quality In Head Start: Considering The Role Of Cumulative Economic Risk, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Leslie R. Hawley, Jennifer Locasale-Crouch, Eric S. Buhs

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

There is growing recognition that cumulative economic risk places children at higher risk for depressed academic competencies (Crosnoe & Cooper, 2010; NCCP, 2008; Sameroff, 2000). Yet, children’s temperamental regulation and the quality of the early childhood classroom environment have been associated with better academic skills. This study is an examination of prekindergarten classroom quality (instructional support, emotional support, organization) as a moderator between temperamental regulation and early math and literacy skills for children at varying levels of cumulative economic risk. The sample includes children enrolled in Head Start programs drawn from the FACES 2009 study. Three main findings emerged. First, …

The Experience Of Forgiveness In Adults With Different Sacred Belief Systems, Christy Jo Heacock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Forgiveness is the act of moving beyond shame, guilt, anger, or blame, and it has been linked to psychological well-being, prosocial behavior, and religion/spirituality (R/S). However, the research on why and how people forgive is inconsistent, as the concepts involved are complex and difficult to define and operationalize. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was to provide a better understanding of why and how people are cognitively and emotionally able to forgive and the role of R/S in that process. Goal orientation and cognitive restructuring theories were used as frameworks for understanding the forgiveness experience. First-person, semistructured interviews …

Real Loneliness And Artificial Companionship: Looking For Social Connections In Technology, Fernando L. Montalvo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Loneliness among older adults is a problem with severe consequences to individual health, quality of life, cognitive capacity, and life-expectancy. Although approaches towards improving the quality and quantity of social relationships are the prevailing model of therapy, older adults may not always be able to form these relationships due to either personality factors, decreased mobility, or isolation. Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), virtual agents, and social robotics offer an opportunity for the development of technology that could potentially serve as social companions to older adults. The present study explored whether an IPA could potentially be used as a social companion to …

The Relationship Between Sleep, Working Memory, And Decision Making In Young And Old Adult Populations, Melissa G. Merz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Sleep is known to influence basic tasks concerning working memory, reaction time and executive functioning (Silva, Wang, Ronda, Wyatt, & Duffy, 2010; Nebes, Buysse, Halligan, Houck, & Monk, 2009). However, the amount that sleep influences these functions varies from study to study possibly due to differences in age and task design. Aim 1A of this study is to determine if sleep quality affects working memory. Aim 1B of this study is to determine if age affects sleep quality and working memory in comparison of young and old adult populations. Finally, Aim 2 of this study is to determine if there …

Estimate Of Undergraduate University Student Alcohol Use In China: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Ian Newman, Lanyan Ding, Yonghua Feng

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To develop an estimate of self-reported last 30 day alcohol use by university students in China.

Methods: A search of papers published in English and Chinese between 2006 and 2015, following pre-established selection criteria, identified 30 papers that were included in this meta-analysis. Nine moderator variables were preselected for this analysis.

Results: A total of 749 papers were identified in the keyword search, and 30 studies (28 in Chinese, 2 in English) met all selection criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The self-reported last-30-day alcohol use for undergraduate university students was 66.8% for males and 31.7% …

Debunking The 'Gaydar' Myth, William Cox, Alyssa Bischmann, Janet Hyde, Patricia Devine

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Kids are often told that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Even so, people often believe they can rely on their gut to intuit things about other people. Stereotypes often influence these impressions, whether it’s that a black man is dangerous, a woman won’t be a good leader or a fashionable man is gay.

Comparing Sexual Cognition And Risk By Gender, Jacquelynne Dauk

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The ways in which sexuality is perceived among members of society has substantial effects in regards to overall health and well-being. The current study investigates not only the nature of sexual cognition but also the differences in cognition in regards to participant genders. More specifically, this study seeks to investigate the differences in sexual attitudes and thoughts among different genders that may lead to different forms of sexual risk. In order to identify these differences, societal influences such as social roles, parenting styles, and sexual education are all examined in regards to gender. Factors such as age and demographics were …

The Role Of Accounts And Apologies In Mitigating Blame Toward Human And Machine Agents, Kimberly Stowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Would you trust a machine to make life-or-death decisions about your health and safety? Machines today are capable of achieving much more than they could 30 years ago—and the same will be said for machines that exist 30 years from now. The rise of intelligence in machines has resulted in humans entrusting them with ever-increasing responsibility. With this has arisen the question of whether machines should be given equal responsibility to humans—or if humans will ever perceive machines as being accountable for such responsibility. For example, if an intelligent machine accidentally harms a person, should it be blamed for its …

Cognitive And Emotional Processes Involved In The Experience Of Objects As Holy Or Transcendent, Lotte J. Pummerer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, attitudes about religion/spirituality have become more pluralistic (Pew Research Center, 2015a). At the same time, the number of individuals who identify themselves as nonreligious, atheist or agnostic are growing (Pew Research Center, 2015b), yet we are lacking words and research to describe their attributions of transcendence in language not bound to religious concepts. This study aims at examining both concepts – holiness and transcendence – in their similarities and differences through assessing cognitive and emotional processes involved in experiences of objects.

The study consisted of two parts with a total of 206 Christian and 52 nonreligious/atheistic/agnostic participants. …

The Effect Of Social Influence On Perception Of Tornado Warnings, Jason A. Parker

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Tornado activity annually results in many deaths throughout the U.S. As a result, the emergency alert system (including tornado warnings) has made considerable advancements throughout the past few decades. However, continued improvements could be made to warning content that aid to facilitate adaptive decision-making by increasing individuals’ motivation to respond. One method that could increase adaptive responses to warnings is by including the modality of descriptive social information within the warning. Research suggests that normative social influence acts as a powerful motivator for individuals to conform toward the witnessed or perceived behaviors of others. The current study examined the impact …

Intertemporal Choice And Delayed Gratification, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

A parasitoid wasp has deposited half of her eggs in a host. She now faces the choice between depositing her remaining eggs in the same host or searching for another. Continuing to deposit in the current host provides the immediate payoff of completing her reproductive duties, allowing her to move on to other activities such as foraging or searching for another mate. Searching for another host, in contrast, delays the payoffs of reproducing until a suitable host is found. This wasp faces an intertemporal choice—that is, a choice between options that involve payoffs available at different times (Read, 2004; Stevens, …

Cannabis Use Frequency And Mood On Creativity, Caitlin Clark

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study examines the relationship between cannabis use (infrequent, moderate, and heavy use) and one’s mood (neutral, positive, and negative) on creativity. Folk ideas of creativity and the relationships between cannabis use and mood may not reflect the real relationship between these factors (e.g. regarding cannabis use, it is perceived to be linked with higher rates of creativity; regarding mood, negative states [i.e. tortured artist] are thought to fuel creativity). Although both cannabis use and mood have been found to influence creativity independently, the current study is unique in its aims to identify whether cannabis use and mood interact to …

Restoration Of Attentional Deficits After Concussion, Katharine B. Earle

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Difficulties with concentration and attention are among the most prevalent symptoms experienced after concussion. Rest has been the most common form of recovery from concussion; however, new research is suggesting mild mental exertion to be an effective aid in recovery. Drawing from Attention Restoration Theory, this study evaluated the idea that cognitive engagement with natural environments can mitigate post-concussion directed-attention deficits. A between subjects repeated measures design was used to test directed-attention after video exposure to restorative/nature and nonrestorative/city environments. Measures of mood, connectedness to environment, and symptomology scores were also collected. No meaningful difference between exposure type was found …

An Investigation Of The Relations Between Stress And Prospective Memory, Brandon T. Stewart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Prospective memory (PM) is a future-oriented memory system that entails “remembering to remember” intentions, or to perform actions in the future. People spend significant portions of their day-to-day lives forming and acting on intentions, and the ability to successfully generate, retain, and complete these intentions has important implications for one’s daily functioning and quality of life. Another common human experience is stress, whether that be short-term, acute stress, or long-term, chronic stress. Despite the significance and ubiquity of both PM and stress, the research base documenting the relations between them is sparse. This topic area necessitates additional research to delineate …

The Relationship Between Schizotypy, Creativity, & Behavioral Inhibition, Karrah Wood

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

A creative individual is believed to possess many positive traits—such as openness to new experiences and intelligence (Jauk, Benedek, & Neubauer, 2014)—but also traits that are considered less desirable, such as the tendency to be hostile or impulsive (Burch, Hemsley, Corr, & Gwyer, 2006; Fink et al., 2013). These findings reveal a possible link between creativity and psychopathology (Simonton, 1999). A large focus in the research has been on schizotypal personality disorder (i.e., “schizotypy”) and creativity, which has led to a number of positive findings between these two variables (Fink et al., 2013; Furnham, 2015). Additionally, other studies indicate that …

Source Monitoring In Bilinguals, Renee Michelle Penalver

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Source memory is memory for the context in which a particular target item is learned (Parker, 1995). The source-monitoring framework is the leading model of source memory (Johnson, Hashtroudi, & Lindsay, 1993). It remains unknown at what level context-to-word associations are made (e.g., at the word form level or conceptual level). Three experiments examined the effects of word frequency and language proficiency on source memory, with each experiment addressing one of the different types of source monitoring identified in this framework. In Experiment 1, we examined how language proficiency and word frequency affect external source discrimination. Participants had to discriminate …

Designing And Using Digital Books For Learning: The Informative Case Of Young Children And Video, Georgene Troseth, Gabrielle Strouse

School of Education Faculty Publications

To promote young children’s learning from screen-based digital books, parents, educators, researchers, and designers might productively consult research about very young children’s learning from another screen-based medium: video. This extensive literature reveals challenges to young children’s learning from digital screens that extend from infancy throughout the preschool years. The youngest viewers learn better watching real events “face to face” than they do watching video, and have trouble transferring information from a screen to the real world. Supports for learning include particular experiences, active mediation by social partners, and select built-in features. Each support is reviewed in regard to its potential …

Toddlers’ Word Learning And Transfer From Electronic And Print Books. Journal Of Experimental Child Psychology, Gabrielle Strouse, Patricia Ganea

School of Education Faculty Publications

Transfer from symbolic media to the real world can be difficult for young children. A sample of 73 toddlers aged 17 to 23 months were read either an electronic book displayed on a touchscreen device or a traditional print book in which a novel object was paired with a novel label. Toddlers in both conditions learned the label within the context of the book. However, only those who read the traditional format book generalized and transferred the label to other contexts. An older group of 28 toddlers aged 24 to 30 months did generalize and transfer from the electronic book. …

Comprehension Models Of Audiovisual Discourse Processing, Courtney Anderegg, Fashina Alade, David R. Ewoldsen, Zheng Wang

Faculty Publications - Department of Communication and Cinematic Arts

Comprehension is integral to enjoyment of media narratives, yet our understanding of how viewers create the situation models that underlie comprehension is limited.This study utilizes two models of comprehension that had previously been tested with factual texts/videos to predict viewers’ recall of entertainment media. Across five television/film clips, the landscape model explained at least 29% of the variance in recall. A dual coding version that assumed separate verbal and visual representations of the story significantly improved the model fit in four of the clips, accounting for an additional 15–29% of the variance. The dimensions of the event-indexingmodel (time, space, protagonist, …

Variations In Crowding, Saccadic Precision, And Spatial Localization Reveal The Shared Topology Of Spatial Vision, John A. Greenwood, Martin Szinte, Bilge Sayim, Patrick Cavanagh

Dartmouth Scholarship

Visual sensitivity varies across the visual field in several characteristic ways. For example, sensitivity declines sharply in peripheral (vs. foveal) vision and is typically worse in the upper (vs. lower) visual field. These variations can affect processes ranging from acuity and crowding (the deleterious effect of clutter on object recognition) to the precision of saccadic eye movements. Here we examine whether these variations can be attributed to a common source within the visual system. We first compared the size of crowding zones with the precision of saccades using an oriented clock target and two adjacent flanker elements. We report that …

Concreteness, Frequency, And Bilingual Language Dominance: Implications For The Impact Of Context Availability In Explicit Memory, Randolph Taylor

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

One explanation for why concrete words are better recalled than abstract words is systematic differences across these word types in the availability of context information. In contrast, explanations for the concrete word advantage in recognition memory do not consider a possible role for context availability. Like concrete words, low-frequency words and L2 words also demonstrate item recognition advantages over high-frequency words and L1 words, respectively. Although the theories explaining these advantages do not explicitly discuss context availability, the mechanisms described suggest that context availability may play a role. The present study examined the extent to which context availability can explain …

Hope Is A 4-Legged Word: How Service Dogs Can Help Veterans Suffering From Combat-Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Holly Katherine Robinson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase among our veterans returning from the War on Terror, the need for alternative treatment options is becoming more critical. One such alternative is the use of psychiatric service dogs specially trained to assist those living with PTSD. However, little empirical research has been conducted to support the legitimacy of this treatment option. This present study sought to explore the benefits that could be gained from the use of a service dog to treat PTSD by exploring relevant literature. The training the dogs receive as well as the possible problems …

Testing Of Wrist-Worn-Fitness-Tracking Devices During Cognitive Stress: A Validation Study, Nicole S. Chudy

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis was to test if one of the many fitness-tracking devices, Microsoft’s Band 2 (MSB2), is accurate and reliable in detecting changes in Heart Rate (HR) and R-R intervals, during the repeated trial of two conditions of a working-memory test known as the N-Back. A 2 (devices: ECG, MSB2) × 4 (epochs: baseline 1, 1-back task, baseline 2, 3-back task) repeated measures factorial design was conducted. The participants were simultaneously equipped to the MSB2 and an electrocardiogram (ECG). The results of this study validated the MSB2 for the use in a cognitive task. The study suggests …

Beyond Compliance: Examining The Role Of Motivation In Vigilance Performance, Alexis Neigel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vigilance, or sustained attention, is the capacity to attend to information for a prolonged period of time (Davies & Parasuraman, 1982; Jerison, 1970; Warm, 1977). Due to limitations of the human nervous system, as well as the environmental context, attention can begin to wane over time. This results in a phenomenon referred to as the vigilance decrement, or a decline in vigilance performance as a function of time. The vigilance decrement can manifest as poorer attention and is thusly associated with poor performance, which is defined behaviorally as more lapses in the detection of critical signals and an increase in …