Psychology Commons^™

Penny For Your Thoughts: Exploring Mechanisms Linking Socioeconomic Status And Cognition, Colton Hunter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Socioeconomic status is a complex psychological construct linked to a number of professional and personal barriers, including cognitive deficits. Throughout this dissertation, I seek to examine the mechanisms that link socioeconomic status and cognition. First, I explore potential mediators in the link between adolescent family income and cognition in adulthood, identifying education, stressful life events, inflammation, and family education expectations as significant mediators. Next, I examine the effects of writing-based stress manipulations on long-term memory and working memory, as these effects may mimic stress from financial worry. In doing so, I identify potential effects on working memory parameters. Finally, in …

Investigating The Impact Of Bilingual Experience And Language Use Context On Cognitive Control In An Auditory Stroop Task, Christian Ruiz-Ortiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bilinguals are often reported to outperform monolinguals on executive control tasks, yet recent work suggests that any bilingual adaptations depend on how, and in which contexts, individuals use their two languages. The present dissertation tested whether specific dimensions of bilingual experiences (proficiency balance and daily interaction situations) predict the way listeners engage proactive (anticipatory) versus reactive (stimulus-driven) control when resolving non-linguistic conflict. Sixty young adults completed a non-linguistic auditory Stroop task that manipulated conflict expectancy both list-wide and item-specifically. Group-level analysis replicated classic proportion-congruency effects, but not the predicted proactive control signature, and transfer cost indexing reactive control was not …

Structuring The Sustainability Of Happiness In Critical Postmodernity: A Metadata, Mixed-Methods Study In Education, Roxanne Renee Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation study is built upon a pilot study that uses a meta-theoretical analysis on the culture of education. The purpose of it is to examine [un]happiness, a phenomenon influenced by the social, political, and economic systems in Western paradigms within a critical postmodern view, looking at the intricacies of schooling, as no studies have taken a bottom-up approach to investigate the voices of the main stakeholders: students, teachers, and administrators. My study questions whether a holistic, liberating, and socially responsive curriculum could engender a positive learning environment wherein happiness is sustainable. Within happiness studies, hope is essential, so much …

The Drawing Effect: Evaluating Drawing Method And Strategic Implementation On Recall Accuracy, Jacob M. Namias

Dissertations

Drawing images of to-be-remembered word’s reference often improves memory for the word relative to a control in which the word is written or read silently, a pattern dubbed the drawing effect. Drawing effects have been recorded in a variety of contexts and are generally more beneficial than other deep/elaborative encoding tasks. My dissertation compared recall for words that are drawn by copying a given image versus generating a drawn image without copying, and in study contexts in which the proportion of drawn items is disproportionally skewed. Experiment 1 gauged whether drawing effects differ relative to writing when participants draw an …

Sleep Restriction And Its Effects On Mood, April M. Rummery Lamb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sleep plays a fundamental role in the human body being able to function effectively, in particular it plays an essential role in mood regulation. Previous research on sleep and mood has found that there is a correlation between receiving an inadequate amount of sleep and having a negative mood. However, the current field has mostly looked at the relationship between disordered sleep and mood disorders as opposed to everyday sleep patterns and daily mood. The present study aims to look at how sleep restrictions which occur naturally (not caused by sleep disorders such as insomnia) effect daily mood. To conduct …

Parkinson’S Disease And Processing Speed Theory Does Processing Speed Mediate Higher-Order Cognitive Functioning?, Priscilla Cuellar-Rocha

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder resulting in both motor and cognitive deficits. Salthouse (1990) proposed the Information Processing Speed (IPS) Theory that a reduced cognitive processing speed is a significant factor that accounts for the negative relationship between age-related variance and cognition. Parkinson’s is an idiopathic disorder, meaning that the cause is unknown, with most patients being 60 years and older. If the IPS theory suggests that an increased age affects the slowing of IPS, which then impairs cognition, PD, a disorder involving older adults, should also follow this pattern. However, no studies have assessed the IPS theory …

Empowering Mental Support Health Through Ai Chatbot, Anish Ilapaka

ATU Scholars Symposium

The growing prevalence of mental health concerns worldwide underscores the urgent need for accessible, scalable, and supportive solutions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising tool in this domain, capable of delivering immediate and empathetic interactions to complement traditional methods of mental health care. This project introduces a conversational AI system to assist individuals experiencing mental health challenges. The proposed system is built on a LLaMA model fine-tuned with a dataset of 10,000 mental health-related dialogues; the system leverages advanced natural language processing and machine learning techniques for meaningful engagement. The core functionality of this tool lies in its …

Expediting Tool-Use Learning: Effects Of Non-Invasive Neurostimulation Of The Left Anterior Supramarginal Gyrus, Kamila Haliru

Honors Thesis

The left anterior supramarginal gyrus (aSMG) has been implicated as an important brain region in tool use. While anodal transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (atDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) has been shown to facilitate skilled tool use, the effects of aSMG stimulation remain largely unexplored. Using a chopstick-marble paradigm, this thesis examined whether atDCS to the left aSMG would enhance tool-use learning. Electroencephalography (EEG) was concurrently recorded to assess atDCS-dependent changes to the beta and gamma frequency bands. Our results demonstrated that atDCS over the left aSMG significantly expedited tool-use learning and was associated with increased gamma band activity …

Understanding The Needs Of The Intellectually And Developmentally Disabled And Autistic Population In The Criminal Justice System, Emily Sateary

Master of Arts in Human Services

This paper explores the inequitable treatment of the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled and Autistic (IDD/A) population in the criminal justice system. Although progress has been made over the past century with understanding the unique needs of this population, they still face challenges at all stages of the criminal justice system. Behavioral, social skills, and sensory challenges make it difficult for the IDD/A population to avoid criminal justice contact and to understand the criminal justice process. Insufficient training for police and attorneys harms both persons with IDD/A and criminal justice professionals. This paper examines current practices in place that are barriers …

Dissolving Sand Into Fog - Portraying Long Term Temporal Illusions Through Music, Kyle Bergler

Honors Projects

Long-term temporal illusions permeate our day-to-day lives, but due to their highly subjective nature, few are familiar with them. To help introduce these topics in a way that lets a wider audience connect individually with them, I composed three works for percussion ensembles, each in a different style, and each portraying one or multiple long-term temporal illusions. All of these pieces were composed and rehearsed throughout the spring 2025 semester and premiered at my senior recital on April 19, 2025.

Andrew N. Meltzoff: Social Cognition, Imitation, Cross-Modal Perception, Infant Development, Jeffrey H. Cornelius-White, Joan E. Test

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Andreas Demetriou was born August 15th, 1950 in Stongylo, Famagusta, Cyprus. Demetriou attended the University of Thessaloniki and obtained a Ph.D. in psychology in 1983. After completing his doctoral degree he was a professor of developmental and educational psychology at the University of Thessaloniki until 1996. Demetriou then became a professor at the University of Cyprus, serving in various leadership positions from 1996 to 2008, including chairing the Department of Educational Science and serving as dean for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and dean of the School of Social Sciences and Sciences of Education. He also became the …

Infant Memory, Jenna Beffel, Naomi J. Aldrich

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Until the second half of the 20th century, the ability to recall information was thought to emerge between 2- and 10-years-of-age. Resulting from repression of our earliest sexual urges, immature neural mechanisms, or an impoverished sense of self and linguistic skills, infantile amnesia represents the predominant view of infancy at the time; a period in which the child possessed remarkably limited mental abilities, thus experiencing the world as nothing more than “one great blooming, buzzing confusion” (James, 1890). The research contributions of Dr. Carolyn Rovee-Collier over the next seventy years succeeded in altering this perspective.

Perception, Chris Burley, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Perception is the process through which humans are able to select, organize, and interpret sensory input from the external environment. This process of selection, organization, and interpretation of external sensory stimulation results in our internal representation of the outside world, as well as our conscious experience. Through the process of perception, we are able to gain information and knowledge about our environment, allowing us to safely and effectively navigate in the world.

Craik & Lockhart: Levels Of Processing, Macey Cartwright, Heidi Kloos

Essays in Developmental Psychology

What is the nature of mental activity that allows a child to remember a past experience? Traditionally, the question of memory was answered with an exclusively static model: The mind was said to have storage bins to which represented experiences are added. Depending on the exact nature of the storage bin, the experience is remembered either for a short time (i.e., shortterm memory) or for a long time (i.e., long-term memory). Though widely familiar, this model of static storage bins falls notoriously short on explaining the nuance of memory findings. For example, short-term memory appears to have strict capacity limits …

Imagining Differences: An Exploration Of The Visual Imagery Spectrum, Kay Dekock

2025 Student Academic Showcase

Mental imagery, or more specifically, visual imagery, plays a significant role in human life. For this reason, this paper aims to examine the many aspects of visual imagery with a special focus on inherent differences between individuals. This paper explores the idea of what visual imagery is and how it is represented, from the in-between of the spectrum of visual imagery, to the extreme ends, where lies the conditions of aphantasia and hyperphantasia. This paper covers the core cognitive processes involved in visual imagery and the parts of the brain responsible for them. The idea of measurement and assessment is …

Cognitive Diagnosis Of Media And Digital Literacy Knowledge Schema In Mexican High School Students, Janneth Trejo-Quintana, Guadalupe E. Morales-Martinez, Betsabe Hernandez-Alvarez

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This research explored the mental representation of media and digital literacy (MDL) in 242 Mexican high school students through a definitional task based on the natural semantic networks technique. The participants defined ten target concepts related to MDL, using verbs, nouns, and adjectives as definers, and then they rated each definer with a scale from 1 to 10. The smaller the number, the lower the quality of the definer to conceptualize the target, while the higher the rating, the higher the quality of the definer to define it. The participants showed a beginner level in MDL despite their daily navigation …

Provision Of Brand Information And Critical Reasoning Predict Advertising Literacy, Eugene Zheng Yao, Alexandra List

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study investigated students’ critical reasoning about commercials, as an aspect of advertising literacy. Critical reasoning was examined under two different experimental conditions. That is, students were tasked with watching four different commercials with 1) brand information provided or not, and 2) asked to engage in critical reasoning or not. The commercials chosen used various production techniques (e.g., socially conscious marketing) to mask their persuasive message. Students provided with brand information within commercials had significantly higher critical reasoning scores when viewing two, out of the four, commercials, and significantly higher overall Analysis of Persuasive Intent (API) scores and brand recall. …

Religious Scrupulosity: The Law And The Gospel, Robert J. Chester

Senior Honors Theses

The clear distinction of the law and gospel for the salvation and justification of an individual, highly affects the minds, beliefs, and lives of those who suffer from religious scrupulosity. Religious scrupulosity is known as obsessional fears of thinking or behaving immorally against one’s religious beliefs. Religious scrupulosity affects many in the church, and is a form of obsessive/compulsive thought that can form due to improper emphasis of gospel truth. The way the church preaches and emphasizes certain points of the gospel can change the perception and understanding of many people in the world. The evident distinction between law and …

Longitudinal Assessment Of Blast-Related Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi): Impact On Structural Neuroimaging Correlates, Working Memory, And Processing Speed, Carmen Velez

Dissertations

The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq led to a significant surge in blast-related traumatic brain injuries (bTBIs). However, our understanding of their lasting neurological impacts remains incomplete. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study of its size to explore whether increasing levels of blast exposure predict neural atrophy or cognitive decline over time. We analyzed 149 baseline and follow-up data sets from service members categorized by blast exposure: blast naïve (n = 57), single blast (n = 70), and multiple blasts (n = 22). Participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological assessment.

All data were drawn …

Psychological Treatment Behind The Walls:Insights From The Inside, Rogelio Serrano

Psychology Division Scholarship

Repeated eras of mass incarceration, criminalization of marginalized communities, and substance use policies have created a revolving door of justice involved populations. The ever-increasing prison population has repeatedly become the largest contingency of mental health clientele for an overburdened mental health system. Those who work with formerly incarcerated individuals in the community often don’t know the unique set of challenges faced by practitioners within the system. Increased understanding and coordination of care can offer opportunities for sustained recovery and reduced levels of recidivism. In this presentation participants will learn about the unique insights on mental health treatment that can be …

Pareidolia And Creative Potential: Exploring Individual Differences In Attention To Pareidolia, Anna Prinz

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Faces are important stimuli in our environments and elicit a greater attentional response than non-faces. This is also true for pareidolic faces, which are objects in which individuals see features of faces such as eyes and mouths. Creative potential can affect pareidolic processing. Recent studies have found that perceptions of pareidolia occur more often and quickly in individuals with higher creative potential (HCP) compared to individuals with lower creative potential (LCP), which might contribute to greater distractibility for HCP individuals. In the present study, I expected that individuals with HCP would be more distracted by less pareidolic stimuli compared to …

Does Ai Help Or Harm? Why And How Ai Use Influences Workplace Outcomes And Employee Well-Being, Haille Trimboli, Reka Lassu

Education Division Scholarship

Although the recent surge in excitement surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) might suggest it is a new development, AI has been applied in organizations for over forty years (Fanti et al., 2022; Markelius et al., 2024). Indeed, the term "artificial intelligence" itself emerged in the 1950s during a research project at Dartmouth College, where it was used to describe "machines able to simulate human intelligence" (Haenlein & Kaplan, 2019, p. 3). Most recently, in 2022, the landscape of AI use for laypeople greatly changed when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, a generative AI tool, to the public; ChatGPT is an advanced AI language …

Differences In Performance In Mental Rotation And Short-Term Free Recall In Gender Minorities, Katheryne Renee Wood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study examined mental rotation, short-term free recall, state anxiety, and gender expression through masculinity and femininity. This study addressed gaps in literature examining gender differences in gender minority groups by investigating gender differences in two tasks: mental rotation and short-term recall. Participants are categorized into four gender groups: cisgender men, cisgender women, non-binary, and binary transgender. In accordance with previous literature, it was hypothesized that men would outperform women in mental rotation, women would outperform men in short-term free recall performance, and that non-binary individuals would operate separately from other groups. Anxiety was recorded as a possible covariate, but …

Fostering Cognitive Complexity In Behavioral Health Providers: Perspectives From Supervisors In Integrated Primary Care, Katherina Nako

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The integration of behavioral health into primary care settings, known as Integrated Primary Care (IPC), offers a holistic approach to addressing both physical and mental health needs (Ramanuj et al., 2019). Efforts to expand access to mental healthcare have contributed to the growing presence of IPC settings (Martin 2017), with mental health providers, such as mental health counselors, joining these teams as Behavioral Health Providers (BHPs; Blount, 2017). However, the unique complexities of IPC often leave BHPs feeling underprepared, largely due to the traditional training frameworks emphasized in many graduate counseling programs. The need for BHPs to adapt to the …

Research On The Influencing Factors Of Dropout Behavior Among Users Of Ancient Language Models From The Perspective Of Resilience Theory, Hai Zhang, Jiping Fang, Dongbo Wang

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance]The deep integration of ancient book digitization and large language models is the future development trend. In order to clarify the influence factors and formation mechanisms of dropout behavior among users of domain ancient book large language models, mobilize the willingness of users to use large language models, achieve high-quality user retention, and promote the non-human high-quality development of domain large language models. [Method/process]This study takes users in the field of ancient books as an example, based on resilience theory, and draws on grounded theory research methods to code and deconstruct first-hand data obtained from in-depth interviews with 30 users …

Assessing The Association Between Attentional Bias To Climate Change Images And Climate Anxiety, Abby R. Morley

All NMU Master's Theses

Recent research has shown that people with high trait anxiety fixate on images with higher levels of threat when in an anxious state. Climate change is a massive and timely problem with changes in the temperature of oceans and precipitation as well as warming of the Earth. These impacts can lead to climate anxiety. This project aimed to extend previous research regarding attentional bias and anxiety by assessing the relationship between attentional bias and climate change anxiety. Participants completed an eye-tracking task where they were asked to view climate change relevant images paired with climate irrelevant images. Participants then completed …

Rookies To Aces: Investigating The Intuitiveness Of Pilot Interaction For Operating Evtol Aircraft, Shivani J. Patel

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft introduce unique movement dimensions beyond traditional fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft, requiring novel control interfaces for pilot operation. This study examines the compatibility of gesture-based control movements across participants with varying flight experience levels. This study included a total of 60 participants across four groups; novices (no real or virtual flight experience, n=30), flight simulator gamers (n=10), fixed-wing pilots (n=10), and rotor-wing pilots (n=10). Participants viewed eighteen simulated first-person eVTOL aircraft movements (e.g. pitch, roll, yaw, heave, translations) assessing their intuitive gesture inputs for the different aircraft motions. Additionally, they were asked to sketch …

Trait Mindfulness Is Associated With Enhanced Daily Affectivity And Cognition Independent Of Daily Stressors Exposure: Insights From Large-Scale Daily Diary Studies In The Us And Singapore, Yi Jing Chua, Andree Hartanto, Nadyanna M. Majeed

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Trait mindfulness has been linked to various adaptive outcomes, including attenuated affective and cognitive responses to laboratory-induced stress. However, the role of trait mindfulness as a resilience factor against daily stressors exposures is less established. Across 2 studies, multilevel analysis was used to examine the relationships between trait mindfulness and daily affect and cognition, as well as affective and cognitive reactivity to and recovery from everyday stressor exposure. Trait mindfulness was significantly associated with higher daily positive affect in both studies, lower negative affect and cognitive failure, and lower cognitive reactivity to daily stressor exposure in Study 2. However, trait …

Stress As A Means Of Success: Investigating The Effect Of Stress Appraisals On Willpower, Ego Depletion, And Physiological Responses In College Students, Anna Minor

Honors College Theses

Stress impacts our emotions, cognition, behavior, and health. Although stress is abundant and unavoidable, recent research suggests our perception of stress can strongly influence its outcomes. The Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat (BPS) states that we appraise a stressful scenario in one of two ways: challenge or threat. A challenge appraisal involves a positive perception of stress and is associated with lower physiological output while a threat appraisal involves a negative perception of stress and increased physiological arousal. The current research seeks to apply the BPS to a cognitive task and consider its relation to willpower, ego depletion, and …

Neurocriminology: A Beginner’S Guide, Jerrod Brown

Forensic Scholars Today

No abstract provided.