Cognition and Perception Commons^™

Dissociable Aspects Of Mental Workload: Examinations Of The P300 Erp Component And Performance Assessments, Carryl L. Baldwin, Joseph T. Coyne

Psychology Faculty Publications

Advanced technologies have enabled the choice of either visual or auditory formats for avionics and surface transportation displays. Methods of assessing the mental workload imposed by displays of different formats are critical to their successful implementation. Towards this end a series of investigations were conducted with the following aims: 1) developing analogous auditory and visual versions of a secondary task that could be used to compare display modalities; and 2) to compare the sensitivity of neurophysiological, behavioral and subjective indices of workload. Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed that analogous auditory and visual secondary oddball discrimination tasks were of equivalent difficulty …

To See More Clearly And Broadly: Science And The Postmodern Sentiment, C. Jason Smith, Robert Froemke

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

What we call postmodernism, whether we refer to the sciences or the humanities, is a certain preoccupation with the role of the human observer in the composition and perception -- perhaps even construction -- of reality. The postmodern condition, so to speak, is the moment in history when the hard sciences and the sciences of man seem to be suffering from the same anxieties about the relevance of the self-reflexive interaction between the observer and the subject to the fabric of existence and the web of knowledge. In simplest terms, we would define the postmodern question as this: …

Of Parts And Wholes: Self-Similarity And Synecdoche In Science, Culture And Literature, Dirk Vanderbeke

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

The discussion here centers on how self-similarity, or parts resembling a whole, has been a recurring aspect in the most diverse fields of human thinking from antiquity to the present. Primary examples are drawn from physics, biology, cybernetics, alchemy, philosophy, myth and, of course, language and literature. The author argues that self-similar patterns are one of the persistent ways in which the human mind structures its experience and knowledge of the world, and then examines some of the questions that arise when an almost ubiquitous concept, structure or linguistic and literary phenomenon resurfaces in a new guise in …

Motion Perception Of Angularly Expanding Stimuli Within A Presence Versus Absence Framework, Nathan R. Bailey

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Research has shown that searching for the presence of a feature among featureless distractors is easier than searching for the absence of a feature among distractor objects containing the feature. The present study examined motion perception within this context while manipulating motion type and target density. Further, the element of angular expansion was also included as part of the moving stimuli. Using a standard computer interface, participants were asked to respond as quickly as they could to a variety of moving stimuli. Results showed that it took more time to detect stationary targets among moving distractors than to find moving …

Structural Equation Modeling Of Attitudes Toward Employment Testing, Laura Susan Hamil

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This research investigated the relationships among past testing experiences, testing attitudes, perceptions of test performance, race, and gender. In addition, the effects of testing information on testing attitudes were studied. Two hundred and twelve applicants to a variety of positions in a large telecommunications company were asked to complete a series of questionnaires before and after employment testing. The questionnaires included measures of testing experience, general and specific testing attitudes, and perceptions of test performance. Scores on the employment test were also obtained as a measure of cognitive ability. Of the 212 participants, half were given a brochure to read …

African-American Fathers: Their Role In Children's Social And Cognitive Development, Tammy Sue Smith

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Low-income, African-American fathers were examined regarding their involvement, job satisfaction, sensitivity, parenting attitudes, and gender role attitudes in relation to their children's social and cognitive development. Fathers completed the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1969); the Parental Attitudes Toward Childrearing Questionnaire (Easterbrooks & Goldberg, 1984); the Parent Attitude Research Scale (Bartz & Levine, 1978); and the Bern Inventory (Bern, 1974). Sensitivity was measured by videotaping fathers and children in a free play session. Videotaped interactions were scored according to the CARE-Index procedure (Crittenden, 1988). The children were administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley, 1969) or …

Body Image And Information-Processing Biases On A Modified Stroop Task, Andrea Powell Arcona

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Recent research in the area of body image and body-image disturbance has increasingly examined cognitive information-processing models. The focus of the current study was on the processing of appearance-related and nonappearance-related information in appearance-schematic versus appearance-aschematic women. As a modified and extended replication of a study by Labarge, Cash, and Brown (in press), information processing was investigated using a computerized Stroop-type task. Participants were 128 Old Dominion University women who had previously completed the Appearance Schemas Inventory (ASI). They were divided into two groups based on their above median (appearance-schematic) or below-median (appearance-aschematic) ASI scores, Then, at designated times, these …

Attentional Processing Of Visual Stimuli: What Makes A Face A Face?, Samuel L. Chapman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Reaction time (RT) and accuracy have been used to investigate the manner in which humans process visual stimuli for many years. Some researchers have found evidence of serial processing (e.g., Sternberg, 1969a) while others have shown that some visual stimuli are processed in parallel (e.g., Neisser, 1963). There have been very few studies investigating the processing of schematic faces with respect to RT and accuracy. The present study investigates the mechanisms associated with the recognition of schematic faces with respect to RT and accuracy.

Forty-two Old Dominion University students were shown a target face for ten seconds and were then …

Choice Reaction Time And Conjunctions Of Form Size Color And Orientation, Cristina Bubb-Lewis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Reaction time (RT) is frequently used as a dependent measure in studies that examine the organization of perceptual and cognitive processes. Hick's law states that RT in a choice-reaction-time (CRT) task is a linear function of the amount of information transmitted per stimulus-response event. RT has been used to try to determine whether serial or parallel processing is being employed in CRT tasks (Sternberg, 1966). There is research evidence suggesting a serial, exhaustive search process (Sternberg, 1969a; Wingfield, 1973), as well as findings which suggest parallel processing (Neisser, 1963; Neisser, Novick, and Lazar, 1963) in CRT tasks. All the experiments …

The Evaluation Of Company-Sponsored Test-Preparation Courses: Training Different Aged Employees On General Test-Taking Skills And Basic Cognitive Skills, Kerrie D. Quinn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Test performance in general has been found to decline with increasing age. However, this decline has not been accompanied consistently by lower job performance. Subsequently, factors external to the test are being more closely examined for their effects on test performance. Two such factors, a lack of general test-taking skills and a reduced level of basic cognitive skills, are thought to contribute most to the test performance of older adults. These factors occur because of the lower level of education and greater length of time since formal schooling for older adults. Accordingly, organizations have been offering test-preparation training to all …

The Effect Of Fear Of Success And Perceived Task Difficulty On Cognitive Performance, David Eugene Elkins

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship of fear of success (FOS) and perceptions of task difficulty, their interactive effect on anagram and matrix-task performance and possible gender differences on these variables. A total of 226 students, 83 males and 143 females, participated in the study. FOS was measured by the administration of Zuckerman and Allison's (1976) Fear of Success Scale. Perceptions of task difficulty were manipulated by use of falsified normative data. Subjects therefore believed the upcoming task was either easy or difficult or the subjects were employed as controls. An anagram task and 12 items selected from Raven's Standard Progressive …

The Effect Of Internal Vs. External Attributions And Level Of Information On Perceptions And Concessions In A Conflict Situation, William Walter Docalovich

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated predicted concessions and subject impressions of internally vs. externally motivated opponents in a conflict situation. One hundred and twenty undergraduate subjects read brief scenarios that presented opening statements made by opponents in a negotiation involving the division of excess funds in an organization. The opponent asked for 80% of the excess money and either blamed external or internal reasons for not conciliating. Half the subjects were also presented with additional information regarding the opponent's prior behavior along the dimensions of consistency, consensus and distinctiveness. It was hypothesized that attribution would interact with additional information so that external …

The Effects Of Temporospatial Integration On Distance Estimations Of Young And Elderly Adults, Margaret Rowley-Bernicki

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The effect of discontinuity on temporospati al integration in the accuracy of distance estimations was examined utilizing a slide presentation of a route. Participants were 60 young and 60 elderly adults who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. The two conditions were determined by whether the subjects viewed the walk in a logically sequenced order or a pre-determined randomized order. Subjects viewed the walk twice and thereafter made a series of distance estimates between a series of preselected landmarks chosen by a different group of young and elderly adults. Additionally, subjects gave self-ratings on a twelve-item questionnaire to …

Landmark Selection And Temporal-Spatial Integration: Macrospatial Abilities In Young Adults And Elderly Adults, Deans Haggerty

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Groups of young adults and elderly adults participated in a study examining age-related changes in macrospatial cognitive abilities. Perceptual differentiation/selection abilities were tested using a Landmark Selection task, while temporal-spatial integration abilities were explored through the use of a Scrambled Route task. In the Landmark Selection task, subjects viewed a slide presentation of a walk and then chose the landmarks which best represented the walk. For the Scrambled Route task, after viewing a slide presentation of a scrambled walk, subjects made distance estimations involving pairs of selected landmarks. Also included were self-assessment scales of spatial abilities and two psychometric tests …

The Development Of A Paper-And-Pencil Measure Of Complex Cognitive-Perceptual Aptitude, Don Michael Mcanulty

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The primary purpose of the present research was a develop a complex aptitude test to assess individual differences in multiple cognitive and perceptual abilities that are required for helicopter pilot training. The paper-and-pencil test was designed to provide measures of both static and dynamic (i.e., learning) ability under different levels of complexity. The secondary research purpose was to develop a battery of eight psychometric tests to assess other abilities that are required for helicopter pilot training. Test prototypes were produced and administered to small samples of subjects. The tests were then revised into an experimental battery that required approximately 7 …

An Information Processing Approach To The Study Of Map Interpretation, Susan Vaughan Felton

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Three variables involved in map interpretation (rotation, planar angle, and scale) were examined from an information processing perspective to determine whether they were characterized by serial, parallel, or a combination of serial and parallel processing. Sex differences in these processes were also examined. Participants viewed a series of pairs of slides depicting various combinations of rotations, planar angles, and scales, and were asked to determine whether the pair represented the same array viewed from a different viewpoint. Accuracy and response time were the dependent variables of interest. Results indicated that the number of manipulations that were involved in a problem …

The Effect Of Intuition On Creativity As Discussed By Several Individuals Of Creative Genius, Mary Jean Campbell

Institute for the Humanities Theses

When the term intuition came into psychological parlance less than a century ago, the argument began over whether intuition could affect creativity, and whether it, in fact, existed at all as part of cognitive process. This paper will begin with a discussion of the meaning of intuition and some of the implications of that term, address the difficulties inherent in relying on self-report for information, and then turn to the statements of several well-known creative individuals about the role of intuition or intuition-related phenomena in their work.

The selection of creative individuals will be limited to those who have attained …

Psyche And Time: The Phenomenology Of Time Consciousness, Sharon Fleet Hartman

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Time in its inward form may be able to provide a significance which sustains the human spirit. If this is true, it becomes unnecessary to seek an enduring significance for life in the transcendent.

Western man's attitudes toward time are a composite of religious, historical, and cultural assumptions. The Christian model of time supported man by its emphasis on God's interventions in the world. The scientific model of time left man adrift in an objective world. The ascendancy of the scientific model brought a devaluation of both time and human life.

Bergson, Husserl, and Merleau-Ponty all describe a type of …

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Revised And The Woodcock-Johnson Tests Of Cognitive Ability: Performance Comparisons Of Elementary Students Being Referred For Special Education Services, Priscilla Mazza Hardiman

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of students being referred for special education services on the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA), Part One from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho­ Educational Battery and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). A sample of 54 elementary students in grades one through six was randomly selected from a referral population for special education identification and services. The subjects were administered all subtests in the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children­ Revised within a three month period of time. The results indicated a significant relationship …

"The Tide Of The Unconscious" Jung, Bosch And The Archetypes Of The Garden Of Earthly Delights, Andrea R. Peck

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Many scholars have discussed the meaning of Hieronymous Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights concluding that Bosch's works were of a conscious nature relating to the real world. By contrast, this study, using the theories of Carl Jung, fragments Bosch's work and sees the milieu of his art through the eyes of the collective unconscious. Accordingly, a number of explanations of Jungian ideas are presented with the view to better understanding Bosch: Jung's theory of the archetypes, his view of Christianity, his analysis of medieval alchemy, as well as matrix archetypes and symbolic forms relating to The Garden. Through this …

Effects Of Practice On The Rate Of Gain Of Information In A Paper And Pencil Task, Dennis Howard Jones

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Investigations into the effects of practice on choice reaction time (CRT) performance and the rate of gain of information have produced confusing and often contradictory results. This seems to stem from the fact that (1) a small number of subjects were utilized and (2) there were an insufficient number of experimental conditions. In the present experiments, the author has developed a Reaction Time Battery (RTB) that allows a large group of subjects to be tested efficiently and economically. Using three levels of stimulus uncertainty (1, 2, or 3 bits) factorial to two levels of S-R compatibility (low and high), Experiment …

A Comparison Of The Perceptual And Motor Abilities Of Learning Disabled And Normal Students At Ages Eleven And Twelve, Rachel Adams Thompson

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

An Investigation Into The Incidence Of Psychogenic Factors Underlying The Temporomandibular Joint Pain/Dysfunction Syndrome, Ernest William Small

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.

A Statistical Analysis Of The Relationship Between Outline Form Perception And School Achievement At The First Grade Level, John Hooker Sutherland

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

No abstract.