Cognition and Perception Commons^™

An Extension Of Sic Predictions To The Wiener Coactive Model, Joseph W. Houpt, James T. Townsend

Psychology Faculty Publications

The survivor interaction contrasts (SIC) is a powerful measure for distinguishing among candidate models of human information processing. One class of models to which SIC analysis can apply are the coactive, or channel summation, models of human information processing. In general, parametric forms of coactive models assume that responses are made based on the first passage time across a fixed threshold of a sum of stochastic processes. Previous work has shown that the SIC for a coactive model based on the sum of Poisson processes has a distinctive down--up--down form, with an early negative region that is smaller than the …

Executive Function Profiles In Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Erik Nelson Ringdahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traumatic brain injury is a common cause of disability and death among children in the United States. Insult to the frontal and temporal lobes are frequent in closed head brain injury. Cognitive deficits in a variety of domains are common sequelae of brain trauma. In many cases, trauma to the frontal and temporal lobe regions engender prominent deficits in higher-order cognitive processing, memory, and attention.

Higher-order cognitive processing, or Executive Functions are the grouping of cognitive processes necessary for organization of thoughts and activities, attending to the activities, prioritizing tasks, managing time efficiently, and making decisions (Alvarez & Emory, 2006; …

Nice Guys Finish Fast And Bad Guys Finish Last: Facilitatory Vs. Inhibitory Interaction In Parallel Systems, Ami Eidels, Joseph W. Houpt, Nicholas Altieri, Lei Pei, James T. Townsend

Psychology Faculty Publications

Systems Factorial Technology is a powerful framework for investigating the fundamental properties of human information processing such as architecture (i.e., serial or parallel processing) and capacity (how processing efficiency is affected by increased workload). The Survivor Interaction Contrast (SIC) and the Capacity Coefficient are effective measures in determining these underlying properties, based on response-time data. Each of the different architectures, under the assumption of independent processing, predicts a specific form of the SIC along with some range of capacity. In this study, we explored SIC predictions of discrete-state (Markov process) and continuous-state (Linear Dynamic) models that allow for certain types …

The Plight Of “Big Black Dogs” In American Animal Shelters: Color-Based Canine Discrimination, Amanda Leonard

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

The paper begins by describing Big Black Dog Syndrome and its effects in shelters across the United States. I then discuss the physical and environmental factors that contribute to BBD Syndrome; Western symbolism associated with the color black, historical examples of black dogs as negative entities in Western culture, and the concept of “unconscious background checking,” which negatively impacts the adoption rates of BBDs. Lastly, I offer some suggestions as to how shelters in the United States can ameliorate the negative effects of BBD Syndrome.

The Statistical Properties Of The Survivor Interaction Contrast, Joseph W. Houpt, James T. Townsend

Psychology Faculty Publications

The Survivor Interaction Contrast (SIC) is a powerful tool for assessing the architecture and stopping rule of a model of mental processes. Despite its demonstrated utility, the methodology has lacked a method for statistical testing until now. In this paper we briefly describe the SIC then develop some basic statistical properties of the measure. These developments lead to a statistical test for rejecting certain classes of models based on the SIC. We verify these tests using simulated data, then demonstrate their use on data from a simple cognitive task.

Effect Of Apology Focus On Perceptions Of Sincerity, Apology Acceptance And Forgiveness, Sophie M. Beesley

Theses : Honours

The restorative justice process involves bringing the offender, their families, the victim and other stakeholders together, to discuss a particular offence and the impact on all those involved (Braithwaite, 2002). The intention of the restorative justice approach is to repair harm and restore relationships through forgiveness and reconciliation (Braithwaite, 2002). One way of achieving forgiveness is through an apology, and it is asserted by researchers that forgiving is significantly increased by an apology if the victim perceives that the apology is sincere, however, the indicators victims used to perceive the wrongdoer as truly sorry were unclear (Allan, Allan, Kaminer, & …

Self-Efficacy, Jennifer T. Gosselin, James E. Maddux

Psychology Faculty Publications

The study of self-efficacy is concerned with understanding this important aspect of self and identity—people's beliefs about their personal capabilities and how these beliefs influence what they try to accomplish, how they try to accomplish it, and how they react to successes and setbacks along the way.

The Effects Of Allocation Of Attention On Negative Priming, Stacy Lee Phelps

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Intermittent Consequences And Problem Solving: The Experimental Control Of “Superstitious” Beliefs, Ruth A. Heltzer, Stuart Vyse

Psychology Faculty Publications

Three groups of college students were asked to determine how points were earned in a task that allowed the assessment of response variability. All students received points for sequences of eight presses distributed across two keys (four presses on each key). One group received a point for each correct sequence, one group received points on a fixed-ratio 2 schedule, and one group received points on a random-ratio 2 schedule. There were no significant differences in nonverbal response variability across the three groups, and the fixed-ratio 2 and random-ratio 2 groups obtained equivalent point totals. However, participants in the random-ratio group …

Intradimensional Variability With Numbers And Alphabetical Letters In Conceptual Rules, Thomas Henry Clayton

All Master's Theses

Subjects were assigned to bidimensional rule problems that contained either 5, 10, or 15 levels of intradimensional variability. The stimuli consisted of numbers and alphabetical letters. There were no performance differences by either males or females when the number of levels within each rule was increased. There was a significant difference in performance among the three rules (disjunctive, conditional, and biconditional), however, the conditional was more difficult than the biconditional which is inconsistent with earlier research.

The Effects Of Truth Table Pretraining And Intradimensional Variability On Rule Learning And Attribute Identification Tasks, Eric S. Gebelein

All Master's Theses

Ss were required to sort geometrical patterns into positive or negative instances. According to (a) an attribute identification problem (wherein one of three conceptual rules was given: Disjunctive, Conditional, or Biconditional) or (b) Rule learning problem (wherein the two relevant attributes were given: either yellow, triangle or blue, circle). Intradimensional variability for each condition was either five, seven, or nine levels. The Rule effect was the only significant source of variance even though performance did worsen as intradimensional variability was increased.

False Physiological Feedback And Acceptance Of A High Fear Message, Michael T. Gray

All Master's Theses

This paper presents an attempt to differentiate between the drive reduction and parallel response theories as explanations of results obtained in fear communication research.

Forty-eight subjects were divided into four equal groups and while listening to a high fear message, three groups received false GSR feedback. The fourth group (control) received no feedback. The results failed to differentiate between the two theoretical models and also failed to support findings of an earlier study which used similar feedback techniques.

It was concluded that further research using false feedback techniques needs to be done.

A Comparison Of Verbal And Geometric Stimuli In Concept Learning, Robert William Greenway

All Master's Theses

Subjects classified stimulus patterns into positive or negative instances of the concept according to either an attribute identification (AI) problem or a rule learning (RL) problem. Four types of stimulus materials were used: verbal stimuli (V), geometric stimuli (G), or two combinations of these modes, verbal geometric (VG) or verbal colored (VC). The only main effects that were significant were the Type of rule and Type of problem. Some interactions were obtained between these factors and the stimulus mode employed.

Experimenter Bias Effect At Varying Levels Of Motivation, Leslie Marie Slade Gray

All Master's Theses

This study examined the effects of experimenter motivation upon the experimenter bias effect on a person perception task. It was hypothesized that the experimenter bias effect would decrease as reward and threat of punishment increased.

Thirty-five experimenters were randomly assigned to five treatment groups including a control group, two reward groups, and two punishment conditions. Each experimenter administered the photo task to two subjects. The results failed to support the experimental hypotheses.

The Effects Of Motivation Level And Task Difficulty On Performance On A Vigilance Task, Donald C. Johnston

All Master's Theses

Although many variables affecting vigilance behavior have been identified, there has not been substantial agreement on the importance of these variables as contributors either to performance decrements often found in laboratory research or to performance levels in industrial inspection tasks. Two variables of presumed importance are level of motivation and task difficulty. The purpose of the present experiment was to assess the main and interactive effects of these variables on performance on a task which approximated more closely an industrial inspection task than have the bulk of traditional vigilance studies.

Concept Identification As A Function Of Three Semantic Dimensions, Richard Eugene Edwards

All Master's Theses

It is the purpose of the present study to determine the differential effects of the three primary semantic dimensions on the ability of Ss to solve a concept identification problem. It was hypothesized that the performance level, as measured by a criterion of learning ten successive responses containing no more than one error, time to completion, and the total number of errors, will be higher for Ss working on the evaluative dimension than for Ss working on the potency or activity dimensions. Two additional hypotheses were formulated in an attempt to answer the following questions: 1) Is the ability to …

The Effect Of Dominance Level When Using Mediated Generalization To Facilitate Concept Formation, Delbert Smith Mchenry

All Master's Theses

This investigation was concerned with demonstrating differences in order of concept attainment as a function of the degree of association between a concept instance and concept response, using mediated generalization.