Cognition and Perception Commons^™

The Effect Of Cognitive Load On Illusory Correlation, Jason Simpson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study investigated two theories of illusory correlation in social judgment by examining how varying the level of cognitive load during encoding of social stimuli affected the amount of illusory correlation. If the level of illusory correlation increases in a monotonic relationship with increasing cognitive load, then this type of increase would provide evidence for the distinctiveness-based view of illusory correlation (Hamilton & GifFord, 1976); however, if levels of illusory correlation show a curvilinear relationship, this relationship would provide support for the differentiated meaning view (Haslam, McGarty, & Brown, 1996). Cognitive load was manipulated by having participants perform an auditory …

The California Psychological Inventory As An Assessment Method Of Behavioral Change In First-Time Expectant Fathers, Michaela R. Jellen-Tennant

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Thirty-four randomly recruited first-time expectant fathers, ages 24 years to 38 years were individually administered the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) during the first and third trimester of their wife’s pregnancy. The purpose of this study is to assess whether there are attitudinal, behavioral, and personality changes that occur in an expectant father over the course of his wife’s pregnancy. It was hypothesized that the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), which is designed to measure interpersonal behavioral attitudes, behavioral patterns, and personality traits, was able to detect that change. The results suggested that no significant change occurred in the expectant father’s attitude, …

Attachment And Memory : Does Attachment Experience Influence Eyewitness Testimony?, Fani Lougklou

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In an effort to examine the relationship between internal working models of attachment (Bowlby, 1969) and eyewitness testimony for child abuse (Lindberg, Kieffer, & Thomas, 2000), college students first watched a video of a mother hitting her son on the head and knocking him to the floor. After this, they filled out the Attachment and Personality Dynamics Questionnaire (APDQ) (Lindberg & Thomas, 1998). Finally, they were tested about details in the video, their memories for inferences about the characters, and their memories for the gist. They were also given several questions about their personal experiences with the type of discipline …

Cognitive Ethology And The Cost Of Anthropomorphiphobia, Robert H.I. Dale

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Book review for the following titles:

Animal Minds: Beyond Cognition to Consciousness. By Donald R. Griffin, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, 376 pages. $27.50 softcover

The Smile of a Dolphin: Remarkable Accounts of Animal Emotions. Edited by Marc Bekoff, New York: Discovery Books, 2000, 240 pages. $35.00 hardcover

Minds of Their Own: Thinking and Awareness in Animals. By Lesley J. Rogers, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998, 224 pages. $19.00 softcover

Object Recognition Tasks: Comparing Paper Versions To Computerized Laboratory Methods, Jody Guyette, Chris Koch

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

No abstract provided.

Discounting And Reciprocity In An Iterated Prisoner’S Dilemma, David W. Stephens, Colleen M. Mclinn, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

The Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma (IPD) is a central paradigm in the study of animal cooperation. According to the IPD framework, repeated play (repetition) and reciprocity combine to maintain a cooperative equilibrium. However, experimental studies with animals suggest that cooperative behavior in IPDs is unstable, and some have suggested that strong preferences for immediate benefits (that is, temporal discounting) might explain the fragility of cooperative equilibria. We studied the effects of discounting and strategic reciprocity on cooperation in captive blue jays. Our results demonstrate an interaction between discounting and reciprocity. Blue jays show high stable levels of cooperation in treatments with …

I Know What You Know: Assumptions About Others' Knowledge And Their Effects On Message Construction, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Chi-Yue Chiu, Ying-Yi Hong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Current models of interpersonal communication assume that estimation of listener's knowledge is a basis for message formulation. By introducing methodological modifications to the Fussell and Krauss paradigm, the present study provides more definitive evidence for the use of knowledge estimation in message productions.

Gender Differences In Risk Perception: Broadening The Contexts, Jan L. Hitchcock

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author surveys literature on the effect of gender on risk perception.

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 …

The Effect Of Age-Related Stereotypes On Memory Self-Efficacy And Memory Task-Performance Of Older Adults, Brenda Karns

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Forty-six older adults participated in a study to examine the hypothesis that there is a significant association between stereotypes of age-related memory decline and memory self-efficacy beliefs. It was also hypothesized that this relationship affects performance on measures of memory performance. A measure of age stereotype vulnerability was assessed along with two measures of memory self-efficacy, four measures of implicit, explicit, and working memory, and two measures of implicit and explicit sequential learning. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among stereotypes of age, memory self-efficacy, and subsequent performance on various tasks of memory and learning. Emphasis was …

False Memories And False Eyewitness Identifications: Are They Related?, Jodi Leigh Price

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Memory errors have become a topic of interest to psychologists in many areas. The present study asked if two types of errors of commission were based on the same mechanism, increasing the utility of findings in each area. The Deese/RoedigerMcDermott false memory paradigm (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995) and the unconscious transference eyewitness identification paradigm (Ross, Ceci, Dunning, & Toglia, 1994) represent two tasks in which memory errors occur. Numerous studies exist examining each of these, few if any exist that examine the relationship between false memories and false eyewitness identifications. The current study therefore, utilized tasks from each …

Poorer European Countries Are Less Concerned About Biotechnology Than Richer Countries, Michael Siegrist

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author examines the relationship between GNP, media coverage, and public perceptions of the utility, risk, and acceptability of medical and food-related applications of biotechnology.

Over A Decade Of Comparative Risk Analysis: A Review Of The Human Health Rankings, David M. Konisky

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author reviews a method for undertaking a cross-project comparison of comparative risk analyses to understand which environmental problem areas have been cited most as often posing the severest risks.

Cognitive And Emotional Variables In Childhood Anxiety, Robin L. Browning

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Research was conducted on 60 subjects from mental health agencies in order to determine that childhood anxiety and depression can be differentiated. The 60 subjects were given the CDI and the RCMAS self-report measures in order to be placed in groups. This allowed the subjects to be divided into 4 groups: Anxious, Anxious/Depressed, Depressed and Not Anxious/Not Depressed. The 4 groups were then given 2 additional self-report measures, the STAIC and FSSC -R to measure whether Anxious and the Anxious/Depressed children exhibited more fears and anxious traits than did the Depressed and Not Anxious/Not Depressed children. Analyses of variance revealed …

The Relationship Between Receptive Vocabulary And Letter Recognition, James Bennett

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The West Virginia Educare Program has randomly chosen 150 children from 2 ½ to 5 years of age to participate in an academic readiness study. These children came from a 6 county pilot community program collaborative, including the counties of Cabell, Wayne, Monongalia, Roane, Upshur, Webster, and Summers. The Bracken-R, the PPVT-III, and Carolina Curriculum for Pre-Schoolers with special needs were used to assess all subjects. For this study, the letter recognition subset of the Bracken-R and the raw score of the PPVT-III were used to determine if a correlation exists between receptive vocabulary and letter recognition. This study found …

'Reading The Play' Situational Awareness And Performance Of Australian Football League Players, Craig Harms

Theses : Honours

Many high-performing Australian Football (AF) players appear to be better at 'reading the play' than other AF players. One cognitive capacity that appears to be similar in nature to 'reading the play', and that has been associated with the performance of elite pilots, is Situational Awareness (SA). The principal focus of this study was to examine the extent to which individual differences in an AF -specific measure of SA and the PC-based WOMBAT^TM test of SA were associated with individual differences in AF player performance, within the context of physiological and psychomotor capacities, using Multiple Regression Analysis. The results …

Neuropsychological Test Scores In Children With And Without Learning Disabilities, Gerard E. Spiegler

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Fifty-six elementary and secondary school students between the ages of 9 years and 16 years were individually administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-III) and the Reading and Mathematics Composite sub scales of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT). Based on a criterion of at least 1.75 standard deviations difference between the highest WISC-III Index score and the lowest WIAT composite score, 27 subjects were assigned to a Learning Disability (LO) group and 29 subjects to a Not LO group (NLD). All even numbered subjects were subsequently administered the same battery of 9 neuropsychological tests in …

Probabilistic Principles In Unsupervised Learning Of Visual Structure: Human Data And A Model, Shimon Edelman, Benjamin P. Hiles, Hwajin Yang, Nathan Intrator

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

To find out how the representations of structured visual objects depend on the co-occurrence statistics of their constituents, we exposed subjects to a set of composite images with tight control exerted over (1) the conditional probabilities of the constituent fragments, and (2) the value of Barlow's criterion of "suspicious coincidence" (the ratio of joint probability to the product of marginals). We then compared the part verification response times for various probe/target combinations before and after the exposure. For composite probes, the speedup was much larger for targets that contained pairs of fragments perfectly predictive of each other, compared to those …

Current Psychological Perceptions Of Clothing As A Form Of Communication In The Business Environment, Amy L. Trowbridge

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Effects Of Misleading Information And Group Discussion On Eyewitness Testimony, Matthew A. Cook

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of the present studies was to assess the separate and interactive effects of misinformation and group discussion on eyewitness testimony. In Experiments 1and 2, participants viewed a short video of a simulated robbery and shooting, and were then presented with either neutral or misleading information that was embedded in forced-choice questionnaires in a recognition test. Participants were subsequently randomly assigned to a group-recognition or individual-recognition condition. Groups were instructed to answer questions about details of the video (in Experiment 1 they were instructed to try to reach consensus), while individuals completed the recognition task on their own. Finally, …

Trends. Honest Broker As Broken Concept: A Middle East Example, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes the psychological and practical difficulties of being an honest broker of peace between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority.

Trends. Rat Psychology During The United States Presidential Election, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article examines the ethics of the alleged use of subliminal perception - the word"Rats" superimposed on an attack on Vice President Gore's health care plans - by representatives of the Bush campaign in the 2000 presidential election.

Age Differences In Personal Risk Perceptions: A Note On An Exploratory Descriptive Study, Juanita V. Field, George E. Schreer

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors test for differences in risk perceptions among different age groups.

An Analysis Of The Influence Of Age And Ionizing Radiation On Cognitive Performance, Elizabeth L. Gerhardt

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

This thesis was designed to study whether age has a significant effect on cognitive test results among persons exposed to ionizing radiation. The data for this investigation came from the fourth year of a 1995-98 longitudinal study of subjects exposed to radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl, Ukraine, nuclear power plant accident. Accuracy and efficiency scores from four cognitive tests taken by 84 Ukrainian volunteers were divided into two age groups and three radiation dosage groups for analysis. The results of this study found that decrements in human performance on tasks involving spatial processing increase with age in persons who have …

Trends. No More Rogue Nations And The Power Of Words: A Coup For Ibpp?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the possible consequences of the choice of political language regarding "rogue nations," and "states of concern."

Perceived Control, Voluntariness And Emotional Reactions In Relocated Areas Of Russia, Ukraine And Belarus, Carol Jeniffer Figueiredo, Britt-Marie Drottz-Sjöberg

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

[Excerpt] "The Chernobyl accident occurred at a time of considerable social and economic changes in the former Soviet Union. The contamination due to the accident still covers parts of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Some areas were considered too contaminated to suit long-term human settlement and a considerable number of people were therefore moved from their homes and resettled in other areas. Resettlement policies often differed between the states. Some variations in state policy included the duration before implementation of the decision to resettle people from certain areas, the swiftness of the transition, and the acceptance of personal initiatives in the …

Varied Definitions Of Risk Related To Sensation Seeking Trait, Pål Ø.U. Dåstol, Britt-Marie Drottz-Sjöberg

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

[Excerpt] "Risk judgments seem related to which definitions of risk a person uses. Earlier studies suggest that people who use a "probability" definition of risk give different, and somewhat lower, subjective estimates of risk than those who instead prefer a "consequence" definition. In addition, an "optimistic bias" often can be found, and subjects usually evaluate personal risk systematically lower than risk for people in general."

Are The Cognitive Processes Underlying Practical Intelligence Redundant With Those Underlying Traditional Intelligence, Shari Rauscher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

none

Frequency Of Use And Perceived Credibility Of Information Sources And Variations By Socioeconomic Factors Among Savannah River Stakeholders, Bryan L. Williams, Alex Vallei, Sylvia Brown, Michael Greenberg

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors examine the factors effecting credibility of risk communication in the communities surrounding the Savannah River Nuclear Weapons Site.

9. Metacognition- Subject Index

Issues in the Measurement of Metacognition

Subject Index (6 pages)

A-Z pp. 335-340.