Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Examining Attentional Control And Processing Speed Deficits As Underlying Mechanisms Of Neuropsychological Impairment In Schizophrenia, Mayte Forte

Graduate Masters Theses

Neuropsychological impairment is a key characteristic of schizophrenia (SZ), but its cognitive profile and underlying information processing mechanisms are not yet well understood. We compare patterns of neuropsychological functioning in 85 persons with SZ and 76 healthy controls across measures of intelligence, memory, and executive function. We then test the hypothesis that neuropsychological impairment in SZ is related to dual deficits in two related but distinct information processes: processing speed and attentional control. All research participants completed Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III), Wechsler Memory Scale Third Edition (WMS-III), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), all of which provided measures …

Cognitive And Affective Control Deficits In Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Melissa-Ann Mackie

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cognitive control constrains mental operations to prioritize information that reaches conscious awareness and is essential to flexible, adaptive behavior under conditions of uncertainty. However, cognitive control can be compromised by neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is characterized by the presence of social and communicative deficits, and restricted interests/repetitive behaviors. Although prior investigations have attempted to elucidate the nature of cognitive control deficits in ASD, whether there is an underlying deficit in cognitive and affective control associated with the symptom domains of ASD remains unclear. The present series of eight experiments presents an information theoretic framework for …

Examining The Concurrent And Predictive Relations Of Working Memory In Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Ashley N. Simone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity which lead to impairment in multiple settings (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Childhood ADHD has been concurrently associated with various neurocognitive deficits and one in particular that has been under examination over the past several years is working memory (WM). WM is a temporary storage system that is responsible for maintenance and/or manipulation of information in order to complete complex cognitive and behavioral tasks. Researchers have postulated that WM is one of several potential endophenotypes of ADHD (Castellanos & Tannock, 2002) and/or that WM is …

Rumination Is Associated With Diminished Performance Monitoring, Ema Tanovic, Greg Hajack, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Is There A Higher-Order Mechanism That Explains Performance Across Prediction Tasks?, Michelle Lisa Eisenberg

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People constantly make predictions about what will happen in the near future. People anticipate how other people around them will act, what other people will say, and what actions will help them achieve the greatest rewards. Because all of these behaviors are typically called prediction, it is easy to make the assumption that performance across all of these types of tasks is driven by the same underlying mechanism. However, there has been little investigation into whether the mechanisms underlying prediction are the same across multiple task modalities. Therefore, in the current study, 226 participants completed four types of tasks that …

Examining The Effects Of Frustration On Working Memory Capacity In An Emerging Adult Sample, Jonathan Parks Fillauer

Masters Theses

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with numerous pejorative outcomes in adults such as low frustration tolerance and deficits in central executive functioning. The present study aims to examine (1) the effect of induced frustration on working memory capacity (WMC) and (2) the unique contribution of ADHD symptoms and other commonly comorbid disorders (i.e., anxiety/depression and alcohol use) to frustration. Participants (N=66) were randomly assigned to either the control group (n=32) or the experimental group (n=34). The Frustration Induction Procedure (FIP) was administered to participants in the experimental group and a neutral, non-frustrating task was administered to a control group. A …

Psychological Determinants Of Physical Activity Across The Life Course: A "Determinants Of Diet And Physical Activity" (Dedipac) Umbrella Systematic Literature Review, Cristina Cortis, Anna Puggina, Caterina Pesce, Katina Aleksovska, Christoph Buck, Con Burns, Greet Cardon, Angela Carlin, Chantal Simon, Donatella Ciarapica, Giancarlo Condello, Tara Coppinger, Sara D’Haese, Marieke De Craemer, Andrea Di Blasio, Sylvia Hansen, Licia Iacoviello, Johann Issartel, Pascal Izzicupo, Lina Jaeschke, Martina Kanning, Aileen Kennedy, Fiona Chun Man Ling, Agnes Luzak, Giorgio Napolitano, Julie Anne Nazare, Grainne O’Donoghue, Camille Perchoux, Tobias Pischon, Angela Polito, Alessandra Sannella, Holger Schulz

Publications

Low levels of physical activity (PA) are reported to contribute to the occurrence of non-communicable diseases over the life course. Although psychological factors have been identified as an important category concerning PA behavior, knowledge on psychological determinants of PA is still inconclusive. Therefore, the aim of this umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize and synthesize the scientific evidence on psychological determinants of PA behavior across the life course. A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases. The search was limited to studies published in English from January 2004 to April …

More Than Mere Synonyms: Examining The Differences Between Criminogenic Thinking And Criminogenic Attitudes, David W. Gavel

Dissertations

More than 75% of prison inmates are arrested for a new crime within five years of being released from prison. Known as recidivism, this trend of repeated criminal activity accounts for more than half of annual prison admissions, and rehabilitative programs demonstrate varying degrees of success in reducing recidivism. Andrews, Bonta, and Hoge (1990) demonstrated that offenders are less likely to recidivate when they receive services that match their assessed level of risk factors (e.g., history of violence), intervention needs (e.g., mental health diagnosis), and responsivity (e.g., ideal learning environment). Criminogenic cognition, mental events (e.g., thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs) often …

It's Not Me It's You: Examining The Link Between Partner-Schema Organization, Relationship Functioning, And Depressive Symptoms, Jesse Lee Wilde

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Depression is associated with a host of interpersonal difficulties, particularly within intimate relationships. While a significant body of literature has supported the presence of a highly consolidated negative self representation or “self-schema”, no studies have examined whether depression is also associated with a highly organized negative “partner-schema”, and whether this represents a risk factor for relationship distress. Given the high degree of similarity between cognitive representations of self and close others, it was predicted that depression would be associated with a partner-schema structure mirroring that of the self-schema: an organized cognitive structure characterized by tightly interconnected negative information, and loosely …

Can We Talk?: Synergistic Effects Of Cognitive And Behavioral Frameworks To Address Substance Use And Abuse, Lauren Jaye Adams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral economic accounts of substance use have provided a novel framework to examine constraints that affect behaviorally driven outcomes. Several behavioral studies support the application of such frameworks to examine impulsive decision-making processes as well as how subjective reward influences substance use. Based on stimulus-response models, behavioral economic research often applies mathematical formulas to draw conclusions about behavioral outcomes. These mathematical formulas, while useful, largely ignore decades of cognitive psychology research that have examined state-based influences (e.g., mood, environment, motivational processes, etc.) on behavioral sequelae. To address this issue, the present study merged a cognitive framework into two behavioral economic …

Spatial-Relational Learning And Memory Deficits Associated With Nmdar Autoantibodies In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Brittany L. Bascetta

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Individuals with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) experience inflammation that may target any organ within the body, including the central and peripheral nervous systems. Additionally, these individuals often demonstrate psychological dysfunctions including emotional and cognitive deficits; however, research is inconsistent as to the nature and cause of these dysfunctions. While there are multiple factors that may increase risk for variability in cognitive function, such as population differences, socioeconomic status (SES), mood disorders (depression and anxiety), medication effects, and disease activity, these factors do not reliably predict the severity and extent of cognitive deficits. A growing body of animal research associates autoantibodies …

Comparison Of Implicit Thought And Learning In Individuals With Schizophrenia, Camilla Seippel

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This investigation studied implicit learning differences in individuals with schizophrenia. Three implicit learning strategies were examined: priming, procedural, and incidental learning. Twenty-six participants with schizophrenia were recruited from various outpatient clinics and programs in Orange, CA to participate in this study. Participants were administered a psychological battery composed of tests to measure individual differences in implicit learning abilities within the group. Differences in crystallized and fluid knowledge abilities within the different implicit learning conditions were tested. Demographic information was also collected and where possible included for the purpose of accounting for demographic variations amongst participants. Demographic variables included the participant’s …

Structural Integrity Of Attention Networks In Cross-Modal Selective Attention Performance In Healthy Aging, Michelle Kassel

Theses and Dissertations

The influence of structural brain changes in healthy aging on cross-modal selective attention performance was investigated with structural MRI (T1- and diffusion-weighted scans). Eighteen younger (M=26.1, SD=5.7) and 18 older (M=62.4, SD=4.9) healthy adults with normal hearing performed a reaction time (RT) cross-modal selective attention A/B/X task. Participants discriminated syllables presented in either visual or auditory modalities, with either randomized or fixed distraction presented simultaneously in the opposite modality. Within the older group only, RT was significantly slower during random (M=573.24, SE=33.66) compared to fixed (M=554.04, SE=33.53) distraction, F(1,34)=5.41, p=.026. Average gray matter thickness and white matter integrity were lower …

The Effects Of Meditation On Brain Organization And The Implications For Treating Adhd, Talia Gibson

Honors Projects

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has recently become increasingly diagnosed for children and adolescents. As of now, the most common treatment method is medication, with the purpose of changing brain organization. Recently, however, there has been increasing interest in the use of mindfulness meditation to treat the symptoms associated with ADHD. In this paper, eleven different studies, which have introduced mindfulness meditation as a treatment method for ADHD, are analyzed. The studies measure the degree to which mindfulness meditation improves common symptoms associated with ADHD. These symptoms include attentional problems, reduced mindful awareness, externalizing and internalizing problems, reduced self-control, impaired social behavior, …

The Social Progression Of Post -Traumatic Stress Disorder: Post Vietnam And September 11th Attacks, Ellie Mcdonald

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Social Progression of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Post-Vietnam and September 11^th Attacks is an examination on the infrastructure of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’and of the Department of Defense’s lack of clarity and misinformation of the challenges and effects of mental illness within military ranks. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) made the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) after Vietnam. Since then, PTSD has been reevaluate numerous times, to properly define it. This research is a comparative analysis of the misconceptions of PTSD as experienced by Vietnam veterans and the first responders of the September 11^th tragedy. My research charts …

How Short Term Mindfulness Training Affects Emotion Regulation On College Students, Holly E. Flatt, Andrea Benadives, Kriston Ramsey

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Emotion regulation (ER) is the experience and expression of emotions which aids in the balancing of positive emotions and emotional processing (Gross, 2001; Hölzel, 2011). An important advancement in the field of psychology is greater understanding of how treatments can positively influence ER. One promising intervention to improve emotion regulation is mindfulness training—the practice of being aware of one’s current internal state and thoughts to provide a greater attentiveness and acknowledgement to one’s current environment (Hoffman et. al., 2010; Langer 2000). The current study examined the effect of brief mindfulness training on emotion regulation after a sad mood induction via …

Correlation Of Bis Bas And Pswq Measures, Ahlam Awaid, Alexis Breed, Darryl Burnet, Matthew Turner

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Implicit Regulation Of Emotion: Priming Non-Conscious Reappraisal And Suppression During Stress, Sydney Clare Timmer-Murillo

Master's Theses (2009 -)

As individuals experience the world, they must also appropriately modulate their responses to fit their environment. The manner in which one regulates their emotion can vary greatly and influence a number of factors, including self-reported affect and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). The majority of research on emotion regulation examines the deliberate, or explicit, regulation of emotion. However, the automatic or implicit regulation of emotion is an important cognitive process that yields several benefits. Recent research demonstrates benefits of using implicit reappraisal; however, no work has been done to examine other implicit strategies. The current study primed implicit reappraisal and suppression …

Being While Doing: An Inductive Model Of Mindfulness At Work, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good

Christopher J. Lyddy

Mindfulness at work has drawn growing interest as empirical evidence increasingly supports its positive workplace impacts. Yet theory also suggests that mindfulness is a cognitive mode of “Being” that may be incompatible with the cognitive mode of “Doing” that undergirds workplace functioning. Therefore, mindfulness at work has been theorized as “being while doing,” but little is known regarding how people experience these two modes in combination, nor the influences or outcomes of this interaction. Drawing on a sample of 39 semi-structured interviews, this study explores how professionals experience being mindful at work. The relationship between Being and Doing modes demonstrated …

Being While Doing: An Inductive Model Of Mindfulness At Work, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness at work has drawn growing interest as empirical evidence increasingly supports its positive workplace impacts. Yet theory also suggests that mindfulness is a cognitive mode of “Being” that may be incompatible with the cognitive mode of “Doing” that undergirds workplace functioning. Therefore, mindfulness at work has been theorized as “being while doing,” but little is known regarding how people experience these two modes in combination, nor the influences or outcomes of this interaction. Drawing on a sample of 39 semi-structured interviews, this study explores how professionals experience being mindful at work. The relationship between Being and Doing modes demonstrated …

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 …

Sentence Recall In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Brett Wallace

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is an age-shift in neurotypical children: younger children tend to remember information in a verbatim manner so they store item-specific surface characteristics; between nine and ten children engage in gist recall where they store meanings of presented information. The aim of the present study was to explore false memory in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as some research suggests that they develop gist recall at a later age than neurotypical children. We are also interested in the role of working memory.

One approach to understanding false memory creation is activation-monitoring (AM) theory. Working memory can play a role …

Facial Emotion Recognition Impairments In Subclinical Depression, Charles Hale Leighton

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Depression brings with it a wide variety range of symptoms. One of the least studied symptoms in depression is an impairment in the ability to recognize the emotions on the faces of others. Previous literature has shown both that many people without diagnosed depression still display some depressive symptoms as well as that the impairments in emotion recognition are an extremely common symptom. These impairments are frequently associated with an increase in the severity of other symptoms, which makes their presence in subclinical populations especially important to uncover. In this proposed study, 400 students who don’t meet the diagnostic criteria …

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 …

Recidivism Rates Among Juveniles With Mental Illness, Kia Chevon Russell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Treating mental illness is imperative to help reduce criminal justice involvement within the juvenile population. Receiving mental health care will help decrease the likelihood for youth to reoffend, ultimately reducing recidivism rates. Past studies showed there are risk factors associated with juveniles and recidivism; however, very few studies have examined what factors are prevalent after services have been received. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that increase the risk of recidivism among juveniles who have received psychiatric stabilization in Harris County, Texas. Risk factors that were assessed included age, gender, ethnicity, and criminal offense. The psychodynamic perspective …

Distortion In Body Schema: The Influence Of Body Fat And Mass On Perceptions Of Personal Size, Katarina Ann Ferrucci

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Obesity has been linked with a myriad of negative outcomes for both physical and mental health including feeding and eating disorders and cognitive impairments that affect perception of body size. Understanding the cognitive mechanisms and physiological factors that contribute to perception of body size may help us to comprehend how obesity impacts the construction and development of one’s mental body representations. Previous research by Scarpina, Castelnuovo, and Molinari (2014) suggests that, compared to those with a normal Body Mass Index, individuals with a BMI greater than 30 (obese) not only inaccurately estimate tactile and mental distances on their own bodies, …

Investigating The Effects Of Mindfulness On Children’S Executive Function, Emotional Regulation, Stress, And Academic Performance Compared To A Control Condition, Lerna Hanceroglu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mindfulness is a growing field in the study of psychological well-being, with reports of individuals experiencing increases in resilience and reduced stress. The current research on mindfulness lacks information on a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between mindfulness and executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and subsequent academic performance for children. Additionally, studies contain methodological issues, such as the absence of active control groups. Hence, the current study assessed the effects of mindfulness training on children’s executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and academic outcomes compared to an active control group. There were 51 younger children from grades 2 to 4 (Mean …

Pathways Linking Clinician Demographics To Mental Health Diagnostic Accuracy: An International Perspective, Julia Brechbiel

Theses and Dissertations

Significant research efforts have focused on examining the effect of patient factors on providing diagnoses across clinical settings; however, the influence of clinician demographics have received less attention. This study aimed to understand the impact of nonclinical factors such as clinician characteristics and response time on diagnostic accuracy. The study used data from a WHO field study of the ICD-11 development (n = 1822) that required clinicians to diagnose two case vignettes. Clinicians’ slower response times had a significant positive impact on their rates of diagnostic accuracy. However, there was no evidence that clinicians’ demographic features were directly related to …