Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Cognitive Impacts Of Age Based Stereotype Threat In Older Adults, Cali Caughie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present study examined the effects of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) exposure on cognitive performance in older adults. Forty-nine community volunteers age 65 and older were stratified by age and gender and then randomly assigned to either an ABST group or a Control group. The ABST group read a paragraph describing the expected negative effects of age on cognition and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. Participants in the Control group read a neutral paragraph of similar length and difficulty. It was hypothesized that individuals in the ABST group would perform worse on neuropsychological testing than individuals in …

The Relationship Between Cognitive And Neural Bases Of Metamemory Judgments, Alexandra M. Gaynor

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Metamemory monitoring, the process of making subjective assessments of the status of one’s own memory, is crucial to guiding behavior and effective learning. Past cognitive research has shown that subjective confidence judgments are inferential in nature, and based on cues available at the time of the judgment. When confidence is based on cues that are related to objective memory performance, metamemory accuracy is high. However, past studies have shown that metamemory monitoring tends to be inaccurate because individuals base their confidence on information that is not predictive of memory success, such as the fluency with which items were encoded during …

When Less Is More: Mindfulness Predicts Adaptive Affective Responding To Rejection Via Reduced Prefrontal Recruitment, Alexandra M. Martelli, David S. Chester, Kirk Warren Brown, Naomi I. Eisenberger, C. Nathan Dewall

Psychology Faculty Publications

Social rejection is a distressing and painful event that many people must cope with on a frequent basis. Mindfulness—defined here as a mental state of receptive attentiveness to internal and external stimuli as they arise, moment-to-moment—may buffer such social distress. However, little research indicates whether mindful individuals adaptively regulate the distress of rejection—or the neural mechanisms underlying this potential capacity. To fill these gaps in the literature, participants reported their trait mindfulness and then completed a social rejection paradigm (Cyberball) while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Approximately 1 hour after the rejection incident, participants reported their level of distress during …

A Feature-Based Model Of Visually Perceiving Deformable Objects, Vivian C. Paulun, Filipp Schmidt, Roland W. Fleming

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Discovery Of Activities Via Statistical Clustering Of Fixation Patterns, Jeffrey B. Mulligan

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

The Neural Substrates Of Communicative Actions: A Cognitive Psychophysiology Study Of Sign Language Production And Imitation In Deaf Signers And Hearing Non-Signers, Athena S. Willis

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

What is the neurobiological underpinning of communicative actions? Studies have suggested that the same neural network of imitation is involved in producing communicative actions, regardless if the persons expressing communicative actions are deaf signers or hearing nonsigners. Through neuroimaging method and analysis, we can observe if experience with communicative actions leads to any differences in the neural processing of the one and two handed ASL signs in deaf signers and hearing non-signers. The results indicate that the posterior right parietal region of the brain shows a significant difference in activity during imitation of one handed and two handed ASL signs …

Electrophysiological Biomarkers Of Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairment In Hematological Malignancy Patients, David E. Anderson

Theses & Dissertations

Multiple cancer populations frequently report cognitive impairment following treatment with chemotherapy agents (“chemo-brain”). Impaired neuropsychological performance is commonly reported in cognitive domains of attention and executive function. Understanding neural mechanisms underlying cognitive impairments is essential to developing prevention and rehabilitation strategies. Brain imaging studies frequently show chemotherapy-related impairments within the attentional control network, which is comprised of a constellation of cortical regions that govern reportedly impaired cognitive functions. In the current dissertation research, I developed a novel electrophysiology battery aimed at recording near-instantaneous neural activity within the attentional control network during cognitive task performance. Cancer patients diagnosed with hematological malignancy …

Social Work Trauma Interventions: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Kassie Baumann

Senior Honors Theses

According to Lynne Weilart (2013), in her article on the reasons why people seek out therapy, trauma is the number one reason people attend counseling. Many different trauma-informed approaches are designed specifically to address the consequences of trauma and to facilitate healing. Some of these approaches are as follows: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT);Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT); Trauma Systems Therapy (TST); Trauma Assessment Pathway (TAP); and Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC) (de Arellano, Danielson, Ko, & Sprauge, 2008). The effectiveness of each trauma intervention will be examined. DBT is one of these trauma interventions that is growing …

Ai-Human Collaboration Via Eeg, Adam Noack

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

As AI becomes ever more competent and integrated into our lives, the issue of AI-human goal misalignment looms larger. This is partially because there is often a rift between what humans explicitly command and what they actually mean. Most contemporary AI systems cannot bridge this gap. In this study we attempted to reconcile the goals of human and machine by using EEG signals from a human to help a simulated agent complete a task.

The Ush2a Gene: An Analysis Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations In A Mouse Model Of Usher Syndrome Type 2, Kiana R. Akhundzadeh

Honors Scholar Theses

Usher syndrome type 2 is a complex autosomal recessive genetic disorder that is characterized by moderate to severe congenital sensorineural hearing loss, the onset of retinitis pigmentosa in the second decade of life, and in some cases, vestibular dysfunction. Mutations in the USH2A gene account for 85% of cases of type 2. The USH2A gene is responsible for encoding the protein usherin, which has an important role in the development and function of inner ear hair cells and retinal photoreceptors. Until recently, it has been believed that carriers of the USH2A mutation were phenotype free. However, recent data has suggested …

Investigating The Effects Of Sensory Learning In Rats Using Intra And Extra Stimulus Modalities, Ariel M. Kershner

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

The purpose of this study was to see what rats learn about the elements of a compound stimulus (a stimulus composed of two different stimuli), and whether their learning differs if the compound is from the same modality (intra-modal), i.e. both visual, or from different modalities (inter-modal), i.e. visual and auditory. We hypothesized that the rats would respond more to the compound stimuli than to the single stimuli (Pearce and Wilson, 1990), more to the compound modality of inter-modal elements than to the compound modality of intra-modal elements (Miller, 1971 and Gingras, 2009), equally to the intra-modal elements (Rescorla, 1972), …

Chickens Play To The Crowd, Cinzia Chiandetti

Animal Sentience

The time was ripe for Marino’s review of chickens’ cognitive capacities. The research community, apart from expressing gratitude for Marino’s work, should now use it to increase public awareness of chickens’ abilities. People’s views on many animals are ill-informed. Scientists need to communicate and engage with the public about the relevance and societal implications of their findings.

An Exploration Of The Adaptive Functions Of Dreams And Empirically-Based Methods Of Dream Interpretation, Isaac Roberts

CMC Senior Theses

This paper presents a meta-analysis of dream theory within psychology and neuroscience. The questions it attempts to answer are: what is the neuroscientific basis of dreaming? Why do dreams exist (do they have an adaptive function)? Could dreams possibly have no function? And, what is the best way to interpret a dream? The current analysis presents various theories relevant to each of these questions and compares their viability. It also briefly examines the origins of psychological thought on dreams and, towards the end, outlines the steps and empirical support for a well-regarded method of dream interpretation known as the cognitive …

The Relationship Between Sleep, Working Memory, And Decision Making In Young And Old Adult Populations, Melissa G. Merz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Sleep is known to influence basic tasks concerning working memory, reaction time and executive functioning (Silva, Wang, Ronda, Wyatt, & Duffy, 2010; Nebes, Buysse, Halligan, Houck, & Monk, 2009). However, the amount that sleep influences these functions varies from study to study possibly due to differences in age and task design. Aim 1A of this study is to determine if sleep quality affects working memory. Aim 1B of this study is to determine if age affects sleep quality and working memory in comparison of young and old adult populations. Finally, Aim 2 of this study is to determine if there …

An Examination Of Imagined Contexts: The Unreliability Of Context-Dependent Memory Effects In Recall, Caitlin J. I. Tozios

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

It is generally accepted that the environmental context present during memory encoding serves as an effective cue for recall if reinstated during retrieval. Participants who perform a free recall test in the same context as that during which they learned a set of words, often remember more words than participants who experience a context mismatch from encoding to retrieval. This is referred to as the context-dependent memory effect and forgetting due to a change in context is referred to as context-dependent forgetting. Recent evidence suggests that contexts need not always be physical but can be mentally generated or imagined and …

Positive Emotions And Quality Of Life In Dogs, Patrizia Piotti

Animal Sentience

Positive affect is fundamental to ensuring good animal welfare. Discrete and dimensional theories of emotion have recently been used to explore the relation between cognition and affect and to develop cognitive measures of positive affect. Human quality-of-life assessment focuses on positive affect, which is difficult to measure objectively in dogs. Expanding on Kujala’s (2017) discussion of positive emotions and cognitive measures of affect, I suggest how these are relevant to assessing canine quality of life.

Recognition Training For Faces Across Age Gaps, William Blake Erickson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Face recognition is a problem that has theoretical and applied value. However, the fact of facial aging is rarely addressed in research and unmentioned in the major theories of face recognition. Facial aging also has ramifications for missing persons and fugitive cases, confounding attempts by law enforcement to recover these people whose last known images are years or decades out of date. This dissertation reports three studies aimed at measuring baseline age-gap recognition ability and testing various training regimens designed to increase accuracy rates for this unique kind of recognition task.

Intensive Sound Production Treatment For Apraxia Of Speech: An Analysis Of Error Consistency, Victoria M. Abolafia

Honors Scholar Theses

In the past, clinicians have diagnosed acquired apraxia of speech based upon the presentation of an inconsistent error pattern. However, recent research studies have begun to suggest quite the contrary, pointing towards a consistent pattern of errors in the speech of those with apraxia. The present study utilized an intensive Sound Production Treatment (SPT) for a 51-year-old male with severe acquired apraxia of speech and moderate-severe aphasia. Treatment was administered over a period of five days per week, three hours a day, for two consecutive weeks. During this treatment, probes were gathered daily to evaluate the efficacy of the intensive …

“My Logic Is Undeniable”: Replicating The Brain For Ideal Artificial Intelligence, Samuel C. Adams

Senior Honors Theses

Alan Turing asked if machines can think, but intelligence is more than logic and reason. I ask if a machine can feel pain or joy, have visions and dreams, or paint a masterpiece. The human brain sets the bar high, and despite our progress, artificial intelligence has a long way to go. Studying neurology from a software engineer’s perspective reveals numerous uncanny similarities between the functionality of the brain and that of a computer. If the brain is a biological computer, then it is the embodiment of artificial intelligence beyond anything we have yet achieved, and its architecture is advanced …

Evaluating Competition Between Verbal And Implicit Systems With Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Troy A. Schiebel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In category learning, explicit processes function through the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and implicit processes function through the basal ganglia. Research suggested that these two systems compete with each other. The goal of this study was to shed light on this theory. 15 undergraduate subjects took part in an event-related experiment that required them to categorize computer-generated line-stimuli, which varied in length and/or angle depending on condition. Subjects participated in an explicit "rule-based" (RB) condition and an implicit "information-integration" (II) condition while connected to a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) apparatus, which measured the hemodynamic response (HR) in their PFC. Each condition …

Consumer Neuroscience: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach To Marketing Leveraging Advances In Neuroscience, Psychology And Economics, Bridget E. Blum

CMC Senior Theses

For decades, neuroscience has greatly contributed to our foundational understanding of human behavior. More recently, the findings and methods of neuroscience have been applied to study the process of decision-making in order to offer advanced insights into the neural mechanisms that influence economic and consumer choices. In this thesis, I will address how customized marketing strategies can be enriched through the integration of consumer neuroscience, an integrative field anchored in the biological, cognitive and affective mechanisms of consumer behavior. By recognizing and utilizing these multidisciplinary interdependencies, marketers can enhance their advertising and promotional mix to elicit desired neural and affective …

The Bounded Log-Odds Model Of Frequency And Probability Distortion, Hang Zhang, Laurence T. Maloney

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

An Exploratory High-Density Eeg Investigation Of The Misinformation Effect: Attentional And Recollective Differences Between True And False Perceptual Memories, John E. Kiat, Robert F. Belli

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The misinformation effect, a phenomenon in which eyewitness memories are altered via exposure to post-event misinformation, is one of the most important paradigms used to investigate the reconstructive nature of human memory. The aim of this study was to use the misinformation effect paradigm to investigate differences in attentional and recollective processing between true and false event memories. Nineteen participants completed a variant of the misinformation paradigm in which recognition responses to true and misinformation based event details embedded within a narrative context, were investigated using high-density (256-channel) EEG with a 1-day delay between event exposure and test. Source monitoring …

Spike Field Coherence (Sfc) For Ripples In Rat Hippocampus, Pranav Singla

Honors Scholar Theses

The aim of this project was to determine coherence between two types of neural recordings which can be obtained from the rat hippocampus: spikes and local field potentials. Extracellular recording makes it possible to determine spiking activity from individual neurons in the vicinity of the recording electrode. Local field potential recording gives a combined activity of many neurons (thousands) at once to determine an overall picture of the coordination of the cells in real time. Here we examine the relationship between these two signals, focusing on place cells which spike at their maximal rate only at certain positions in physical …

Design, Programming, And User-Experience, Kaila G. Manca

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis is a culmination of my individualized major in Human-Computer Interaction. As such, it showcases my knowledge of design, computer engineering, user-experience research, and puts into practice my background in psychology, com- munications, and neuroscience.

I provided full-service design and development for a web application to be used by the Digital Media and Design Department and their students.This process involved several iterations of user-experience research, testing, concepting, branding and strategy, ideation, and design. It lead to two products.

The first product is full-scale development and optimization of the web appli- cation.The web application adheres to best practices. It was …

A Descriptive Study Of The Use Of Neurofeedback In Counseling, Khwlah Jamil Al-Ansari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines neuro-counseling in the mental health field and the concept of neurofeedback training (NFB) as an intervention in the counseling profession. Numbers of studies have indicated that NFB may be effective in the field of counseling. The purpose of this survey study is to explore the use of neurofeedback in the field of counseling.

Additionally, the study used a quantitative descriptive survey research method and descriptive statistics. The survey was sent to members of the American Counseling Association (ACA), and 93 professionals participated. The majority of the sample was licensed professional counselors, professionals with a degree in counseling, …

Presence-At-Hand, Eric Lyle Schultz

Graduate School of Art Theses

Abstract

The writing that follows is intended to provide a theoretical framework for the motives behind my practice. The primary concerns addressed are the reception, transmission, and physical shape of knowledge. I will discuss a human condition that exists as a byproduct of both the legacy of representation as well as the innate biology of the brain. I will argue that as a society we are governed by the residue of an extreme logic, and that this condition places severe margins on our potential for creative solutions. I will propose that our ability to create meaning is stifled by the …

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …

Electrophysiological Changes Of N100 Latency And Amplitude In Healthy Participants Performing The Jitter Orientated Visual Integration Task: A Multi-Block Design Study, Fariya Naz

University Scholar Projects

The present study investigated the differences in processing during visual integration in healthy adults. The visual N100 indexes early visual discrimination and in this case, was hypothesized to show differences in both latency and amplitude depending on the level of difficulty which corresponds to orientational jitter in a visual integration task. Four blocks with pseudo-random levels of jitter were presented to participants in the Jitter Oriented Visual Integration (JOVI) task. Results looking at the Oz channel showed significant reduction in amplitude in the visual N100 during the more difficult levels condition of the task. The multi-block design, originally expected to …

Prevalence Of Learned Grapheme-Color Pairings In A Large Online Sample Of Synesthetes, Nathan Withhoft, Jonathan Winawer, David M. Eagleman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In this paper we estimate the minimum prevalence of grapheme-color synesthetes with letter-color matches learned from an external stimulus, by analyzing a large sample of English-speaking grapheme-color synesthetes. We find that at least 6% (400/6588 participants) of the total sample learned many of their matches from a widely available colored letter toy. Among those born in the decade after the toy began to be manufactured, the proportion of synesthetes with learned letter-color pairings approaches 15% for some 5-year periods. Among those born 5 years or more before it was manufactured, none have colors learned from the toy. Analysis of the …