Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Effects Of Age, Task Type, And Information Load On Discrimination Learning, Morgan E. Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The feature positive effect (FPE) is a phenomenon in discrimination learning by which learning occurs more quickly when the presence (Feature positive; FP), rather than absence (Feature negative; FN) of a stimulus indicates a response should be made. Although the FPE has been extensively corroborated, a reversal, or feature negative effect (FNE), has been found when a target stimulus comes from a smaller set of stimuli (Fiedler, Eckert, & Poysiak, 1988). Age differences in FP and FN learning indicate that older adults perform more poorly than young adults on both FP and FN tasks, and are likely related to decline …

The Influence Of Spatial Distance Priming On Test Anxiety And Judgments, Eric R Raap

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This paper examined the effects of distance priming on test anxiety and judgment. Research suggests that individuals’ perceived distance can impact their affect and judgments, which sheds light on the principle of “distance equals safety” (Williams & Bargh, 2008). Taking an exam invokes both cognitive and emotional anxiety, such as worry, panic, and tension. It is hypothesized that the distance priming may reduce test anxiety—particularly, the emotionality aspect—as well as perceived test difficulty. The results showed that, counter to the hypotheses, there was no significant difference among the three priming groups in their emotional test anxiety or perceived test difficulty. …

The Impact Of Friendships And Mutual Antipathies On Children's Social Behavior And Social Cognition, Elizabeth M. Boulie

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Mutual antipathies are rare among preschoolers and are common among older school age children, but little is known about the prevalence of mutual antipathies among younger school age children. One goal of this study was to examine the prevalence of mutual antipathies among first graders to determine if they are common among younger children. A second goal of the study was to examine the impact of friendship and mutual antipathies on children’s social behavior and social cognition. A sample of first, third, and fifth graders (N = 512) first completed rating and nomination sociometric assessments to assess participation in friendships …

The Relationship Between Goal Orientation And Gender Roles, Amanda Michelle Hutchins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was designed to examine the relationship between a person’s goal orientation and the gender roles that they adopt. The relationship between gender and goal orientation has been studied for years, but the results have been inconclusive. Some studies find a gender difference and some studies do not. For this reason, this study examined if there was another factor that was influencing goal orientations that was related to gender.

Goal orientations are perceptual-cognitive frameworks for how individuals approach, interpret, and respond to achievement situations. Gender roles are the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that are considered acceptable and appropriate for …