Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Moderation Analysis Of Bowel Function Among Nutrients And Physical Function Or Depression, As Well As Whether Bowel Function Is Related To Cognition In Older Adults, Jessie Alwerdt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As we age, the risk for gut issues, such as smooth muscle tone, may be an underlying indirect or direct cause or risk factor for many age-related issues, such as frailty. Consequences of decreased motility and depleted epithelial barrier may result in nutrient deficiencies that may increase the risk for malnutrition (Brownie, 2006). Further, there is increasing evidence that there is a gut-brain-axis relationship that may influence cognition and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. While there are relationships established, the interconnections of these factors have yet to be fully understood.

This dissertation examined several relationships specific to …

Attentional Window And Global/Local Processing, Steven Peter Schultz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How does the focus of attention influence the encoding of information? Research has shown that size and allocation of the attentional window has an influence on what information is attended to or missed. The size-scale of features also effects processing of visual information. Previous research involving hierarchical stimuli suggests precedence for global features. In the present experiment, I investigated the influence of attentional window size on accuracy of encoding hierarchical stimuli at the global and local level. Here I introduce a new method for manipulating the size of the attentional window and for collecting unconstrained responses. At the start of …

The Effects Of Cognitive Training Among Individuals With Neurodegenerative Diseases, Elise Gabriela Valdes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the growing older adult population, neurodegenerative diseases common in old age such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Parkinson’s disease (PD) are becoming increasingly germane areas of research. Pharmacological treatments have thus far been unsuccessful in treating cognitive decline associated with these neurodegenerative disorders. Alternative interventions, such as cognitive training programs, have shown promise. The current dissertation contains three papers examining cognitive interventions in neurodegenerative diseases. The first paper examined the longitudinal effects of cognitive speed of processing training (SPT) among those with PD. Results showed that training gains seen at initial post-test were maintained three months later. The …

Motivation For Mathematics: The Development And Initial Validation Of An Abbreviated Instrument, Kenneth Lee Butler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study outlines the development and initial validation of an abbreviated instrument intended to measure motivation for mathematics of university students in developmental algebra courses. I look across many of the predominant theories on motivation with the aim of representing several of these theories as latent constructs in a single instrument that is short enough to be administered in a reasonable amount of time, but inclusive enough that it could incorporate subscales representing multiple distinct latent factors. This study answers a call by researchers expressing a need to investigate relationships between disparate theories on motivation and is a response to …