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Full-Text Articles in Cognitive Psychology
The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson
The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Acute stress is commonly experienced by many throughout their lives. Given the demanding lifestyle of many career paths, it's important to gauge the influence of these stressors upon cognitive performance. The present dissertation focus' upon explicit learning in attempts to explore one avenue of the stress-cognition relationship. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was used as a lab stressor for Experiments 1 and 2, in which participants are asked to give a speech and complete a difficult math task in front of 2 evaluators trained to monitor non-verbal behavior. Experiment 1 investigates the dynamic stress response during the minutes following …
Support For Gestalt Versus Business-As-Usual Theories Of Insight Depends On Operational Definition Of Insight, Kimberly D. Lee
Support For Gestalt Versus Business-As-Usual Theories Of Insight Depends On Operational Definition Of Insight, Kimberly D. Lee
Psychology Theses & Dissertations
Some theories propose that insight involves automatic processes that are responsible for restructuring. Other theories postulate that the mechanisms surrounding restructuring are controlled and effortful. The current study tested these theories by comparing different methodology and operational definitions that have been used in previous research to investigate the nature of “Aha!” experiences and impasse in insightful problem solving. One hundred two undergraduate psychology students from Old Dominion University completed working memory tasks, six classic insight problems, and gave initial problem representation ratings for the insight problems before solution attempt. Using a think-aloud protocol, we assessed the occurrence of impasse during …
Effects Of Nicotine On A Translational Model Of Working Memory, David Alderson Macqueen
Effects Of Nicotine On A Translational Model Of Working Memory, David Alderson Macqueen
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Cognitive research with human non-smokers has demonstrated that nicotine generally enhances performance on tasks of attention but, working memory does not appear to be affected. In contrast, nicotine has been shown to produce robust enhancements of working memory in non-human animals. To address this disparity, the present study investigated the effects of nicotine (2mg, 4mg nicotine gum, and placebo) on the performance of 30 non-smokers (15 male) completing a working memory task developed for rodents (the odor span task, OST). Nicotine has been reported to enhance OST performance in rodents and the present study sought to determine whether the effect …
The Impact Of Evaluative Pressure And Higher Working Memory Capacity On Sensorimotor Skill Performance., Lauren Grant
The Impact Of Evaluative Pressure And Higher Working Memory Capacity On Sensorimotor Skill Performance., Lauren Grant
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses
Underperformance in high-pressure situations, commonly known as choking under pressure, has been well-documented in the literature. For well-learned sensorimotor skills, such as sports, choking is thought to occur because individuals devote explicit attention to the steps of the skill, which disrupts performance. The current study examines how the type of pressure situation an individual experiences, and individual differences in working memory capacity, influence choking on a sensorimotor skill. Participants (N = 96) performed a Sensorimotor Reaction Time Task (SRTT) either under monitoring pressure, outcome pressure, or no pressure (control). High working-memory individuals performed significantly worse while completing the SRTT under …
Empirical Validation Of An Executive Function Battery For Use In Childhood And Adolescence, Emma K. Phillips
Empirical Validation Of An Executive Function Battery For Use In Childhood And Adolescence, Emma K. Phillips
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This research explores the reliability and efficacy of a child and adolescent adaptation of an adult battery of executive functioning, measuring the constructs of reasoning, short-term memory and verbal processing. The intent of the research is twofold as it intends to support an age appropriate adjustment of a battery of tasks presented by Hampshire, Highfield, Parkin and Owen (2012), and secondly to display the necessity of looking at executive functions as multifaceted and therefore requiring multiple tasks to encompass their complexities. The adjusted battery in analysis is composed of nine tasks that have been amended to be age appropriate for …
Current Methods And Future Directions Regarding Working Memory Training Research, Emily G. Wright
Current Methods And Future Directions Regarding Working Memory Training Research, Emily G. Wright
Undergraduate Distinction Papers
Cognitive training is the process through which individuals perform a series of computerized tasks over a period of weeks for the purpose of improving a variety of cognitive abilities. Cognitive training is important in commercial, clinical, and educational fields alike, considering the possibilities of improving and sustaining cognitive abilities in both typically developing and cognitively deficient populations. The present review assesses cognitive training paradigms targeting working memory. Working memory is a predictor of academic achievement and is closely related to mechanisms of higher cognition. In particular, the present review focuses past studies which have investigated the effects working memory training …
Emotional Enhancement And Repetition Effects During Working Memory In Persons With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Lucas S. Broster
Emotional Enhancement And Repetition Effects During Working Memory In Persons With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Lucas S. Broster
Theses and Dissertations--Clinical and Translational Science
This dissertation introduces a framework for understanding differences in how emotional enhancement effects might influence memory in aging adults and then summarizes the findings of three studies of how repetition effects and emotional enhancement effects influence working memory in older adults without cognitive impairment (NC), older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and older adults with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In these experiments, individuals with AD showed cognitive impairment in terms of accuracy and reaction time, but individuals with MCI showed milder behavioral impairment that was confined to manipulations of working memory. Individuals with AD showed relative sparing of …