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Full-Text Articles in Cognitive Psychology

Is The Smartphone A Smart Choice? The Effect Of Smartphone Separation On Executive Functions, Andree Hartanto, Hwajin Yang Nov 2016

Is The Smartphone A Smart Choice? The Effect Of Smartphone Separation On Executive Functions, Andree Hartanto, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite a huge spike in smartphone overuse, the cognitive and emotional consequences of smartphone overuse have rarely been examined empirically. In two studies, we investigated whether separation from a smartphone influences state anxiety and impairs higher-order cognitive processes, such as executive functions. We found that smartphone separation causes heightened anxiety, which in turn mediates the adverse effect of smartphone separation on all core aspects of executive functions, including shifting (Experiment 1) and inhibitory control and working-memory capacity (Experiment 2). Interestingly, impaired mental shifting was evident regardless of the extent of smartphone addiction, whereas smartphone addiction significantly moderated the negative effect …


Self-Regulation In Preschoolers: Validity Of Hot And Cool Tasks As Predictive Measures Of Academic And Socio-Emotional Aspects Of School Readiness, Berenice Anaya Jul 2016

Self-Regulation In Preschoolers: Validity Of Hot And Cool Tasks As Predictive Measures Of Academic And Socio-Emotional Aspects Of School Readiness, Berenice Anaya

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Extensive research on the development of self-regulation has demonstrated that better executive functioning and effortful control during the preschool years are associated with greater kindergarten and early school achievement. Recent findings suggest that self-regulation tasks differ in their assessment of “hot” and “cool” regulation, how these processes map onto effortful control and executive functioning, and may predict school readiness. However, only a few studies have examined the validity of hot and cool regulation tasks (Allan & Lonigan, 2014; Di Norcia, Pecora, Bombi, Baumgartner, & Laghi, 2015; Willoughby, Kupersmidt, Voegler-Lee, & Bryant, 2011), and how they predict socio-emotional competence (Di Norcia …


Age Matters: The Effect Of Onset Age Of Video Game Play On Task-Switching Abilities, Andree Hartanto, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang May 2016

Age Matters: The Effect Of Onset Age Of Video Game Play On Task-Switching Abilities, Andree Hartanto, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although prior research suggests that playing video games can improve cognitive abilities, recent empirical studies cast doubt on such findings (Unsworth et al., 2015). To reconcile these inconsistent findings, we focused on the link between video games and task switching. Furthermore, we conceptualized video-game expertise as the onset age of active video-game play rather than the frequency of recent gameplay, as it captures both how long a person has played video games and whether the individual began playing during periods of high cognitive plasticity. We found that the age of active onset better predicted switch and mixing costs than did …


The Importance Of Bilingual Experience In Assessing Bilingual Advantages In Executive Functions, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto, Sujin Yang Feb 2016

The Importance Of Bilingual Experience In Assessing Bilingual Advantages In Executive Functions, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto, Sujin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Paap, Johnson, and Sawi (2015) contend that bilingual advantages in executive functions (EF) do not exist, and that there is no compelling evidence that a certain bilingual experience hones a specific component of EF (p. 272). We believe that this conclusion is premature, because Paap et al.'s approach was not sufficiently refined to effectively capture the real-world complexity of bilingualism. In this commentary, we draw on the adaptive control hypothesis (Green & Abutalebi, 2013) and argue that studies of bilingualism should consider specific bilingual experiences that potentially moderate bilingual advantages through substantial demand for language control (for similar commentaries, see …