Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Objective And Subjective Influences On Cognitive Performance In Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Natalie E. Benjamin

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an increasingly common chronic illness in children and adolescents that can result in short- and long-term health complications. Disease management can be a particular challenge for adolescents seeking autonomy from caregivers. Recently, there has been a significant increase in adolescents’ use of diabetes-related technology to aid in blood glucose (BG) management and insulin administration. Individuals with T1DM also experience symptoms related to their BG levels, and these symptoms can serve as indicators of out-of-range BG levels and guide management decisions. Although research shows that diabetes-related health factors can affect cognitive functioning, no existing research …

Marital Satisfaction: The Role Of Post-Formal Thought And Partner Blame, Kendall Jory, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Dr. Janet Trammell

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Post-formal thought, a recently identified fifth stage of developmental cognition, is a type of complex cognition initially present in emerging adulthood. It is more practical, flexible and dialectical than previous stages of cognition. Research has suggested the benefits of enhanced post-formal thought in intrapersonal functioning, as well as interpersonal functioning. In interpersonal functioning, social relationships provide an opportunity to think using post-formal cognition because two people often share different “truths” in a relationship which creates logical conflict that must be resolved to continue the relationship (Griffin et al, 2009). Using this framework, the current study aimed to further examine the …

The Relationship Between Extraversion And Listening Comprehension Under High And Low-Salience Visual Distraction Conditions, Nicole Virzi, Steve Rouse, Cindy Miller-Perrin

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The proposed study contributes to the pool of research examining the link between level of extraversion and sensory stimulation. Numerous studies have shown that introverts are more susceptible to forms of auditory distraction than extraverts when completing cognitive tasks requiring visual attention, but no study has examined the opposite relationship: the differing effects of visual distraction on auditory comprehension amongst introverts and extraverts. Using undergraduate college students as participants, this study tested three hypotheses: 1) there will be a negative correlation between level of extraversion and self-reported distraction while under high-salience visual distraction, 2) there will be a positive correlation …

Optimizing Virtual Reality For All Users Through Gaze-Contingent And Adaptive Focus Displays, Nitish Padmanaban, Robert Konrad, Tal Stramer, Emily Cooper, Gordon Wetzstein

Dartmouth Scholarship

From the desktop to the laptop to the mobile device, personal computing platforms evolve over time. Moving forward, wearable computing is widely expected to be integral to consumer electronics and beyond. The primary interface between a wearable computer and a user is often a near-eye display. However, current generation near-eye displays suffer from multiple limitations: they are unable to provide fully natural visual cues and comfortable viewing experiences for all users. At their core, many of the issues with near-eye displays are caused by limitations in conventional optics. Current displays cannot reproduce the changes in focus that accompany natural vision, …

Approaching Stressful Situations With Purpose: Strategies For Emotional Regulation In Sensitive People, Amy D. Nagley

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate strategies for emotional self-regulation (EMSR) in highly sensitive people (HSPs) under pressure. Specifically, a model of EMSR was evaluated through a moderated-mediation design with two manipulations across two experiments. A total of 445 individuals participated in the current study (52% female), all of which were US citizens. Results suggested that the relationship between sense of purpose (SoP) and EMSR was moderated by focus on potential (FoP). Specifically, SoP significantly impacted FoP, b = .89, t = 5.23, p < .01, FoP significantly impacted EMSR, b = 1.11, t = 5.88, p < .01, and the Sobel test suggested a significant indirect effect, z = 3.91, p < .01.

The hypothesis that …

Being While Doing: An Inductive Model Of Mindfulness At Work, Christopher Lyddy, Darren J. Good

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness at work has drawn growing interest as empirical evidence increasingly supports its positive workplace impacts. Yet theory also suggests that mindfulness is a cognitive mode of “Being” that may be incompatible with the cognitive mode of “Doing” that undergirds workplace functioning. Therefore, mindfulness at work has been theorized as “being while doing,” but little is known regarding how people experience these two modes in combination, nor the influences or outcomes of this interaction. Drawing on a sample of 39 semi-structured interviews, this study explores how professionals experience being mindful at work. The relationship between Being and Doing modes demonstrated …

Examining Different Reasons Why People Accept Or Reject Scientific Claims, Emilio J. C. Lobato

Theses and Dissertations

The current project was designed to examine how cognitive style, cultural worldview, and conspiracy ideation correspond to various levels of agreement with scientific claims. Additionally, the kinds of justifications people provide for their position on scientific issues and the kinds of possible refutations of their scientific beliefs people are able to generate were qualitatively coded and analyzed. Participants were presented with a short survey asking about their level of agreement with scientific claims about biological evolution, anthropogenic climate change, pediatric vaccines, and genetically modified foods. Participants were asked two open-ended questions about each topic, one prompting participants to justify their …

Inhibitory Control Under Threat: The Role Of Spontaneous Eye Blinks In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Mikael Rubin, Denise A. Hien, Dipanjana Das, Robert D. Melara

Publications and Research

This study is the first to explore spontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR) in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We investigated the connection between the magnitude of flanker interference in PTSD participants and sEBR during performance on a modified version of the Eriksen flanker task. As a peripheral measure of cognitive control and dopaminergic function, sEBR may illuminate the relationship between PTSD and executive function. Findings revealed a positive relationship between sEBR and flanker interference in participants diagnosed with PTSD, to both threat-related and neutral stimuli, whereas this relationship was negative in participants exposed to trauma but without PTSD and …

Cognitive Sociology, Michael W. Raphael

Publications and Research

Cognitive sociology is the study of the conditions under which meaning is constituted through processes of reification. Cognitive sociology traces its origins to writings in the sociology of knowledge, sociology of culture, cognitive and cultural anthropology, and more recently, work done in cultural sociology and cognitive science. Its central questions revolve around locating these processes of reification since the locus of cognition is highly contentious. Researchers consider how individuality is related to notions of society (structures, institutions, systems, etc.) and notions of culture (cultural forms, cultural structures, sub-cultures, etc.). These questions further explore how these answers depend on learning processes …

Impulsive-Antisocial Psychopathic Traits Linked To Increased Volume And Functional Connectivity Within Prefrontal Cortex, Cole Korponay, Maia Pujara, Philip Deming, Carissa Philippi, Jean Decety, David Kosson, Kent Kiehl, Michael Koenigs

Psychology Faculty Works

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by callous lack of empathy, impulsive antisocial behavior, and criminal recidivism. Studies of brain structure and function in psychopathy have frequently identified abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. However, findings have not yet converged to yield a clear relationship between specific subregions of prefrontal cortex and particular psychopathic traits. We performed a multimodal neuroimaging study of prefrontal cortex volume and functional connectivity in psychopathy, using a sample of adult male prison inmates (N = 124). We conducted volumetric analyses in prefrontal subregions, and subsequently assessed resting-state functional connectivity in areas where volume was related to …

Supplemental Data For Onus Of The Bonus, Ellen E. Furlong, Laurie R. Santos

Furlong Cognition Lab

No abstract provided.

Harnessing The Power Of Emotion For Social Change: Review Of Numbers And Nerves: Information, Emotion, And Meaning In A World Of Data By Scott Slovic And Paul Slovic (2015), Anne M. W. Kelly

Numeracy

Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic (Eds.). Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data (Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2015). 272 pp. ISBN 978-0-87071-776-5.

Literature and environment professor Scott Slovic, and his father, psychologist Paul Slovic, editors of this collection of essays and interviews, describe and demonstrate the psychological effects which hamper our ability to comprehend and respond appropriately to large numerical data. The collection then offers a brief survey of art works which, by first appealing to viewers’ emotions, can potentially move the viewer to a better understanding of numbers.

Connecting Numbers With Emotion: Review Of Numbers And Nerves: Information, Emotion, And Meaning In A World Of Data By Scott Slovic And Paul Slovic (2015), Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic (Eds.). Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data (Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2015). 272 pp. ISBN 978-0-87071-776-5.

It is common to view quantitative literacy as reasoning with respect to numbers. In Numbers and Nerves, the contributors to the volume make clear that we should attend not only to how students consciously reason with numbers, but also how our innate biases influence our actions when faced with numbers. Beginning with the concepts of psychic numbing, and then psuedoinefficacy, the contributors to the volume examine how our behaviors when …

Human Classifier: Observers Can Deduce Task Solely From Eye Movements, Brett Bahle, Mark Mills, Michael Dodd

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Computer classifiers have been successful at classifying various tasks using eye movement statistics. However, the question of human classification of task from eye movements has rarely been studied. Across two experiments, we examined whether humans could classify task based solely on the eye movements of other individuals. In Experiment 1, human classifiers were shown one of three sets of eye movements: Fixations, which were displayed as blue circles, with larger circles meaning longer fixation durations; Scanpaths, which were displayed as yellow arrows; and Videos, in which a neon green dot moved around the screen. There was an additional Scene manipulation …

Reliability And Validity Of The Hd-Pro-Triadtm, A Health-Related Quality Of Life Measure Designed To Assess The Symptom Triad Of Huntington's Disease., Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Janes S Paulsen, David Cella, Michael K Mccormack, Martha A Nance, Samuel Frank, Jin-Shei Lai, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Huntington's disease (HD), is a neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments that diminish health related quality of life (HRQOL). The HD-PRO-TRIADTM is a quality of life measure that assesses health concerns specific to individuals with HD. Preliminary psychometric characterization was limited to a convenience sample of HD participants who completed measures at home so clinician-ratings were unavailable.

OBJECTIVES: The current study evaluates the reliability and validity of the HD-PRO-TRIADTM in a well-characterized sample of individuals with HD.

METHODS: Four-hundred and eighty-two individuals with HD (n = 192 prodromal, n = 193 early, and n …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Increases Amygdala Connectivity With The Cognitive Control Network In Both Mdd And Ptsd, Haochang Shou, Zhen Yang, Theodore Satterthwaite, Philip Cook, Steven Bruce, Russell Shinohara, Benjamin Rosenberg, Yvette Sheline

Psychology Faculty Works

BackgroundBoth major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by alterations in intrinsic functional connectivity. Here we investigated changes in intrinsic functional connectivity across these disorders as a function of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an effective treatment in both disorders.Methods53 unmedicated right-handed participants were included in a longitudinal study. Patients were diagnosed with PTSD (n = 18) and MDD (n = 17) with a structured diagnostic interview and treated with 12 sessions of manualized CBT over a 12-week period. Patients received an MRI scan (Siemens 3 T Trio) before and after treatment. Longitudinal functional principal components analysis …

Babies And Math: A Meta-Analysis Of Infants’ Simple Arithmetic Competence, Joan Christodoulou, Andrew Lac, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Wynn’s (1992) seminal research reported that infants looked longer at stimuli representing “incorrect” versus “correct” solutions of basic addition and subtraction problems and concluded that infants have innate arithmetical abilities. Since then, infancy researchers have attempted to replicate this effect, yielding mixed findings. The present meta-analysis aimed to systematically compile and synthesize all of the primary replications and extensions of Wynn (1992) that have been conducted to date. The synthesis included 12 studies consisting of 26 independent samples and 550 unique infants. The summary effect, computed using a random-effects model, was statistically significant, d = +0.34, p < .001, suggesting that the phenomenon Wynn originally reported is reliable. Five different tests of publication bias yielded mixed results, suggesting that while a moderate level of publication bias is probable, the summary effect would be positive even after accounting for this issue. Out of the 10 metamoderators tested, none were found to be significant, but most of the moderator subgroups were significantly different from a null effect. Although this meta-analysis provides support for Wynn’s original findings, further research is warranted to understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for infants’ visual preferences for “mathematically incorrect” test stimuli.

Identifying Sex-Specific Cognitive And Diagnostic Profiles Of Children On The Autism Spectrum, Jessica Lee Irwin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Although there has been great interest in identifying sex differences in diseases or disorders that differentially affect males versus females, relatively less effort has been devoted to research on the differences between males and females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), despite the known male preponderance in ASD. The identification of separate male and female phenotypes within ASD would help parents, teachers, and clinicians better identify girls who may need ASD-related intervention services, inform the targets and goals of such interventions, and lead to the refinement of diagnostic criteria and instruments designed to diagnose ASD in children.

The current study sought …

Child Temperamental Regulation And Classroom Quality In Head Start: Considering The Role Of Cumulative Economic Risk, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Leslie R. Hawley, Jennifer Locasale-Crouch, Eric S. Buhs

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

There is growing recognition that cumulative economic risk places children at higher risk for depressed academic competencies (Crosnoe & Cooper, 2010; NCCP, 2008; Sameroff, 2000). Yet, children’s temperamental regulation and the quality of the early childhood classroom environment have been associated with better academic skills. This study is an examination of prekindergarten classroom quality (instructional support, emotional support, organization) as a moderator between temperamental regulation and early math and literacy skills for children at varying levels of cumulative economic risk. The sample includes children enrolled in Head Start programs drawn from the FACES 2009 study. Three main findings emerged. First, …

The Experience Of Forgiveness In Adults With Different Sacred Belief Systems, Christy Jo Heacock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Forgiveness is the act of moving beyond shame, guilt, anger, or blame, and it has been linked to psychological well-being, prosocial behavior, and religion/spirituality (R/S). However, the research on why and how people forgive is inconsistent, as the concepts involved are complex and difficult to define and operationalize. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was to provide a better understanding of why and how people are cognitively and emotionally able to forgive and the role of R/S in that process. Goal orientation and cognitive restructuring theories were used as frameworks for understanding the forgiveness experience. First-person, semistructured interviews …

Pitch Imitation Ability In Mental Transformations Of Melodies, Emma B. Greenspon, Peter Q. Pfordresher, Andrea R. Halpern

Faculty Journal Articles

Previous research suggests that individuals with a vocal pitch imitation deficit (VPID, a.k.a. "poor-pitch singers") experience less vivid auditory images than accurate imitators (pfordresher & halpern, 2013), based on self-report. in the present research we sought to test this proposal directly by having accurate and VPID imitators produce or recognize short melodies based on their original form (untransformed), or after mentally transforming the auditory image of the melody. For the production task, group differences were largest during the untransformed imitation task. importantly, producing mental transformations of the auditory image degraded performance for all participants, but were relatively more disruptive to …

That Note Sounds Wrong! Age-Related Effects In Processing Of Musical Expectation, Andrea R. Halpern, Ioanna Zioga, Martin Shankleman, Job Lindsen, Marcus T. Pearce, Joydeep Bhattacharya

Faculty Journal Articles

Part of musical understanding and enjoyment stems from the ability to accurately predict what note (or one of a small set of notes) is likely to follow after hearing the first part of a melody. Selective violation of expectations can add to aesthetic response but radical or frequent violations are likely to be disliked or not comprehended. In this study we investigated whether a lifetime of exposure to music among untrained older adults would enhance their reaction to unexpected endings of unfamiliar melodies. Older and younger adults listened to melodies that had expected or unexpected ending notes, according to Western …

Musical Expertise Has Minimal Impact On Dual Task Performance, Gianna Cocchini, Maria Serena Filardi, Marcela Crhonkova, Andrea R. Halpern

Faculty Journal Articles

Studies investigating effect of practice on dual task performance have yielded conflicting findings, thus supporting different theoretical accounts about the organisation of attentional resources when tasks are performed simultaneously. Because practice has been proven to reduce the demand of attention for the trained task, the impact of long-lasting training on one task is an ideal way to better understand the mechanisms underlying dual task decline in performance. Our study compared performance during dual task execution in expert musicians compared to controls with little if any musical experience. Participants performed a music recognition task and a visuo-spatial task separately (single task) …

Audience Reactions To Repeating A Piece On A Concert Programme, Andrea R. Halpern, Chloe H.K. Chan, Daniel Müllensiefen, John Sloboda

Faculty Journal Articles

Repetition of a piece on a concert programme is a well-established, but uncommon performance practice. Musicians have presumed that repetition benefits audience enjoyment and understanding but no research has examined this. In two naturalistic and one lab study, we examined audience reaction to repeated live performances of contemporary pieces played by the same ensemble. In all studies, we asked listeners to rate their enjoyment and willingness to hear the piece again (Affective), and perceived understanding and predicted memory of the piece (Cognitive). In Study 3, we assessed immediate recognition memory of each excerpt. In all studies, Cognitive variables increased significantly. …

Are Musical Autobiographical Memories Special? It Ain’T Necessarily So, Andrea R. Halpern, Jennifer M. Talarico, Nura Gouda, Victoria J. Williamson

Faculty Journal Articles

We compared young adults' autobiographical (AB) memories involving Music to memories concerning other specific categories and to Everyday AB memories with no specific cue. In all cases, participants reported both their most vivid memory and another AB memory from approximately the same time. We analyzed responses via quantitative ratings scales on aspects such as vividness and importance, as well as via qualitative thematic coding. In the initial phase, comparison of Music-related to Everyday memories suggested all Musical memories had high emotional and vividness characteristics whereas Everyday memories elicited emotion and other heightened responses only in the ‘‘vivid’’ instruction condition. However, …

Real Loneliness And Artificial Companionship: Looking For Social Connections In Technology, Fernando L. Montalvo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Loneliness among older adults is a problem with severe consequences to individual health, quality of life, cognitive capacity, and life-expectancy. Although approaches towards improving the quality and quantity of social relationships are the prevailing model of therapy, older adults may not always be able to form these relationships due to either personality factors, decreased mobility, or isolation. Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), virtual agents, and social robotics offer an opportunity for the development of technology that could potentially serve as social companions to older adults. The present study explored whether an IPA could potentially be used as a social companion to …

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 …

Estimate Of Undergraduate University Student Alcohol Use In China: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Ian Newman, Lanyan Ding, Yonghua Feng

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To develop an estimate of self-reported last 30 day alcohol use by university students in China.

Methods: A search of papers published in English and Chinese between 2006 and 2015, following pre-established selection criteria, identified 30 papers that were included in this meta-analysis. Nine moderator variables were preselected for this analysis.

Results: A total of 749 papers were identified in the keyword search, and 30 studies (28 in Chinese, 2 in English) met all selection criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The self-reported last-30-day alcohol use for undergraduate university students was 66.8% for males and 31.7% …

Debunking The 'Gaydar' Myth, William Cox, Alyssa Bischmann, Janet Hyde, Patricia Devine

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Kids are often told that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Even so, people often believe they can rely on their gut to intuit things about other people. Stereotypes often influence these impressions, whether it’s that a black man is dangerous, a woman won’t be a good leader or a fashionable man is gay.

Comparing Sexual Cognition And Risk By Gender, Jacquelynne Dauk

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The ways in which sexuality is perceived among members of society has substantial effects in regards to overall health and well-being. The current study investigates not only the nature of sexual cognition but also the differences in cognition in regards to participant genders. More specifically, this study seeks to investigate the differences in sexual attitudes and thoughts among different genders that may lead to different forms of sexual risk. In order to identify these differences, societal influences such as social roles, parenting styles, and sexual education are all examined in regards to gender. Factors such as age and demographics were …