Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

The Interrupted Task Paradigm: Age And Observer-Performer Differences, Laurie E. Davidson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous research has indicated a developmental tendency toward greater repetition choice and recall of interrupted tasks than for completed tasks. The present study investigated this relationship and the possibility that observing versus performing a task might have differential effects on recall and repetition choice. Thirteen ten year old and eleven year old boys (performers) individually assembled eighteen jig-saw puzzles of birds and animals. Twenty-four peers of the same age (observers) observers puzzle assembly. Contrary to previous research, no significant tendency was found for older participants to recall and to choose to repeat more interrupted tasks than for younger participants. However, …

Discrimination Of Bidimensional Stimuli By Autistic Children, Kathryn A. Brock

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Four autistic and four normal children were trained to respond on a series of four bidimensional complex-component discrimination tasks where the complex stimuli were comprised of auditory and visual components. The results indicated a transfer of learning effect for the autistic group. The increment in performance was such that the autistic group’s performance did not significantly differ from the normal group on the last task. These results were seen as encouraging evidence that the apparent phenomenon of stimulus overselectivity, as described in previous research, is not an enduring characteristic of autistic children. It was suggested that further research is needed …

Covert Scanning And Serial Encoding In Visual Short-Time Memory, Robert C. Olson

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Validity Study Of Select Symbol-Referent Relationships Using Semantic Differential Ratings, Stephen Willard

Dissertations and Theses

The present research was conducted in order to develop a method useful for measuring the meaning of symbolic material. Using this method an investigation was conducted to test the validity of several personality theories which ascribe meanings to select symbols.

A summary of the major personality theories dealing with symbolic material was conducted . Each theory was briefly presented with a discussion of the methods employed to determine the meanings of symbols. A set of symbol theory considerations was presented which would suggest the necessary components of an objective investigation attempting to be a validity test of symbol meanings predictions.

Increased Retention Due To Category Shift : A Perceptual-Attentive Phenomenon?, Leonard J. Bianchi

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A stimulus that is qualitatively distinct from other stimuli tends to show higher retention in Free Recall (FR) and short-term memory distraction (STM) tasks. This finding applies equally well to an isolated stimulus which belongs to a taxonomic category different from other stimuli.

Field Dependency And The Accuracy Of Heart Rate Control, Emil V. Derenzo

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Correlation Between Specific Curiosity And Intelligence In Adults, Charles R. Schwenk

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies done on the correlation between specific curiosity and intelligence have been inconclusive. In the present study, a test of state specific curiosity and a test of intelligence were administered to 76 Ss from two introductory psychology courses. Three hypotheses were tested. These were, (a) that a significant specific curiosity-intelligence correlation would exist, (b) that the specific curiosity-verbal subscale correlation would be higher than the specific curiosity-abstraction sub-scale correlation, and (c) that there would be a sex difference in the specific curiosity-intelligence correlations. The data did not support hypothesis (a) or (b). However, they did support hypothesis (c). …

State-Dependent Learning With Caffeine, Barbara A. Cooper

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction

• The study investigates state-dependent (SD) learning, where performance is influenced by the drug state during learning.
• Caffeine, a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, is the focus, with high doses administered to subjects.
• The research aims to determine if caffeine can serve as a discriminative stimulus in a T-maze shock escape task.

Method

• Subjects: 20 naive male albino rats, selected based on activity levels.
• Experimental design involved two groups: one receiving caffeine and the other saline.
• The T-maze apparatus was used for training and testing, with specific dimensions and shock delivery mechanisms.

Procedure

• A 30-minute free exploration period was conducted …

The Role Of Memory In Rule Learning Problems, Alan S. Kertes

All Master's Theses

Thirty-six college subjects who had taken a memory test from the Wechsler series were chosen from an introductory psychology class and divided into three memory levels (high, medium, and low). Twelve subjects from each of the memory groups were required to categorized geometrical stimulus patterns into positive and negative instances according to an unknown conceptual rule that prescribed a relationship between two known attributes. Each subject was assigned to one of three postfeedback delay intervals of 1.5, 20, or 30 seconds. Performance among the three memory levels was not statistically different even though differences from best to worst were apparent …

Frequency Judgments For The Wording And Meaning Of Sentences, Christopher Gude

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Stimulus Complexity On Retrieval Of Information From Memory, George M. Delegans

All Master's Theses

Eighteen subjects performed an item-recognition task, involving memorized lists of 1, 2, and 3 nonsense forms, at one of 2 levels of stimulus complexity. Analyses of reaction times as a function of set size and serial position suggested that (a) when the memorized list consisted of simple figures, subjects engaged in a serial exhaustive search, and (b) when the memorized items were complex, the assumption of a simple serial search was untenable.

Remembering The Functional Sentence, Donald J. Polzella

Psychology Faculty Publications

This report reviews the psychological and psycholinguistic literature from the last decade that deals with memory for sentences. It is concluded the the encoded representation of a sentence reflects both syntactic and semantic content, with the semantic content being far less transient.

The Role Of Extraversion & Intraversion On The Performance Of An Abstract Reasoning Task, Clarkie Farley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research compares the performance of a group of extraverts to a group of intraverts on a cognitive reasoning task. According to the theory of Hans J. Eysenck, one would expect that the intraverts would perform better than the extraverts on a task of massed reasoning. On the basis of scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Otis Lennon Mental Ability Test, a sample of 72 Ss were drawn from two undergraduate classes, Principles of Applied Learning and Human Development, at Western Kentucky University. Only Ss with extreme scores on the Extraversion scale E were selected, with each extravert …

A Reliability Measurement Of The Transactional Analysis Checklist, Robert B. Kahn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to measure the reliability of a checklist created and standardized for the study. The development of the checklist, referred to in the study as the Transactional Analysis Checklist (TAC), finds its basis in Transactional Analysis theory.

The literature available pertaining to Transactional Analysis was reviewed. No literature, prior to the study, existed which directed itself specifically to the examination of an instrument that could be used during the diagnostic phase of treatment.by .Transactional Analysts. The lack of literature was a partial motivator for the study. It was suggested that informally constructed devices are being …

An Investigation Of Three Aspects Of Cognitive Style In Young Children, Briar D. Gaudun

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the developmental concept of the process of differentiation as reflected in cognitive style with three and seven year old male and female Ss. The ideas underlying this study stemmed from the Witkin concept of an analytical versus a global cognitive style. The design, however, differed considerably from the studies of Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough, and Karp (1962) by incorporating three aspects of psychological functioning which theoretically should be highly related, although they have never been investigated simultaneously. The three aspects of psychological functioning were perceptual articulation as measured by the Preschool …

Effects Of Volition And Justification On The Arousal Of Dissonance During Performance Of A Dull Task, George Roger Schoenhals

All Master's Theses

The present study seeks to add a modest degree of clarification to the present condition of dissonance theory. More specifically, its main purpose is to help define certain conditions for the arousal of cognitive dissonance.

Shock Intensity And Task Difficulty As Determiners Of Avoidance And Escape Learning In Rats, Arthur Louis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Thirty-six naive female hooded rats were divided randomly into three groups and tested in an instrumental escape and avoidance learning situation involving three degrees of task difficulty. Each group was also randomly subdivided into four subgroups, each of which underwent a different shock intensity level. The purpose of this study was to test the Yorkes-Dodson law which states that (a) there is an optimal level of punishment intensity for any given task (or an inverted-U curve relating shock intensity and performance) and (b) this optimal intensity decreases as task difficulty increases. The results supported (a) but not (b).

Methodological, Modal, And Cross-Modal Studies Of Short Interval Judgements Of Duration, With Specific Reference To The Development Of A Model Of The Internal Clock, Michael J. Procyshyn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A series of experiments was carried out to investigate: (1) the effect of a background sound applied at either the input and/or the output stages on judgements of visual intervals made using the methods of verbal estimation, operative estimation, and reproduction; (2) the effect of lack of knowledge of the method of response during teh input stage of temporal information on the judgement made; (3) the effect of auditory visual cross-modal stimuli on reproductions of intervals; (4) the effect of lack of knowledge of the mode of response during the input of cross-modal temporal stimuli.

Analysis of the data revealed: …

Spatial Reasoning As Related To Solving "Story Type" Problems, James R. Holder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study it was hypothesized that the ability to mentally solve II story type" problems, those presented in the form of sentences, is significantly related to one's spatial reasoning ability and that a weakness in this ability, when tested by the "story type" problems, could be compensated for by training in and utilization of overt "paper and pencil" manipulations.

To test the hypothesis, three measures were used. These were the DAT Verbal Reasoning test--used to control the factor of verbal reasoning, the DAT Space Relations test--used to measure spatial reasoning ability, and two forms of a test composed of …

A Study Of The Difference In Short-Term Memory Between Seventh Grade Students Rated High And Low In The Ability To Acquire Sport Skills, Vera Jeppesen Watkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the possibility that the short-term memory factor may be one of the variables involved in the learning of motor skills.

The subjects of the study were all of the seventh grade gym students at Logan Junior High School who were rated by their teachers as being in the upper or lower one-fourth of their class in respect to their abilities in sport skills. After a short-term memory (STM) test developed by the researcher was administered to this group, their scores were compared to determine whether there was a significant difference between the upper and lower one-fourth.

An …

Molecular Transfer Of Acquired Discrimination By Proteinaceous Extract, Robert L. Sayre

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Early investigators of the molecular basis of memory suggested a unique function for the nucleic acids in learning and memory, with base changes in RNA being the most popular mechanism in representing memory for experiential events. Subsequent research has led to the hypothesis that RNA is intermediary in the general action of cells, but some researchers continue to think of RNA as providing a unique contribution during learning.

A Comparison Of Cognitive Achievement Measures In Student Evaluation, Ladonna Wallace Childers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Tyler (i932, 1934) was responsible for some of the most important research with cognitive achievement measures. In studies with college students he found that factual knowledge gains dissipated after one year at the rate of seventy-seven per cent of the initial gain during the period of instruction. In the same study the gain in ability to apply principles to new situations and the ability to interpret new experiments resulted in no loss after one year. Rather, the ability to interpret new experiments showed an increase after one year, though none of the Subjects (Ss) in the study had taken additional …

An Investigation Of The Influence Of Varying Lengths Of Rest Following Differential Amounts Of Practice On The Practice Effect In Tachistoscopic Word Recognition, John G. Platt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

An experiment was carried out to investigate the influence of varying rest periods after three different amounts of practice on the practice effect in word recognition.

Analysis of the data revealed: (1) rest resulted in a sharp increment in recognition thresholds except at short rest intervals after a brief practice period, (2) the threshold scores immediately after rest were found to be an inverse function of the length of the rest period, and (3) larger threshold increments were observed following greater amounts of practice than after lesser amounts.

The results were discussed in terms of two interpretations of the practice …

Sex Differentiated Reactions To Experimental "Repression" As Measured By Verbal Recall, Stephen Howard Bank

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the investigation was to study the evocation of repression in an experimental situation employing the controls made possible by group presentation, using the suggestion of homosexuality as the source of anxiety arousal and ego threat, and providing an opportunity for observing sex differentiated reactions.

Cognitive Dissonance In Task-Orientedgroups Under Intermittent And Continuous Success, Arthur Hiram Strock Ii

Master's Theses

In a recent study by Burke (1961), the psychological effects of participation in task-oriented groups were studied. This study incorporated selected communication networks, the wheel, circle, and the all-channel, from a number of experimental arrangements that were conceived and developed by Bavelas (1950). Burke’s eighteen five-man groups were seated at a partitioned table containing slots in a center post through which written messages could be sent. This apparatus was similar in design to the table first used and described by Leavitt (1951). The groups worked on a task that required the members to find one symbol among five that was …

Factors Related To Superior Achievement In Grade Six, Roberta Delores Brooks

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Individual differences and group differences in scholastic performance are increasingly important areas of concern in classroom teaching, school guidance, psychological counseling, as well as in parent-student educational and vocational planning. With the current surge of technical and professional specialization there is a need for increased understanding of how individuals and groups differ in academic performance and the factors closely related to such differences.

A Comparative Study Of Two Approaches To The Teaching Of Spelling, Freda M. Dysert

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Statement of the problem. It was the purpose of this study (1) to determine the desires of the elementary school teachers employed ln the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, Marion County, Indiana, as to the sources of words for each of the grade levels one through six; (2) to use the majority opinion in the foregoing survey to establish word lists for each grade level; (3) to sample creative writing at given grade levels to detect number and kind of spelling errors made; (4) to compare these writings with others or a later date when emphasis in teaching spelling …

The Relationship Between A Time Score And Anxiety Score On The Taylor Anxiety Scale, Donald H. Kausler, E. Philip Trapp

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Assault By Test And Battery, Sidney J. Fields

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Certain Responses To A Color Association Test, Norbett Lawrence Mintz

Psychology ETDs

The study to be presented in this thesis is a direct outgrowth of four years of work by the writer and his associates. Because none of the previous studies has been published and no statement of the over-all purpose of this study exists, it was deemed advisable to review the entire background of the present investigation. Therefore, the thesis has been divided into two parts.

Part One Shall: (1) demonstrate that the color association test resulted from a combination of color matching technique and the word association method; (2) present the purpose for which the test was developed; (3) review …