Cognition and Perception Commons^™

Scarcity-Induced Domestic Conflict: Examining The Interactive Effects Of Environmental Scarcity And ‘Ethnic’ Population Pressures, Cigdem Sirin

Selected Works Temporary Series

This study argues that environmental scarcity is more likely to result in civil conflict in countries that experience ‘ethnic’ population pressures (i.e. where the size of the largest minority group is close to parity with the majority group). I refer to this argument as the ‘parity-threat’ approach to the study of scarcity-induced domestic conflict. I empirically test my argument by analysing time-series cross-section data for the period 1979–2000 using four alternative environmental indicators: (1) ecological footprint, (2) biocapacity, (3) scarcity of ecological reserves and (4) water scarcity. The results demonstrate that environmental scarcity increases the probability of civil conflict when …

Is It Cohesion Or Diversion? Domestic Instability And The Use Of Force In International Crises, Cigdem Sirin

Departmental Papers (PS)

This study asserts that cohesionary—rather than diversionary—motives primarily influence the propensity of political leaders to use external force in international crises in times of domestic turmoil. Specifically, I contend that mass violence leads political leaders to engage in cohesionary tactics to achieve and maintain social order in their country for political survival. Employing random effects probit analyses with International Crisis Behavior (ICB) data for one-hundred and thirty-nine countries from 1918 to 2005, I find that increased mass violence is more likely than other forms of domestic problems (be it an economic downturn or government instability) to instigate the external use …

An Examination Of The Effects Of Mindfulness And Task-Relevant Attentional Focus On Running Performance, Anthony R. Atchley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of mindfulness and task-relevant attentional focus on running performance. WKU psychology undergraduate students were assigned to one of two conditions: task-relevant attentional focus experimental training and no training control. Participants in the experimental condition received training designed to optimize the use of attentional focus strategies in a running context. Trait level mindfulness was examined as a covariate. Participants were compared on two mile run times and the use of attentional focus strategies. Differences were expected to reveal the effectiveness of the training by showing faster running times in the …

Esophoria And Exophoria In Relation To Personality, Nicole F. Horn

Senior Honors Projects

How Vision Problems Affect Our Lives

Nicole Horn

Faculty Sponsor: Charles Collyer, Psychology

Vision is much more than simply being able to see 20/20. There are a number of different visual problems which can impact how we see and interact with the world around us. One visual skill, which is looked at in this research, is convergence. Convergence is the ability to turn the eyes so that they both focus in on the same object, at the same time, and at the same distance in space.  If the eyes either underconverge or overconverge, this can lead to an altered perception …

Scarcity-Induced Domestic Conflict: Examining The Interactive Effects Of Environmental Scarcity And ‘Ethnic’ Population Pressures, Cigdem Sirin

Departmental Papers (PS)

This study argues that environmental scarcity is more likely to result in civil conflict in countries that experience ‘ethnic’ population pressures (i.e. where the size of the largest minority group is close to parity with the majority group). I refer to this argument as the ‘parity-threat’ approach to the study of scarcity-induced domestic conflict. I empirically test my argument by analysing time-series cross-section data for the period 1979–2000 using four alternative environmental indicators: (1) ecological footprint, (2) biocapacity, (3) scarcity of ecological reserves and (4) water scarcity. The results demonstrate that environmental scarcity increases the probability of civil conflict when …

Executive Function Profiles In Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Erik Nelson Ringdahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traumatic brain injury is a common cause of disability and death among children in the United States. Insult to the frontal and temporal lobes are frequent in closed head brain injury. Cognitive deficits in a variety of domains are common sequelae of brain trauma. In many cases, trauma to the frontal and temporal lobe regions engender prominent deficits in higher-order cognitive processing, memory, and attention.

Higher-order cognitive processing, or Executive Functions are the grouping of cognitive processes necessary for organization of thoughts and activities, attending to the activities, prioritizing tasks, managing time efficiently, and making decisions (Alvarez & Emory, 2006; …

Cognitive Load Of Critical Thinking Strategies, Hanem Shehab

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Critical thinking is important for today's life, where individuals daily face unlimited amounts of information, complex problems, and rapid technological and social changes. Therefore, critical thinking should be the focus of general education and educators' efforts (Angeli & Valanides, 2009; Oliver & Utermohlen, 1995). Despite passively agreeing or disagreeing with a line of reasoning, critical thinkers use analytical skills to comprehend and evaluate its merits, considering strengths and weaknesses. Critical thinkers also analyze arguments, recognizing the essentiality of asking for reasons and considering alternative views and developing their own point of view (Paul, 1990). Kuhn and Udell (2007) emphasize that …

Effect Of Anchoring On Perceived Amniocentesis Related Miscarriage Risk Within A Latina Population, Laura E. Panos

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Most recognized pregnancies are completed without difficulty, yet there is always a 3-5% background risk to have a child with a birth defect. Amniocentesis, the most common type of prenatal diagnostic test, is used to detect chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. Amniocentesis is associated with a risk of complications that can lead to a miscarriage, which is typically quoted to be between 1 in 300 and 1 in 500. Amniocentesis uptake rates are typically lowest within the Latina community, and although the factors related to this have been studied before, no specific conclusions have been reached.

The general population …

Knowledge And Perception Of The Role Of Targeted Ultrasound In Detecting Down Syndrome Among A High Risk Population, Ashley M. Henriksen

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The purpose of this study was to determine the perception and knowledge of targeted ultrasound in women who screen positive for Down syndrome in the first or second trimester, and to assess the perceived detection rate of Down syndrome by targeted ultrasound in this population.  While several studies have reported patient perceptions’ of routine ultrasound, no study has specifically examined knowledge regarding the targeted ultrasound and its role in detecting Down syndrome.  A targeted ultrasound is a special ultrasound during the second trimester offered to women who may be at a higher-than-average risk of having a baby with some type …

Physician Perceptions Of Risk Regarding Mood Disorders And Pharmacological Management During Pregnancy: What Is Current Practice?, Laura G. Hendon

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Mood disorders are the most common form of mental illness and one of the leading causes of morbidity worldwide.  Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder have a lifetime prevalence of 16.2% and 4.4%, respectively.  Women comprise a substantial proportion of this population, and an estimated 500,000 pregnancies each year involve women with a psychiatric condition.  Management with psychotropic medications is considered standard of care for most patients with mood disorders.  However, many of these medications are known human teratogens.  Because pregnant women with mood disorders face a high risk of relapse if unmanaged, the obstetrician faces a unique challenge in …

Bilingualism And Math Cognition, Michelle M. Guillaume

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within cognitive psychology, the fields of bilingualism and math cognition have been investigated relatively separately from one another. Although there has been a substantial amount of research conducted in both areas, few studies have examined mathematical processes as they relate to bilinguals. A couple of the traditional effects found in the math cognition literature, the problem size and associative confusion effects, have been studied with bilinguals; however, bilingual categorization was not carefully controlled for in those studies. There have also been mathematical models applied to bilingual samples; one such model is the encoding-complex model, which has been extended to Chinese-English …

Falsely Remembered Words As Explicit Primes: Combining A False Memory Paradigm With A Priming Task, Lori A. Hughes

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for BSU Honors Program.

Hallowed Be Thy Name: The Effect Of Prayer On God-Schemata, Jennifer J. Healey

Senior Honors Theses

Religious ideologies and spiritual frameworks are first formed and later held together by the linking of encounters with the sacred, a spiritual Entity, ritualistic practices, and/or the recognition of spirituality in others or within one’s self. The concept of schemata, which are the mind’s processing frameworks wherein the individual connects information in a purposeful and meaningful way is fundamentally tied to this process of deliberating faith. According to the Christian faith, prayer molds this conceptualization of God. This study endeavors to establish the relationship between the subjective nature of schemata and its supernatural implications: how prayer influences one’s view of …

Decision-Making Techniques Used By Elected Officials, Michael Gordon

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Politicians often make decisions that lead to contradictory outcomes from situations with seemingly similar circumstances and related factors. Recent examples include the U.S. reaction to the uprising in Iran contrasted with the call for the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak after the 18 Day Revolution in Egypt.

This frustrating reality, frequently based on perceived risks of publication of state secrets, has various far-reaching effects. Two effects of this reality include the loss of trust in government and government officials to do the right thing as well as the frequency of market fluctuations.

Relationship Between Perceived And Actual Quality Of Data Checking, Hunter Speich, Sophia Karas, Dan Erosa, Kelly Grob, Kimberly A. Barchard

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Data quality is critical to reaching correct research conclusions. Researchers attempt to ensure that they have accurate data by checking the data after it has been entered. Previous research has demonstrated that some methods of data checking are better than others, but not all researchers use the best methods. Perhaps researchers continue to use less optimal data checking methods because they mistakenly believe that they are highly accurate. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived data quality and actual data quality. A total of 29 participants completed this study. Participants checked that letters and numbers …

Examining The Construct Validity Of The Metaphors Test, Jane Park, Kelly Grob, Yevgeniya Verenikina, Kimberly A. Barchard

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Emotional Intelligence is a multi-faceted construct. Existing tests do a good job of measuring some aspects of Emotional Intelligence. The Metaphors Test (Barchard, 2004) was designed to measure the ability to decipher the emotional content of ambiguous sentences. This test may measure a new facet of Emotional Intelligence. The purpose of this research was to examine the construct validity of the Metaphors Test as a measure of Emotional Intelligence. Using a sample of 281 undergraduates, the Metaphors Test was correlated with the four branches of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2004): Perceiving Emotions, Using Emotions …

How Experience Influences Infants’ Recognition Of Male And Female Faces, Jennifer L. Rennels, Veronica A. Glover, Andrew J. Cummings, Andrea J. Kayl, Mateusz Orlewicz, Roanne J. Tiongson, Brooke Ditzler

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Young infants with female primary caregivers are able to differentiate familiar female faces from novel female faces but not male faces. Experience processing faces may be important for being able to discriminate among similar-looking faces. Subsequently, increasing infants’ experience with less familiar faces should improve their ability to differentiate those types of faces. This study examined if infants’ experience with faces affected their recognition of new faces. Prior to testing, 2-3 month old infants were assigned to one of three conditions: a male video, a female video, and no video condition. Infants were familiarized to both male and female faces …

Learning Mechanisms For Acquiring Knowledge Of Tonality In Music, Rikka Quam, Matthew Rosenthal, Erin Hannon

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Most people think that musical knowledge is exclusive to trained musicians. Actually, casual music listeners have implicit knowledge of important structural aspects of music, such as tonality. Tonality contributes to the feeling of anticipation one would experience when hearing someone sing “do re mi faso la ti” without singing the final “do”. Knowledge of tonality may be learned through the statistics of music (Krumhansl, 1990). However, learning mechanisms have rarely been investigated experimentally (Creel et al., 2002). Artificial grammar learning experiments have shown that listeners can acquire highly structured knowledge such as syllable co-occurrence and language syntax through passive exposure. …

A New Perspective On Visual Word Processing Efficiency, Joseph W. Houpt, James T. Townsend

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nice Guys Finish Fast And Bad Guys Finish Last: Facilitatory Vs. Inhibitory Interaction In Parallel Systems, Ami Eidels, Joseph W. Houpt, Nicholas Altieri, Lei Pei, James T. Townsend

Psychology Faculty Publications

Systems Factorial Technology is a powerful framework for investigating the fundamental properties of human information processing such as architecture (i.e., serial or parallel processing) and capacity (how processing efficiency is affected by increased workload). The Survivor Interaction Contrast (SIC) and the Capacity Coefficient are effective measures in determining these underlying properties, based on response-time data. Each of the different architectures, under the assumption of independent processing, predicts a specific form of the SIC along with some range of capacity. In this study, we explored SIC predictions of discrete-state (Markov process) and continuous-state (Linear Dynamic) models that allow for certain types …