Effects Of Human-Animal Interactions On Affect And Cognition,
2021
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Effects Of Human-Animal Interactions On Affect And Cognition, Elise L. Thayer, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Human-animal interaction has clear positive effects on people’s affect and stress. But less is known about how animal interactions influence cognition. We draw parallels between animal interactions and exposure to natural environments, a research area that shows clear improvements in cognitive performance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether interacting with animals similarly enhances cognitive performance, specifically executive functioning. To test this, we conducted two experiments in which we had participants self-report their affect and complete a series of cognitive tasks (long-term memory, attentional control, and working memory) before and after either a brief interaction with a dog …
Dog And Owner Characteristics Predict Training Success,
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dog And Owner Characteristics Predict Training Success, Jeffrey R. Stevens, London M. Wolff, Megan Bosworth, Jill Morstad
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Teaching owners how to train their dogs is an important part of maintaining the health and safety of dogs and people. Yet we do not know what behavioral characteristics of dogs and their owners are relevant to dog training or if owner cognitive abilities play a role in training success. The aim of this study is to determine which characteristics of both dogs and owners predict success in completing the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen training program. Before the first session of a dog training course, owners completed surveys evaluating the behavior and cognition of their dog and themselves. …
Excluder: An R Package That Checks For Exclusion Criteria In Online Data,
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Excluder: An R Package That Checks For Exclusion Criteria In Online Data, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Collecting survey data online can result in low-quality data. Survey participants may not complete the survey, may complete the survey too quickly or slowly, may not reside in the country they claim, or may use unacceptable screen types. Also, online surveys are plagued by automated bots attempting to complete the surveys while offering worthless data. Researchers collecting online data may want to check their data for these and other potential criteria to exclude problematic data entries. The excluder package uses three main function types to mark, check, and exclude data based on seven different exclusion criteria.
Attribute-Based Choice,
2021
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Attribute-Based Choice, Francine W. Goh, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Alternative-based approaches to decision making generate overall values for each option in a choice set by processing information within options before comparing options to arrive at a decision. By contrast, attribute-based approaches compare attributes (such as monetary cost and time delay to receipt of a reward) across options and use these attribute comparisons to make a decision. Because they compare attributes, they may not use all available information to make a choice, which categorizes many of them as heuristics. Choice data have suggested that attribute-based models can better predict choice compared to alternative-based models in some situations (e.g., when there …
Are Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus Spp.) Sensitive To Lost Opportunities? The Role Of Opportunity Costs In Intertemporal Choice,
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Are Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus Spp.) Sensitive To Lost Opportunities? The Role Of Opportunity Costs In Intertemporal Choice, Elsa Addessi, Valeria Tierno, Valentina Focaroli, Federica Rossi, Serena Gastaldi, Francesca De Petrillo, Fabio Paglieri, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Principles of economics predict that the costs associated with obtaining rewards can influence choice. When individuals face choices between a smaller, immediate option and a larger, later option, they often experience opportunity costs associated with waiting for delayed rewards because they must forego the opportunity to make other choices. We evaluated how reducing opportunity costs affects delay tolerance in capuchin monkeys. After choosing the larger option, in the High cost condition, subjects had to wait for the delay to expire, whereas in the Low cost different and Low cost same conditions, they could perform a new choice during the delay. …
Improving Measurements Of Similarity Judgments With Machine-Learning Algorithms,
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Improving Measurements Of Similarity Judgments With Machine-Learning Algorithms, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Alexis Polzkill Saltzman, Tanner Rasmussen, Leen-Kiat Soh
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Intertemporal choices involve assessing options with different reward amounts available at different time delays. The similarity approach to intertemporal choice focuses on judging how similar amounts and delays are. Yet we do not fully understand the cognitive process of how these judgments are made. Here, we use machine-learning algorithms to predict similarity judgments to (1) investigate which algorithms best predict these judgments, (2) assess which predictors are most useful in predicting participants’ judgments, and (3) determine the minimum number of judgments required to accurately predict future judgments. We applied eight algorithms to similarity judgments for reward amount and time delay …
The Role Of Talker In Adjusting For Different Speaking Rates In Speech Perception,
2021
University of Louisville
The Role Of Talker In Adjusting For Different Speaking Rates In Speech Perception, Chloe M Sharpe, Christian Stilp
Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase
Speech perception is heavily influenced by acoustic context effects, where perception of a sound is influenced by acoustic properties of surrounding sounds. Talker variability, or the acoustic variability among different talkers, can disrupt these context effects. Studies have shown that talker variability does impact Spectral Contrast Effects (SCEs; an acoustic context effect induced by variations in frequency), but it is unknown if Temporal Contrast Effects (TCEs; an acoustic context effect induced by speech rate) are similarly affected. To test this, on each trial, listeners heard a context sentence (spoken at a fast or slow rate) followed by the target word …
Using Eye Tracking To Explore Visual Attention In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder,
2021
Old Dominion University
Using Eye Tracking To Explore Visual Attention In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anne M.P. Michalek, Jonna Bobzien, Victor A. Lugo, Chung Hao Chen, Ann Bruhn, Michail Giannakos
Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications
Video social stories are used to facilitate understanding of social situations for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study explored the use of eye tracking technology to understand how adolescents with and without ASD visually attend to video social story content and whether visual attention is related to content comprehension. Six adolescents, with and without ASD, viewed a video social story of visiting a dental office. Eye gaze metrics, including fixation duration and count, and visit duration were collected to measure visual attention, and a knowledge assessment was administered for comprehension. Results indicated adolescents with ASD fixated and maintained …
Mindfulness: How It Affects Pregnancy, Labor And Delivery,
2021
Old Dominion University
Mindfulness: How It Affects Pregnancy, Labor And Delivery, Olivia R. Snipes
OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal
Pregnancy is a very physical and mental process during which many women face a wide variety of complications. The influx of hormones that happens during pregnancy has the ability to make pregnant women more susceptible to depression, anxiety and other stress related illnesses. High levels of stress can negatively affect the mother and unborn child and potentially the mother-child relationship. Many women prefer not to take the pharmaceutical route when coping with stress, anxiety and depression while pregnant. As a result, mindfulness practices have been utilized as an alternative method to reduce the negative effects of these complications and lower …
The Archaeology Of Height – Cultural Meaning In The Relativity Of Irish Megalithic Tomb Siting,
2021
Technological University Dublin
The Archaeology Of Height – Cultural Meaning In The Relativity Of Irish Megalithic Tomb Siting, Frank Prendergast
Book/Book Chapter
Exploring sacred mountains around the world, the book examines whether bonding and reverence to a mountain is intrinsic to the mountain, constructed by people, or a mutual encounter. This chapter explores mountains in Ireland and embraces the union of sky, landscape and people to examine the religious dynamics between human and non-human entities.
This chapter take as its starting point the fact that mountains physically mediate between land and sky and act as metaphors for bridges from one realm to another, recognising that mountains are relational and that landscapes form personal and group cosmologies. The chapter fuses ideas of space, …
Exercise Shifts Hypothetical Food Choices Toward Greater
Amounts And More Immediate Consumption,
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Exercise Shifts Hypothetical Food Choices Toward Greater Amounts And More Immediate Consumption, Karsten Koehler, Safiya E. Beckford, Elise Thayer, Alexandra R. Martin, Julie B. Boron, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Although exercise modulates appetite regulation and food intake, it remains poorly understood how exercise impacts decision-making about food. The purpose of the present study was to assess the impact of an acute exercise bout on hypothetical choices related to the amount and timing of food intake. Forty-one healthy participants (22.0 ± 2.6 years; 23.7 ± 2.5 kg/m 2 , 56% female) completed 45 min of aerobic exercise and a resting control condition in randomized order. Food amount preferences and intertemporal food preferences (preference for immediate vs. delayed consumption) were assessed using electronic questionnaires with visual food cues. Compared to rest, …
How Interesting Is This To You: Rating The Interestingness Of Auditory Clips,
2021
Old Dominion University
How Interesting Is This To You: Rating The Interestingness Of Auditory Clips, Hanna Zakharenko, James R. Unverricht, Yusuke Yamani
Psychology Faculty Publications
Modern technological environments integrate multiple devices, competing for limited attentional resources of users. This study aimed to validate the auditory stimuli used in Horrey et al. (2017) with a college student population and examine the psychological structure of task engagement. Thirty-nine students listened to thirty-nine auditory stimuli used in Horrey et al. (2017) for their level of engagement. Participants rated how interesting they found the material on a slider from -7 (boring) to 7 (interesting) while listening to each clip. Participants also rated levels of difficulty, entertainment, and likelihood to attend to each clip. Participants who rated high on difficulty, …
Increment And Decrement Effects In Motion Induced Blindness,
2021
University of New Hampshire
Increment And Decrement Effects In Motion Induced Blindness, Sofia C. Lombardo
Honors Theses and Capstones
Motion induced blindness (MIB) refers to the perceptual disappearance of a stationary stimulus in the presence of a motion mask. The current study investigated the degree to which afterimages affect MIB inhibition when measured as a contrast detection threshold in a modified replication of White et al. (2020). Adult participants (N = 3) with normal or corrected-to-normal eyesight completed a series of target detection tasks while viewing a standard MIB stimulus with the motion mask removed that consisted of increment versus decrement inducer and target components. A univariate ANOVA data analysis procedure revealed a significant afterimage effect (Scheffé p < 0.0253) on contrast detection threshold was found for targets presented at an interstimulus interval of 500 ms. This effect was stronger for decrement targets compared to increment targets in the decrement inducer conditions. Based on a comparison with previous research in which the MIB effect was found to endure across interstimulus intervals up to 15500 ms, the current findings indicate that afterimages do not significantly influence contrast detection thresholds for MIB. Further research is necessary for determining the strength and duration of afterimage effects on contrast detection thresholds in MIB that may be caused by interaction with the motion mask.
Predictors Of Academic Performance: The Roles Of Self-Compassion, Coping, Mental Toughness, Grit, And Self-Reported Stressors On Physics Final Exam Performance,
2021
Michigan Technological University
Predictors Of Academic Performance: The Roles Of Self-Compassion, Coping, Mental Toughness, Grit, And Self-Reported Stressors On Physics Final Exam Performance, Darnishia L. Morris
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
The intersection of stress, persistence and success in college-aged students is progressively gaining attention in research. Analyzing how students succeed and what factors contribute to their success, failure, and ultimately the completion of their degree, is vitally important for educators and administrators in higher education to understand. Historically utilized factors such as grade point average (GPA), standardized test scores (college admissions and Advance Placement (AP) exams), and previous academic achievement (pre-requisite courses) are not the only predictors of academic performance. This study aimed to quantify contributions and inter-relationships of student perceptions, coping style, stress, mental toughness (MT), and other potential …
A Foray Into The Interval Timing Capabilities Of Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus [Sapajus] Apella),
2021
Bucknell University
A Foray Into The Interval Timing Capabilities Of Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus [Sapajus] Apella), Gryff Griffin
Honors Theses
Time is a critical part of life and timing on the range from milliseconds to minutes has proven to be critical for several behaviors such as foraging and movement. While the exact neurological structures of interval timing are currently undefined, several studies have been completed comparing the interval timing capabilities of humans and nonhuman primates. However, these studies have unanimously utilized members of Macaca, which limits the abilities for researchers to make apt comparisons between humans and all nonhuman primates. This study sought to investigate whether tufted capuchins (Cebus [Sapajus] apella) have the capability to measure time …
Uncovering Object Categories In Infant Views,
2021
Scripps College
Uncovering Object Categories In Infant Views, Naiti S. Bhatt
Scripps Senior Theses
While adults recognize objects in a near-instant, infants must learn how to categorize the objects in their visual environments. Recent work has shown that egocentric head-mounted camera videos contain rich data that illuminate the infant experience (Clerkin et al., 2017; Franchak et al., 2011; Yoshida & Smith, 2008). While past work has focused on the social information in view, in this work, we aim to characterize the objects in infants’ at-home visual environments by modifying modern computer vision models for the infant view. To do so, we collected manual annotations of objects that infants seemed to be interacting within a …
Critically Evaluating Website Credibility: Factors That Influence Perceptions Of Online Mental Health Information,
2021
Central Washington University
Critically Evaluating Website Credibility: Factors That Influence Perceptions Of Online Mental Health Information, Mikayla Kimery
All Master's Theses
Research on the use of online information has suggested that general users of the internet do not critically evaluate the information they consume. In addition, specific elements of online information, such as the presence of advertisements, has been shown to affect perceptions of that information, resulting in less favorable ratings of websites. In contrast, communication studies have shown that perceptions of the presented information increased favorably when an image of a brain was included even when the actual information was considered insufficient in quality by experts. To date, the combined effects of brain images and advertisements on evaluations of online …
Autistic Personality Traits And Processing Of Ironic Language,
2021
University of Richmond
Autistic Personality Traits And Processing Of Ironic Language, Jaclyn Opie
Honors Theses
Whereas typically developing adults tend to show processing differences for ironic versus literal language, recent research has demonstrated that adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder do not show a difference. Building on these findings, the present study examined whether similar effects would emerge in a sample of college students who were assessed on autistic personality traits. Through an eye tracking during reading experiment, participants read sentence contexts in which factors of emotional language, ironic versus literal language, and sentence perspective were manipulated. Results showed that participants who had a low degree of autistic traits somewhat replicated the two-stage processing model of …
Visual Perception And Action In Reaching During Upper Limb Obstacle Avoidance,
2021
Wilfrid Laurier University
Visual Perception And Action In Reaching During Upper Limb Obstacle Avoidance, Nondon Chakraborty
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
During everyday activities, people reach to specific objects with their hands and avoid obstacles. For people to move successfully through an obstacle gap, it is necessary to be able to accurately perceive the actions that the surroundings afford and adjust hand movements accordingly. Reaching behaviours, including planning (perception) and execution (action), depend on visual information. This study aimed to understand and detect the differences between perceptual judgment and actual performance of both hands during a reaching task at the time of obstacle avoidance by using a hand-scaled approach. Participants were young adults (male (n=7) and female (n=10) aged 18 to …
Investigating The Inhibition Of The Return Of Attention In The Tactile Domain,
2021
Wilfrid Laurier University
Investigating The Inhibition Of The Return Of Attention In The Tactile Domain, Robert Plax
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Purpose: The time-course needed to elicit tactile inhibition of return (IOR) has not been well-defined due to the paucity of research in this area especially studies investigating spatial discrimination. Reportedly tactile IOR uses higher-order mental representations to orient attention spatially yet the properties of low-level dermatomal maps may better account for how IOR orients tactile attention in space although its contribution is unclear. The present study sought to establish a time-course that evokes IOR in a unimodal tactile spatial discrimination task and decouples the contribution of the dermatome from higher-order representations. Methods: Two conditions containing distinct tactile cue-target paradigms designed …
