Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

"That Movie Changed Me!" Effect Of Induced Mood On Story Interpretation, Rachel Deborah Thayer

2025 Symposium

Studies have found that mood can affect a variety of aspects of cognition, such as memory, comprehension, and decision making. In one such study, participants identified with the character that reflected their hypnotically induced mood, and in another, story endings that were incongruent with the film clip-induced mood were more difficult to process. In the current study, film clips were used to induce moods, and participants were asked to write an ending to an ambiguous story. The prediction is that participants’ completions will reflect their induced mood. To date, 25 Eastern Washington University undergraduate students have been recruited and screened …

Conflicting Social Information And Its Impact On Sentence Comprehension In Young Adults With Dld: An Eye Tracking Study, Ansley Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals must recognize linguistic and non-linguistic social cues to resolve contextual ambiguities in their conversations. When the linguistic and social cues match, sentence processing is facilitated. However, conflicts between linguistic and social stimuli (i.e., incongruency) can lead to prediction errors which slow sentence processing. Limited research has explored the social cognition conflict resolution skills in individuals with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) despite their documented emotion processing deficits. This study considers the role of social prediction processing in adults with DLD as they engage in a social cognition conflict resolution task.

Young adults with DLD (n=29) and typically developing (TD) peers …

Going Gray Too Early? Effects Of Color On Facial Identification, Roman M. Pardo

Masters Theses (Archived)

This study investigated a possible bias in face-matching and ID-screening decision making- color incongruity (i.e., one face image presented in color and one in grayscale). Expanding on previous research, the 2x2 mixed methods experiment incorporated eye tracking measures (i.e., fixations). Participants N= 25 were randomly assigned to compare color or grayscale IDs (between groups comparison) to a 10 s color video of a person moving their head side to side. The task consisted of 2 practice and 48 face-matching trials with medium prevalence (MP, 24 match, 24 mismatch) presented as one of four pseudo-random and counterbalanced orders. Signal detection …

Director, Military Cyber Institute, Joseph Schafer

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Throughput Of Ascon Compared With Popular Iot Encryption Algorithms, Mitchel R. Harvey (Ryan), Andrew M. Kaiser, Garrett W. Hoiness

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Anomaly Detection Of Network Layer Attacks Against Cyber Physical Systems Using Machine Learning And Deep Learning Techniques, James Alger, Michael Tu

Military Cyber Affairs

This research paper presents the analysis of using machine learning and deep learning algorithms on detecting anomalous network traffic in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Using a real PLC CPS-based system, normal and anomalous network traffic will be captured using Wireshark. The research analyzes a DDoS attack. The focus of the research is to identify the most effective feature combinations and evaluate them on ML and DL models. The emphasis is on enhancing detection strategies rather than exploiting device vulnerabilities. The detection of network attacks often involves handling a vast array of high-level features. Previous studies (Li & Chasaki, 2022) apply machine …

Characterizing Caldera’S Cyber Attack Emulation Capabilities, Caleb Chang, Matthew Cao, Kenyou Teoh, Ekzhin Ear, Shouhuai Xu

Military Cyber Affairs

Autonomous cyber attack emulation can aid cyber defenders to identify and remediate cyber risks. MITRE’s Caldera software is the state-of-the-practice for automated attack emulation. Yet, it has not been systematically analyzed, putting its performance and effectiveness into question. This paper systematically characterizes Caldera’s architecture, abilities and use cases, and assesses its strengths and weaknesses. It draws useful insights, such as: Caldera excels in stealthy access and execution tactics to pilfer data against Windows operating systems. It also discusses two directions for Caldera improvement: module-level automation and end-to-end attack emulation.

The Digital Battlefield: Safeguarding Military Drones Against Cyberattacks, Jason Ashong, Arun Venkitanarayanan, Benjamin Yankson

Military Cyber Affairs

The Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) is an advanced network of interconnected devices that significantly enhance military operations through real-time data exchange and situational awareness. While IoBT offers tactical advantages like improved surveillance, reconnaissance, and operational effectiveness, it also introduces substantial cybersecurity risks. Adversaries can exploit vulnerabilities within these networks, potentially compromising mission integrity and national security. This research examines the cybersecurity measures of commercial drone controllers and their correlation with military devices. It aims to enhance future vulnerability assessments with advanced tools and approaches to better secure critical military operations. The study highlights the need for robust security architectures …

Using Blockchain Technology To Help Secure America's Defense Critical Infrastructure, Vimal Buck, Aerin Krebs, Brynn Hillard, Jakob Gerha, Joseph Lutma, Srikar Maduposu, Ted Allen

Military Cyber Affairs

Critical water infrastructure in the United States faces increasing cybersecurity threats from state-sponsored actors, with potentially devastating consequences for national security, economic stability, and public health. (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 2025). This infrastructure supports defense critical assets and is actively being targeted by various state-sponsored hacking groups, which poses a major concern for civilians and military alike. K. Herath (personal communication, February 24, 2025) reported being aware of two attacks on Ohio water systems during his tenure as Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

Water is essential to everyday life and defense and presents as a high-value …

Network And Multipath Traceroute Visualization, Cameron Makowski

Military Cyber Affairs

TraceCam introduces a new paradigm in network path analysis, leveraging GPU-accelerated WebGL visualization, advanced traceroute integrations, and AI-driven insights to transform complex routing data into actionable intelligence. Early prototypes have demonstrated significant improvements in performance, clarity, and multi-path discovery, overcoming traditional limitations in traceroute analysis. By incorporating retrieval-augmented language models and enriched metadata sources like IPinfo.io, TraceCam enables automated anomaly detection, contextual explanations, and rapid root-cause analysis, enhancing operational efficiency. The platform’s architecture ensures scalability and adaptability, supporting deeper investigations and real-time situational awareness. Future development will focus on clustering-based anomaly detection, expanded geographic visualizations, and enhanced AI-generated analysis to …

Quantifying Adversary Military Forces’ Susceptibility To Cognitive Attacks, Bonnie Rushing, Cole Nelson, Shouhuai Xu, Christofer “Raven” O’Keefe, Olga Karpoyan

Military Cyber Affairs

This paper introduces a method to quantify international populations’ susceptibility to cyber cognitive attacks using press freedom and media trust metrics. We present the Cognitive Influence Calculator, a tool that estimates susceptibility (𝑆) based on Press Freedom Scores (PFS) and media trust levels. Findings show that while authoritarian regimes are harder to reach, successful cognitive attacks have greater impacts due to higher trust in state-controlled narratives. Using U.S. wargaming data and international trust metrics, we compute susceptibility scores for the U.S., Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Results show an inverse relationship between PFS and media susceptibility, with local/allied …

Forward, Amy Hamilton

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Understanding Russia’S Cyber Policies, Strategies, And Doctrines, Bryan Hancock, Hanh Nguyen, Olga Karpoyan, Ekzhin Ear, Shouhuai Xu

Military Cyber Affairs

This study analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of Russia’s cyber policies, strategies, and doctrines through a systematic set of attributes, leading to key insights: (i) Russia has proactively adapted its cyber policies, strategies, and doctrines to its evolving environment; (ii) Russia actively conducts cognitive warfare, but remains equally vulnerable to it; and (iii) Russia’s cyber posture faces significant challenges, including a limited technological base, shortage of skilled personnel, and restrictive approach to information control, all of which undermine the effectiveness of its strategies. These insights offer valuable implications for US Cyber Command and the Department of Defense.

Characterizing Cyberattacks Against Operational Technology Infrastructures Through The Lens Of Attack Flows, Sherman Kettner, Caleb Chang, Ekzhin Ear, Shouhuai Xu

Military Cyber Affairs

Operational Technology (OT) infrastructures play a critical role in modern society and economy. However, their increasing connectivity with public networks such as the Internet has made them vulnerable to cyberattacks, much like traditional Information Technology (IT) systems. In particular, cyberattacks against OT infrastructures remain relatively underexplored and little understood. In this paper, we aim to deepen our understanding of cyberattacks against OT infrastructures. For this purpose, we propose a methodology, including novel cybersecurity metrics to analyze the attack flows of these attacks in an end-to-end fashion, which allows us to draw useful insights. We demonstrate the utility of the methodology …

Creative Climates: The Impact Of Different Environmental Exposure On Group And Individual Creativity, Michael P. Hopkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the influence of indoor versus outdoor environmental exposure and individual versus group participation on verbal creativity performance. Guided primarily by Attention Restoration Theory (ART; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989), it was predicted that outdoor natural settings would enhance creativity through restorative cognitive processes. Additionally, it was hypothesized that groups would outperform individuals due to the cognitive advantages of collective induction and information pooling. Participants (N = 256) completed verbal creativity tasks—Remote Associates Task (RAT; convergent creativity) and Alternate Uses Task (AUT; divergent creativity)—following a 30-minute exposure period in either an indoor student center or outdoor botanical garden setting, …

Testing Their Limits: Impact And Intentions Of Standardized Testing In K-12 Schools, Grace O. Herd

University Honors Theses

The integration of High-Stakes standardized testing into U.S. public education to serve as an accountability system has been a disputed issue since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated these assessments nationwide in 2002. NCLB aimed to locate and identify schools failing to reach Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and trigger a chain of interventions based on student performance, as an effort to track measurable outcomes from federal education funding. While supporters view these standardized tests as quantifiable data for school effectiveness in academics, critics challenge the claim of validity.

This review integrates current psychological research in the area of …

Stigma, Shame, And Narcissism: A Literature Review, Alex Gaither

University Honors Theses

This thesis is a literature review of 12 peer reviewed journal articles accessible through the Portland State University library database on the relationship between stigma, shame, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). This thesis discusses ideas brought up in these articles regarding the classification and conceptualization of NPD as a disorder, the role that shame plays in the pathology of NPD, the ways that shame is addressed through treatment, and public and practitioner held bias resulting from the stigmatization of the disorder. New and upcoming ways of conceptualizing the disorder are also briefly discussed as there has been a push to …

Does Schooling Improve Cognitive Abilities At Older Ages? Causal Evidence From Nonparametric Bounds, Vikesh Amin, Jere R. Behrman, Jason M. Fletcher, Carlos A. Flores, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Hans-Peter Kohler

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We revisit much-investigated relationships between schooling and health, focusing on schooling impacts on cognitive abilities at older ages using the Harmonized Cognition Assessment Protocol in the Health & Retirement Study (HRS) and a bounding approach that requires relatively weak assumptions. Our estimated upper bounds on the population average effects indicate potentially large causal effects of increasing schooling from primary to secondary; yet, these upper bounds are smaller than many estimates from the literature on causal schooling impacts on cognition using compulsory-schooling laws. We also cannot rule out small and null effects at this margin. We do, however, find evidence for …

Causal Effects Of Schooling On Memory At Older Ages In Six Low-And-Middle-Income Countries: Nonparametric Evidence With Harmonized Datasets, Vikesh Amin, Jere R. Behrman, Jason M. Fletcher, Carlos A. Flores, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Iliana Kohler, Hans-Peter Kohler, Shana D. Stites

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Higher schooling attainment is associated with better cognitive function at older ages, but it remains unclear whether the relationship is causal. We estimate causal effects of schooling on performances on the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD) word-recall (memory) test at older ages in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. We used harmonized data (n=30,896) on older adults (≥50 years) from the World Health Organization Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. We applied an established nonparametric partialidentification approach that bounds causal effects of increasing schooling attainment at different parts of the schooling distributions under …

Building A Theory-Based Understanding Of Sexual Health Provider Stigma: A Phenomenological Study, Harit Agroia, Rebecca Reno, Maytal Bach, Jenette Spezeski, Erin Starzyk

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Unraveling provider-level sexual health stigma requires building an understanding of contributing factors, such as provider knowledge, values, beliefs, medical training, and other intrapersonal or interpersonal factors that may influence its manifestation at the clinic level during patient–provider interactions. Healthcare provider stigma has not been sufficiently understood or explained using classic psychological theories, such as Cognitive Dissonance Theory (CDT) or Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). We build a theory-based understanding of sexual health-provider stigma by proposing modifications to the SCT to develop the Modified SCT (M-SCT) model, where cognitive dissonance is hypothesized to influence the personal/cognitive and behavioral factors of the M-SCT. …