Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Investigating The Effects Of Obesity On Cardiovascular Reactivity And Recovery From Acute Physical And Psychological Stress, Ashley Elizabeth Burch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role that excess adipose tissue plays in chronic inflammation gives rise to its importance as an independent risk factor in cardiovascular dysfunction. By operationalizing chronic stress as obesity, we sought to explore the relationship between obesity and cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors, including recovery from stress. Further, we examined five adiposity measures to determine which were most related to cardiovascular dysfunction. Degree of obesity was able to predict dysfunction in both reactivity and recovery. Body mass index and waist circumference were found to be the best predictors of cardiovascular dysfunction. Blunted reactivity and slorecovery were found in participants with …

Functional Correlates Of Verbal Working Memory In Healthy Aging And Early Alzheimer's Disease, Michael Adam Sugarman

Wayne State University Theses

Deficits in the working memory system are common in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known regarding the neurobiological basis of this impairment. The current study examined the neurobiological functional correlates of the working memory system in early AD patients and cognitively intact control participants using a word list repetition task performed during positron emission tomography (PET). Compared to a reading control task, both the AD and control groups utilized a network of parietal, frontal, and cerebellar regions while completing the word rehearsal task. However, control participants displayed greater activation in all regions, especially in the parietal …

Trauma Severity And Defensive Emotion-Regulation Reactions As Predictors Of Forgetting Childhood Trauma, Bette L. Bottoms, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Michelle A. Epstein, Matthew J. Badanek

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Using a retrospective survey, we studied a sample of 1679 college women to determine whether reports of prior forgetting of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other traumas could be explained by trauma severity and individual differences in the use of defensive emotion-regulation reactions (i.e., repressive coping, dissociation, and fantasy proneness). Among victims of physical abuse (but not sexual abuse or other types of trauma), those who experienced severe abuse and used defensive reactions were sometimes more likely to report temporary forgetting of abuse, but other times less likely to report forgetting. We also found unanticipated main effects of trauma severity …

Adding Within-Utterance Emotion Decay For More Human-Like Dialog, Michael Hans Durcholz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

While spoken dialog systems have been used for commercial applications for several decades, most commercial spoken dialog systems provide only simple information exchange capabilities. Emotion synthesis in spoken dialog systems has become an active research area recently, and use of emotion-adaptive dialog systems has demonstrated improvements in user experience and rapport. This thesis seeks to improve how emotions are conveyed in dialog systems to enable robust emotional support that improves user experiences with dialog systems and models human speech characteristics more accurately than current dialog systems.

Prior work with Gracie (GRAduate Coordinator with Immediate response Emotions), an emotion-adaptive dialog system, …

Animal Cognition, The Importance Of Touch, And The Cit, Deirdre Yeater

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

A presentation of Professor Yeater's incorporation in her class PSCC103 of 5 in- class discussions comparing human and non-human species, particularly dolphins, with an emphasis on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the importance of touch. PSCC-103, The Human Community: The Individual and Society, is a 3 credit course which engages students in a study of the relationship between psychology – the science of human behavior and mental processes, and the Catholic intellectual tradition – which is characterized by rigorous intellectual inquiry and an openness to scientific ideas. This course aims to help us understand ourselves as human persons, as well …

Framing In Cognitive Clinical Interviews About Intuitive Science Knowledge: Dynamic Student Understandings Of The Discourse Interaction, Rosemary S. Russ, Victor R. Lee, Bruce L. Sherin

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Researchers in the science education community make extensive use of cognitive clinical interviews as windows into student knowledge and thinking. Despite our familiarity with the interviews, there has been very limited research addressing the ways that students understand these interactions. In this work we examine students’ behaviors and speech patterns in a set of clinical interviews about chemistry for evidence of their tacit understandings and underlying expectations about the activity in which they are engaged. We draw on the construct of framing from anthropology and sociolinguistics and identify clusters of behaviors that indicate that students may alternatively frame the interview …

Abused Women Who Kill: Juror Perspectives On Self-Defense Theories, Shahrzad Nikoo

CMC Senior Theses

In self-defense cases of battered women who kill their abusive husbands, defendants have used Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) expert testimony to help justify their acts of self-defense. However, past research demonstrates that BWS is ineffective in persuading jurors because it pathologizes the defendant rather than rationalizing her behavior. Additionally, BWS highlights passive (i.e., stereotypical) features of a battered woman, and such testimony may not apply to a defendant with active (i.e., atypical) features of a battered women. The current study hypothesized that another type of expert testimony, Social-Agency Framework (SAF), will persuade jurors to render more lenient verdicts, and that …

The Differential Association Between Alexithymia And Primary Versus Secondary Psychopathy, Gwendoline Cecilia Lander, Catherine J. Lutz-Zois, Mark S. Rye, Jackson A. Goodnight

Psychology Faculty Publications

Using a sample of 104 college students, this study tested the hypothesis that alexithymia is positively related to secondary (also known as “neurotic psychopathy”), but not primary psychopathy (i.e., inability to form emotional bonds with others and a fear insensitivity). Participants completed the TAS-20 (alexithymia), the LSRP (primary and secondary psychopathy), the PPI-R (psychopathy), and the trait version of the STAI (trait anxiety). The interaction between the latter two measures was used as a second index of primary and secondary psychopathy. Support was found for the study hypothesis with both methods of assessing psychopathy (i.e., the LSRP subscales or the …

General Recognition Theory Extended To Include Response Times: Predictions For A Class Of Parallel Systems, James T. Townsend, Joseph W. Houpt, Noah H. Silbert

Psychology Faculty Publications

General Recognition Theory (GRT; Ashby & Townsend, 1986) is a multidimensional theory of classification. Originally developed to study various types of perceptual independence, it has also been widely employed in diverse cognitive venues, such as categorization. The initial theory and applications have been static, that is, lacking a time variable and focusing on patterns of responses, such as confusion matrices. Ashby proposed a parallel, dynamic stochastic version of GRT with application to perceptual independence based on discrete linear systems theory with imposed noise (Ashby, 1989). The current study again focuses on cognitive/perceptual independence within an identification classification paradigm. We extend …

Improving Memory Using N-Back Training, Paul Beavon

Theses : Honours

Investigations into n-back training and near transfer to short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) have realised inconsistent results. A significant transfer to STM was reported using dual n-back training (Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Perrig, 2008). However, the majority of studies have found no significant transfer to WM as operationalised by complex span tasks using either single or dual n-back training. The current study examined the single n-back task and near transfer to STM and WM as operationalised by the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (Mather & Woodcock-Johnson, 2001). Forty-seven participants were divided into experimental treatment (n = 26) …

Calibration Research: Where Do We Go From Here?, Linda Bol, Douglas J. Hacker

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Research on calibration remains a popular line of inquiry. Calibration is the degree of fit between a person's judgment of performance and his or her actual performance. Given the continued interest in this topic, the questions posed in this article are fruitful directions to pursue to help address gaps in calibration research. In this article, we have identified six research directions that if productively pursued, could greatly expand our knowledge of calibration. The six research directions are: (a) what are the effects of varying the anchoring mechanisms from which calibration judgments are made, (b) how does calibration accuracy differ as …

Introduction To Special Issue: Dementia And Music, Andrea R. Halpern, Isabelle Peretz, Lola L. Cuddy

Faculty Journal Articles

This special issue follows two previous special issues on music and neurological disorders (April 2008, Volume 23/Issue 4 and April 2010, Volume 25/Issue 4). Like its predecessors, the issue presents studies employing a patient-based approach to music perception, cognition, and emotion. Whereas the earlier issues dealt with acquired and congenital disorders and impairments, the present issue focuses on dementia, primarily on its most common form, Alzheimer's disease (AD).

When Cognitive Bias Masquerades As Intervention Efficacy: Drinking Norms As Anchors And Norm Interventions As Anchoring Effects, Matthew R. Pearson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Problematic drinking is a serious public health concern on college campuses in the United States. College students most frequently report drinking for social reasons, and perceptions of peers' drinking, or perceived drinking norms, are among the most consistent, robust predictors of college student drinking. Therefore, norm-based interventions have risen to prominence in the attempt to reduce the harm caused by college student alcohol use. However, the efficacy of these interventions may be obscured by cognitive bias. Specifically, providing information regarding the drinking norm may "anchor" individuals' estimates of their own behavior. Using samples of college student drinkers, two studies were …

Reducing Overweight And Obesity Among Elementary Students In Wuhan, China, Ling Qian, Ian Newman, Duane F. Shell, Cheng Maojin Cheng

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Obesity and overweight among children in China is a growing concern. The curriculum and organization of Chinese schools focuses on academic achievement leaving little time for other programs. This pilot program illustrated that it is possible to involve schools and parents in a program to reduce obesity and overweight. Teachers, school staff, parents and elementary students were involved in an all-school educational initiative based on WHO’s Health Promoting School Model. The program was evaluated with a mixed modal ANOVA using a 3-level within subjects repeated factor (baseline, 1st follow-up, 2nd follow-up) and a 2-level between subjects factor (gender: boys and …

Implicit Attitudes Of Ethnicity And Language: Evaluative And Associative Priming, Eva Margarita De La Riva Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Most members of minority groups belong to both an ethnic and a linguistic minority. The interplay between these two related yet independent constructs has not been explored. For this reason, this study examined language attitudes following the theoretical model of social categorization by using implicit measures. This study also investigated the implicit association between language and ethnicity. In this manner, the relationship that exists between attitudes towards minority groups and attitudes towards minority languages can be disentangled. A simultaneous study of implicit attitudes of ethnicity and language, and the association between ethnicity and language, may elucidate possible mechanisms involved in …

The Effect Of Musical Training On Verbal And Tonal Working Memory, Ching-I Lu

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation explored the translation from print to sound of the tonal language Mandarin versus English versus musical notation in healthy volunteers. The performance of musicians and non-musicians was compared across a variety of reading tasks in an attempt to examine whether musical training can facilitate Mandarin tone or phonological processing. The effects of increasing working memory load on reading performance across tasks were also examined. Results showed that increasing demands on working memory in visual recognition tasks significantly decreased performance accuracy for both musicians and non-musicians across tasks. Significant differences in accuracy rates were observed between musicians and non-musicians. …

Mood And Creativity: The Mediating Role Of Attention, Viktoria Tidikis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Within literature there are two opposing views regarding the role of emotions in the creative process. The most commonly held view contends that positive emotions enhance creativity, while negative emotions stifle it; yet, some studies show an opposite trend. To help resolve this conundrum, this research examined the mediating effect of attention on the relationship between mood and creativity. The results showed that positive deactivating and negative activating emotions led to broader attention, while positive activating and negative deactivating emotions caused narrowing of attention. Furthermore, the creative process is not uniform in its requirements of attentional breadth; some creative tasks …

Cognitive Decision-Making Among Residents During An Extended Natural Disaster, Michael Shreeves

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Self-Efficacy, Intrinsic Motivation, And Academic Outcomes Among Latino Middle School Students Participating In An After-School Program, Kate Niehaus, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Jill L. Adelson

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This longitudinal study examined how academic self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and participation in an after-school program contributed to the academic achievement of Latino middle school students over the course of one school year. Participants were 47 Latino students in sixth through eighth grades who attended two public middle schools in which an after-school program was held that was specifically for Latino students. Results from ordinary least squares regression revealed that intrinsic motivation was positively associated with students GPAs, self-efficacy was a positive predictor of students’ school attendance and standardized math achievement scores, and attendance at the after-school program also contributed positively …

Neonatal White Matter Abnormalities An Important Predictor Of Neurocognitive Outcome For Very Preterm Children, Lianne J. Woodward, Caron A. C. Clark, Samudragupta Bora, Terrie E. Inder

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Cerebral white matter abnormalities on term MRI are a strong predictor of motor disability in children born very preterm. However, their contribution to cognitive impairment is less certain. Objective: Examine relationships between the presence and severity of cerebral white matter abnormalities on neonatal MRI and a range of neurocognitive outcomes assessed at ages 4 and 6 years. Design/Methods: The study sample consisted of a regionally representative cohort of 104 very preterm (≤32 weeks gestation) infants born from 1998–2000 and a comparison group of 107 full-term infants. At term equivalent, all preterm infants underwent a structural MRI scan that was …