Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Spirituality In Place: Assessment Of Spirituality, Place Attachment, And Locus Of Control In College, Chloe Armand

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore how spirituality in place shapes college students’ cognition. While spiritual development is recognized as an important aspect of student affairs, its influence on cognitive factors such as locus of control and place attachment remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between spirituality, place attachment, and locus of control, as well as students’ perceptions of spiritual design elements on UCF’s campus. To assess these perceptions, a Quality of Place Questionnaire for Spirituality was developed. This instrument aims to measure humanity, sensuality, and sustainability in the built environment. This research uncovers the connections between …

Using Different Measures To Explore Confidence Bias In Video Games, Laura Valdes-Vega

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Researchers have been debating whether video games influence our cognitive and perceptual processing abilities. There are two notable gaps in the video game literature, which are (1) the lack of objective performance measures and (2) not addressing participants’ confidence ratings. This study addressed both by examining (1) the relationship between confidence and performance scores, (2) changes in confidence after gameplay, and (3) the relationship between self-reported play hours and AimLabs performance. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining AimLabs data with pre- and post-game confidence ratings. Participants were grouped (high, medium, low) based on reported weekly play hours and three perceptual …

Encouraging Selection Of Effective Learning Strategies, Kaya Easley

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

College students have difficulty selecting effective learning strategies, often due to their perceptions of cost and value of these strategies. The goal of the present study was to examine ways to increase students’ perceptions of value to outweigh their perceptions of cost to help them select an effective learning strategy (generation). Students were randomly assigned to one of five conditions in an additive design: no treatment control, experience comparing generation to a less effective learning strategy, experience plus information about its application to one’s life, experience and application plus evidence of the effectiveness of generation, or experience, application, and evidence, …

A Survival Horror Video Game's Impact On Visual Attention, Alicia D. Sprague

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The current study’s main research question was whether playing a survival horror video game increases the visual selective attention of a player. This project examined how visual attention and anxiety levels differ after playing a survival horror video game and whether an individual’s gaming preferences affect these concepts. The research consisted of the preliminary evaluation of participants’ visual attention abilities and anxiety levels through psychological tasks. Participants then played Resident Evil 4: Chainsaw Demo, the selected survival horror video game for this study. After playing the demo, participants repeated the previous psychological tasks, and their results were assessed. Results …

Investigating The Effects Of Binaural Beats On Encoding Efficiency And Working Memory Performance In College Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Traits, Megan Daza

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Binaural beats (BB) have been increasingly explored as a non-invasive cognitive enhancement tool, particularly in populations with neurodevelopmental conditions such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study investigates the effects of beta-frequency binaural beats on encoding efficiency and working memory performance, specifically verbal-spatial working memory, in college students with ADHD traits. Using a 2 (ADHD/Neurotypical) × 2 (Low/High Cognitive Load) mixed ANOVA design, participants will complete an N-back working memory task under baseline, binaural beats, and control (white noise) conditions. Key research questions examine whether binaural beats improve working memory accuracy and reaction time, whether their effects vary across cognitive load …

Disconnected Minds: Exploring Nomophobia And Adhd's Impacts On Driving Hazard Perceptions Among College Students, Stephanie Zheng

Honors Undergraduate Theses

An increasing psychological concern in the 21st century is the development of the fear of being unable to access one's mobile phone, also known as nomophobia. However, its impact on individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) remains largely unexplored. Given ADHD’s association with impulsivity, attentional difficulties, and emotional dysregulation, those with the condition may be particularly vulnerable to nomophobia, which can affect every aspect of their daily lives, ranging from interpersonal relationships to their academic success and overall physical and mental well-being. This study aims to answer four questions: how does ADHD impact the severity of nomophobia among college students, do …

Active Musical Engagement Versus Passive Music Listening: Effects On Emotional Modulation, Claudia Allocca

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study explored how different forms of musical engagement, actively playing versus

passively listening, impact emotional regulation following exposure to a stressor. The goal was

to better understand whether active participation in music offers greater emotional benefits

compared to simply listening, as previous research often highlights music’s role in emotional

modulation but overlooks the influence of performance-based engagement. A total of 28

participants either played music or listened to music and then completed both pre- and post-

stressor measures assessing mood, mental task load, and heart rate. Contrary to the original

hypothesis, findings revealed that participants from the listening group …

Sealing The Deal: A Case Study Of A Private, Southeastern, Regional College’S Student Onboarding Practices, Alicia R. Gaston, Kristen Meyer, Tyler Ogden, Jennifer Perkinson, Casey Yocum Michaels

Doctor of Education Capstones

Each year, higher education institutions offer support to new, incoming students through an onboarding process that requires dedication and collaboration across multiple departments. Offering streamlined guidance and clear communication throughout the onboarding process is essential to ensure incoming students understand action steps without becoming overwhelmed with new terminology, processes, and environments. This explanatory case study is set to understand the current communication practices and technology use across onboarding departments at Brightside College – also referred to as Brightside or BC (pseudonym). The research team aimed to understand Brightside's onboarding staff's perspective of current processes and practices. With emphasis on the …

Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide In A Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Sample, Janelle Wee

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is associated with cognitive and emotional changes that may increase suicide risk. This study, grounded in the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS), examined whether premorbid functioning moderates the relationship between cognitive functioning (working memory and processing speed) and suicidal desire (thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness) in individuals with mTBI. Participants (n = 54) were drawn from a clinical neuropsychological sample and completed the WAIS-IV, TOPF, BDI-II, and Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ). Hierarchical moderated regression analyses were conducted across 100 multiply imputed datasets. Depressive symptoms were included as a covariate. Results showed that depressive symptoms …

Choice Overload In The Digital Age: A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach, Jacob Matthew Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the neural mechanisms of value-based multiattribute decision making through the lens of choice overload during consumer choice. Two behavioral experiments established that choice sets of a moderate size with nine options were perceived as most optimal compared to choice sets with three and 24 options, and options chosen from the largest set size were judged to be the least satisfying. A functional MRI study then examined how the brain responds to choice sets varying in size and complexity by manipulating the number of options presented as well as the presence of asymmetrically dominated decoy alternatives during a …

Visual Attention And Memory Performance On Advertisements Featuring Celebrities, Kyrho Callis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

VISUAL ATTENTION AND MEMORY PERFORMANCE ON ADVERTISEMENTS FEATURING CELEBRITIES

In Praise Of Dust, Hasler Gomez-Perez

Theses and Dissertations

A desire path is a physical manifestation of where a system has failed, but also where it has been refused, where a new path has been made. The wake exists in the post, it is not a singular, untethered event, but a subtle double entendre that lives in the post-death, but also in the pre-life—not a liminal limbo, but a superposition of dying and waking.

This collection was assembled and composed over the course of two years as I navigated my practice, myself, and others. Present here are my thoughts, my experiences, and in many ways my beliefs. IN PRAISE …

The Future We Imagine Together: The Role Of Collaborative Imagination In Our Social, Emotional, And Creative Lives, Zoë Fowler

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Humans are profoundly social: we play together, solve problems together, and work towards goals together. In doing so, we also imagine together. Yet cognitive research on imagination has largely remained focused on how an individual imagines the future, with little consideration of whether imagination could take place beyond the individual. This dissertation introduces a novel framework through which imagination is understood as a collaborative, interpersonally distributed process in which individuals co-create hypothetical events outside the present moment. Across six studies, this work investigates both the features of co-imagined events, and the potential functions co-imagination may have in social cognition. To …

Risk Factors For Executive Functioning Development In Preschool Children With Type 1 Diabetes, Victoria L. Ledsham

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Links between Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and decreased cognitive functioning in children are well documented, but research on executive functioning (EF) in this population is more limited. Multiple T1D-related risk factors (e.g., hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, glycemic variability, diabetic ketoacidosis) for EF have been established throughout the literature, but their individual effects have been difficult to determine given their interrelated nature. In result, cumulative risk has been proposed as a more robust predictor of EF differences in children with T1D. Moreover, despite the importance of early T1D onset as a risk factor for EF impairment, no studies have previously investigated EF in …

Investigating The Pathways Between Social Factors, Physical Activity, And Mental Health On Cognitive Efficiency In Young Adults, Emma Hurston-Gates

Masters Theses

Cognitive health is important across the life span and cognitive functions, particularly executive functions, are positively correlated with subjective well-being and success in adulthood (Loprinzi, 2013). The present study aimed to investigate how social factors, mental health, and physical activity impacts cognition in young adults. Young adults aged 18-30 (N = 134) answered questionnaires regarding levels of physical activity, social support, social participation, anxiety, depression, and overall well-being. Participants completed Trail Making Tasks A and B to measure their cognitive efficiency (i.e., combined processing speed, psychological flexibility, visual search, and attention). Across all samples, one of the most consistent …

Eye Region Redaction: Familiar Versus Unfamiliar Face Recognition, Tyler Gandy

Dissertations and Theses

Our brains are incredibly skilled at recognizing faces, even decades later after first viewing a face. Face recognition is a crucial social function, enabling us to identify and interact appropriately with others. Studies have identified specific brain regions, such as the fusiform face area, that are specialized for this task. Additionally, areas around the eyes have been shown to be crucial to our face recognition ability. Despite the abundant research in face recognition, little is known about how we recognize familiar versus unfamiliar faces when the eye region is redacted. To understand the role familiarity plays in eye redacted face …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Working Memory, Lake Miller

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Extensive research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as sexual abuse, poverty, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, can negatively impact an individual’s development. The presence of ACEs has also been linked to an increase in one’s engagement in risky behavior, dropping out of school, unemployment before the age of 21, and a variety of health issues. Currently, there is a gap in literature regarding the performance of different working memory (WM) tasks and the presence of ACEs. This study focuses on filling this gap in literature by measuring participants’ Philadelphia ACE score, which is a 16-item questionnaire, …

Examining The Role Of Affective Arousal In Future-Choice Processing, Justine Sara Rivard

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Humans employ different processes of decision-making, depending on a variety of factors including the temporal situation of the potential outcome. This study proposes a hybrid, dual-systems theoretical model of future-choice making, with an arousal-based switch as the main predictor of the decision-making process employed. Using a sample of 120 undergraduate participants, this relationship was explored using an episodic future-thought cue, paired with a temporal-discounting task in the same timeframe. Response times were measured to identify which of the proposed decision-making processes were employed, as well as temporal discounting rates for each participant. An ANOVA showed that there was no significant …

Goodtimer For Good Behavior: A Nonconcurrent Multiple Baseline Examination Of A Behavioral Device Intervention To Reduce Child Misbehaviors, Morgan Weinstein

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) effectively decreases disruptive behavior in children (Daley et al., 2014). Nonetheless, many parents perceive BPT to be challenging and demanding, leading to reports of high treatment dropout rates (Chacko et al., 2016.) To address this, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of Goodtimer, a behavioral health device utilizing contingency management, an element of BPT, to mitigate child disruptive behaviors. The Goodtimer is designed to make administering a contingency management system easier for parents. Employing a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design, the study assessed six families with children aged 3-9 years. Most parents who used the Goodtimer reported …

Weighted Family History Density Of Substance Use: Influence On Participant Substance Use Onset, Escalation, And Duration, Carleigh A. Litteral

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Substance use disorders impose a staggering toll on the United States (U.S.), straining healthcare systems, destabilizing communities, and profoundly impacting both individuals and families. Approximately one in six Americans aged 12 and older had a past-year substance use disorder in 2022 (Key Substance Use, 2022), and nearly one-third of adults experience a substance use disorder in their lifetime (Wu, 2010), contributing to an economic burden exceeding $400 billion annually (National Drug Threat Assessment, 2011). Family history of substance use disorders is a key predictor of vulnerability, with individuals who have affected relatives being 2–8 times more …