Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Examination Of Musical Sophistication And Working Memory Correlates In High School Students, Abby South

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between musical engagement and cognitive ability in high school students. While musicians’ brains have long been of interest to those who study experience-dependent neuroplasticity, a lack of adolescent data grossly limits our understanding of the relationship between music training and observed neuroplastic changes in the brain. Advances in psychometric testing and brain imaging reveal relationships among musical expertise, changes in brain function, structure, and connectivity, and enhanced cognitive ability, but categorical groupings of dichotomously defined musicians and non-musicians prevent nuanced understanding of these complex relationships. In this study, 83 …

Refereed Research - Religiosity And Sociality As Sources Of Resilience For Women Subsistence Entrepreneurs During The Pandemic, Rozina Akther

Subsistence Marketplaces

This study examines challenges faced by subsistence women entrepreneurs during COVID-19, the crisis of 2020, and their resilience in addressing the circumstances. The results of qualitative interviews with 13 subsistence marketplace women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are presented in this article. In the current study, two themes are found to best capture the experiences and resilience of women business owners in the subsistence marketplaces. Furthermore, the study provides important insights from informant interviews, showing how women business owners navigate their operations during a pandemic. It highlights attributes such as relational strength and faith in a higher power that contribute to their …

Neural Correlates Of Socially Rewarding Memories In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Kyle P. Blidy

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Significance. Memory disturbances for emotional content are central to PTSD, yet most research focuses on trauma memories. Recent evidence suggests that enhancing access to positive memories could improve mood, affect regulation, self-esteem, and integration of trauma memories. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying positive memory encoding in PTSD are poorly understood. No study has examined memory for positive social items in PTSD, which is important because PTSD entails social withdrawal and reduced accessibility to positive memory. Additionally, positive memories embedded in a social context have enhanced subjective value and strengthening their accessibility may confer greater benefits to wellbeing compared to non-social …

In A Moment: The Texture Of Transformative Experience, Amanda F. Mina

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper analyzes the personal narrative of a shocking event. The context of the event is established and the event itself is reflected upon as an experience of time dilation. This moment is examined through Welch’s (2010) elements of deepening time: repetition, attention, and intention, aligning the phenomenon with elements of Gebser’s (1985) integral structure of consciousness to place the experience within the movement toward the integral. Connections identified through the experience offer support for the idea that transcendent experiences of time are possible outside of the event itself and may lend themselves to personal transformation and point toward a …

Making Space For Spatial Thinking In Steam Education: Teacher Professional Development Modules, Remke Klapwijk, Gavin Duffy, Eleni Lagoudaki, Natalia Segura Caballero, Rohit Mishra, Caiwei Zhu, Marten Westerhof, Ergi Bufasi, Chloe Leung, Styliani Malkogeorgou, Ting Jun Lin, Estefania Gamarra, Trang Nguyen

Books/Book chapters

This guide provides seven modules to train primary school teachers, STEAM (Science, Teachnology, Engineering, Art and Math) coaches, makerspace coaches and policy makers to foster spatial thinking in classroom and STEAM programs. The modules focus on topics such as: improving students self-concepts, using spatial language and gestures as tools to improve spatial thinking, ways to use integrated STEAM activities such as design thinking and maker education to foster spatial thinking, new ways to engage children in spatial math puzzles and assignments using evidence-based teaching strategies including the application of materials and classroom dialogue, as well as a module on spatializing …

The Effects Of Audio And Visual Stimuli On Working Memory, Suad H. Mohamed, Gavin Khamphouvong, Bailey A. Zobel, Kayley Erin Tiggs

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The rise in technology over recent years has led to a dramatic increase in distractions (Miller et al., 2020). Additionally, it has been well-established that visual and audio stimuli can make up the majority of these distractors on working memory. Working memory provides temporary storage and active manipulation of information that requires simultaneous processing (Baddeley, 1992). However, little research has experimentally tested to see if there is a significant difference between audio and visual stimuli on working memory. The purpose of the present study was to examine how an addition of audio or visual stimuli impacts performance on working memory …

How The Lockdown Of Covid-19 Influenced The Neurocognitive And Psychosocial Development Of Preschoolers, Kay Picson

Nursing | Student Research Posters

The COVID-19 pandemic instilled a new normal across the world. Businesses turned to take out services and faced financial struggle. Hospitals enacted a visitor policy, limiting contact with patients, their families, and their friends. Schools closed their classrooms and moved to online learning from home, isolating children from their teachers, peers, and an optimal learning environment.

The literature review consists of six articles pertaining to the influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on preschoolers neurocognitive and psychosocial development. Specifically, the influence of the lockdown on preschooler mental health, executive function, and social skills. According to the research, the results were differential, …

Gsep Research Symposium Proceedings - 2024

GSEP Research Symposium

The 8th Annual GSEP Research Symposium, was themed "Dismantling Barriers between Research and Practice: Shining a Light on Global Interdisciplinary Solutions," took place on July 18-19, 2024, at the picturesque Château d'Hauteville in Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, Switzerland.

The annual symposium is hosted by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). The symposium served as a dynamic platform for students, faculty, alums, and staff to come together and explore innovative ideas across multiple disciplines. Featuring 69 selected presentations under five distinct tracks, the proceedings showcase groundbreaking research, foster meaningful discussions, and promote professional development.

The symposium aimed to bridge …

Psychophysical And Pharmacological Models Of Visual Hallucination, Nathan H. Heller

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Visual hallucinations are visual experiences that are spontaneously generated by the brain, in the absence of appropriate external stimuli. Understanding the neural processes that give rise to these experiences is a complex challenge that spans the domains of psychology, neuroscience, and clinical practice. Model hallucinations can serve as a valuable tool in this context. They allow researchers to study hallucinatory experiences under controlled conditions, thus providing insights into their behavioral and neural underpinnings, which can facilitate the development of effective treatments. By creating models that emulate different aspects of hallucinatory experience, whether through pharmacological means, sensory manipulation, or cognitive tasks, …

A Laboratory Evaluation Of The Effects Of Empathy Training On Racial Bias, Victoria D. Suarez, Adel C. Najdowski, Angela Persicke, Jonathan Tarbox

Psychology Division Scholarship

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efects of behavioral procedures, including relational training and multiple exemplar training on empathic responding of individuals who display racial bias. In particular, this study used a multielement design with fve adult participants to evaluate whether the presentation of relational frames of coordination and distinction between the participants’ values and the values of a person belonging to a group for which a bias existed altered empathic responses toward people belonging to such groups. The results showed empathic responding was higher when relational frames of coordination were presented and lower when relational …

An Integral Approach To Philosophy Of Nature, Carol Richardson

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Abstract

Quantum physicists and quantum biologists enjoy a mathematically-inspired romance with the wonders of nature at the quantum level. Recognizing the romance of mathematics and the quantum-to-cosmic level relational energetics of Nature can lead to a more integral, romantic, and even embodied phenomenology of the intelligence inherent within Nature’s relational and embodied energies. Approaching this quantum nature of Nature from the more romantic, wholistic views of the right hemisphere of the brain, rather than from the fragmenting views of the left hemisphere of the brain, one can begin to discover the self-organizing abilities of the energies of Nature at all …

Emotional Design Of Lecture Slides During Anatomy Lectures: Effect On Mood, Cognitive, Load And Memory Retention, Joshua Raj Narayanan

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study investigates the efficacy of emotional design in Anatomy and Medical education, a subject hitherto unexamined in emotional design studies. Further, unlike previous studies, this study utilised a natural learning environment rather than computer-based lessons. We investigated how the emotional design of lecture slides impacts mood, cognitive load and memory retention in first-year anatomy students studying medicine and dentistry in Universiti Malaya across three separate lectures. The control group (medical students) were exposed to emotionally neutral slides, while the experiment group (dental students) were exposed to emotionally positive slides. Questionnaires were used to assess changes in participants' mood, as …

Investigating The Impact Of Affect In Suicide-Specific Attentional Biases, Beverlin Rosario-Williams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: Biased processing of suicide-related information has been implicated in risk of future suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Although previous studies have classified this biased processing, the tasks used to examine these biases cannot definitely specify which attentional processes are related to risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Therefore, via two independent studies, this dissertation sought to distinguish suicide-specific attentional engagement and disengagement biases from other forms of cognitive processing, such as accessibility of suicide-related stimuli and threat bias toward and away from socially threatening stimuli. Additionally, this dissertation investigated under which affective conditions suicide-specific engagement and disengagement biases emerged. …

Helpful Intentions? Impact Of Intentionality On Children's Memory For Forensically-Relevant Information, Ella P. Merriwether

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rationale: When a child is a witness or victim of a crime, they are often asked a barrage of questions regarding when the crime took place, how many times it occurred, and how the abuse unfolded (Cross & Whitcomb, 2017; Sullivan et al., 2022). These questions can be problematic because they rely on concepts for which children may lack memory or linguistic ability to answer (Fenson et al., 2000; Friedman, 1993). One fundamental element missing from the copious research (e.g., Brubacher et al., 2012; Stolzenberg et al., 2017a; Wylie et al., 2021) on children’s ability to recount forensically-relevant information is …

Challenging Beliefs: Examining The Efficacy Of Corrections For Conspiratorial And Partisan Misinformation, Ava Zwolinski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The threat of misinformation is widely acknowledged among researchers and laypeople (NORC, 2021). When misinformation coalesces with conspiracy theories, the repercussions can be especially dangerous, sometimes even fatal. Events such as the January 6th insurrection and the Buffalo Tops Supermarket shooting were both, in part, inspired by misleading information and conspiracy theories (Burke, 2022; Dawsey, 2023). While misinformation involving conspiracy theories is recognized as possibly posing a greater threat to correction efforts (Lewandowsky, 2021a), no study has yet experimentally manipulated the presence or absence of conspiratorial elements within misinformation. This dissertation explores whether conspiratorial misinformation is more difficult to correct …

The Beautiful And The Bullshit: Speaker And Listener Mental Representations Influence Bullshit Receptivity, Ryan Tracy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bullshit is a topic that has enjoyed an explosion of attention in both cognitive and social psychological research domains. While the picture painted thus far suggests that receptivity to such statements (i.e., perceiving meaning where none exists) hinges upon an individual’s ability to engage in reflective (vs. reflexive) cognitive processing, little attention has been paid to how purveyors of bullshit influence one’s willingness to engage with the message. This is critical to explore, given the status of misinformation in today’s media climate. A critical step involved in determining characteristics of speakers that predict bullshit receptivity is to understand how people …

A Multifactorial Study Of Factors Influencing Self-Health Behaviors In Dementia, Elizabeth Malkin

Dissertations

The global increase in dementia cases presents a significant public health challenge, particularly given the absence of a cure and the rising healthcare burden on individuals and society. This study aims to examine the influence of knowledge, beliefs, and motivation on self-health behaviors to mitigate the risk of dementia among individuals residing in the United States. With the use of an online survey, the study utilized the U.S. normed MCLHB-DRR scale and supplemental questions about knowledge of risk factors and degree of closeness to family members with dementia to determine whether (1) more closely related relatives (first-degree relatives) and those …

The Neuroscience Of Mindfulness Based Art Therapy: A Literature Review, Elizabeth Strasser

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy and neuroscience are two fields which are currently growing and expanding with the development of new technology which allows for therapists and scientists to advance their understanding of how the brain and the body respond to the world around us. The interaction between the brain, body, and environment is complex, and for the sake of clarity for this thesis this interaction will be conceptualized through the lens of the body-mind model, polyvagal theory, neuroaesthetics, the flow state, mindfulness, sensory engagement, and art as therapy. Neuroscience in relation to psychology can be used to develop a deeper understanding of …

Developing A Comprehensive Cognitive Model Of Math Achievement, Nina Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, downward trends have been reported in U.S. children’s math performance following school disruptions during COVID-19 amidst longstanding concerns for instruction and curricula within the subject. In support of efforts to remedy these declines, the current work presents two studies dedicated to identifying cognitive factors that are most strongly related to math performance, and which therefore offer promising potential targets for assessment and intervention. Both studies use data from the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center, which includes participants ages 8 - 16 and multiple well-validated measures of all constructs of interest. Study 1 tests three alternative latent cognitive models of …

Dimensional Attention Shift During Human Semi-Supervised Category Learning, Osung Seo

Dissertations - ALL

Category learning, a fundamental aspect of human cognition, enables individuals to organize and interpret the vast array of stimuli in their environment. While traditionally studied under supervised and unsupervised learning frameworks, semi-supervised learning – combining small amounts of labeled data with larger pools of unlabeled data – has emerged as a promising area of research. This study investigates the mechanisms of human semi-supervised category learning, addressing the underexplored question of how unlabeled instances influence the learning process. Motivated by inconsistent findings in prior research, I explore the types of information people extract from unlabeled instances and whether this information can …