Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Examining The Effects Of Mental Health Barriers On Black Undergraduate Students Attending Predominantly White Institutions, Patrice N. Storey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Black college students are experiencing mental health issues at an alarming rate. There is, however, a reluctance among Black college students to seek assistance. There is a stigma surrounding mental health. An individual with a mental illness is often stereotyped as weak, uncontrollable, or paralyzed by demons. Historical incidents such as slavery, the Tuskegee Experiment, Jim Crow, and the forced sterilization of Black women have led the Black community to distrust the medical system. The stigma embedded in the Black community is passed down from generation to generation. This literature review examines existing research on Black students and their perception …

Diminishing Creative Returns: Predicting Optimal Creative Performance Via Individual Differences In Executive Functioning, Kent F. Hubert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A robust finding in creativity research is that during idea generation, later (vs. earlier) responses on a divergent thinking task tend to be more creative, while the number of responses start off quickly, and then slow down over time, termed the serial order effect. Divergent thinking and time may follow a diminishing returns curve, where there is an optimal amount of time that should be spent while generating ideas. Executive functions (inhibition, updating, and shifting) have been associated with divergent thinking, specifically with the idea generation phase, but the effect of individual differences on the temporal dynamics of divergent thinking …

Formalizing The Faustian Bargain Within The Healthcare Domain: An End-Of-Life Approach., Rachel Appel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Faustian Bargain refers to an individual making a “deal with the devil,” exchanging something moral or sacred for an unattainable earthly good. The Faustian Bargain has been used to describe a ubiquitous social dilemma inherent to human civilization: exchanging individual liberty for public goods (e.g., security) provided by societal leaders and governments (Ostrom, 1980). Research on Faustian Bargains often examines tradeoffs between outcome utility (i.e., value derived from the outcomes of a decision) and procedural utility (i.e., value derived from being involved in the decision process (e.g., Frey et al., 2004). Much of the research on Faustian Bargains has …

Functional And Anatomical Connectivity Predict Brain Stimulation’S Mnemonic Effects, Youssef Ezzyat, James E> Kragel, Ethan A. Solomon, Bradley C. Lega, Joshua P. Aronson, Barbara C. Jobst, Robert E. Gross, Michael R. Sperling, Gregory A. Worrell, Sameer A. Sheth, Paul A. Wanda, Daniel S. Rizzuto, Michael J. Kahana

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Closed-loop direct brain stimulation is a promising tool for modulating neural activity and behavior. However, it remains unclear how to optimally target stimulation to modulate brain activity in particular brain networks that underlie particular cognitive functions. Here, we test the hypothesis that stimulation's behavioral and physiological effects depend on the stimulation target's anatomical and functional network properties. We delivered closed-loop stimulation as 47 neurosurgical patients studied and recalled word lists. Multivariate classifiers, trained to predict momentary lapses in memory function, triggered the stimulation of the lateral temporal cortex (LTC) during the study phase of the task. We found that LTC …

Biomarkers Of Objective Criteria For Subtle Cognitive Decline In Parkinson’S Disease, Mary Ellen Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD-MCI) is the continuum from normal cognitive function to dementia. Recent studies suggest that objectively defined subtle cognitive decline (Obj-SCD), which uses non-traditional “process” neuropsychological scores, may be a better pathway to earlier detection of cognitive impairment. Obj-SCD has been defined as the stage where cognition is not impaired, but biomarkers are present or cognitive impairment is minimal but not sufficient to meet MCI or dementia criteria. We examined the longitudinal trajectories of neurodegenerative markers among individuals who are classified as cognitive normal (CN), Obj-SCD, and PD-MCI. Past literature has been inconsistent about the …

Examining Task-Related Differences In The Error-Related Negativity (Ern) As A Function Of Cognitive Control Strategy And Trait Anxiety, Russell Mach

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders pose a significant challenge to daily living, workplace productivity, and healthcare systems. Extant research supports empirical links between anxiety and brain-level error monitoring. The ERN – or error-related negativity – is one widely studied correlate of anxious symptomatology. Relatively stable individual differences in the ERN are inferred from electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings time-locked to the commission of mistakes. However, the assumed interchangeability of ERNs elicited under different experimental conditions has not been thoroughly evaluated. Canonical tasks for measuring the ERN may cue specific strategies for cognitive control, possibly producing divergent findings across studies. In a sample of 108 undergraduate …

Do I Listen To You, Or Do I Listen To Me? An Individual Difference Investigation Into Advice Utilization, Danielle Nicole Sanchez-Combs

Psychology ETDs

This work addresses three fundamental questions. First, can the source of the advice (crowd or single advisor) be leveraged to enhance advice use? Second, does high skill and high metacognitive ability predict greater advice use or are these individuals also blind to the need for advice? Finally, can personality, performance, and pre-advice confidence factors be used to profile those most likely to benefit from advice? Results indicated surprisingly low advice taking rates (~25% to ~26%) from both advisors, despite the advice being 100% accurate. Advice taking was even lower when individuals were in a high-confidence state, with high-skilled …

Rates Of Recent Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Indigenous Children, Emily A. Waterman, Katie Edwards, Natira Mullet, Ramona Herrington, Skyler Hopfauf, Preciouse Trujillo, Naomi Even-Aberle, Lorey Wheeler

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The current paper describes rates of recent (past six months) adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and examines the association of ACEs with cultural connection and depressive symptoms among Indigenous children aged 10 to 14 (N = 177; mean age = 11.8; 48.3% boys; 44.3% girls; 7.4% another gender identity). Children completed baseline surveys as part of a larger evaluation of a culturally grounded, strengths-focused, family-based program to prevent ACEs. Surveys included an inclusive measure of ACEs developed for the current study, an adapted measure of connection to culture, and the Children’s Depression Screener. Results for ACEs indicated that 18.6% of …

How Film Influences And Reflects States Of Consciousness - Through Films Of Julian Sands, Leila Kincaid

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Film, as a multivalent art form, uses archetypal themes and symbols that have the power to affect the consciousness of its viewers. The stories that play out on the screen through plot, setting, character, and the elements of storytelling through film carry rich and deep archetypal meaning for our culture and our psyches. This is how film can impact us on deep, subconscious levels and influence and change our consciousness, for good or ill. A look at two key films with the actor Julian Sands illustrates the way we, as viewers, experience a shift and even transformation in consciousness through …

Oh No, We're Moving, Devina Parker

Psychology Division Scholarship

This wonderful book helps children identify and express their feelings, face the challenges that come with moving to a new place, and ease difficult emotions such as worry and fear. Devina's compassionate storytelling and insightful guidance provide invaluable support to young readers and their families during times of transition.

A Critical Examination Of The Effectiveness Of Gratitude Intervention On Well-Being Outcomes: A Within-Person Experimental Daily Diary Approach, Andree Hartanto, Manmeet Kaur, K. T. A Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Frosch Y. X. Quek

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Given the rise in the global prevalence of stress and depressive symptoms, there is an increasing need to identify promising interventions that promote well-being. One potential intervention that has been widely discussed in the literature on improving well-being is the practice of gratitude. However, findings on its effectiveness have been marred by inconsistency and publication bias. Building upon past studies, the current study aims to revisit the effect of a gratitude contemplation intervention on multiple well-being outcomes by using a within-person experimental design with a daily diary approach. Multilevel modeling showed that the gratitude contemplation intervention had a significant within-person …

Diet And The Role It Plays In Cognition, Ryan S. Lavrisa

Honors College Theses

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations have calculated the effects of animal agriculture and factory farming to be responsible for generating 14.5-16.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as using 70% of all agricultural land to sustain itself. Plant-based diets such as veganism and vegetarianism have been on the rise as many seek to find diets that mitigate the animal suffering and environmental impact for which animal agriculture is responsible. With the rise of these diets, it is important to understand the cognitive effects adhering to such diets can have on the body and mind, as …

Less Computer Access: Is It A Risk Or A Protective Factor For Cyberbullying And Face-To-Face Bullying Victimization Among Adolescents In The United States?, Jun Sung Hong, Miao Wang, Rekha Negi, Dexter R. Voisin, Lois M. Takahashi, Andre Iadipaolo

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study investigates whether less computer access is associated with an increase or decrease in cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying victimization. Data were derived from the 2009–2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children U.S. Study, consisting of 12,642 adolescents aged 11, 13, and 15 years (Mage = 12.95). We found that less computer usage was negatively associated with cyberbullying victimization and face-to-face bullying victimization. The findings from the study have implications for research and practice.

Predicting An End To One's Relationship, Kenneth Tan, Smu Office Of Research

Research@SMU Infographics

Breakups happen from time to time, and research has shown that people who actively consider breaking up start taking steps to end the relationship. However, breakup decisions do not typically revolve around just one person. We tend to consider our partner’s thoughts and feelings too! In a paper by SMU Assistant Professor of Psychology Kenneth Tan and his co-researchers, they wondered if people also thought about whether their partners had plans to break up – also termed perceived partner dissolution consideration (PPDC). If so, how accurate are these perceptions?

Sex Differences In Stress Reactivity, Brain Morphology, And Oxytocin In The Hypothalamus Of The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica), Esperanza I. Zacarias, Daniela Rodriguez, Alexandra Chalons, Sasawan Heingraj, Nicole Altamirano, Joseph Rafac, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Understanding the effects of stress on behavior and cognition is important due to its impact on mental health and wellbeing (Schneiderman et al. 2005). Translational animal research can contribute to the development of new treatments that can improve therapeutic outcomes and our understanding of the neurobiology of stress. In the present study, we complement behavioral stress reactivity with immunohistochemical localization of oxytocin in the hypothalamus, a neuropeptide that regulates stress (Neumann & Slattery, 2016). Oxytocin has potential therapeutic use for mental health disorders (Neumann & Slattery, 2016), and the effects of oxytocin seem to be sexually dimorphic (Love, 2018). Using …

Making Decisions "In The Dark": Learning Through Uncertainty In Clinical Practice During Covid-19, Urvashi Vaid, Henriette Lundgren, Karen E. Watkins, Deborah Ziring, Grace A. Alcid, Victoria J. Marsick, Dimitrios Papanagnou

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore how decision making and informal and incidental learning (IIL) emerged in the clinical learning environment (CLE) during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors' specific interest was to better understand the IIL that took place among frontline physicians who had to navigate a CLE replete with uncertainty and complexity with the future goal of creating experiences for medical students that would simulate IIL and use uncertainty as a catalyst for learning.

METHOD: Using a modified constructivist, grounded theory approach, we describe physicians' IIL while working during times of heightened uncertainty. …

Recall Me Maybe: The Effects Of Music-Evoked Mood On Recognition Memory, Caroline Grace Coey, Youstina Tadros, Sinead Doogan, Melody Alvarez

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The current study aims to further explore the relationship between musically evoked emotional states and recognition capabilities. Previous research has demonstrated emotional congruency between musical stimuli and subsequent task performance (Mitterschiffthaler et al., 2007). The background music’s emotional valence provides additional insight into how to guide the perception of events and how music-evoked emotions can impact memory (Scherer & Zentner, 2001; Hanser et al., 2015). For instance, happy people will have an easier time remembering positive experiences, rather than sad, or negatively valanced ones while those who are sad will better remember negative experiences, rather than happy, or positively valanced …

Impact Of Media Consumption On Automatic Associations, Davis Eddleman, Taylor Allen, Wesley Gerndt, Amilya Bryant, Ninivet Ossa

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The concept of studying media’s effects on implicit and explicit bias has been studied many times in the field of psychology. Previous research has shown exposure to media coverage containing stereotypes of minorities increased implicit bias (Arendt & Northup, 2015; Dixon & Maddox, 2005; Arendt et al., 2015) and explicit bias (Arendt et al., 2015). This pool of research has previously focused on crime stories and right-wing political advertisements that contain stereotypical tropes of out-group minorities. In these studies, generally, there has been an effect such that priming stereotypes surrounding dark-skinned individuals, may activate automatic associative stereotypes, such as the …

Reconsidering Intelligence Consciousness Of Intelligence Personnel From The Perspective Of Cognitive Psychology, Mengxiao Shang

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance]Combined with the progress of relevant research in cognitive psychology, we rethink intelligence consciousness of intelligence personnel, propose the advantages of intelligence consciousness cultivation based on metacognitive theory, and provide new ideas for strengthening intelligence consciousness of intelligence personnel and promoting intelligence talent cultivation.[Method/process]According to the background of the times, it points out the significance and tendency of reexamining intelligence consciousness. Under the narrow concept of intelligence, based on theories related to consciousness, cognition and metacognition in cognitive psychology, the hierarchical structure and basic nature of intelligence consciousness of intelligence personnel were re-examined using literature analysis and interdisciplinary research methods, …

Resting-State Functional Connectivity Correlates Of Attentional Bias In An Emotional Free Viewing Paradigm: An Eye-Tracking Investigation, Andrew Hauler

All NMU Master's Theses

Threat detection, the process of searching complex environments for harmful stimuli, represents a vastly important job that promotes the biological fitness of the organism. Decades of experimental evidence suggests individuals either diagnosed, or at risk for, affective disorders display altered patterns of attentional engagement (hypervigilance or maintenance) with external stimuli; referred to as attentional biases. To date, the extent to which underlying neural mechanisms drive attentional biases, both in affective disorders as well as unselected populations, remain to be resolved. Thus, using eye-tracking and a passive emotional free viewing task, this study set to clarify resting-state network contributions from three …