Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

The Living Lab: Instructional Design Interventions To Improve Communication And Equity In Federal Housing Programs, Joana I. Camp

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

The Living Lab is an independent applied research project informed by my 25 years of lived experience as a Section 8 voucher holder, examining how instructional design strategies can improve administrative workflows, communication, and equitable access within the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Drawing on sustained participation, the research identifies two primary systemic barriers: the federally mandated 15-day inspection period and incomplete Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) packets. To address these issues, the project developed the RFTA Roadmap—a zero-cost, clarity-driven communication tool that embeds sequential instructions directly within procedural workflows, mitigating the Split-Attention Effect and cognitive “Bandwidth Tax” associated with standard …

The Resilient Families Project: Promoting Resilience, Mindfulness And Belonging Through Community Engagement And Interactive Reading In At-Risk Adults, Sydney Higdon, Dillon Hepler, Lora D. Haynes, Ph.D., Angela Ely, B.A.

The Cardinal Edge

Founded in 2011, the University of Louisville’s Resilient Families Project (RFP) is a community-engaged initiative that promotes evidence-based habits of resilience, mindfulness, and happiness among adults experiencing homelessness and/or in the addiction recovery program at Wayside Christian Mission (WCM). Through weekly trauma-informed sessions, RFP aims to strengthen such things as a sense of family/community, emotional awareness, positive coping strategies and a growth mindset.

This presentation highlights RFP’s current curriculum, centered around our six core values and integrated content from select storybooks, to support healthy attachment relations, interactive reading, and a sense of purpose and belonging.

The current authors also describe …

Embodied Transcendence: Psychedelics And The Evolution Of Moral Abstraction, Emanuel Jas

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper explores the role of psychedelics in the context of evolutionary brain development and the conceptual capacity for moral realism. Drawing on theories from evolutionary anthropology, neuroscience, and moral philosophy, the first part provides a brief overview of human evolution and brain expansion. From here, recent empirical data from the neurosciences is assessed on the effect psychedelics have on the brain, along with speculations on the role of psychedelics in our hominoid evolutionary history—specifically, the capacity for phenomenologically rich, conscious, subjective experiences that are incredibly vivid and real. This imaginative capacity for transcendence and disembodiment could enable the realization …

Numerals And Other Means Of Expressing Plurality In Language And Thought: A Developmental Perspective Across Cultures., Giovanni Giuseppe G.G. Nicosia Prof.

Numeracy

Several ancient languages use linguistic structures to differentiate between singular, dual, and plural forms that are used when one, two, or many objects are referenced. (Some languages go further, adding a trial form to differentiate two from three.) In many modern languages, numerals are used to convey precise number. After reviewing a range of ways languages express number (including the interesting case of Pirahã which does not express precise number), the paper concludes with a proposed developmental path for the expression of quantity in languages.

The Illusion Of Causality In Llms: A Developmentally Grounded Analysis Of Semantic Scaffolding And Benchmark–Capability Mismatches, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

Recent benchmarks increasingly report that large language models (LLMs) exhibit human-like causal reasoning abilities, including counterfactual inference and intervention planning. However, many such evaluations rely on domains that are heavily represented in training data and embed strong semantic cues, raising the possibility that apparent causal competence may reflect semantic pattern recombination rather than structure-sensitive causal reasoning. Drawing on human developmental theories of causal induction, this perspective argues that genuine causal understanding requires robustness to novelty and reliance on conditional structure rather than semantic familiarity. To illustrate the testability of this claim, the paper includes a pilot demonstration using synthetic causal …

Understanding Human Arm Stiffness Modulation In Overground Phri: The Roles Of Kinematics, Perturbation, And Trunk Sway, Mohsen Mohammadi Beirami, Sambad Regmi, Devin Michael Burns, Yun Seong Song

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study examines human arm kinematics during overground physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). Previous work showed humans adjust arm stiffness with changing trajectory uncertainty, but the roles of arm kinematics and muscle activation remained unclear. Building on a preliminary study, we analyzed arm movements with more participants (10 individuals) to achieve more reliable findings and examined two potential influences that arose in the preliminary study: the robot's perturbation effect (a brief hand push) and left-to-right trunk sway. Using a linear mixed-effects model, we evaluated the effects of participant, block, and trajectory condition on arm angles. Results showed minimal kinematic contribution to …

Rewiring The Senses: Neural And Perceptual Adaptation Through Cultural Immersion In Chile, Alexa Castillo

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores how cultural immersion reshapes perception over time. Rather than focusing only on language acquisition, the project examines how sustained exposure to a new cultural and linguistic environment alters sensory processing, cognitive effort, and emotional experience. The study draws on cultural neuroscience and neuroplasticity research to frame immersion as a process of adaptive recalibration.

Over four weeks in Valparaíso, Chile, I documented daily changes in auditory processing, visual attention, emotional response, and social interpretation. Journal entries were analyzed using qualitative thematic coding and organized into five categories: language overload, cognitive effort, automaticity, anxiety/frustration, and belonging/comfort. Weekly intensity ratings …

Cerebral Documents And Algorithmic Sensemaking: Searching For Expressions In Human And Artificial Cognitive Collaborations, Rebekah L. Cowell

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Generative Artificial Intelligences (AIs) and current advanced large language models (LLMs) are algorithmically designed to generate text-based conversations as conversational agents (CAs), by replicating human language and conversational communication. Pairing human cognition with generative computationally coded cognition. We have never been here before: cerebral and artificial information collaborations and processing producing expressions that may or may not become visible as second-hand/secondary source documents.

Sensemaking or sense(un)making is a unique autonomous human drive cognitively, our information processing is sensemaking in action and expressions and articulations are evidence of the sensemaking cycle. Documentation [expressed or articulated through various mediums] are a product …

Determinants Of Critical Thinking In The Ai Era: The Mediating Role Of Self-Efficacy In Digital Literacy And Students’ Social Interaction, Annisa Arrumaisyah Daulay, Atikah Asna, Devi Eka Yulita Br Tarigan

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

The importance of critical thinking in higher education has become increasingly prominent amid the rapid advancement of digital technology and artificial intelligence. This study aims to examine the effects of social interaction and digital literacy on students’ critical thinking skills, with self-efficacy serving as a mediating variable. Employing a quantitative approach with path analysis, data were collected from 650 university students during the 2024/2025 academic year and analyzed using SmartPLS. The results indicate that self-efficacy has a significant effect on critical thinking (β = 0.455, p < 0.001) and functions as a mediator linking digital literacy (β = 0.286, p < 0.001) and social interaction (β = 0.166, p = 0.001) to critical thinking ability. Furthermore, digital literacy exerts a significant indirect effect on critical thinking through the enhancement of self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.234, p < 0.001). These findings underscore that strengthening digital literacy and social interaction within educational curricula, along with fostering students’ self-efficacy, can effectively enhance critical thinking skills, which are essential for addressing academic and professional challenges in the digital era.

What Is Happening In The World Today And Why: Humanity’S Evolving Consciousness And The Role Of Archetypal Energies As Guides During An Unfolding, Carroy U. Ferguson

Journal of Conscious Evolution

What is happening in the world today and why? Humanity is evolving its consciousness at individual and collective levels. Given these seemingly tumultuous times, as of this writing (January 2026), to make such a statement may sound like a strange thing to say. However, I suggest that if you are alive today and if you are reading these words, these are the very times for which you were born—to assist Humanity as it evolves its consciousness with your unique gifts, whatever they may be. That is, this period of our individual and collective human being-ness may be characterized as an …

The Efficacy Of Rapid Counseling With Single-Session Music Therapy On Enhancing Emotion Regulation In Response To Activating Events, Aloysius Selo Aryobimo Oentarto

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

This study examines the efficacy of Rapid Counseling with Single-Session Music Therapy (RCSSMT) in enhancing emotion regulation in response to activating events. Many daily circumstances are uncontrollable, often leading individuals with negative thought patterns to experience distress and anxiety, known as activating events. Music therapy, as a holistic approach, acts as an emotion-focused coping strategy by calming physiological stress responses and preparing the individual for cognitive restructuring. This research employed a single-subject pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design, with the subject being SG, who had the lowest initial score on the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The scores showed a gradual but significant …

Nostalgia's Impact On The Perception Of The Past And Future, Sara Lazo

The Kean Review: Journal in Student Research

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects nostalgia may have on the perceptions of the past and future. Nostalgia has always been perceived as a positive psychological tool for hope and fulfillment, but is also viewed negatively for its distortions of the past. To observe its effects, a survey was sent via Microsoft Teams which included 7 statements where participants were asked to either agree or disagree using a number scale of 1-5, with1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree. Results yielded that nostalgia perceives the past more positively and the future negatively. Additionally, results …

The Aperspectival Playfulness Of Allan Leslie Combs, Zeke Floro

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This commemorative article reflects on the work of the late Dr. Allan Leslie Combs, a pioneering scholar in consciousness studies and an influential mentor. The essay argues that his scholarly writing, characterized by profound openness, heartfelt compassion, and sharp wit, represents an embodiment of the integral consciousness he writes about. Through a close reading of his essays and a personal reflection on his mentorship, the article connects his playful style to Jean Gebser’s concept of aperspectival consciousness and frames his humor within Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy of divine “play” (lila), concluding that, for Combs, scholarship is an embodied practice …

Allan Leslie Combs: Celebrating The Life Of A Trickster And Pioneer In Consciousness Studies, Zeke Floro, Leila A. Kincaid

Journal of Conscious Evolution

The Journal of Conscious Evolution (JCE) is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to exploring consciousness, conscious evolution, and transdisciplinary inquiry as they relate to human growth, transformation, and planetary well-being. Originally founded by Allan Leslie Combs (1942-2025), Professor Emeritus at CIIS, JCE highlights outstanding work from both students and professional scholars around the world. A distinguished author, teacher, and mentor, Combs devoted himself to the study of consciousness, authoring over 250 publications on consciousness and the brain, including Synchronicity, The Radiance of Being (which won the 1996 best book award from the Scientific and Medical Network) and Consciousness Explained Better. …

Pilots’ Perceived Cognitive Functions: The Effect Of Mental Workload And Mindfulness On Prospective Memory Performance, Zehra Nur Kurtoğlu, Pınar Ünsal Bayrakçı

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Errors related to human factors remain a leading cause of aviation accidents, with many of these incidents being attributed to pilot performance. A key aspect of pilot performance might be prospective memory (PM), the ability to remember and execute future tasks at the appropriate time. The dynamic and high-demand environment of the cockpit presents significant challenges for pilots' PM, particularly due to high mental workload and the constant need for multitasking. This study investigates the impact of perceived mental workload as consisting of cognitive, emotional, temporal, and performance demands dimensions, and mindfulness on pilots' PM performance. A mindfulness scale specific …

Interpreting Novel Metaphors - A Test Of The Perspective Identification View Of Metaphor Comprehension, Symmetra J. Roane

Theses and Dissertations

This study provides initial evidence for the Perspective Identification View of Metaphor. It proposes metaphor comprehension involves reliance on vehicle properties to shift the perspective of how the topic is conveyed. This is especially true when the perspective shift relies on a property the vehicle has a principled connection to.

Utilizing A Genetically Diverse Species To Investigate Gene-Drug Interactions And Drug Efficacy, Jerry Nawongbay Gbarlea

Theses and Dissertations

Gene-drug interactions are fundamental to understanding variability in drug response and therapeutic efficacy. In this project, we leverage the natural genetic divergence between ecotype morphs of the blind Mexican cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) to investigate differential responses to neuroactive compounds—specifically, the convulsant pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) and the anxiolytic Buspirone Hydrochloride. Astyanax Mexicanus is a tetra species consisting of both surface-dwelling (ancestral) and cave-dwelling (mutant) populations that have highly variable genetic backgrounds. Independently evolved populations of cavefish exhibit a suite of convergent traits that can be functionally interrogated to discover new genetic functions and interactions. These attributes make A. mexicanus an ideal model …

Risky Decision-Making Under Uncertainty, Suyoung Yoo, Jae Hyung Woo

Wetterhahn Science Symposium Posters

This research project aims to discover how a person’s brain continuously learns about its changing environment and how those memories dynamically alter their subsequent willingness to take risks. By testing 73 participants on a two-stage computer module, the study evaluates whether humans evaluate risk absolutely or relatively to their historical surroundings. In Stage 1, participants use reinforcement learning to track a hidden, shifting "lucky room" context. In contrast, in Stage 2, they face explicit two-option gamble cards in which they must weigh different point amounts and win percentages. Computational maximum likelihood estimation proved that a Subjective Utility (SU) model, which …

Practical Considerations For Conducting Canine Behavioral Science, Lucrezia Lonardo, Madeline H. Pelgrim, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Research on behavior in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) has increased rapidly recently due to the interest in them as pets, working dogs, and model species for understanding evolution, domestication, and even human health. This interest in canine behavioral science has resulted in the creation of dozens of dog lab worldwide, with more starting every year. Our aim here is to review practical issues that potential dog researchers might consider when deciding how to set up a dog lab and conduct research in canine behavioral science. We hope that this can offer a path forward in promoting high-quality, cutting-edge …

Investigating The Viability Of Fully Online Asynchronous Physics Instruction In Formal Education, Clifton W. Massey-Noel

Physics Dissertations

In this dissertation we present results from two consecutive investigations into the fully online asynchronous modality in Physics Education. We first discuss the efficacy of a fully online asynchronous section of Modern Physics held in Fall 2024. The asynchronous section is compared with four prior partially-flipped sections of the same class, two of which were held in-person, and two of which were held synchronously online. Results suggest that all three modalities can be made to be about equally as effective. We also discuss the efficacy of a fully online asynchronous section of Calculus-Based Introductory Mechanics held in Fall 2025. The …