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- All Subjects: psychology
- All Subjects: Computer Science
- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
Description
Many psychology-rooted studies into the games industry seek to identify emotions players experience during gameplay. However, there is a need to extend this kind of research beyond the realm of emotion into more long-term concepts, like satisfaction. This experiment tested whether a specific game mechanic was enjoyable. Other literature has established a way to describe and quantify enjoyability. Using a survey based on that work, this study evaluated the addition of a 'gel gun' to a platforming game. The fun was found to significantly increase players' affective experiences, concentration, and sense of control, all being components of an enjoyable experience. It also exposed some conflicts within the survey that merit investigation. It was concluded that the 'gel gun' feature increased gameplay enjoyability without significantly diminishing any other enjoyable factors. Future work may explore the connections between this feature and specific elements of enjoyment.
ContributorsMints, John (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Chen, Yinong (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This project was centered around designing a processor model (using the C programming language) based on the Coldfire computer architecture that will run on third party software known as Open Virtual Platforms. The end goal is to have a fully functional processor that can run Coldfire instructions and utilize peripheral devices in the same way as the hardware used in the embedded systems lab at ASU. This project would cut down the substantial amount of time students spend commuting to the lab. Having the processor directly at their disposal would also encourage them to spend more time outside of class learning the hardware and familiarizing themselves with development on an embedded micro-controller. The model will be accurate, fast and reliable. These aspects will be achieved through rigorous unit testing and use of the OVP platform which provides instruction accurate simulations at hundreds of MIPS (million instructions per second) for the specified model. The end product was able to accurately simulate a subset of the Coldfire instructions at very high rates.
ContributorsDunning, David Connor (Author) / Burger, Kevin (Thesis director) / Meuth, Ryan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Evidence thus far has not lent credence to facilitate lie detection by the average person. According to studies, there are five major signs of lying: lip pursing, narrowed eyebrows, shoulder shrugs, looking to the left, and smirking. The present study aims to determine whether training people in detecting the five signs of lying will facilitate lie detection in the average person. We analyzed the accuracy of lie detection by examining the verdicts of 155 undergraduate students during simulated police interrogations. Comparisons between the trained and untrained subjects support the hypothesis that the average person is no better than chance at detecting lies through non-verbal cues.
ContributorsRivera, Aylin Melissa (Author) / Lanyon, Richard (Thesis director) / Aiken, Leona (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The Information Measurement Theory proposes that Type A people are perceptive and Type A people are capable of quicker change/adaptation. This study evaluated how transparency with past and present environments predicts their ability to grow and change in their current environment. People responded to a survey based on statements about personal life, specifically their relationship to their parents and the effect their parents have on their personal life. If a participant answered a certain way on the survey, they were asked for a further interview to evaluate IMT beliefs and environment beliefs more closely and specifically. The answers were evaluated using correlations, linear regression and a t-test. The results implicated that transparency is indicative of growth in Type C personalities but not necessary for growth in Type A personalities. The results also implicated that non-profit organizations are beneficial to growth in society.
ContributorsPelech, Ashley Anne (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
A prior experiment by Li and colleagues found that when participants rated same sex faces in physical attractiveness, their self-reports of religiosity were higher in comparison to those that rated opposite sex faces. Could this be due to participants feeling their sexuality was threatened or misunderstood? In the current experiment, we attempted to replicate these findings and extend them by using a pseudo personality test that presented false feedback to participants. This feedback explained that their personalities were similar to homosexual or heterosexual people. Four hundred and fifty participants from Amazon Mturk were randomized into these conditions. We also measured homophobia, moral values, and the believability of the experiment. Results displayed no replication of the original findings. Men were more homophobic than women, while displaying lower moral values and religiosity. Those that self-reported being more homophobic also reported being more religious and moral. In conditions of sexual threat (homosexual personality, same sex faces) and sexual comfort (heterosexual personality, opposite sex faces), self-reports of moral values increased. Participants that reported believing the feedback displayed higher religiosity in both sexual threat and sexual comfort conditions. For a more concrete understanding of the relationship between religiosity, mating goals, and threats to sexuality, more research needs to be performed.
ContributorsHobaica, Steven Matthew (Author) / Cohen, Adam (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Neuberg, Steven (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / College of Public Programs (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This paper presents the design and evaluation of a haptic interface for augmenting human-human interpersonal interactions by delivering facial expressions of an interaction partner to an individual who is blind using a visual-to-tactile mapping of facial action units and emotions. Pancake shaftless vibration motors are mounted on the back of a chair to provide vibrotactile stimulation in the context of a dyadic (one-on-one) interaction across a table. This work explores the design of spatiotemporal vibration patterns that can be used to convey the basic building blocks of facial movements according to the Facial Action Unit Coding System. A behavioral study was conducted to explore the factors that influence the naturalness of conveying affect using vibrotactile cues.
ContributorsBala, Shantanu (Author) / Panchanathan, Sethuraman (Thesis director) / McDaniel, Troy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Batman is one of the most iconic characters in the history of popular culture. Ever since his creation in 1939, the character and his stories have gone through several changes. In my thesis, I explore and analyze the character within the nearly 20-year period in which he went through the most significant changes (1968-1986). Overall, these changes can be summarized as a shift from a lighthearted superhero consistently placed in campy situations to a dark and brooding vigilante who brutally dispatches his enemies. While analyzing the different versions of this character in this period of time, I reference the conclusions of two scholars: Travis Langley and Chuck Tate. Langley wrote a general psychological analysis of Batman by considering the essential characteristics of the character found in all forms of media. Tate concluded that Batman only uses hostile aggression for the sake of deriving pleasure form the pain he causes to criminals. After analyzing the comics as my primary sources, I have concluded that the general findings of Tate and Langley actually ignore the subtle details of changes in the humanity and self-awareness of the character through time. The lighthearted version of Batman in the late 60's is actually a self-obsessed narcissist, but as time passes, the darker mood of the character can be attributed to an increased acknowledgment of the destructive nature of his unique lifestyle. As the character grows more accepting of himself and his own reasons for continuing this lifestyle, his motivations become less self-centered. Overall, the central change of the character throughout time can be traced back to the status of his inner conflict between normal, human desires and the pure desire for constant vengeance.
ContributorsRivera-Passapera, Hiram Alfonso (Author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Miller, April (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
During the time when contemporary feminism was gaining ground in the West, the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church promulgated the encyclical Mulieris Dignitatem (1988), articulating the Church's understanding of women to a culture in crisis. More than twenty-five years post-promulgation of the document, complex questions still linger on the international stage in the realm of femininity, motherhood, and the vocations of women in the world today. While several voices compete to answer these questions, the Catholic Church offers her expert understanding of woman \u2014 indeed, of the human person \u2014 rooted in over 2,000 years of Scripture and tradition \u2014 a comprehensive, life-giving anthropology at the service of Jesus Christ and humanity. In the face of a radically relativistic, ever-evolving culture that continuously presents new challenges and questions, we have the responsibility to assimilate St. John Paul II's teaching in Mulieris Dignitatem in order to cross new thresholds, to further a theology of femininity and "feminism" that all persons can embrace. This thesis examines these crucial issues through the lens of the Church's expertise, the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the strengths and challenges of the encyclical, arriving at the conclusion that women bear the greater part in redeeming culture through a renewal of authentic femininity.
ContributorsOtlewski, Maggie Elizabeth (Author) / Strafaci, Christina (Thesis director) / Barker, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
A primary goal in computer science is to develop autonomous systems. Usually, we provide computers with tasks and rules for completing those tasks, but what if we could extend this type of system to physical technology as well? In the field of programmable matter, researchers are tasked with developing synthetic materials that can change their physical properties \u2014 such as color, density, and even shape \u2014 based on predefined rules or continuous, autonomous collection of input. In this research, we are most interested in particles that can perform computations, bond with other particles, and move. In this paper, we provide a theoretical particle model that can be used to simulate the performance of such physical particle systems, as well as an algorithm to perform expansion, wherein these particles can be used to enclose spaces or even objects.
ContributorsLaff, Miles (Author) / Richa, Andrea (Thesis director) / Bazzi, Rida (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Previous studies exploring variability in sentencing decisions have consistently found gender differences, such that women receive lighter sentences than men. In the proposed study, I present a new framework for understanding gender differences in sentencing preferences, including circumstances under which no gender differences should emerge. The Affordance Management Approach suggests that our minds are attuned to both group- and individual-level threats and opportunities that others afford us. I conceptualize the sentencing difference between men and women as driven by perceived affordances that assist or hinder an individual in achieving certain fundamental goals. When faced with sanctioning an offender in our community, the offender's sex, the victim's age, and environmental variables such as the ratio of men to women may influence our decision-making, because these factors have affordance implications. Thus, I hypothesized that individuals will express differences in the sentencing of offenders who commit assault, and that these differences vary by offender sex, victim age, and sex-ratio. The results indicate that, as predicted, female offenders received lighter sentencing than men when the offender committed an assault against a same-sex adult, but received equally punitive sentences as men when the assault was committed against a child. In general, results do not support a consistent effect of sex ratio as a factor when making sentencing decisions. Although results do not fully support the current study's specific hypotheses, there remains much to be gained from applying an affordance management perspective to understanding variability in sentencing between the sexes.
ContributorsUzzanti, Charlene Ann (Author) / Neuberg, Steven (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Salerno, Jessica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05