Matching Items (11)
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- All Subjects: Cognitive Psychology
- Creators: McNamara, Danielle S.
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
Students' ability to regulate and control their behaviors during learning has been shown to be a critical skill for academic success. However, researchers often struggle with ways to capture the nuances of this ability, often solely relying on self-report measures. This thesis proposal employs a novel approach to investigating variations in students' ability to self-regulate by using process data from the game-based Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) iSTART-ME. This approach affords a nuanced examination of how students' regulate their interactions with game-based features at both a coarse-grained and fine-grain levels and the ultimate impact that those behaviors have on in-system performance and learning outcomes (i.e., self-explanation quality). This thesis is comprised of two submitted manuscripts that examined how a group of 40 high school students chose to engage with game-based features and how those interactions influenced their target skill performance. Findings suggest that in-system log data has the potential to provide stealth assessments of students' self-regulation while learning.
ContributorsSnow, Erica L (Author) / McNamara, Danielle S. (Thesis advisor) / Glenburg, Arthur M (Committee member) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
A converging operations approach using response time distribution modeling was adopted to better characterize the cognitive control dynamics underlying ongoing task cost and cue detection in event based prospective memory (PM). In Experiment 1, individual differences analyses revealed that working memory capacity uniquely predicted nonfocal cue detection, while proactive control and inhibition predicted variation in ongoing task cost of the ex-Gaussian parameter associated with continuous monitoring strategies (mu). In Experiments 2A and 2B, quasi-experimental techniques aimed at identifying the role of proactive control abilities in PM monitoring and cue detection suggested that low ability participants may have PM deficits during demanding tasks due to inefficient monitoring strategies, but that emphasizing importance of the intention can increase reliance on more efficacious monitoring strategies that boosts performance (Experiment 2A). Furthermore, high proactive control ability participants are able to efficiently regulate their monitoring strategies under scenarios that do not require costly monitoring for successful cue detection (Experiment 2B). In Experiments 3A and 3B, it was found that proactive control benefited cue detection in interference-rich environments, but the neural correlates of cue detection or intention execution did not differ when engaged in proactive versus reactive control. The results from the current set of studies highlight the importance of response time distribution modeling in understanding PM cost. Additionally, these results have important implications for extant theories of PM and have considerable applied ramifications concerning the cognitive control processes that should be targeted to improve PM abilities.
ContributorsBall, Brett Hunter (Author) / Brewer, Gene A. (Thesis advisor) / Goldinger, Stephen (Committee member) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Writing is an intricate cognitive and social process that involves the production of texts for the purpose of conveying meaning to others. The importance of lower level cognitive skills and language knowledge during this text production process has been well documented in the literature. However, the role of higher level skills (e.g., metacognition, strategy use, etc.) has been less strongly emphasized. This thesis proposal examines higher level cognitive skills in the context of persuasive essay writing. Specifically, two published manuscripts are presented, which both examine the role of higher level skills in the context of writing. The first manuscript investigates the role of metacognition in the writing process by examining the accuracy and characteristics of students' self-assessments of their essays. The second manuscript takes an individual differences approach and examines whether the higher level cognitive skills commonly associated with reading comprehension are also related to performance on writing tasks. Taken together, these manuscripts point towards a strong role of higher level skills in the writing process and provide a strong foundation on which to develop future research and educational interventions.
ContributorsAllen, Laura K (Author) / McNamara, Danielle S. (Thesis advisor) / Connor, Carol (Committee member) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Individual differences in working memory capacity partly arise from variability in attention control, a process influenced by negative emotional content. Thus, individual differences in working memory capacity should be predictive of differences in the ability to regulate attention in emotional contexts. To address this hypothesis, a complex-span working memory task (symmetry span) was modified so that negative arousing images or neutral images subtended the background during the encoding phase. Across three experiments, negative arousing images impaired working memory encoding relative to neutral images, resulting in impoverished symmetry span scores. Additionally, in Experiment 3, both negative and arousing images captured attention and led to increased hit rates in a subsequent recognition task. Contrary to the primary hypothesis, individual differences in working memory capacity derived from three complex span tasks failed to moderate the effect of negative arousing images on working memory encoding across two large scale studies. Implications for theories of working memory and attention control in emotional contexts will be discussed.
ContributorsWingert, Kimberly Marie (Author) / Brewer, Gene A. (Thesis advisor) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Killeen, Peter (Committee member) / Goldinger, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The action of running is difficult to measure, but well worth it to receive valuable information about one of our most basic evolutionary functions. In the context of modern day, recreational runners typically listen to music while running, and so the purpose of this experiment is to analyze the influence of music on running from a more dynamical approach. The first experiment was a running task involving running without a metronome and running with one while setting one's own preferred running tempo. The second experiment sought to manipulate the participant's preferred running tempo by having them listen to the metronome set at their preferred tempo, 20% above their preferred tempo, or 20% below. The purpose of this study is to analyze whether or not rhythmic perturbations different to one's preferred running tempo would interfere with one's preferred running tempo and cause a change in the variability of one's running patterns as well as a change in one's running performance along the measures of step rate, stride length, and stride pace. The evidence suggests that participants naturally entrained to the metronome tempo which influenced them to run faster or slower as a function of metronome tempo. However, this change was also accompanied by a shift in the variability of one's step rate and stride length.
ContributorsZavala, Andrew Geovanni (Author) / Amazeen, Eric (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Polemnia (Committee member) / Vedeler, Dankert (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
A commonly held belief among educators, researchers, and students is that high-quality texts are easier to read than low-quality texts, as they contain more engaging narrative and story-like elements. Interestingly, these assumptions have typically failed to be supported by the writing literature. Research suggests that higher quality writing is typically associated with decreased levels of text narrativity and readability. Although narrative elements may sometimes be associated with high-quality writing, the majority of research suggests that higher quality writing is associated with decreased levels of text narrativity, and measures of readability in general. One potential explanation for this conflicting evidence lies in the situational influence of text elements on writing quality. In other words, it is possible that the frequency of specific linguistic or rhetorical text elements alone is not consistently indicative of essay quality. Rather, these effects may be largely driven by individual differences in students' ability to leverage the benefits of these elements in appropriate contexts. This dissertation presents the hypothesis that writing proficiency is associated with an individual's flexible use of text properties, rather than simply the consistent use of a particular set of properties. Across three experiments, this dissertation relies on a combination of natural language processing and dynamic methodologies to examine the role of linguistic flexibility in the text production process. Overall, the studies included in this dissertation provide important insights into the role of flexibility in writing skill and develop a strong foundation on which to conduct future research and educational interventions.
ContributorsAllen, Laura (Author) / McNamara, Danielle S. (Thesis advisor) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Connor, Carol (Committee member) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This study explores the influence of framing and activity type on expectations of learning and enjoyment as well as performance in a paraphrase identification task. In the first experiment, 80 students played one of three activities framed as either a "play" or "learning" task. Students then completed one of three activities; learning only, an educational game, or a play only activity. Results showed that the play frame had an effect on learning expectations prior to completing the activity, but had no effect after completing the activity. Students who completed the educational game scored significantly higher on the posttest learning assessment than those in the play only activity. Pairwise comparisons also indicated that students who completed the educational game performed just as well as the learning only activity when given the posttest learning assessment. Performance in the paraphrase identification task was collected using data logged from student interactions, and it was established that although there was an interaction between performance and activity type, this interaction was due to a significant difference during the second round. These results suggest that framing can influence initial expectations, and educational games can teach a simple writing strategy without distracting from the educational task. A second experiment using 80 students was conducted to determine if a stronger frame would influence expectations and to replicate the effect of activity type on learning and enjoyment. The second study showed no effect of framing on expected or reported enjoyment and learning. The performance results showed a significant interaction between performance and activity type, with the interaction being driven by the first round that students completed. However, the effect of activity type was replicated, suggesting that game features can enhance student enjoyment and are not a detriment to learning simple strategy-based tasks.
ContributorsBrandon, Russell (Author) / McNamara, Danielle S. (Thesis advisor) / Jackson, George T. (Committee member) / Johnson-Glenberg, Mina C. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Recent findings in human interactions with complex objects, objects with unpredictable interaction dynamics, revealed predictability as an important factor when determining effective control strategies. The current study extended these findings by examining the role of predictability in the selection of control strategies in two scenarios: during initial interactions with a novel, complex object, and when intentional constraints are imposed. In Experiment 1, methods with which people can identify and improve their control strategy during initial interactions with a complex object were examined. Participants actively restricted their movements at first to simplify the object’s complex behavior, then gradually adjusted movements to improve the system’s predictability. In Experiment 2, predictability of participants’ control strategies was monitored when the intention to act was changed to prioritize speed over stability. Even when incentivized to seek alternative strategies, people still prioritized predictability, and would compensate for the loss of predictability. These experiments furthered understanding of the motor control processes as a whole and may reveal important implications when generalized to other domains that also interact with complex systems.
ContributorsNguyen, Tri Duc (Author) / Amazeen, Eric (Thesis advisor) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Amazeen, Polemnia G (Committee member) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This study examined the effects of different constructed response prompts and text types on students’ revision of misconceptions, comprehension, and causal reasoning. The participants were randomly assigned to prompt (self-explain, think-aloud) and text type (refutational, non-refutational) in a 2x2, between-subjects design. While reading, the students were prompted to write responses at regular intervals in the text. After reading, students were administered the conceptual inventory of natural selection (CINS), for which a higher score indicates fewer misconceptions of natural selection. Finally, students were given text comprehension questions, and reading skill and prior knowledge measures. Linear mixed effects (LME) models showed that students with better reading skill and more prior knowledge had a higher CINS score and better comprehension compared to less skilled students, but there were no effects of text type or prompt. Linguistic analysis of students’ responses demonstrated a relationship of prompt, text, and reading skill on students’ causal reasoning. Less skilled students exhibited greater causal reasoning when self-explaining a non-refutational text compared to less skilled students prompted to think-aloud, and less skilled students who read the refutational text. The results of this study demonstrate a relationship between reading skill and misconceptions in natural selections. Furthermore, the linguistic analyses suggest that less skilled students’ causal reasoning improves when prompted to self-explain.
ContributorsWatanabe, Micah (Author) / McNamara, Danielle S. (Thesis advisor) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / Firetto, Carla (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
ABSTRACT
Learning a novel motor pattern through imitation of the skilled performance of an expert has been shown to result in better learning outcomes relative to observational or physical practice. The aim of the present project was to examine if the advantages of imitational practice could be further augmented through a supplementary technique derived from my previous research. This research has provided converging behavioral evidence that dyads engaged in joint action in a familiar task requiring spatial and temporal synchrony end up developing an extended overlap in their body representations, termed a joint body schema (JBS). The present research examined if inducing a JBS between a trainer and a novice trainee, prior to having the dyad engage in imitation practice on a novel motor pattern would enhance both of the training process and its outcomes.
Participants either worked with their trainer on a familiar joint task to develop the JBS (Joint condition) or performed a solo equivalent of the task while being watched by their trainer (Solo condition). Participants In both groups then engaged in blocks of alternating imitation practice and free production of a novel manual motor pattern, while their motor output was recorded. Analyses indicated that the Joint participants outperformed the Solo participants in the ability to synchronize the spatial and temporal components of their imitation movements with the trainer’s pattern-modeling movements. The same group showed superior performance when attempting to freely produce the pattern. These results carry significant theoretical and translational potentials for the fields of motor learning and rehabilitation.
Learning a novel motor pattern through imitation of the skilled performance of an expert has been shown to result in better learning outcomes relative to observational or physical practice. The aim of the present project was to examine if the advantages of imitational practice could be further augmented through a supplementary technique derived from my previous research. This research has provided converging behavioral evidence that dyads engaged in joint action in a familiar task requiring spatial and temporal synchrony end up developing an extended overlap in their body representations, termed a joint body schema (JBS). The present research examined if inducing a JBS between a trainer and a novice trainee, prior to having the dyad engage in imitation practice on a novel motor pattern would enhance both of the training process and its outcomes.
Participants either worked with their trainer on a familiar joint task to develop the JBS (Joint condition) or performed a solo equivalent of the task while being watched by their trainer (Solo condition). Participants In both groups then engaged in blocks of alternating imitation practice and free production of a novel manual motor pattern, while their motor output was recorded. Analyses indicated that the Joint participants outperformed the Solo participants in the ability to synchronize the spatial and temporal components of their imitation movements with the trainer’s pattern-modeling movements. The same group showed superior performance when attempting to freely produce the pattern. These results carry significant theoretical and translational potentials for the fields of motor learning and rehabilitation.
ContributorsSoliman, Tamer (Author) / Glenberg, Arthur (Thesis advisor) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / McBeath, Michael (Committee member) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015