Matching Items (31)
Description
Current research has identified a specific type of visual experience that leads to faster cortical processing. Specifically, performance on perceptual learning of a directional-motion leads to faster cortical processing. This is important on two levels; first, cortical processing is positively correlated with cognitive functions and inversely related to age, frontal lobe lesions, and some cognitive disorders. Second, temporal processing has been shown to be relatively stable over time. In order to expand on this line of research, we examined the effects of a different, but relevant visual experience (i.e., implied motion) on cortical processing. Previous fMRI studies have indicated that static images that imply motion activate area V5 or middle temporal/medial superior temporal complex (MT/MST+) of the visual cortex, the same brain region that is activated in response to real motion. Therefore, we hypothesized that visual experience of implied motion may parallel the positive relationship between real directional-motion and cortical processing. Seven subjects participated in a visual task of implied motion for 4 days, and a pre- and post-test of cortical processing. The results indicated that performance on implied motion is systematically different from performance on a dot motion task. Despite individual differences in performance, overall cortical processing increased from day 1 to day 4.
ContributorsVasefi, Aresh (Author) / Nanez, Jose (Thesis advisor) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Keil, Thomas J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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
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
This study examines the effects of providing persuasive writing and reading comprehension strategy training on source-based essay writing. Strategy training was administered through the use of the Writing Pal and the Interactive Strategy Trainer for Active Reading and Thinking (iSTART). The impact of both individual (writing or reading) and blended strategy training on source-based writing was investigated. A total of 261 participants completed the study; after removing incomplete and second language participants the source-based writing and system performance was assessed for 175 participants (n no instruction = 48, n iSTART =41, n Writing Pal =41, n blended =45).
Results indicated that participants who received blended strategy training produced higher quality source-based essays than participants who received only reading comprehension, writing strategy training, or no training. Furthermore, participants who received only reading comprehension or writing strategy training did not produce higher quality source-based essays than participants in the no-training control group. Time on task was investigated as a potential explanation for the results. Neither total time on task nor practice time were predictive of group differences on source-based essay scores. Analyses further suggested that the impact of strategy training does not differ as a function of prior abilities; however, training does seem to impact the relation between prior abilities and source-based essay scores. Specifically, prior writing ability was unrelated to performance for those who received writing training (i.e., Writing Pal and blended conditions), and prior reading ability was unrelated to performance for those received the full dosage of iSTART training. Overall, the findings suggest that when taught in conjunction with one another, reading comprehension and writing strategy training transfers to source-based writing, providing a positive impact on score. Potential changes to the Writing Pal and iSTART to more closely align training with source-based writing are discussed as methods of further increasing the impact of training on source-based writing.
Results indicated that participants who received blended strategy training produced higher quality source-based essays than participants who received only reading comprehension, writing strategy training, or no training. Furthermore, participants who received only reading comprehension or writing strategy training did not produce higher quality source-based essays than participants in the no-training control group. Time on task was investigated as a potential explanation for the results. Neither total time on task nor practice time were predictive of group differences on source-based essay scores. Analyses further suggested that the impact of strategy training does not differ as a function of prior abilities; however, training does seem to impact the relation between prior abilities and source-based essay scores. Specifically, prior writing ability was unrelated to performance for those who received writing training (i.e., Writing Pal and blended conditions), and prior reading ability was unrelated to performance for those received the full dosage of iSTART training. Overall, the findings suggest that when taught in conjunction with one another, reading comprehension and writing strategy training transfers to source-based writing, providing a positive impact on score. Potential changes to the Writing Pal and iSTART to more closely align training with source-based writing are discussed as methods of further increasing the impact of training on source-based writing.
ContributorsWeston Jennifer L (Author) / McNamara, Danielle S. (Thesis advisor) / Connor, Carol M (Committee member) / Glenberg, Arthur M. (Committee member) / Graham, Steve (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Delay discounting is the decline in the present value of a reward with delay to its receipt. (Mazur,1987). The delay discounting task is used to measure delay discounting rate, which requires the participants to choose between two options: one involves immediate delivery of a reward, and other involves delivery after a delay, and the immediate rewards are adjusted in value until the subject feels there is no difference between the immediate and the delayed reward. Some previous studies (Robles and Vargas, 2007; 2008; Robles et al., 2009) found that the order of presentation of the immediate rewards (ascending or descending) significantly influenced the estimated delay discounting rate, which is known as the order effect. Uncertainty about the future and impulsivity could explain delay discounting behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore the order effect in delay discounting assessment. The current study found that the order effect in the delay discounting task can be explained by risk aversion, loss aversion and impulsivity. In the current study, the two kinds of fixed procedure (ascending and descending), and the titrating delay discounting task were used to estimate the degree of delay discounting. Also, two gambling tasks were applied to measure risk and loss aversion indices. The BIS-11 scale was used to assess the level of trait impulsivity. The results indicated that impulsivity biases individuals to choose the immediate small reward rather than the large delayed reward, resulting in lower area under the discounting curve (AUC) when estimated with the ascending-sequence delay discounting task. Also, impulsivity moderated the relationship between loss aversion and AUC estimated with the descending-sequence delay discounting task.
ContributorsLi, Yaqi (Author) / Robles, Elías (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
There are some factors that have been used to explain why the presence of a calling (i.e., “an approach to work that reflects the belief that one's career is a central part of a broader sense of purpose and meaning in life and is used to help others or advance the greater good in some fashion” (Duffy & Dik, 2013, p. 429) reduces work stress and its potential negative outcomes, such as absenteeism, job performance and productivity, work-related accidents and overall employee health. The effect of problem-focused coping, however, remains largely untested as a potential mediator in this relation. The present study was conducted to quantitatively test whether problem-focused coping would mediate the relation between having a calling to work and perceived work stress in zookeepers. Participants were recruited through an online survey. They responded to questionnaires regarding calling, problem-focused coping, and work stress. Using hierarchical regression analyses, it was found that problem-focused coping partially mediated the relation between presence of a calling and perceived work stress. Specifically, having the presence of a calling to work predicted greater problem-focused style of coping, which, in turn, led to lower perceived work stress. Future directions for research were discussed.
ContributorsKemsley, Jourdan (Author) / Miller, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Literature was reviewed about how synchrony occurs in infant-parent dyads, in emotion, and physiologically in couple dyads. Social baseline theory suggests that both conversation and interpersonal touch confer benefits by reducing burden on the participants through coregulatory processes. The current study examined how affectionate touch and positive conversation influenced physiological synchrony, a potential mechanism of physiological coregulation, in couples. Because synchrony is believed to occur within the autonomic nervous system, in the present study, physiological synchrony was measured using cardiac interbeat interval (IBI) as an indicator of autonomic nervous system activation. Couples were assigned to one of four conditions: interpersonal touch with positive conversation, interpersonal touch without conversation, positive conversation with no interpersonal touch, and neither interpersonal touch nor conversation. We hypothesized that 1) IBI synchrony between spouses within the real data would be significantly higher than within a phase-shuffled version of the data; and 2) synchrony would be strongest in the touch-talk condition, followed by the touch-no talk condition, followed by the talk-no touch- condition, and finally by the no touch-no talk condition. We also investigated whether there was a tendency for husbands or wives to serve as leader or follower in the four conditions. Using windowed lagged cross-correlations, we found that synchrony within the real data was stronger than synchrony within the shuffled data, suggesting that it reflects an ongoing interpersonal process. Next, we found that there was significantly greater synchrony in the touch-talk than in the touch-no talk condition, marginally greater synchrony in the touch-no talk condition than in the no touch-talk condition, and significantly greater synchrony in the no touch-talk than in the no touch-no talk conditions, suggesting that talk, rather than touch, was driving these synchrony levels. We also found that the only condition with a significant level of leading-following pattern was the no touch-talk condition. More husbands than wives led the covariation in IBI when couples were conversing but not touching. When touch was included this effect did not occur. Future research should include potential moderators such as marital satisfaction and investigate whether seeing one’s partner influences synchrony.
ContributorsMcAfee, Ashley Nicole (Author) / Burleson, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Roberts, Nicole (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Creativity is a critical element of human cognition for which any complete explanation of the human mind must account, and it presents a unique problem to cognitive science because the apparent "something from nothing" nature of creativity confounds simple transformations of existing information. Emergentism provides a philosophical framework for explaining this feature of creativity by elaborating how novel properties of a system can be created from the complex interactions of simple elements within that system. Previous advances in cognitive science have been built the traditional information processing models of cognition. These models are limited in their ability to explain emergentism or allow for detailed behavioral measurement and understanding of cognition as it unfolds in time. In this study, I piloted the use state-of-the-art dynamical systems models of cognition and motion capture technology to measure information about cognitive and neural processes in the moments preceding creative insight. Insight problem solving refers to the phenomenon of experiencing an impasse when attempting to solve a problem that is later overcome in a flash of insight, sometimes called an "Aha!" or "Eureka!" moment. The use of these techniques to study insight problem solving provides evidence of the dynamical nature of cognition during creative tasks that may help us explore how creativity emerges from neural activity.
ContributorsHart Jr, John Thomas (Author) / Duran, Nicholas (Thesis director) / Nishimura, Joel (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Stress in romantic relationships is an all-too-common phenomenon that has detrimental effects on relationship well-being. Specifically, stress can increase partners’ negative interactions, ultimately decreasing effective communication and overall relationship functioning. Positive dyadic coping (DC) occurs when one partner assists the other in coping with stress (e.g. empathizing or helping the partner problem-solve solutions to their stress), and has been proposed as a method of buffering the deleterious effect of stress on interaction quality. One possible mechanism between the positive associations between DC and interaction quality could be how partners verbally express their support (e.g., more we-talk) during discussions about external stress. Using real-time interaction data from 40 heterosexual couples, this project examined whether observed positive and negative DC was associated with greater (or lesser) levels of perceived interaction quality. Further, language use (i.e., pronouns, emotion words, cognition words) was assessed as mediators in the associations between DC and interaction quality. Overall, results suggested that language did not mediate the effect of DC on interaction quality; however, there were several interesting links between DC, language, and interaction quality. Implications of these findings for relationship researchers and mental health clinicians working with couples are discussed.
ContributorsLau, Kin Hang (Author) / Randall, Ashley K. (Thesis advisor) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Pereira, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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