Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Psychology

Populations and individuals diverge from each other in their cognitive abilities, and re- searchers have a great interest in characterizing and explaining these group and individual differences. Among research tools, behavioral tasks are widely adopted to assess cognitive abilities due to their simplicity and applicability. In behavioral tasks, descriptive statistics are commonly used as measurement indices for the cognitive abilities of interest. However, because these statistics have a limited ability to characterize the mechanisms underlying each task based on cognitive theories, they cannot fully explain the reasons that may cause group and individual differences. In this dissertation, I adopt hierarchical Bayesian approaches to model several behav- ioral tasks for cognition, with the aim to explore the mechanisms underlying the group and individual differences in populations tested by these tasks. I incorporate existing cognitive theories into the hierarchical Bayesian models, and use estimated parameters to characterize the cognitive abilities of interest. At the group difference level, I show that the hierarchi- cal Bayesian models can be used to identify the potential deficits in populations that have poorer task performance. At the individual level, I show that these models can reveal the behavioral patterns of each individual, and identify potential causes of individual differences. I built theory-based hierarchical Bayesian models to three behavioral tasks respectively: the progressive ratio task that measures motivation; the continuous performance task that measures sustained attention; and the memory updating task that measures working memory abilities. I show that these models have reasonable parameter recovery abilities and good fits to data. I apply these models to several empirical data sets. The progressive ratio task model is applied to a data set measuring motivation of people with and without schizophrenia (Wolf et al., 2014) and first-degree (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Trisha Van Zandt (Advisor); Jolynn Pek (Committee Member); Paul De Boeck (Committee Member); Mario Peruggia (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology; Quantitative Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2023, Psychology

Behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) hold the potential to increase access to mental healthcare. Tailoring such tools may further bridge disparities, such as those in tobacco use and smoking cessation. To assess the value of tailoring BITs to different targets, we used a modified exploratory sequential design to analyze secondary data from two novel, automated text message-based smoking cessation interventions: a tailored intervention (Cravings Coach) and an active, untailored control (Motivation Coach). We first coded qualitative exit interviews using a combination of codes that were pre-determined based on theoretical concepts of interest, and codes that were determined by reading transcripts and iteratively identifying themes relevant to those areas of interest. Next, codes were used to explore important themes and potential differences between how participants perceived the tailored Cravings Coach intervention versus the generic Motivation Coach. We found similarities in impressions of the two interventions, with generally positive impressions of ease of use and convenience, accountability associated with receiving messages, and reminders of participants' smoking cessation goals. Relatively little agreement emerged across participants about which individual differences were important to intervention success, apart from readiness to change, which was perceived to be important. Next, we used t-tests and chi-square tests to compare Cravings Coach and Motivation Coach on key impressions of the interventions, and found no differences. As anticipated, baseline readiness to change predicted more perceived success and less failure with implementing knowledge from the intervention into participants' daily lives. Considering readiness to change when designing and deploying behavioral intervention technologies may improve user outcomes.

Committee: Joshua Magee (Advisor); Vaishali Raval (Committee Member); James Coyle (Committee Member); Christopher Wolfe (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology; Technology

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Readers do not only extract information from the word that they are fixated on. Rather, they can also extract information about upcoming words in the parafovea before those words are fixated, which results in a parafoveal preview benefit such that fixation times are shorter on the previewed word compared to if no pre-processing had occurred. Thus, word identification is easier when words can be partially processed from the parafovea before they are fixated (see Schotter et al., 2012 for a review). Higher- and lower-skill readers may differ in the amount of information they are able to extract from the parafovea, and this may help explain why lower-skill readers are less efficient at identifying words during reading. Researchers have employed a boundary change paradigm to investigate preview benefits in which an upcoming target word is replaced with a related preview word when it is in the parafovea. After the reader's eyes move across a “boundary” to fixate on the target, the preview word is replaced with the target word. Using this technique, previous research has found that lower-skilled readers can obtain orthographic preview benefits from similarly spelled words in the parafovea in limited circumstances (Veldre & Andrews, 2015a), but thus far research has shown that lower-skilled readers cannot obtain phonological preview benefits from similar sounding words presented in the parafovea (Chace et al., 2005). The present study was designed to further investigate individual differences in phonological preview benefits. A boundary change paradigm was employed, and the previews of the target words were either identical, homophones of the target word, orthographic controls, or random consonant strings. The results demonstrated that while all readers obtained a benefit from the identical preview, lower-skilled readers gained little benefit from the homophone previews. However, this was likely due to competition resulting from the extraction of parafoveal information rat (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jocelyn R. Folk (Advisor); William Merriman (Committee Member); Julia Huyck (Committee Member); Jennifer Roche (Committee Member); Jeff Ciesla (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Psychology

Extensive research has shown that differences in cognitive ability predict working memory (WM) performance. However, strategy use may also explain individual differences in WM performance. Here we explored the degree to which individuals use the optimal encoding strategy in visual WM. Participants searched for a target that changed between two alternating displays that cycled until response. Critically, participants were free to choose between two available targets (one red and one blue), and the ratio of red to blue items varied from trial to trial. Therefore, the optimal encoding strategy was to selectively encode items in the smaller colour subset. While choosing the optimal (small subset) target indeed led to better performance, there were large individual differences in strategy choice, with many participants using sub-optimal strategies. Interestingly, Experiment 1 found that WM ability does not predict strategy use. Experiment 2 showed that strategy use was not stable over time. Instead, many participants spontaneously shifted to highly-optimal target choices, suggesting a sudden discovery of the optimal strategy. Experiment 3 further suggests that explicit knowledge plays an important role in strategy choice. Providing information about the optimal strategy induced a large strategy change. Moreover, optimally-performing participants demonstrated explicit awareness of the optimal strategy. In Experiment 4, we found that even under greater task demands, when participants viewed the displays only once, strategy use was still sub-optimal. Our findings highlight strategy choice as an important source of individual variation, and therefore should be considered alongside ability to fully understand differences in WM performance. Keywords: visual working memory, strategy, individual differences

Committee: Andrew B. Leber (Advisor); Julie D. Golomb (Advisor); David E. Osher (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2023, Psychology

To predict individual differences in decision making it is important to understand the cognitive processes involved, the underlying neural substrates, and how conditions of stress can alter those processes. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is commonly used to study cognitive constructs necessary for risky decision making such as sensitivity to loss and the ability to learn optimization strategies over time. A number of computational models have had success predicting individualized decision making within this task and contain free parameters associated with these cognitive processes. Interestingly, neural data provided by electroencephalography (EEG) studies have shown frequency-band-specific event related oscillations (EROs) associated with similar processes. Thus, there seems to be great potential to link the neural data, behavioral data, and model formalization as they relate to individual differences in cognitive processes. The goal of the current project is to determine how neural patterns and behavioral parameters capture the change in the decision making process under stress. In this between subjects design, participant completed the standard IGT during a no stress condition or a stress condition using the Cold Pressor Task. While completing the IGT, an EEG was used to measure neural activity for comparison across these conditions. Behavioral model parameters of the best performing model were compared between the stress or no-stress condition. There was a significant interaction found between stress and gender on one computational modeling parameter as well as several main effects of gender, stress, and interactions between the two on power and coherence within and between neural regions. This project provides an innovative and powerful quantitative assessment of the neurophysiological and behavioral mechanisms underlying individual differences in how stress impacts risky decision making depending on gender.

Committee: Joseph Johnson (Committee Chair); Soenjin Kim (Committee Member); Matthew McMurray (Committee Member); Robin Thomas (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2022, Psychology - Experimental

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) communication that fosters understanding is as crucial today as it is lacking. More than ever, there is a need for STEM communication that goes beyond 'nudging' the average layperson toward a target behavior, or simply bombarding them with complex and ill-constructed information. The prevailing ‘nudge-or-bombard' strategies can result in subject knowledge that is at best incomplete and easily forgotten, and at its worst is impoverished, eliciting short-term compliance that can result in distrust of experts and policymakers. Additionally, empirically based communication techniques that go beyond disseminating rote facts to achieving insight are imperative in an oversaturated communication environment wherein laypeople are flooded with more information than they can achieve expertise in, or even comprehend (Scheufele, 2006). The present study aimed to extend existing findings of evidence-based communication grounded in a dual-process model of cognition called Fuzzy-Trace Theory (FTT) into the realm of STEM communication. It also sought to lend further evidence to the use of a new computational textual measurement tool based on FTT that informs the development of effective textual information via assisting individuals in the formation of an overall bottom-line understanding of a text. In the present study, 201 participants were presented with one of two versions of a text on a complex STEM subject matter. Texts were edited systematically using the FTT-based computational methodology to produce either a dense information presentation or one that was manipulated with the goal of increasing understanding by helping participants ‘get the gist' of the text. Participants then completed two measures that tested their knowledge and comprehension of the text. Additionally, risk perception questionnaires and multiple decision intention tasks were administered that were associated with preparedness for the risks presented i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: JD Jasper (Committee Chair) Subjects: Experimental Psychology; Psychology; Quantitative Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Political Science

Can an individual's personal goals impact a state's foreign policy? Grandiose narcissism provides a pathway to understanding how personality can impact a leader's preferences, decision-making, and foreign policy behavior. More narcissistic leaders will focus their efforts on maintaining their inflated self-image rather than on furthering their political survival prospects or state interests. I argue that to maintain their inflated self-image, narcissistic leaders will act-out opposite their political circle's reputation in foreign policy, behave dramatically during international conflicts, and engage in more Great Power conflict. This dissertation evaluates these claims by using a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods. Survey experiments with a general population sample are used to find micro-foundational support for hypotheses. Case studies and statistical analysis are used to investigate grandiose narcissism's impact on United States presidents' foreign policy decision-making and behavior from 1897-2008. Analysis finds that grandiose narcissism, a dispositional leader-level variable, is related to the frequency of international conflict, behavior during international conflict, and the targets of international conflict.

Committee: Richard Herrmann (Committee Chair); Christopher Gelpi (Committee Member); Randall Schweller (Committee Member); Amy Brunell (Committee Member) Subjects: International Relations; Personality; Personality Psychology; Political Science; Psychology; Social Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice

The rational choice perspective has a storied history dating back to the enlightenment period of the 1700s. In criminology, the perspective has undergone several revisions, testing, and iterations. One of the more recent lines of research in this perspective is the merger of individual factors with perceptions of risk and reward. With some exceptions, the rational choice perspective has traditionally viewed offenders as rational beings who deliberate over the risks and rewards of crime. Several lines of research, however, have illustrated the influence of individual differences on the assumed rational processes. Although expanding, the conflicting body of research on the influence of individual traits on risk and reward has yet to arrive at a consensus. The current project subjects this body of research to a meta-analysis to address a) whether individual differences, as a whole, affect perceptions of risk and reward, b) which specific individual differences influence perceptions of risk and reward, and c) the aspects of study design that influence the associations between individual differences and perceptions of risk and reward. Overall, the meta-analytic results from n = 178 estimates derived from k = 22 studies suggested that several individual differences influence perceptions of risk, social costs, and rewards. Pooled estimates of individual differences with fewer constituent estimates, however, were more varied and often not significant, suggesting the need for more research for those particular topics to derive more precise estimates. Additionally, the results suggested that individual differences have more of an impact on perceptions of risk among younger samples and less of an impact on rewards among older samples. These distinctions converge with research on adolescent development and desistance theories. The implications of the current project include summarizing a body of research that has yet to be systematically assessed, informing broad criminal justi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joseph Nedelec Ph.D. (Committee Chair); J.C. Barnes Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christopher Sullivan Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kyle Thomas Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program

Tasks in everyday life are not completed in isolation. We each uniquely maneuver in an environment rich with information that undoubtedly influences our behaviors. For example, searching for your keys in the kitchen does not happen in the absence of drawers, counter tops, plates on the table, a stack of mail etc. Rather this contextual information can influence your search. This dissertation is focused on exploring how the contexts we are exposed to during a task can affect how information is processed, and eventually behavioral outcomes. Two specific types of context will be explored: spatial and Gestalt grouping cues. Additionally, due to individual differences in task context utilization, I sought to explore a method that could be used to study brain-behavior relationships. The first study examines how context may not be learned when faced with increased task demands. When exposed to the same spatial layout of a target and distractors on a computer screen multiple times, participants become faster at finding the target when searching through repeated displays, i.e. the contextual cueing effect. However, when a secondary task had to be completed immediately after the search task, subjects did not always exhibit the expected search facilitation for repeated displays. It is speculated that the attenuation of cueing due to the secondary task results from attentional resources being redirected during the critical consolidation period after the search concludes. Thus, a spatial context was not always able to influence performance. The second study examines how individuals can overcome visual working memory capacity limitations through the use of an illusory grouping context. Illusory objects like the Kanizsa triangle, have been shown to produce benefits to visual working memory performance, possibly by allowing the inducers forming the object to be perceived as an individual unit rather than separate distractors, but it was unknown exactly how the triangle led to b (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Andrew Leber PhD (Advisor); Julie Golomb PhD (Committee Member); Benedetta Leuner PhD (Committee Member); Zeynep Saygin PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Neurosciences; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Educational Studies

This study examined individual differences in young children's perceptions of teacher caring in kindergarten and the associations between those perceptions and a range of academic and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten. Using data from an ongoing study examining the kindergarten transition, children's individual and family characteristics were used to predict their perceptions of teacher caring in kindergarten. Then, children's perceptions of caring were used to predict tested academic and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten. Results show that child and family characteristics have little impact on children's perceptions of teacher caring in kindergarten, with only special education status significantly associated with those perceptions. Further, children's perceptions of teacher caring were not significantly associated with academic or behavioral outcomes. This research underscores the importance of providing young children with adaptive environments to support the formation of positive school-based relationships.

Committee: Lynley Anderman (Advisor); Eric Anderman (Committee Member); Laura Justice (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Previous research has suggested that skilled readers do not use context to support word recognition (Stanovich, 1980). Skilled readers are thought to rely on bottom-up processing in which the printed word form activates a spelling (and sound) representation that in turn activates the meaning of the word. Conversely, other research suggests skilled readers recognize words faster when they appear in predictable and/or plausible contexts, despite efficient bottom-up processing (e.g., Ehrlich & Rayner, 1981). Furthermore, research on individual differences in reading ability suggests skilled readers only use context to support word recognition when bottom-up processing is slow (Andrews & Bond, 2009). Therefore, highly skilled readers may not rely on context, but less-skilled readers may continue to rely on context during word recognition due to poor bottom-up processing. The current study investigated whether individual differences in vocabulary knowledge would influence contextual processing during word recognition. Participants eye movements were tracked as they read sentences containing either a high frequency target noun (e.g., baby) or a low frequency target noun (e.g., elbow) preceded by either a related prime word (mother – baby) or an unrelated control word (teeth – elbow). Results show that relatedness had a significant effect on readers across the range of vocabulary skill, however the specific effect depended on both vocabulary knowledge and target word frequency. Together, the results indicate that information from lexical relatedness is available to all readers during recognition, but only readers high in vocabulary knowledge use this information to support word recognition. The results suggest that context supports word recognition when readers have adequate vocabulary knowledge.

Committee: Jocelyn Folk Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Experimental Psychology; Language; Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.), Xavier University, 2020, Psychology

Individual differences impact how users interact with technology and many variables are likely to predict differences in the outcomes of training with virtual reality technology. This study explored if individual differences in perceptions of spatial ability and virtual reality self-efficacy significantly related to learning of virtual reality training content. In addition, perceptions of spatial ability and virtual reality self-efficacy were explored for their relationships with trainee reactions to virtual reality training in terms of affective reactions and utility reactions. Spatial ability significantly and positively related to all criterion variables in this study. Overall, virtual reality self-efficacy significantly and positively related to only affective reactions and did not significantly relate to learning of virtual reality training content or utility reactions. Factor analysis of the overall virtual reality self-efficacy measure allowed for a more informative interpretation of the hypothesized relationships of virtual reality self-efficacy. Lastly, several exploratory analyses were conducted to extend past virtual reality training literature and explore interesting questions posed during the research design phase. In this study, a sample of 92 undergraduate students completed a virtual reality training simulation wherein they embodied a patient facing progressive symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson's disease. Participants also completed several questionnaires and a pre- and post-assessment of their knowledge of Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson's disease. Results of this study have relevance for further understanding the role of individual differences in predicting outcomes of training with virtual reality technology, as well as offer many potential avenues for future research to examine.

Committee: Mark Nagy Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Morrie Mullins Ph.D. (Committee Member); Erin Washington (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Psychology; Educational Technology; Gerontology; Health Care; Health Education; Psychology; Social Research; Technology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Psychology

Individuals' Decision-Making Ability Beliefs (DABs) have been previously connected to pre-experiential choice confidence (O'Dell, 2016). The goals of this dissertation are twofold. First, I sought to further expand the understanding and applicability of DABs. That is, I focused first of all on providing causal evidence of a link between DABs and pre-experiential choice confidence. Second, I aimed to also address some additional consequences of the pre-experiential choice confidence, especially for resistance to choice change. Results of this dissertation research showed that inflated or deflated beliefs about one's decision abilities were able to predict pre-experiential choice confidence. This included studies in which the DABs were measured (Study 1) and studies in which the DABs were manipulated (Studies 2 & 3). In both contexts, reported choice confidence correlated with resistance to choice change, even when controlling for potential antecedents of choice confidence (Studies 1 & 3). The DAB-manipulation data provide the best evidence to date that subjective beliefs about one's ability in specific decision-making contexts has downstream consequences beyond any influences of objective decision-making ability. The data documenting correlations between choice confidence and resistance to choice change provides the first initial indications that choice confidence has consequences beyond persistence of choices over time (cf. Folke, Jacobsen, Fleming, & De Martino, 2016).

Committee: Duane Wegener (Advisor); Richard Petty (Committee Member); Kentaro Fujita (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Psychology; Social Psychology

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2018, Psychology - Experimental

Though handedness as an individual difference variable has been studied in a variety of ways, the current practice in the field is to dichotomize people into one of two categories: consistent-handed or inconsistent-handed. It has been previously shown that inconsistent-handed individuals generally have a larger corpus callosum than consistent-handed individuals, which accounts for their superior performance in cognitive tasks that require integration of the two hemispheres. The purpose of the current research was to see if inconsistent-handed people might also have increased communication and interaction within a hemisphere, as well as between the two hemispheres. Participants engaged in a simple rhyming judgment task in which they either saw two words in a pair, heard two words in a pair, or heard the first word and saw the second word in each pair. Word pairs were also either rhyming (R) or non-rhyming (NR) and orthographically similar (O+) or dissimilar (O-), and analyses were conducted on both accuracy and reaction time. Though there were no main effects of handedness on either dependent variable, there were significant interactions between handedness and sex and between rhyme, orthography, handedness, and sex.

Committee: Stephen Christman Dr. (Committee Chair); John Jasper Dr. (Committee Member); Jason Rose Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Psychology

BA, Kent State University, 2018, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

During silent reading, multiple properties of a word are activated when a word is first encountered in print, including the word's orthography (spelling), its meaning, and its phonology (sound). Additionally, words can be ambiguous with respect to these properties. For example, CALF (cow/part of a leg) has multiple meanings, and SEWER (drain/tailor) has multiple meanings associated with different pronunciations. Readers process these different types of ambiguous words in different ways (Folk & Morris, 1995). Readers can use sentence context to help resolve ambiguity. However, recent research suggests that higher- and lower-skill readers may use context in different ways to determine which meaning of an ambiguous word is intended (Abraham, Folk, Eskenazi, & Jones, 2016). This study investigated the role that the phonology (sound) of a word plays in activating meaning during silent reading and how reading skill affects this process. Two types of ambiguous words were embedded in sentences: noun-verb ambiguous homophones and heterophones. The noun-verb homophones had distinct meanings attached to different parts of speech (e.g. DUCK-bird/bend), and the noun-verb heterophones had distinct noun and verb meanings that were also pronounced differently (e.g., SOW-pig/plant). Sentence context that indicated the part of speech of the ambiguous word preceded it. Results indicate that heterophones were more difficult to process, despite the prior context, indicating that the sound of a word is activated early in word processing, even in silent reading. Thus, phonological activation contributes to activating word meaning during silent reading. Additionally, reading skill influenced how readers processed ambiguous words.

Committee: Jocelyn Folk Ph.D. (Advisor); Shannon Ciesla Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jennifer Roche Ph.D. (Committee Member); Alison Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Cognitive Psychology; Linguistics; Psychology; Speech Therapy

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2017, Psychology - Experimental

Despite preferring numerical information, the majority of people choose to communicate using verbal probability expressions even though they're considered less precise than numerical probabilities. While verbal probabilities have been heavily researched, little work has been done to assess individual differences in how verbal probability expressions are interpreted. Based on the results of a preliminary investigation, the goal of this project was to explore how individual differences influence translations of verbal probability expressions. The first study had participants translate 24 verbal probability expressions by giving either a single percentage that best fit the word, or a range of percentages. The results found only numeracy, not verbal intelligence, GPA, or handedness, influenced the mean range size participants assigned to the verbal probability expressions. The second study focused on different aspects of numeracy, including subjective numeracy and symbolic number mapping in addition to the previously tested objective numeracy, to determine which one(s) were most predictive of verbal probability translations. The results of the study showed only objective numeracy predicted the mean range size participants assigned to the verbal probability expressions. The results suggest only numerical ability is related to the translations of the verbal probability expressions suggesting either people with higher numerical ability represent verbal probability differently or that the task itself is dependent on numerical ability. The results of the study also replicated previous research examining the relationship between the three different types of numeracy and extended those findings to a different domain of decision making research. Future studies should continue to investigate additional individual differences in cognitive processing that may help us better understand how people process verbal probabilities and in turn allow us to tailor messages more effectively (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: John Jasper (Advisor); Christman Stephen (Committee Member); Rose Jason (Committee Member); Levine Jason (Committee Member); Coleman Douglas (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2017, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Do people effectively regulate their learning of categories? In the current experiment, this question was investigated by adapting methods from Kornell and Metcalfe (2006). Two hundred and fifty-seven undergraduate students first practiced categorizing members of six artificial categories (called Fribbles). After practice, they made category learning judgments: For each category, they rated (on a scale from 0%-100%) the likelihood that they would correctly categorize new exemplars. Next, they selected half of the categories for restudy. Their selections were either honored (they restudied the selected categories) or dishonored (they restudied the unselected categories). Final test performance was greater when selections were honored, mean = .83 (SEM = .02), than dishonored, M = .73 (.02). Participants also differed in how they used category learning judgments to select categories for restudy. Many participants selected the categories they had given lower judgments (judged as less-well-learned), but some selected the categories they had given higher judgments (judged as more-well-learned). Participants who selected the less-well-learned categories performed better on the final test when their selections were honored, M =.93 (.02), than dishonored, M = .74 (.02), but those who selected the more-well-learned categories performed better when their selections were dishonored, M = .77 (.04), than honored, M = .61 (.05). These findings suggest (1) that most people effectively regulate their learning of categories, and (2) that studying less-well-learned categories is a better strategy than studying more-well-learned categories.

Committee: John Dunlosky PhD (Advisor); Clarissa Thompson PhD (Committee Member); Christopher Was PhD (Committee Member); Christopher Flessner PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2017, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Recent research suggests that low-skill readers rely more on context to recognize a word's meaning (Andrews & Bond, 2009; Ashby, Rayner, & Clifton, 2005). Many studies on individual differences in reading have used reading comprehension as the primary measure of skill however, spelling skill may be a better predictor of reading ability than comprehension (Andrews & Bond, 2009). The current study takes spelling skill as the primary measure of reading ability and uses lexically ambiguous words to evaluate context use among high- and low-skill readers. Lexically ambiguous words have more than one distinct meaning; therefore, context is necessary for selecting the appropriate meaning. Participants read sentences containing ambiguous words. Context prior to the ambiguous word supported the infrequent, subordinate meaning. Results suggest that low-skill readers are able to resolve the ambiguity on the target word without incurring the time cost typically associated with ambiguous word processing. Conversely, high-skill readers show the typically time cost on the ambiguous word however, this does not appear to result in ambiguity resolution on the target word. Thus, the results support a larger influence of context for low-skill readers than for high-skill readers. Results are discussed in regard to the lexical quality hypothesis (Perfetti, 2007).

Committee: Jocelyn Folk (Advisor); William Merriman (Committee Member); Rawson Katherine (Committee Member); Flessnor Christopher (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Experimental Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2017, Social Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Experience-taking is the process by which readers merge with a character in a narrative. Via this process, readers lose awareness of self and surroundings and adopt the character's perspective, including thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. Previous research has demonstrated an association between engaging in experience-taking with a successful character and increased performance in a similar evaluative domain. The current studies sought to investigate a potential moderator of this relationship, specifically, implicit theories of intelligence, or the different ways individuals view the stability (e.g., entity theorists) or malleability (e.g., incremental theorists) of intelligence. In Study 1, participants read a narrative about a character who expressed either entity or incremental beliefs and then subsequently performed successfully on a verbal task. Participants then reported their engagement in experience-taking and their confidence and motivation to perform well on a similar task. Results indicated that entity theorists were significantly less likely to engage in experience-taking than incremental theorists. In addition, entity theorists that did engage in experience-taking reported a greater ability to relate to the feelings of the character than those who did not engage in experience-taking. Study 2 used a similar design as Study 1 except I eliminated the manipulation regarding the character's belief and instead, the ending was manipulated such that the character experienced either success or failure at the task. Results again showed that entity theorists were significantly less likely to engage in experience-taking than incremental theorists. In addition, there was a significant three-way interaction of condition (success vs. failure), entity beliefs, and experience-taking in predicting motivation. Finally, for Study 3, participants read the same basic narrative without any manipulation and completed a task like the one completed by the character. As in Stud (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Keith Markman PhD (Advisor); Mark Alicke PhD (Committee Chair); Kim Rios PhD (Committee Member); Jenny Howell PhD (Committee Member); Sandra Hoyt PhD (Committee Member); Yusuf Kalyango PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2016, Psychology

Previous studies on human cognition show that people with different cultural backgrounds may differ in various ways. However, there are other unexplored possibilities for cultural differences including degree of handedness thought to reflect hemispheric coordination, reliance on verbal versus visual representation in problem solving, and working memory capacity both spatial and operational. We assessed each of these using the Edinburgh scale, a validated scale of style of processing, and two automatic working memory span tasks. Participants were either native Chinese students (who spoke Mandarin) or American students. Data were analyzed using a 2 culture group x 2 gender MANOVA. Culture impacted the set of measures (p < .05) but gender did not (p = .07) and these factors did not interact (p = .23). We also examined the pattern of correlations among the measures across the two groups and found differences due to cultural group as well. For example, visual scores from style of processing scale correlated with both working memory span tasks in the Western group but do not correlate with either in the Chinese group. A followed exploratory factor analysis also showed different latent variable patterns in the two cultural groups.

Committee: Robin Thomas (Advisor); Vrinda Kalia (Committee Member); Peter Wessels (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Psychology