Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Psychology

The current research program seeks to explain a phenomenal visual experience. Namely, appearances of the shapes of three-dimensional (3D) rigid objects remain to be rigid when we walk around and view them from different angles and distances. This is a hard problem to solve given the ambiguities arising from the optical projection and constantly changing retinal images as we navigate. Two hypotheses were proposed. Hypothesis 1 explains this phenomenon by arguing that the visual system can reconstruct the 3D shape veridically. Alternatively, Hypothesis 2 argues that even though the reconstructed 3D shape is distorted with viewpoint, the resulting nonrigidity in the 3D shape percepts is not detected by the visual system under ordinary circumstances. Eight psychophysical experiments were conducted to test the two hypotheses by investigating the perception of 3D metric shape of well-structured polyhedral objects from binocular stereopsis. In Experiment 1 to 7, participants adjusted the 3D shape of an adjustable object to match the perceived 3D shape of a reference object under a variety of conditions. In Experiment 8, participants discriminated a nonrigid polyhedral object from a rigid one in an immersive virtual reality environment. Results of the eight experiments reported in this thesis reject Hypothesis 1 and support Hypothesis 2. Thus, the phenomenal rigid appearance of rigidly moving objects does not arise from the veridical perception of 3D shape. Rather, the 3D metric shape percepts vary systematically with viewing distance (Experiment 1, 4, 7), object size (Experiment 2), in-plane orientation (Experiment 3), different types of optical projection (Experiment 4, 5, 6), and scene context (Experiment 7). And testing with more symmetric objects or in a more naturalist scene context cannot make the perception more accurate (Experiment 7). However, a comparison between participants' performance in Experiment~8 with their performance in Experiment 1, 4, or 7 suggests th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alexander Petrov (Advisor); James Todd (Committee Member); Julie Golomb (Committee Member); Declan Smithies (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2017, Psychology, General

Traditionally, visual-spatial perception research has focused quite heavily on the visual information necessary to perceive the environment and the locations of objects within that space. Recent research has illustrated that non-visual factors like emotional states, motivations, and physical abilities can affect both perceptions and behaviors within the environment. Social factors may also impact the way we see the space around us. This research investigates whether psychological closeness affects perceived egocentric (self-to-target) distance, an important component of spatial perception. Across two experiments, participants made several estimates of the distance between themselves and another “target” person. This target person represented either someone with whom the participant shared a relationship (his/her best friend), or a stranger (confederate Alex); I hypothesized that individuals' feelings of psychological closeness to their best friends would lead to judgments of closer visual-spatial proximity to visual representations of their friends than to visual representations of a stranger. Though participants did indeed report feeling significantly greater levels of psychological closeness to their best friends, there was no evidence that psychological closeness affected subsequent visual-spatial distance judgments in the form of verbal reports of distance (Experiment 1), visual matching of the distance (Experiment 2) or blindfolded walking to targets (Experiments 1 and 2). The contribution of these studies to the ongoing debate regarding the robustness and resilience of non-visual contributions to spatial cognition are discussed in the context of methodological limitations of the present studies and directions for future research in this area.

Committee: Benjamin Kunz Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Greg Elvers Ph.D. (Committee Member); Erin O'Mara Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Experimental Psychology; Psychology; Social Psychology

Master of Architecture, The Ohio State University, 2009, Architecture

The visual world is about an individual's perception or understanding, while one unfolds the concepts of visual phenomenon multiple unknown characters come to fore. The realization of these changes is accredited to elapse of time and cognition of brain and eye. There are multiple layers involved in visual perception for knowing the intended phenomenon. In the first layer the characters are neutral and unidentified on the given picture plane. They create what is called the retinal images in the back of the eye. Once the brain registers these fragments in each other's proximity it is able to recognize the image as whole. The recognition may also be accredited to historicizing. The essence of visual perception lies in the analysis of the view; this could be in either of the following two ways; exploring the real from the created illusions or experiencing the overall space by getting integrated within, through the view. For a writer experiencing is the most important is well said by Maurice Merleau-Ponty; “How would the painter or poet express anything other than his encounter with the world?”1 For a writer of any field, experiencing what they write would be their practical knowledge. It plays the role of chemistry or biology laboratory. Similarly in architecture understanding human perceptions needs personal experiencing. Knowing that visual perception has multiple phenomenons to display, minimum number of structures studied could not be less than two and considering the factor of laboratory backup to my thesis (as I would call it), It was ideal for them to be located on Ohio State University campus. The cases studies carried out during the Thesis; explore the multiple layers of perception that happen in the structures. Peter Eisenman's Wexner Center of 1989 is probably one of his unintentional design that envelopes the optical illusion phenomenon of visual perception in it very artistically. The structure is one that functionalists might refute but experient (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: John Mcmorrough PhD (Advisor); Jeff Kipnis MS (Committee Member); Ashley Schafer MS (Committee Chair) Subjects: Architecture; Behaviorial Sciences; Psychology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2009, Speech Pathology and Audiology

The current study seeks to identify the relationship between the linguistic skills of auditory and visual perception and literacy readiness in kindergarteners. The purpose of the study was to address the following questions: a) Is auditory perception positively correlated with literacy readiness in kindergarteners? b) Is there a significant difference between the components of auditory perception (discrimination, comprehension, and memory) and literacy readiness in kindergarteners across subgroup means? c) Is visual perception positively correlated with literacy readiness in kindergarteners? d) Is there a significant difference between visual perception performance and auditory perception performance across subgroups? Thirty children were assessed, 10 within each subgroup, using the Test of Auditory Perception Skills and the Motor Free Visual Perception Test- Third Edition. Results indicated that literacy readiness skills are significantly, positively correlated with auditory perception, specifically auditory memory. Visual perception was determined not to be correlated with literacy readiness skills.

Committee: Joan Nolan Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Kathleen Hutchinson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lisa Williamson M.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Literacy; Reading Instruction; Special Education; Speech Therapy

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2013, Vision Science

Purpose: The objective of this research was to evaluate whether children with below age-level visual perceptual skill who perform home-based visual perception therapy using the Perceptual Therapy System II: PTS II iNet (PTS II) would show improvements in performance on standardized tests of academic achievement, attention and memory and/or reported problem behaviors. Methods: Children 6 to 13 years of age with below age-level performance on a standardized test of visual perception (the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration, 5th Edition [VMI], the Beery VMI supplemental test of Visual Perception [VP], or the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills, 3rd Edition [TVPS-3]) were invited to participate. Children with a score of 80 or below on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, 2nd Edition (KBIT-2) were excluded. Children received the PTS II and were prescribed home therapy for 20 minutes a day, 5 days per week, for 16 weeks. Testing at baseline and outcome consisted of The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Second Edition (WIAT-2) Reading and Mathematics subtests (Word Reading, Reading Comprehension, Pseudodecoding, and Numerical Operations), the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) Attention and Figure Memory subtests (Expressive Attention, Number Detection, Receptive Attention, and Figure Memory), and the Conners' Parental Rating Scales-Revised (S) (Conners'). One sample t-test analysis was used to compare baseline and outcome test scores to published normative values. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test analysis determined if significant changes occurred between baseline and outcome test scores. Linear regression was performed to examine the effect of compliance. Results: Twenty-five children enrolled and twenty children (mean age 9.61 years) completed the study. At baseline, children scored on average significantly below the published normative means on CAS Expressive Attention and Number Detection (p = .003 and .029, respectively), the composite CAS Attent (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Marjean Kulp O.D., M.S. (Advisor); Jeffrey Walline O.D., Ph.D. (Committee Member); Aaron Zimmerman OD., M.S. (Committee Member) Subjects: Ophthalmology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1965, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1967, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2024, Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology MS

The current study investigates whether maintenance of smooth pursuit eye movements requires attention or if the traditional small-spot pursuit stimulus has propagated this long-held belief by imposing the attentional demands of the saccadic system (through foveation) onto the pursuit task. Using a within-subjects design, we compare single- and dual-task performance for two difficulty levels of an auditory tone discrimination task and a pursuit eye movement task with both small and large pursuit targets (N = 10). Pursuit performance improved when target size increased (for catch-up saccade rate and steady-state gain) and when auditory task difficulty increased (for catch-up saccade rate). Importantly, we did not observe decrements in pursuit performance under dual-task conditions, which would be expected if pursuit competed for attentional resources with the auditory task. Practical implications for clinical diagnosis and eye-tracking applications as well theoretical implications for understanding the pursuit system are discussed.

Committee: Scott N.J. Watamaniuk Ph.D. (Advisor); Joseph W. Houpt Ph.D. (Committee Member); Pamela S. Tsang Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Allied Health Sciences: Communication Sciences and Disorders

Speech perception is a critical part of communication between speakers and listeners. One important aspect of speech perception is the listeners' neurological processes during perception. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) may be a viable tool to study the neurological underpinnings of speech perception in increasingly naturalistic environments due to its portability and low-cost. The study of speech perception using fNIRS has identified similar findings to fMRI in healthy listeners when using artificially manipulated speech samples that are easier (high intelligibility) or more difficult (low intelligibility) to understand. What is missing is the examination of these neural correlates during perception of naturally disordered speech. Study one addressed this by evaluating brain activity changes via measurement of hemodynamic (blood flow) response, using fNIRS, in healthy listeners using naturally disordered speech samples at high and low intelligibility. Another important aspect of speech perception is the listeners' perceptual responses to speech. Perceptual responses provide insight into listener impression and are used clinically to assess speech severity and track changes in intelligibility over time. Correlations between hemodynamic response and perceptual response are not well understood. Study two addressed this by examining the correlation between hemodynamic responses collected via fNIRS and perceptual ratings collected via visual analog scales (VAS). Healthy adults (N=24; 16 female, 8 male; 19.46 – 49.92 years old) participated in an event-related fNIRS study involving 24 randomized listening trials. High intelligibility sentence stimuli (12) were all rated 100% intelligible, and low intelligibility sentence stimuli (12) were rated as >30% but <80% intelligible. After each listening trial, participants placed ratings for intelligibility, comprehensibility, naturalness, and listening effort on a VAS. Hemodynamic responses (HbO2) w (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carrie Rountrey Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Pierce Boyne D.P.T. (Committee Member); Peter Scheifele Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jennifer Vannest Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Speech Therapy

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Media and Communication

This study utilizes an experimental design to explore how different frames impact individuals' perceptions of Muslim women when portrayed in news coverage of protests from the Middle East and North Africa region. Specifically, this research investigates the influence of news media frames on U.S. public perceptions of Muslim women activists, focusing on the impact of the hijab to test various perspectives related to minorities, gender, and stereotypical representations. In addition to examining the effect of text (positive and negative frames) and visuals (no visuals, visuals featuring veiled Muslim women, and visuals of unveiled Muslim women) on perceptions, this study also analyzes the influence of the interaction effect of the text and visual frames. This dissertation employed a factorial design, utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to conduct an online experiment. Participants were exposed to different news frames describing protests to assess their perceptions of Muslim women activists. One of the key findings of this study highlights the influence of Western-centric notions on perceptions of Muslims. Results demonstrated that positive text frames accompanied by visuals featuring unveiled women facilitated more positive implicit perceptions compared to negative frames. However, exposure to visuals featuring veiled women fostered more support toward Muslim women's protests compared to those exposed to unveiled visuals, regardless of whether the text frame is positive or negative. Additionally, results exhibited that preexisting stereotypes of oppression and victimization, along with interactions with Muslims, emerged as the most influential predictors in shaping perceptions. iv Based on the results, the author urges editors and journalists to carefully consider the goal of their coverage of protest news from the Middle East to ensure accurate and balanced portrayals that contribute to greater social inclusion, diversity, and equity in media discourse. The (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Louisa Ha PhD (Committee Chair); Kefa Otiso PhD (Other); Lara Langel PhD (Committee Member); Yanqin Lu PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Mass Media; Middle Eastern Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Psychology

Relational processing plays a central role in human cognition. An important theoretical goal of cognitive psychologists is to understand the learning mechanisms and representations that support explicit relational processing in human minds. With this overarching goal, I conduced four behavioral experiments to shed light on two specific questions: (i) the representational format of relation-defined categories, and (ii) whether the visual system (as contrasted with central cognition) constructs and manipulates explicit relational representations. Experiments 1 and 2, reported in Chapter 2, were designed to investigate the first question. Experiments 3 and 4, reported in Chapters 3 and 4, were designed to investigate the second question. Chapter 2 reports two category learning experiments in which participants were trained on a fictional medical diagnosis task involving relation- and feature-defined categories. A post-training reconstruction task was also included to probe the resulting category representations. Both correlational and causal evidence was found supportive of the extreme-value hypothesis: only participants who learned relation-defined categories exaggerate values away from the trained means as reconstructed members. The finding contributes to the growing literature that, unlike feature-defined categories, relation-defined categories are represented by their extreme members. In Chapter 3, I used a continuous carryover presentation design with visual stimuli depicting comparative relations. An inhibitory effect of response time upon the switch (versus repetition) of relational roles was observed across consecutive trials. In Chapter 4, I used a priming paradigm with visual stimuli depicting eventive relations. The response times showed various priming effects as a function of role switching and/or role repetitions relative to a control condition. The results of Experiments 3 and 4 suggest the human visual system is sensitive to abstract relational roles. T (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alexander Petrov (Advisor); Andrew Leber (Committee Member); John Hummel (Committee Member); Julie Golomb (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1966, Psychology

Committee: C. M. Freeburne (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Psychology

When encountered with multiple objects distributed across a visual scene, the visual system encodes not only the representation of the individual item but also the contextual information of surrounding items. While studies have shown either attractive or repulsive effects of contextual information on individual item representation, whether the observed contextual effect occurs at perception or during the memory retention period remains unclear. Here, we used a modified version of the size comparison task to test the perceptual and mnemonic effect of contextual information on individual size representation. In each trial, participants reported the larger one between the two circles presented sequentially. One of the two circles was presented with task-irrelevant circles of varying sizes (reference circle) while the other circle was presented in isolation (test circle). The reference circle was presented either before (Memory bias condition) or after (Perceptual bias condition) the presentation of the test circle. Since participants had to make a decision as soon as the second circle disappears, the perceptual bias condition measured the contextual bias with minimal involvement of the mnemonic process. In a series of experiments, we found robust repulsion bias away from the group sizes at the perceptual encoding phase (Experiments 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, and 3). Moreover, we found the effect of the memory retention period on contextual effect in a form of reduced repulsion bias only when the target circle was larger than the mean size (Experiment 2C) or when the number of set-size was high (Experiment 3). To summarize, there was robust perceptual repulsion bias away from the contextual information and tentative evidence for the mnemonic attraction bias on top of the perceptual bias. The current study showed both perceptual and mnemonic processes responsible for the effect of contextual information, and the utility of the modified comparison task in investigating the source of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Julie D. Golomb (Advisor); Ian Michael Krajbich (Committee Member); Andrew B Leber (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2019, Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology MS

Object recognition entails a complex interplay between top-down and bottom-up signals. Yet, limited research has investigated the mechanisms through which top-down processes, such as task context and behavioral goals impact the neural basis of visual object processing. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we studied the temporal dynamics of task and object processing to identify how early the impact of task can be observed. We recorded ERPs from participants as they viewed object images from four categories spanning animacy (Inanimate: roller-skate, motorbike; Animate: cow, butterfly) and size (Large: motorbike, cow; Small: roller-skate, butterfly) dimensions under four task conditions comprising conceptual (naturalness, size) and perceptual (color, tilt) dimensions. We did not find evidence of behavioral goals, as manipulated by the task context, modulating early visual object representations, as indexed by early visual ERPs (P1, N1, P2), in extrastriate cortex. Additional analyses revealed that task-related processing occurred predominately in later time windows (300-600ms) within frontoparietal regions. Irrespective of task, we also observed a variety of object category effects across early visual ERPs. These findings support previous neuroimaging results suggesting object representations in occipitotemporal cortex are organized based on their animacy and real-world size, and, importantly, these ERP results indicate these organizational principles can be observed in relatively early stages along the visual processing hierarchy. Taken together, this work adds to the body of psychological and neuroscientific research examining how and when top-down and bottom-up signals interact to form the basis of visual object processing, facilitating of high-level vision.

Committee: Assaf Harel Ph.D. (Advisor); Joseph W. Houpt Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ion Juvina Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Neurosciences; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Philosophy

One of the most defining features of Rene Descartes' philosophy is the nature and degree of his dualism. As conventional readings go, Descartes neatly divides reality into two radically distinct types of substances—mind and body—and never the two shall meet. I argue, however, that Descartes does not split the mind from body as cleanly as conventional readings might think, that the two metaphysical hemispheres are not entirely separate. There is a bridge linking the two together, and the road map for discovery is found in Descartes' theory of sensory perception. Descartes' views on sensory perception is the most apt topic in which to seek an understanding of the relationship between mind and body because, in general, it requires some explanation about how immaterial souls are informed by material bodies; that is, the topic demands that Descartes hypothesize about how perceptions—which he considers exclusive to minds—can be of things wholly distinct in kind, things that are essentially material. Throughout his writings, Descartes pays most attention to visual sensory perception, and so I follow in suit. Moreover, I concentrate on visual shape perception because, as I argue, understanding this aspect of Descartes' philosophy leads to insights about the precise relationship between mind and body. To give a feel for the overall shape of my reading, consider “veil of perception” interpretations of Descartes. Such readings understand Descartes as wedging a “third thing” between perceivers and the perceived object, standardly ascribing the “third thing” to the mind itself. On such readings of Descartes, sensory access to the physical world is mediated by mental images. So, according to these readings, one sees an idea of a tree, but not the tree itself. According to the reading of Descartes I offer, however, the veil is sheerer than previously thought. For I argue that the “third thing” bridging perceivers with the perceived belongs to bodily substance. In par (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lisa Downing Ph.D. (Advisor); Julia Jorati Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lisa Shabel Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Philosophy; Philosophy of Science

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Dementia is a term for a loss of memory and mental processes and is a condition most associated with the elderly. As dementia progresses and the brain deteriorates, a behavioral phenomenon known as wandering often occurs. Memories and mental thought may fade but movement through space remains. Analysis of how we cognitively map our environment and perceive the world is investigated to better understand how a person who can not create a mental map on their own may function and react to the space around them. The architecture of a place can influence these reactions and inspire pause and re-direction . This project explores environmental cues and employs principles associated with sensory perception to create a desire to travel rather than a stressful compulsion. A special care center for the persistent wanderer will utilize these findings to assist in navigating and transitioning through space with the intent to help ease transition of the mind.

Committee: Udo Greinacher M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Aarati Kanekar Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1987, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology