subject: Psychology
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Emotion and Executive Functioning: The Effect of Normal Mood States on Fluency Tasks
description- – EEG activation studies suggest cerebral lateralization of emotions with greater left than right prefrontal activation during positive mood states and greater right than left prefrontal activation during negative mood states (Davidson et al., 1990). Cerebral lateralization is also observed in cognitive tasks, with verbal fluency associated with left frontal activation and design fluency associated with right frontal activation (Baldo et al., 2001). Further, there are lateralized associations between emotion and cognition; that is, verbal fluency is positively associated with induced positive mood, whereas design fluency is positively associated with induced negative mood (Bartolic et al., 1999). The current study expected naturally occurring mood states to be differentially associated with performance on executive function fluency tasks, and based on previous findings (Cabeza, 2002), that age would moderate the association between emotion and fluency. Results suggest a trend for a positive association between positive affect (PA) and verbal fluency. Age did not moderate associations between emotion and cognitive tasks, although greater interdependence between cognitive and emotion variables in older relative to middle-aged adults suggests decreased lateralization in older adults; however differences in interdependence between older and younger adults were negligible. These results suggest that PA may positively influence some areas of cognition, although age may not moderate these results. Sample and measurement limitations may have contributed to this finding.
- – 2008-01-01
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A Longitudinal Study of the Relation Between Depression and Parenting
description- – Depression in mothers is an important risk factor for behavioral and emotional problems in their children (Elgar, McGrath, Waschbusch, Stewart,&Curtis 2004), and disrupted parenting is thought to mediate the influences of maternal depression on children. This 4-year longitudinal study examined whether mothers' depression predicted parenting of children with behavioral problems across the preschool years. This study attempted to tease apart the correlates of enduring, chronic maternal depressive symptoms from those of transient depressive symptoms on parenting during the preschool years. In particular, it sought to predict both changes in parenting across the preschool years as well as to predict parenting practices as parents and children emerge from the preschool years. Participants were 199 mothers of 3-year-old children, with behavior problems who completed measures of depression and parenting yearly until children were 6 years old. Mothers with higher average depressive symptoms across the preschool years reported more overreactivity and laxness, and showed less warmth when their children were 6 years old. These mothers were also more likely to increase their self-reported overreactivity over time. Increases in depression were associated with increases in overreactivity and laxness, but not in warmth. These results provide stronger evidence than previous cross-sectional studies for a causal relation between depression and parenting, and point to the importance of providing adequate treatment and support to depressed mothers of preschool children.
- – 2007-01-01
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Parenting Style Discrepancies: A Comparison of Inter-ethnic and Intra-ethnic Couples
description- – Parenting and family interactions are thought to play a critical role in children's development and are often key targets in clinical interventions for children with behavioral problems. Multiple factors are thought to determine patterns of parenting behavior including child and parent characteristics as well as broader social and cultural factors (Abidin, 1992; Belsky, 1984; Maccoby, 1992). Because culture is thought to influence parenting, it is possible that inter-ethnic couples may experience a greater discrepancy than intra-ethnic couples in their parenting styles, but research considering the role of different cultural backgrounds and parenting has been sparse. The current study examined whether inter-ethnic couples showed greater differences in their parenting styles than couples in which parents were of the same ethnic background, and if so, whether consequences of discrepancy were reflected in children's behavior. Marital conflict and the number of years spent co-parenting were also examined as potential predictors of variability between couples. Results indicated no significant differences between inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic couples in parenting style, and no significant associations between discrepancies in parenting style and child behavior. Marital conflict was found to be significantly associated with discrepancy in warmth for fathers in intra-ethnic relationships, in support for the spillover hypothesis (Margolin, 2001). This is the first study to examine parenting discrepancies between inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic couples. This research contributes to a growing understanding of the co-parenting relationship among inter-ethnic couples and has important clinical implications for family intervention with multi-cultural families.
- – 2007-01-01
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Are Age-Related Changes in Sleep Magnified in Individuals with Depressive Symptoms?
subjectcollectiondate- – 2007-01-01
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Negative Remembering
description- – ABSTRACT NEGATIVE REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 2007 AYCAN KAPUCU, B.A., BOGAZICI UNIVERSITY ISTANBUL M.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Caren M. Rotello Three experiments investigated the use of recall-to-accept and recall-to-reject processes in recognition and remember-know decisions. In all three experiments, participants studied a mixed list of singular and plural words. During the recognition test, participants made old-new confidence ratings and remember-know judgments for studied items, lures that were similar to studied items, and new lures. Old-similar ROC curves were constructed from the confidence ratings and found to be linear, consistent with the use of a high-threshold recollective process. The ROC intercepts and remember response rates converged on the same estimates of the amount of recollection for both positive (recall-to-accept) and negative (recall-to-reject) decisions.
- – 2007-01-01
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ARE"REMEMBER"AND"KNOW"THE SAME PROCESS?--A PERSPECTIVE FROM REACTION TIME DATA
description- – The remember-know paradigm is widely used in recognition memory research to explore the mechanisms underlying recognition judgments. The most intriguing question about the paradigm that needs to be answered is: Are the processes that underlie "remember" and "know" responses the same or different? The extant remember-know models provide different answers. The dual-process model (Yonelinas, 1994) assumes that "remember" and "know" judgments are made with qualitatively different underlying processes. The one-dimensional Signal Detection Theory (SDT) model (Donaldson, 1996; Hirshman&Master, 1997) and the Sum-difference Theory of Remembering and Knowing (STREAK) model assume that "remember" and "know" judgments are made with same underlying processes but different response criteria. In this thesis, three experiments were conducted to evaluate these models. The remember-know models were fit to the accuracy data to see which model provides the best account for the ROC data. In addition, the reaction time data were fit with ex-Gaussian distributions and the best-fit skew parameters were used to reveal whether the underlying strategic processes for "remember" and "know" judgments are same or not. The results of the remember-know model fit were mixed: In the first experiment with list length manipulation, 6 out of 8 cases were best fit with the one-dimensional models and the other 2 cases were best fit with the dual-process models; in the second experiment with list strength manipulation, 11 out of 18 cases were best fit with the one-dimensional models, another 6 cases were best fit with the dual-process models and the rest one case were best fit with the STREAK model; in the third experiment with response bias manipulation, 6 out of 16 cases were best fit with the one-dimensional models and the other 10 cases were best fit with the dual-process models. The results of ex-Gaussian fit to RT data supported the one-dimensional model better: for the subjects who provide enough overlapping data in comparison of the distributions of hits followed by "remember" and "know" judgments, the values of skew parameter did not differ for "remember" and "know" responses in 7 out of 8 cases. This indicates that the same process underlies "remember" and "know" responses.
- – 2007-01-01
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Moral Motivations: The Relationship between Self-Regulation and Morality
description- – This research introduces an attempt to regard morality from a motivational perspective by conceptualizing the moral realm in terms of approach-avoidance motivation. The study used a situational priming measure and dispositional measures to investigate the impact of approach-avoidance motivation on moral judgments. A secondary objective was to explore the relationship between conceptions of morality and perceived personal preference. Despite the failure of the priming measure, dispositional activation predicted moral judgments of approach-oriented behaviors, which were, overall, viewed as more a matter of personal preference. Dispositonal inhibition predicted moral judgments of avoidance-oriented behaviors, which were, overall, judged more harshly and were associated with perceptions of personal preference. The findings concerning the differences between approach and avoidance moral motivations provide support for the role of self-regulation in an individual's moral system.
- – 2007-01-01
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Test-level, item-level, and experiential differences on computerized and paper-and-pencil versions of a practice Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
description- – The relationship between test performance and test mode is an important one to consider, especially in situations of high-stakes testing. This study investigated relationships between test mode, gender, and computer familiarity and test performance, on a practice Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The practice GRE contained three sections (Analytical, Quantitative, and Verbal). Self-reported GPA and SAT scores were employed as covariates. There were three levels of test mode: paper-and-pencil, computerized with editorial control, and computerized without editorial control. Both computer forms were non-adaptive, and included three minutes more than the paper-and-pencil form for each timed section. There were three levels in the computer familiarity variable (lower, moderate, higher), determined by examinee responses to a survey. The survey also included items that asked students to provide feedback on the test experience. The test was administered to 222 undergraduate students who were stratified by gender, then randomly assigned to a test mode group. MANCOVA revealed that examinees in the paper-and-pencil group outperformed the computerized, no editorial control test group on all subtests. The computerized, with editorial control group outperformed the computerized without editorial control group on the Analytical section only. Significant main effects of computer familiarity on the Analytical and Quantitative subtests were found, but significant interactions were found between computer familiarity and test mode on the Quantitative subtest, and between gender and test mode on the Analytical subtest. Item-level analysis indicated items accompanied by graphics were more difficult in computerized form, and, the subtests were dramatically more speeded in the computerized forms. Examinees reported finding aspects of the computerized forms (i.e., individually paced testing, no pencils and bubble sheets) an improvement over the paper-and-pencil test, but other aspects more inconvenient (i.e., transferring item information back and forth between screen and scratch paper, Inability to skip/review test items). Results emphasize the importance of evaluating time constraints when converting exams from paper-and-pencil to computer-delivery, and suggest that computerized formats may have prevented examinees from using traditional test-taking strategies, affecting test performance.
- – PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOMETRICS (0632)
- – 2000-01-01
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