College of Behavioral & Social Sciences

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    Essays on the Cognitive Foundations of Economics
    (2024) Yegane, Ece; Masatlioglu, Yusufcan; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In Chapter 1, I model a decision maker who observes available alternatives according to a list and stochastically forgets some alternatives. Each time the decision maker observes an item in the list, she recalls previous alternatives with some probability, conditional on those alternatives being recalled until this point. The decision maker maximizes a preference relation over the set of alternatives she can recall. I show that if every available alternative is chosen with strictly positive probability, the preference order and the list order must coincide in any limited memory representation. Under the full support assumption, the preference ordering, the list ordering and the memory parameters are uniquely identified up to the ranking of the two least preferred alternatives. I provide conditions on observable choice probabilities that characterize the model under the full support assumption. I then apply our model to study the pricing problem of a monopolist who faces consumers with limited memory. I show that when the probability of forgetting is high, the monopolist is better off charging a lower price than the optimal price in the perfect memory case. In Chapter 2, Yusufcan Masatlioglu and I study how the allocation of attention to different options and the accessibility of options from memory affect decision making. To distinguish between attention and memory, we propose a two-stage stochastic consideration set formation process. An alternative enters the decision maker’s consideration set if it is investigated in the initial attention stage and is remembered in the subsequent recall stage. In the initial attention stage, the decision maker investigates each available alternative with some alternative-specific probability. In the recall stage, the decision maker recalls each alternative that she investigated in the attention stage with some probability. The probability of recalling an alternative depends on the memorability of the alternative and its position in the order of investigation in the attention stage. Investigating an alternative more recently enhances the probability of recalling it. The decision maker chooses the option that maximizes her preference relation over her consideration set. Under the assumption that the investigation of alternatives is observable, we provide testable implications on choice behavior and show that the revealed preference, attention parameters and memory parameters can be uniquely identified from observable repeated choices.
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    A meta-analysis of the relation between hippocampal volume and memory ability in typically developing children and adolescents
    (Wiley, 2022-03-17) Botdorf, Morgan; Canada, Kelsey L.; Riggins, Tracy
    Memory is supported by a network of brain regions, with the hippocampus serving a critical role in this cognitive process. Previous meta-analyses on the association between hippocampal structure and memory have largely focused on adults. Multiple studies have since suggested that hippocampal volume is related to memory performance in children and adolescents; however, the strength and direction of this relation varies across reports, and thus, remains unclear. To further understand this brain–behavior relation, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the association between hippocampal volume (assessed as total volume) and memory during typical development. Across 25 studies and 61 memory outcomes with 1357 participants, results showed a small, but significant, positive association between total hippocampal volume and memory performance. Estimates of the variability across studies in the relation between total volume and memory were not explained by differences in memory task type (delayed vs. immediate; relational vs. nonrelational), participant age range, or the method of normalization of hippocampal volumes. Overall, findings suggest that larger total hippocampal volume relates to better memory performance in children and adolescents and that this relation is similar across the memory types and age ranges assessed. To facilitate enhanced generalization across studies in the future, we discuss considerations for the field moving forward.
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    Relations between Memory Measures and Hippocampal Volumes in Early Childhood
    (2020-05) Fine, Carli; Riggins, Tracy
    The phenomenon of childhood amnesia, in which only a mere fraction of childhood experiences is remembered, may be due to changes in the underlying neural mechanisms supporting memory. However, this assumption is largely based on measures of memory from lab-based tasks, which show relations with specific brain areas. It is unclear whether tasks in the lab used to measure childhood memory skills map onto children’s memory for experiences in everyday life. This study aimed to address this gap by investigating the potential relation between two different tasks completed by 200 4- to 8-year-old children. Specifically, children completed both a rich, open-ended autobiographical interview examining children’s recall for real-world events, and a controlled, laboratory-based assessment that examines children’s memory for temporal order. This study assessed whether both/either tasks show 1) age-related differences, 2) relations to each other, and 3) relations to the volume of the hippocampus, a neural structure thought to be critical for memory. Results indicated that performance on both tasks show positive age-related differences, and relations to each other. However, neither task was related to the hippocampus. Overall, this work contributes new knowledge regarding memory development by examining the extent to which naturalistic versus laboratory-based tasks similarly measure children’s developing memory abilities, and suggests important avenues of future research.
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    Early Life Stress Predicts Decreased Total Brain Volume, Cortical Thickness, and Cognitive Functioning in School-Age Children
    (2018) Chad-Friedman, Emma; Dougherty, Lea R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Severe early life stress (ELS) (e.g., maltreatment/institutionalization) is associated with atypical neurological and cognitive development. Few studies have prospectively examined the neurological mechanisms underlying the cognitive deficits associated with less severe and more common forms of ELS. The current study examined the impact of common forms of ELS assessed during early childhood on children’s brain volume, cortical thickness, and memory and executive functioning assessed three years later in school age children, controlling for current stress. Participants included 63 children (50.8% female) assessed during preschool (Wave 1 age: M=4.23 years, SD=.84) and three years later (Wave 2 age: M=7.19 years, SD=.89). ELS included low socioeconomic status, single parent household, low parental education, child exposure to parental depression, and child exposure to high parental hostility. Children’s current life stress, cognitive abilities, and brain structure were assessed at Wave 2. ELS predicted reduced total gray volume, cortex volume, right inferior parietal thickness, and right superior parietal thickness, controlling for covariates and current stress. ELS also predicted poorer memory and attention shifting, controlling for current stress. Right superior parietal thickness mediated the effects of ELS on story recall memory. Results highlight the possible consequences of less severe forms of ELS on brain volume and cognitive functioning, suggesting potential neural mechanisms to further explore. Early childhood may be a particularly important time for intervention efforts to mitigate the neural and cognitive risks associated with early stress exposure.
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    Grounding Judgment Phenomena in Memory: Examining the Role of Retrieval in the Estimation of Events
    (2018) Nguyen, Rosalind; Dougherty, Michael; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Suppose you were running late to work and had to decide which route to take that would give you the best chance of getting to work on time. How do you come up with the various routes to consider? How do you assess which route will give you the best chance of getting to work on time? In order to make that decision, you may think about all the prior routes you’ve taken and then evaluate each one with some probability of getting the desired outcome. On the surface, the act of generating choices and evaluating their likelihood may seem to have little in common. However, one may be surprised to learn that these processes are closely intertwined. The findings from this project suggest that judgments of likelihood may be constrained by one’s ability to retrieve from semantic memory. In experiment 1, we demonstrate that one’s general ability to retrieve from long-term memory (LTM) may play a critical role in judgments of likelihood and that the nature of the retrieval may relate differentially to different types of event estimation. In experiment 2, we assess different measurement models of memory and find that the type of relation between memory and judgment changes as the function of the type of memory model that one adopts. Finally, combined data across both experiments reveal that how the to-be-judged items are distributed plays a role in judgments and that retrieval ability, specifically, semantic memory, is predictive of probability judgments. Taken together, we argue that the ability to retrieve from LTM plays a critical role in judging the likelihood of an event occurring.
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    Developmental differences in relations between parent-reported executive function and unitized and non-unitized memory representations during childhood
    (Frontiers, 2015-08-19) Blankenship, Sarah L.; Riggins, Tracy
    Previous research has documented an association between executive functioning (EF) and memory for bound details. However, it is unknown if this relation varies as a function of the type of bound information (i.e., unitized versus non-unitized) and whether this association changes as a function of age during childhood, when both EF and memory undergo rapid development. The current study sought to address these gaps by examining whether relations between parent-reported EF differed for unitized versus non-unitized memory representations and if these relations differed between children who were 4, 6, or 8 years of age. Results revealed that EF was selectively associated with non-unitized associative memory in 8-year-old children; no significant relations between EF and either memory condition were evident in 4- or 6-year-olds. These results suggest relations between EF and memory may be specific to non-unitized representations and that this association may emerge across childhood as both EF and memory abilities develop.
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    Infants' representations and memories of their social-emotional interactions
    (2013) Sherman, Laura Jernigan; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    According to several theorists, infants form mental representations and memories of their social-emotional interactions (e.g., Bowlby, 1969/1982), but very few studies have investigated these claims. Across two studies, I hypothesized that 10-month-old infants would form representations and memories of their social-emotional interactions. In Study 1, infants (N = 24) were familiarized to a positive and negative puppet and their representations and memories were assessed with visual-paired comparison (VPC) and forced-choice tests. Ten minutes after their interactions, but not immediately after, significantly more infants chose the positive puppet (17/24, p = .030). To better understand these results, I conducted another study in which infants (N = 32) were randomly assigned to be familiarized to either a positive and neutral puppet or a negative and neutral puppet. In the positive condition infants were more likely to choose the positive puppet immediately after (12/16, p =.038), but not 10 minutes after the interactions, whereas in the negative condition infants' choices were at chance - but older infants were more likely choose the neutral puppet (Mdiff = 11.50 days, p = .022). In both studies, no effects emerged with infants' preferential looking. Overall, the results indicated that infants' representations and memories of their brief social-emotional interactions were stronger for positive than negative interactions. Results are discussed with regard to existing theory and research and the negativity bias hypothesis.
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    THE GESCHICHTSBEWEGUNG AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISM IN GERMAN MEMORY POLITICS
    (2010) Wustenberg, Jenny; Heisler, Martin O; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The Geschichtsbewegung, or History Movement, was a new left social movement focused on researching local German history. It took off in the early 1980s as a diverse but well-networked collection of citizens' initiatives in West Germany exploring particularly the Nazi period. I argue in my dissertation that this movement has been pivotal in transforming the German memory landscape and the institutions that govern memorial policy in the past thirty years. Though these activists began with the limited goal of digging through local history and laying bare legacies of forgetting, they collectively became one of the most important shapers of memory politics. To this day, their ideas on remembrance and memorial design profoundly influence the commemorative landscape. The state has skillfully embraced this memorial culture by adopting its most successful elements and harnessing its critical potential. I offer a critical assessment of this intermeshing of state and civil society and argue that the analytical distinction between these two spheres should be interrogated more generally.
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    IN SEARCH OF A USEABLE PAST: POLITICS OF HISTORY IN THE POST-COMMUNIST CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA FROM A COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
    (2010) Jelokova, Zuzana; Tismaneanu, Vladimir; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The dissertation examines the puzzle of the divergent post-communist discourses and rituals of collective memory in the Czech republic and Slovakia - in particular, the difference in (1) the two countries' attitudes toward de-communization, (2) their interpretations of their common Czechoslovak past, and (3) the overall content and style of official memory discourses employed in the two countries after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Taking a comparative historical perspective, the dissertation traces the transformation of the Czech and Slovak historical narratives over time and finds the roots of the divergent Czech and Slovak post-communist paths in the legacies of the Czechoslovak communist and interwar regimes. On a conceptual level, the dissertation presents a culturalist critique of the dominant institutionalist literature on democratization and an argument on how we might think of post-communist transitions outside of the strictly institutional framework. It conceptualizes democratization as a dynamic and a highly contentious process of meaning creation in which various actors struggle to legitimize themselves and their visions of the present and the future by making references to the past and highlights the special role of political myths in this process. Rather than a straightforward adoption of some ready-made institutions and processes, in other words, democratization is presented as an activity of sensemaking - of searching for useable pasts and new legitimizing mythologies. The Czech and Slovak post-communist search for useable pasts represents neither an unprecedented "return of history" nor some cynical sinister power play of elites acting on some well-constituted interests but rather a new phase of an ongoing, dynamic project of identity and meaning-creation - of sense-making through time.
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