Psychology

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Effects of Group Status and Cognitive Appraisal Prime on Integrative Complexity in a Decision Making Context
(2009) Van Allen, Katherine Lynn; Stangor, Charles; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Integrative complexity has been shown to influence information-processing and decision-making in different social situations. The present research assessed the effects of group status and cognitive appraisal prime on complexity in a group decision-making context. Experiment 1 assessed group status effects, and Experiment 2 tested whether priming threat or challenge would moderate those effects. Both experiments found that minority members showed greater complexity than majority members. Experiment 2 found that appraisal prime moderated the relationship between status and complexity. Minority members receiving the threat prime were the most complex, while majority members in the threat and control conditions were the least complex. The mediating roles of cognitive appraisal, anxiety, and coping expectancy were assessed, but none were found to be significant mediators of complexity.
SUBJECTIVE INTEGRATION OF PROBABILISTIC INFORMATION FROM DESCRIPTION AND FROM EXPERIENCE
(2009) Shlomi, Yaron; Wallsten, Thomas S.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Subjective integration of probabilistic information obtained via description and experience underlies potentially consequential judgments and choices. However, little is known about the quality of the integration and the underlying processes. I contribute to filling this gap by investigating judgments informed by integrating probabilistic information from the two sources. Building on existing information integration frameworks (e.g., N. Anderson, 1971), I develop and subsequently test computational models that represent the integration process. Participants in three experiments estimated the percentage of red balls in a bag containing red and blue balls based on two samples drawn from the bag. They experienced one sample by observing a sequence of draws and received a description of the other sample in terms of summary statistics. Subjective integration was more sensitive to information obtained via experience than via description in a manner that depended on the extremity of the experienced sample relative to the described one. Experiment 1 showed that experience preceding description leads to integration that is less biased towards experience than the reverse presentation sequence. Following this result, Experiment 2 examined the effect of memory-retrieval demands on the quality of the integration. Specifically, we manipulated the presence or absence of description- and experience- based decision aids that eliminate the need to retrieve source-specific information. The results show that the experience aid increased the bias, while the description aid had no interpretable effect. Experiment 3 investigated the effect of the numerical format of the description (percentage vs. frequency). When description was provided in the frequency format, the judgments were unbiased and the leading model suggested that the two sources are psychologically equivalent. However, when the description was provided in the percentage format, the leading model implied a tradeoff between the two sources. Finally, participants in Experiment 3 also rated how much they trusted the source of the description. The participants' ratings were correlated with how they used the description and with the quality of their judgments. The findings have implications for interpreting the description-experience gap in risky choice, for information integration models, and for understanding the role of format on the use of information from external sources. In addition, the methods developed here can be applied broadly to study how people integrate information from different sources or in different formats.
Caffeine Abstinence during the Menstrual Cycle: An Evaluation of Mood, Somatic, Cognitive, and Psychomotor Effects of Withdrawal
(2008) Vo, Hoa Thi; Smith, Barry D; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The purpose of the present study was to extend our understanding of caffeine withdrawal symptoms and of potentially differing symptom patterns across phases of the menstrual cycle. Forty-eight moderate habitual caffeine consumers, age 18 to 25 years, were recruited from the University of Maryland. Exclusion criteria included current or past psychiatric conditions (within six months) and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). In addition to daily diaries (including the caffeine intake survey, premenstrual syndrome questionnaires, LH surge test, and the caffeine withdrawal checklist), the effect of caffeine abstinence on psychomotor tasks was assessed during the follicular (around day 5 of the cycle) and luteal phases (approximately 4 days after the LH surge) of the menstrual cycle. Data analyses focused on withdrawal symptom ratings and psychomotor performance one day during the follicular phase and one day during the luteal phase of the cycle after 24 hours of caffeine abstinence. A series of repeated measures ANOVAs were used to assess caffeine withdrawal effects and differences in these effects between the follicular and luteal phases. Results confirmed the presence of certain withdrawal symptoms, but did not provide support for phase-differentiated effects of self-reported withdrawal symptoms or of psychomotor and cognitive performance differentials across the menstrual cycle. However, withdrawal, as a result of caffeine abstinence, did impact self-report symptom ratings during select days of abstinence, as compared with days of non-abstinence, during the both the follicular and the luteal phase. The present study is the first multi-method study to examine the effects of caffeine abstinence on habitual consumers across the menstrual cycle.
Learning to Forget: An Interference Account of Cue-Independent Forgetting
(2009) Tomlinson, Tracy Darlene; Dougherty, Michael R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Memory suppression is investigated in inhibition paradigms that produce cue-independent forgetting. Because the forgotten items are not retrieved even when tested with an independent, semantically related cue, it has been assumed that this forgetting is due to an inhibition process. However, this conclusion is based on comparing inhibition to classic interference theory with a single stage of recall. Yet, memory models, which produce forgetting through a process of interference, include both a sampling and a recovery stage of recall. A neo-classic interference theory is proposed, which assumes that interference exists during recovery as well as sampling and can explain cue-independent forgetting. Three behavioral studies tested predictions of the neo-classic interference theory. Experiment 1 found support for recovery interference in testing key predictions of the theory within the think/no-think paradigm. Most importantly, learning to quickly press enter produced as much cue-independent forgetting as no-think instructions. Experiment 2 tested the role of word frequency in terms of sampling and recovery, but failed to obtain cue-independent forgetting. Experiment 3 reversed the order of blocks and produced original cue forgetting following retrieval practice with independent cues, which provided a clear manipulation of recovery strength. Lastly, a mathematical model (SAM-RI) of neo-classic interference theory was specified that captures data from Experiment 1, Experiment 3, and is extended to the greater retrieval induced forgetting.
The Role of Epistemic Motivation in the Link between Arousal and Focus of Attention
(2009) Orehek, Edward; Kruglanski, Arie W; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Over 60 years of research has led to a law-like acceptance of the Easterbrook (1959) hypothesis. Easterbrook (1959) famously reviewed the evidence on the arousal-attention link and concluded that as arousal increases, the range of cues utilized decreases, and the focus of attention narrows. However, the present set of eight studies suggests that the Easterbrook hypothesis needs to be seriously qualified. Recent developments in the understanding of the role of arousal in information processing suggests that rather than invariably leading to a focus of attention, arousal instead serves as information regarding the urgency and/or importance of active processing strategies (Storbeck & Clore, 2008). Because some processing strategies lead to a broadening of attention, arousal should sometimes be negatively related to a focusing of attention. A first set of four studies investigated the need for closure as it relates to the arousal-attention link. The need for closure refers to the motivation to make quick, firm judgments, and has been shown to lead to the use of fewer available cues. Because of this, it seems that the need for closure should lead to a tendency to focus one's attention. However, when need for closure is low, individuals tend to process more available cues, broadening attention in order to avoid reaching premature closure. The results indicate that when individuals are high on the need for closure, arousal is positively related to focus of attention, whereas when individuals are low on the need for closure, arousal is negatively related to focus of attention. A second set of four studies investigated the influence of the regulatory modes of locomotion and assessment on the arousal-attention link. Because locomotion is oriented towards movement, it should lead to a focus of attention. Because assessment is oriented towards making evaluations based on comparisons among alternatives, it should lead to a broadening of attention. The results show that when a locomotion mode is active, arousal is positively related to focus of attention, whereas, when an assessment mode is active, arousal is negatively related to focus of attention.
SOCIAL ATTENTION THEORY: A NEW LOOK AT KNOWLEDGE FORMATION IN GROUPS
(2009) Shteynberg, Garriy; Gelfand, Michele J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Individuals in crowded theaters, stadiums and lecture halls know that they attend to the events on the stage, on the field, and at the podium with others. Extending the literature on social foundations of knowledge formation, Social Attention Theory posits that knowingly attending to a stimulus with one's group renders that stimulus more cognitively accessible in memory. The theory is tested across three studies where participants attend to stimuli such as words (study 1), goals (study 2), and time pressure (study 3) with members of their group or a control group. Across all three experiments, participants exhibited greater cognitive accessibility for the stimuli attended to with their group (i.e., similar others). Results also showed that individuals felt more social when attending to stimuli with their group, but did not feel happier, more motivated or more alert.
Testing a dynamic account of neural processing: Behavioral and electrophsyiological studies of semantic satiation
(2008-08-13) Tian, Xing; Dougherty, Michael; Neuroscience and Cognitive Science; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In everyday perception, we easily and automatically identify objects. However, there is evidence that this ability results from complicated interactions between levels of perception. An example of hierarchical perception is accessing the meaning of visually presented words through the identification of line segments, letters, lexical entries, and meaning. Studies of word reading demonstrate a dynamic course to identification, producing benefits following brief presentations (excitation) but deficits following longer presentations (habituation). This dissertation investigates hierarchical perception and the role of transient excitatory and habituation dynamics through behavioral and neural studies of word reading. More specifically, the effect of interest is 'semantic satiation', which refers to the gradual loss of meaning when repeating a word. The reported studies test the hypothesis that habituation occurs in the associations between levels. As applied to semantic satiation, this theory supposes that there is not a loss of meaning, but, rather, an inability to access meaning from a repeated word. This application was tested in three behavioral experiments using a speeded matching task, demonstrating that meaning is lost when accessing the meaning of a repeated category label, but is not lost when accessing the category through new exemplars, or when the matching task is changed to simple word matching. To model these results, it is assumed that speeded matching results from detection of novel meaning to the target word after presentation of the cue word. This model was tested by examining neural dynamics with MEG recordings. As predicted by semantic satiation through loss of association, repeated cue words produced smaller M170 responses. M400 responses to the cue also diminished, as expected by a hierarchy in which lower levels drive higher levels. If the M400 corresponds to the post-lexical detection of new meaning, this model predicted that the M400 to targets following repeated cues would increase. This unique prediction was confirmed. These results were tested using a new method of analyzing MEG data that can differentiate between response magnitude versus differences in activity patterns. By considering hierarchical perception and processing dynamics, this work presents a new understanding of transient habituation and a new interpretation of electrophysiological data.
The Effects of Natural Sleep Debt on Current Mood, Working Memory, and Risk-Taking Propensity
(2008-04-24) Hall Brown, Tyish S; Lejuez, Carl W; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
It has been established that, as a whole, adolescents receive inadequate amounts of sleep due to both biological and environmental influences. As a result of this sleep loss, daytime impairment may occur in both cognitive and affective domains. Recent evidence suggests that inadequate sleep may also play a role in increased risk taking behavior, however, these studies are primarily descriptive in nature. Given that adolescents may be at particular risk for engagement in increased risky behaviors due to chronic insufficient sleep, more rigorous studies focusing on this relationship may be useful. To address this need, the current study provides a laboratory-based examination of sleep debt and risk-taking behavior using a multi-modal assessment approach. This association will be evaluated directly using a behavioral assessment task that measures risk-taking propensity as well as indirectly by examining several dimensions of the construct of disinhibition, which is purported to underlie risk-taking behaviors. Additionally, this study seeks to replicate past findings that suggest a link between sleep debt and daytime impairment in the form of decrements in working memory and disturbance of current mood states. It is expected that this research will provide a better understanding of the relationship between sleep debt and risk-taking behaviors, setting the stage for future studies.
Tag Clouds: How format and categorical structure affect categorization judgment
(2008-05-05) Rivadeneira Cortez, Anna Walkyria; Norman, Kent L; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This paper examines how category judgments are influenced by categorical structure and the formatting of tag clouds. Despite the enormous research on categorization, little research has been directed at investigating whether one person can recognize another's categorical structure. A novel approach to measure similarity and categorical structure is proposed. This approach involves the use of latent semantic analyses to compute semantic distances between category exemplars. The empirical domain will be tag clouds, a new development in social computing that provides a particularly useful paradigm for investigating how people identify the categorical structures of others. Three experiments examine how categorical structure and different formatting styles used in tag clouds might affect categorization. Findings reveal that categorization judgments are influenced by categorical structure and tighter structures result in higher accuracy. Format variables such as font size and sorting order were also found to influence accuracy. Future experimental directions are detailed.
Understanding Low Social Acceptance in Adolescence: Roles of Social Behavior and Representations of Peers
(2007-09-26) Halcrow, Sarah Ruth; Cassidy, Jude A.; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The goal of this study was to examine whether social behavior and peer representations would be linked to the extent to which adolescents were socially accepted. Findings indicated that prosocial behavior was positively associated with acceptance whereas aggressive, disruptive, and shy behaviors were negatively associated with acceptance. Results also suggested gender moderated the link between shy behavior and acceptance, such that shy boys were significantly less accepted than shy girls. In contrast, gender did not moderate the links between prosocial, disruptive, and aggressive behavior and acceptance. Although peer representations were negatively linked to acceptance, gender did not significantly moderate these links. Additional findings suggested that prosocial, disruptive, and shy behaviors partially mediated the links between peer representations and acceptance. Contrary to expectations, peer representations partially mediated the links only between acceptance and shy behavior. Implications of findings related to the roles of adolescent social behavior, the moderating role of gender, peer representations, and social acceptance are discussed.

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