Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Diane L. Schallert. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2001. / unknown, Committee Member. Includes bibliographical references.

The child's understanding of open systems, as exemplified by an ecosystem and a socio-economic system, was assessed in a Piagetian type interview with 8 males and 8 females in each of grades 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and first year post-secondary (n=96). Since Piagetian theory has been based on tasks using mainly inanimate, physical content, the generalizability of Piagetian stages and sequences to the two open systems content domains was tested. Tasks assessing the four concrete operations examined were repeated in each of the physical, the bio-ecological and the societal domains. Typical stage and sequence patterns were observed in all three domains. Post-concrete operations were represented by three formal operations in the physical domain and four systemic operations in each of the open systems domains. Logical and philosophical arguments for the qualitative difference between formal and systemic logic were presented. Three blind judges reached spontaneous agreement on 84.6% of the scores assigned for the systemic task protocols. A scalogram analysis and comparisons of the differences between pass/fail proportions indicated that the systemic operations of systems synthesis and transitive recycling were more difficult than the formal operational tasks by a Guttman step of the same size as that between the formal and concrete stages. A cluster analysis showed those most difficult systemic tasks to be grouped as if they were a part of a separate structure d'ensemble. Further analyses indicated that the greater difficulty of these two systemic operations could not be attributed to the greater un-familiarity of the task contents. Systemic task success rates were zero for respondents below grade 9 (14 years) and consistently fell far below formal task success rates for same aged peers'. The most difficult systemic operations satisfied the criteria for membership in a fifth stage as well as any other Piagetian operations do for their imputed stage membership. Nevertheless, an alternative interpretation construing systemic operations as post-concrete developments parallel and complementary to formal operations could not be ruled out. The implications of the findings for the areas of cognitive development, social development and social psychology were discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D.)--City University of New York, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-98).

The basis for sex differences in cognitive ability remains poorly defined and controversial both scientifically and politically. One of the biological hypotheses on sex differences, of particular relevance to this thesis, concerns the role of gonadal steroids, specifically testosterone (T) and oestrogen, and their relationship to individual differences in the performance of specific cognitive tasks. In addition, the role that age-related changes in these hormones play in relation to generalised and pathological cognitive ageing in males is studied. It is important to determine whether decreases in T levels that occur with ageing in males are associated with age-related decreases in cognitive performance because T levels can potentially be modified. Males have consistently been found to outperform females on measures of visuo-spatial function; performance on the Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotation Test (MRT) shows the largest and most robust of sex differences. Gonadal steroids have both organisational and activational effects which contribute to both withinsex variability and between-sex differences in visuo-spatial cognition. As males age, endogenous plasma T levels decline gradually yet variably between individuals. Studies in older males show improvement in visuo-spatial cognition following T supplementation; however, it remains to be resolved whether decreases in endogenous T levels with ageing are associated with poorer MRT performance. Some recent studies in older males have reported positive correlations between measures of plasma T levels and cognitive functioning, including processing speed and executive function measures. These data are inconsistent, however, and important questions remain concerning, for example: the age at which the effect is strongest; whether there are different effects at different ages; whether there is an optimal level at which T levels affect particular abilities; and which abilities show the strongest association with endogenous plasma T levels. Increased intra-individual variability in performance on Choice Reaction Time (RT) tasks has recently been shown to be a strong predictor of cognitive functioning in university students. Methodological advances in the analyses of RT distributions has allowed for the calculation of robust estimates of intra-individual RT variability. The association between these estimates and cognitive performance in middle and older aged males, however, remains to be determined. Further, the association between endogenous plasma T levels and intra-individual RT variability in aged males is unknown. The thesis addresses these issues; firstly, through cross-sectional analyses of the associations between different measures of plasma T levels, learning and memory, processing speed, and executive function performance in a large population based sample of 1046 men aged between 35 and 81 years. Secondly, further cross-sectional analyses are reported from a subsequent study in a healthy sub-sample of 96 of these men on the associations between endogenous plasma T levels, MRT performance, constituent abilities related to MRT performance, and performance on composite measures of both processing speed and executive function. In a third study, these data are re-analysed in relation to intra-individual variability in RT performance. In light of the results of these studies, the role that age-related declines in plasma T levels play in relation to generalised age-related cognitive decline in males is discussed. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1330807 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and School of Medicine, 2008

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 161-167) Also available in print.

Not available / text

How, at a fundamental level, do people construe their social world? Mainstream perspectives on social cognition posit that we do so largely by applying hierarchically structured concepts (or schemas) about similar classes of people and events to selectively interpret and elaborate on the complex array of social information. In this dissertation I propose a complementary perspective according to which people lend meaning to the social world in large part through conceptual metaphors that use the structure of familiar, typically concrete concepts to reason about and evaluate information in dissimilar, typically more abstract conceptual domains. I describe a model of metaphor-enriched social cognition (MESC) that provides a preliminary framework for understanding the role of conceptual metaphor in everyday social thought and action. I review research supporting hypotheses derived from the model with respect to the effects of conceptual metaphor on social perception, attitudes, and behavior, and I present four studies designed to further test these hypotheses. Study 1 shows that the sensation of being physically burdened increased the subjective obligatory nature of everyday activities. Study 2 shows that images depicting historically significant people and events (both positively and negatively valenced) were perceived as larger in size than those depicting historically insignificant people and events. In Study 3, priming participants with the beneficial consequences of physical covering led to more permissive attitudes toward the government withholding information from the public, and this effect was specific to those with ambivalent prior attitudes toward the value of governmental secrecy. Study 4 showed that a heightened motivation to protect one's own body from contamination led to harsher attitudes toward immigrants entering the United States among those subtly primed to conceptualize the country as a body but not those primed with a literal conception of the country. Although further research and theoretical refinement are necessary, the MESC model is a step toward acquiring a richer, more general conception of everyday social meaning-making and its implications for social life.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 11, 2008). Directed by Jennifer L. Etnier; submitted to the School of Health and Human Performance. Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-43).