Real life decision-making depends on a complex interplay between cognitive and emotion-based processes. Damasio (1994) developed the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) arguing that emotion-based processes guide decision-making by directing individuals towards alternatives that have been previously ‘marked’ as positive or guide them away from the negative options. The primarily used test-bed of the emotion-based learning is Iowa Gambling Task (IGT, Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994). The SMH makes three assumptions about the IGT behaviour: (a) somatic markers have a negative connotation and bias decision-making covertly in the absence of explicit knowledge, (b) there is a limited role for cognitive procesesing during IGT performance, especially during the initial stages of the task, and (c) anticipatory somatic markers guide decision-choices away from the bad options as participants are able to anticipate the good and the bad options. This thesis tested the SMH using a combination of psychophysiological methods (Eye-tracking, Pupillometry, Heart Rate and Blood Pressure measurements), behavioural measurements and psychometric measures of individual differences in combination with the IGT. The systematic review, meta-analyses and the experiments described in this Thesis explored the validity of these assumptions and found that they are not accurately manifested in behaviour during IGT performance. A novel methodology not previously employed was used to capture somatic markers through pupillary responses. Explicit learning was also assessed by the eye-tracking methodology in testing IGT performance in normal conditions and under stress. The results from the first two experiments indicated that explicit processing and knowledge about the task are more critical factors during the early stages of the game than previously suggested. Although there were some indicators of the existence of somatic markers, it was found that cognitive reflection, conscious awareness and increased cognitive processing occurred early in the game and guided behaviour on IGT. The results from the final experiment revealed that IGT performance in healthy individuals is not always optimal; stress levels impaired performance whereby a lack of, or insufficient cognitive processing early in the game may create a somatic signal that interferes with IGT performance. Furthermore, attentional processing, cognitive reflection and conscious awareness can be disrupted by stress resulting in non-optimal decision-making strategies that consequently interfere with performance on the IGT. Taken together, these results challenge the basic premises of the SMH and could be best explained within the dual-process framework (e.g., Brevers, Bechara, Cleeremans, & Noel, 2013). If somatic markers do not play a significant role in learning IGT than the task needs to be re-evaluated and caution is warranted when the IGT is used as a diagnostic tool to measure decision-making deficits in clinical populations.

Controlled scientific research into obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adulthood has considerably progressed over the past two decades; however, current research into childhood OCD is still in its infancy by comparison. As a result, current psychological conceptualisations of OCD during childhood, including approaches to treatment, are almost entirely based on adult models of the disorder. Previous research however, examining the clinical phenomenology of OCD has provided some evidence that OCD might be associated with different clinical correlates at different stages of development. In particular, there appears to be a bimodal distribution in terms of the age of onset of the disorder, a male predominance during childhood and adolescence compared to adulthood, stronger familial aggregation of OCD in early onset cases, and differences in the types of symptoms and the patterns of comorbidity across age groups. The first study aimed to assess the developmental continuity in clinical correlates of OCD across 3 distinct age groups, including; children (n = 40), adolescents (n = 44) and adults (n = 41). It was hypothesised that the sample of children would be predominantly male, and would have a higher familial aggregation of OCD and/or anxiety/depression in first-degree relatives. It was further hypothesised that there would be significant age-related differences in terms of specific symptoms, patterns of comorbidity, OCD severity, functional impairment, and level of insight and distress. The results of this study supported the developmental heterogeneity hypothesis, with significant differences occurring across age groups on a number of clinical features of OCD including age at onset, symptoms experienced, comorbidity, severity, insight and impairment. The recognition of developmental differences in clinical features of OCD will assist in the accurate assessment and diagnosis of the disorder, and will allow for refinement of current treatment strategies to ensure treatments effectively target features of the disorder as it presents at different developmental stages. While the cognitive theory of OCD is one of the most widely accepted accounts of the maintenance of the disorder in adults, no study to date has systematically evaluated this theory across children, adolescents and adults with the disorder. Until empirical investigation examines the applicability of this theory to children and adolescents, we know very little about the cognitive processes associated with OCD during childhood or adolescence. The second study investigated developmental differences in the cognitive processing of threat in a sample of children (n = 34), adolescents (n = 39) and adults (n = 38) with OCD. Using an idiographic assessment approach, as well as self-report questionnaires, this study evaluated cognitive appraisals of responsibility, probability, severity, thought-action fusion (TAF), thought-suppression, self-doubt and cognitive control. It was hypothesised that there would be age related differences in reported responsibility for harm, probability of harm, severity of harm, thought suppression, TAF, self-doubt and cognitive control. Results demonstrated that children with OCD reported experiencing fewer intrusive thoughts, which were less distressing and less uncontrollable than those experienced by adolescents and adults with OCD. Furthermore, responsibility attitudes, probability biases and thought suppression strategies were significantly higher in adolescents and adults with OCD, compared to children. Cognitive processes of TAF, perceived severity of harm, self-doubt and cognitive control were found to be comparable across age groups. These findings suggest that some cognitive biases associated with OCD in adults, are in fact also associated with OCD during childhood and adolescence, however there remains some discontinuity across specific cognitive processes. For a developmentally sensitive theory of OCD, further investigation is clearly warranted into other possible age related maintenance factors of this disorder. Implications of these 2 empirical investigations are highlighted and directions for future research are discussed.

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to examine whether level of written emotional expression (EE) and emotional/cognitive processing (ECP) for traumatic events predict health status (CD4 and VL), Category B symptoms, depression and anxiety in an HIV+ population over four years. Specifically, two different scoring methods of two variables within ECP (cognitive appraisal and self-esteem) will be compared to see if a change score (SMCHANGE) or a final score (SMFINAL) better predict outcomes. The possible mediating role of ECP in the relationship between EE and outcomes will also be explored. Methods: This longitudinal study assessed 169 HIV+ and diverse men and women in the midrange of illness as indicated by a CD4 number between 150 and 200 and no previous AIDS-defining symptom. EE/ECP data was gathered during baseline assessment and participants attended follow-up assessments every 6 months for a period of 4 years. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to examine change over time in CD4, VL log, Category B symptoms, depression and anxiety controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, education, anti-HIV medication and baseline values for each outcome. In addition, analyses for CD4 and VL log were rerun controlling for medication adherence. Results: Positive EE was found to be significantly related to only CD4 and Category B symptoms slopes. Negative EE was not related to any outcome. ECP was found to be related to CD4, VL log and Category B symptoms slope. No relationships were found between EE/ECP and depression and anxiety. SMFINAL scores on ECP subscales were found to predict CD4 and VL log slope better than SMCHANGE, but SMCHANGE scores predicted Category B symptoms slope better than SMFINAL. Within meditational analyses, ECP was found to mediate the relationship between positive EE and CD4 slope controlling for adherence. Positive EE mediated the relationship between ECP and Category B symptoms slope. Conclusions: Higher engagement in positive EE and ECP within emotional writing about a trauma contributes to beneficial changes in health outcomes over time within HIV+ individuals. SMFINAL seems to be more related to CD4 and VL log slope while SMCHANGE seems to be more related to Category B symptoms slope, indicating that both scoring methods within ECP seem to be valuable. Findings support the meditational role of ECP between EE and CD4, and provide new evidence that positive EE plays a meditational role between ECP and Category B symptoms. These findings can be used to help improve health for patients in future studies or in CBT therapies.

The purpose of the dissertation was to explore how students’ perceptions of different types of autonomy support can be associated with the motivational construct of student interest, differentiated into situational and individual interest, mediated by different levels of cognitive processing such as surface processing and deep processing, using SEM (structural equation modeling). It was hypothesized that 1) PCAS (perceived cognitive autonomy support) would influence students’ individual interest, the later phase of interest development, and also that 2) the relationship between these would be mediated by deep level of cognitive processing, referred to as deep processing in the study, highlighting the impact of PCAS on both cognitive processing and motivation. To this end, there were three phases to the current study: (a) a first qualitative phase using open-ended questions and a focus group interview about whether and how students perceive and experience different types of autonomy support they encounter from their instructors (Study1A); (b) a second scale development phase to develop and finalize the PCAS-K (perceived cognitive autonomy support, Korean version) and PC-K (perceived choice, Korean version) in the Korean educational context (Study1B); and (c) a third phase to investigate the relationships among students’ perceptions of various types of autonomy support, different levels of cognitive processing, and student interest (Study2, main study). The results suggested that perceived cognitive autonomy support was positively related to situational interest directly and also indirectly to both situational and individual interest, whereas perceived choice was associated with neither interest constructs. In addition, perceived cognitive autonomy support was highly correlated with other constructs such as surface processing and deep processing, whereas perceived choice was not related to any other latent variables in the study. In contrast to my expectations, perceived cognitive autonomy support was not positively related to individual interest by mediation of deep processing. Instead, perceived cognitive autonomy support was positively associated with situational interest, mediated by deep processing. In light of the findings, the study spotlights cognitive autonomy support as a significant predictor of cognitive processing and student motivation. Further research is needed with different individuals in various contexts in order to elucidate further the relationships among these variables. / text

This investigation examined the hypothesis that the presence of relationship threat leads to decreased working memory capacity, and also changes partner perceptions based on adult attachment style. To test this hypothesis, participants were exposed to a threat or no-threat manipulation and then completed measures examining partner perceptions and individual differences. Results suggest that the threat manipulation might have been strong enough for only highly anxious people. These individuals showed higher levels of working memory capacity following a relationship threat, compared to more securely attached persons, and later described their partners in more global, less desirable terms, regardless of threat condition. Highly avoidant individuals also described romantic partners in less desirable terms compared to more securely attached persons, regardless of threat condition. Individual difference measures suggest that rejection sensitivity and neuroticism may contribute to how romantic partners are perceived. Implications for future research on relationship threat and partner perceptions are discussed.

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Increased attention towards threatening stimuli in both the external and internal environments is thought to be a factor in the causation and maintenance of pathological anxiety. Attentional biases for threatening information have been demonstrated in anxiety disorders, however the cortical mechanisms involved remain unclear. In this investigation, an Emotional Stroop task consisting of neutral, positive, depression-related and anxietyrelated words, was used to investigate attentional biases in 14 Panic Disorder patients and 32 psychiatrically healthy controls. The standard colour-word Stroop was also performed to determine whether any general cognitive deficits exist in Panic Disorder. Steady-state probe topography (SSPT), a brain electrical activity imaging methodology, was used to investigate participants' brain activity during performance of the tasks. It was hypothesised that Panic Disorder is associated with specific biases for disorder-specific information and thus patients would exhibit increased interference for anxiety-related words only, compared to neutral words. Mean reaction times for the Standard Stroop was similar for the two groups. For the Emotional Stroop task, neither group showed an interference effect for any emotional category. However, Panic Disorder patients performed the Emotional Stroop significantly more slowly than the Controls. The SSPT data suggest that the Standard and Emotional Stroop tasks are associated with different patterns of brain activity in the Control and Panic Disorder groups despite the similarities in the reaction time data. Specifically, the Standard Stroop was marked by strong temporo-parietal excitation in the Panic Disorder group only. In addition, anterior SSVEP patterns further differentiated between the Control and Panic Disorder groups. The most striking finding for the Emotional Stroop was strong sustained bilateral temporo-parieto-occipital excitation in the Panic Disorder group. In addition, a subgroup of the Controls exhibited increased interference for anxiety-related words and therefore the brain activity for this group and the remainder of Controls who did not show interference was analysed separately. It was found that the presence of interference for anxiety-related words was associated with right prefrontal inhibition prior to response. Other time-varying changes in the SSVEP further distinguished between the subgroup of Controls who showed an interference effect and those who did not.

Research has shown that men treated for localized prostate cancer (PC) experience physical side effects of treatment that can compromise emotional well being (EWB). Psychosocial factors such as social support can buffer decrements in EWB associated with cancer treatment. The Social Cognitive Processing (SCP) model proposes that communication between the patient and their social support network results in greater processing of cancer adjustment related information and that such processing mediates the relationship between social support and better EWB. Few studies have investigated this relationship in PC populations. The current study sought to evaluate the SCP model in a sample of men who have undergone treatment for localized PC. The study (N=260) was conducted in an ethnically (37% Caucasian, 37% Hispanic, 15% African American) and demographically diverse sample using a cross-sectional design. After controlling for factors significantly associated with EWB (ethnicity, medical co-morbidities and number of years of education), results indicated that higher levels of social support were significantly related with higher levels of EWB (beta=.30, p<.01). Results also showed that two measures of cognitive processing (illness coherence and cognitive processing as a coping strategy) partially mediated the relationship between social support and EWB (illness coherence: z=2.28, p<.05; cognitive processing as a coping strategy: z=2.00, p<.05). Furthermore, perceived stress appeared to moderate the overall mediation model (beta=.91, p<.01) such that cognitive processing mediated the relationship between social support and EWB for individuals perceiving low levels of stress (z=1.90, p<.05), but not for individuals perceiving high levels of stress (z=.09, p>.05). Results suggest the importance of cognitive processing and perceived stress as potential targets for future intervention work designed to improve the psychosocial adjustment of PC patients following treatment.

Numerous studies have looked at cognitive processing, more specifically attention, and its important role in various dynamic and static movements. Research on attentional demands in sport is an expanding area with studies now being done on athletes revealing the role of cognitive factors in the execution of motor movements in sports. Objective: the purpose of this study was to determine the attentional demands of a delivery in curling using a classic probe technique with a verbal response time and by measuring numerous performance variables. Subjects: ten healthy skilled curling players and nine healthy novice curling players undertook an auditory probe reaction time concurrently with a delivery in curling. Method: Sixty shots were executed with ten shots for each of the three phases of the shot, in all 30 take outs and 30 draws were done by each participant. The first phase when the player comes out of the “hack”, the second phase of the throw was when the player slid across the “t-line”. The third phase is when the player arrives near the line of Hog and releases the stone. Results: results revealed that reaction times were longer at phase 1 of the delivery for all subjects. The attentional demands for the draw and take out were highest at the phase one of the delivery, furthermore, compared to the draw, a significant rise of RT was seen in phase 3 of the take out shot. Significant differences were also found between the two experimental groups, with the most notable ones being that expert had a better shot success and a slower delivery time than the novice group. Conclusion: These results will lead to a better understanding of the attentional demands of two key shots in the sport of Curling and help curling coaches and teachers, as well as the players of the sport to know more about the attentional demands of the execution movement of the sport. This study also opens a new and interesting perspective on the importance of attention while performing motor tasks that are more complex and demanding.

Numerous studies have looked at cognitive processing, more specifically attention, and its important role in various dynamic and static movements. Research on attentional demands in sport is an expanding area with studies now being done on athletes revealing the role of cognitive factors in the execution of motor movements in sports. Objective: the purpose of this study was to determine the attentional demands of a delivery in curling using a classic probe technique with a verbal response time and by measuring numerous performance variables. Subjects: ten healthy skilled curling players and nine healthy novice curling players undertook an auditory probe reaction time concurrently with a delivery in curling. Method: Sixty shots were executed with ten shots for each of the three phases of the shot, in all 30 take outs and 30 draws were done by each participant. The first phase when the player comes out of the “hack”, the second phase of the throw was when the player slid across the “t-line”. The third phase is when the player arrives near the line of Hog and releases the stone. Results: results revealed that reaction times were longer at phase 1 of the delivery for all subjects. The attentional demands for the draw and take out were highest at the phase one of the delivery, furthermore, compared to the draw, a significant rise of RT was seen in phase 3 of the take out shot. Significant differences were also found between the two experimental groups, with the most notable ones being that expert had a better shot success and a slower delivery time than the novice group. Conclusion: These results will lead to a better understanding of the attentional demands of two key shots in the sport of Curling and help curling coaches and teachers, as well as the players of the sport to know more about the attentional demands of the execution movement of the sport. This study also opens a new and interesting perspective on the importance of attention while performing motor tasks that are more complex and demanding.