The aim of this thesis is to determine the changes in BOLD signal of the human brain during various stages of reinforcement learning. In order to accomplish that goal two probabilistic reinforcement-learning tasks were developed and assessed with healthy participants by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). For both experiments the brain imaging data of the participants were analysed by using a combination of univariate and model–based techniques. In Experiment 1 there were three types of stimulus-response pairs where they predict either a reward, a neutral or a monetary loss outcome with a certain probability. The Experiment 1 tested the following research questions: Where does the activity occur in the brain for expecting and receiving a monetary reward and a punishment ? Does avoiding a loss outcome activate similar brain regions as gain outcomes and vice a verse does avoiding a reward outcome activate similar brain regions as loss outcomes? Where in the brain prediction errors, and predictions for rewards and losses are calculated? What are the neural correlates of reward and loss predictions for reward and loss during early and late phases in learning? The results of the Experiment 1 have shown that expectation for reward and losses activate overlapping brain areas mainly in the anterior cingulate cortex and basal ganglia but outcomes of rewards and losses activate separate brain regions, outcomes of losses mainly activate insula and amygdala whereas reward activate bilateral medial frontal gyrus. The model-based analysis also revealed early versus late learning related changes. It was found that predicted-value in early trials is coded in the ventro-medial orbito frontal cortex but later in learning the activation for the predicted value was found in the putamen. The second experiment was designed to find out the differences in processing novel versus familiar reward-predictive stimuli. The results revealed that dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex and several regions in the parietal cortex showed greater activation for novel stimuli than for familiar stimuli. As an extension to the fourth research question of Experiment 1, reward predictedvalues of the conditional stimuli and prediction errors of unconditional stimuli were also assessed in Experiment 2. The results revealed that during learning there is a significant activation of the prediction error mainly in the ventral striatum with extension to various cortical regions but for familiar stimuli no prediction error activity was observed. Moreover, predicted values for novel stimuli activate mainly ventro-medial orbito frontal cortex and precuneus whereas the predicted value of familiar stimuli activates putamen. The results of Experiment 2 for the predictedvalues reviewed together with the early versus later predicted values in Experiment 1 suggest that during learning of CS-US pairs activation in the brain shifts from ventro-medial orbito frontal structures to sensori-motor parts of the striatum.

Consumers consistently set goals for themselves. Despite good intentions, consumers often deviate from their goals. If consumers understand the benefits that arise from goal success, then why do most consumers fail to accomplish goals? Often, temptations are more appealing than achievement of goals; temptations are tangible while the benefits of a goal are difficult to grasp. An individual who uses his/her imagination to visualize goal success makes the goal more present-minded and attainable (Oettingen 2000). Thus, imagination facilitates self-efficacy, the belief in one’s ability to reach a goal. Higher self-efficacy, then, provides an individual with the willpower to achieve a goal (Taylor, Pham, Rivkin, and Armor 1998). Whereas previous work has examined temptations’ relationship with goals (e.g. Fedorikhin and Patrick 2010; Wilcox, Vallen, Block, and Fitzsimons 2009; Zhang, Huang, and Broniarczyk 2010; etc.), the scope of this dissertation study differs. Rather, the research aim is to identify how consumers can overcome visceral temptations. Thus, the main objectives include: contributing new perspectives on goal research by merging the literatures on imagination and visceral cues, outlining how imagination regulates the impact of visceral temptations, and identifying the underlying mechanism that explains how imagination regulates the relationship between visceral cues and ad-evoked thoughts, through self-efficacy.

En kvantitativ undersökning med 248 enkätsvar har genomförts. Syfte var att jämföra och analysera motivationen hos elever med olika betyg i matematik och elever som läser eller inte läser matematikinriktning samt beskriva hur skolan kan hjälpa elever till ökad motivation i matematik. Ett särskilt fokus riktades på SUM-elever. Motivationsteorierna Achievement goal theory, Self-determination theory och Attribution theory studerades för att se vilka karakteristiska drag som leder till ökad motivation. Resultatet pekade på samband mellan elevers betyg och motivation i matematik. Elever med högre betyg hade högre motivation än elever med lägre betyg. Det framkom vad elever tycker är viktigt för att de ska lära sig matematik, vilket till stor del sammanfaller med vad motivationsteorierna beskriver att skolan ska arbeta med för att öka motivationen. Sammanfattningsvis pekade resultatet på att skolan bör ange tydliga mål, ge valmöjligheter samt utmanande men anpassade uppgifter för att hjälpa elever till ökad motivation. Dessutom bör skolan hjälpa elever att notera sina framsteg, att inse att misstag bidrar till lärande samt att ansträngning leder till känsla av kompetens.

<p>The salience, prevalence, and consequences of feedback students receive on their academic performance have led to widespread interest in assessment outcomes. Despite the frequency and high stakes of performance feedback, a clear picture of how it influences students' academic motivation has failed to emerge. The overarching goal of this dissertation study was to better understand the effect of performance feedback on secondary school students' academic motivation following a high-stakes assessment. In particular, this study had three main aims: (1) begin disentangling the influence of performance feedback from its valence on students' self-efficacy, goal orientations, and intrinsic motivation, (2) explore how the stage of an assessment event and performance feedback interact to influence these motivation constructs, and (3) determine whether the influence of performance feedback on academic motivation depends on the evaluation dimension of the classroom goal structure.</p><p> To investigate these topical questions, the current study implemented a cluster-randomized experimental design. One hundred sixty-one seventh through ninth grade students in 13 math or science classes from a single, all-female secondary school were randomly assigned by their class to one of the following four feedback conditions: (1) numeric grades, (2) evaluative comments, (3) numeric grades accompanied by evaluative comments, and (4) no feedback. Students' academic motivation was then measured on three occasions to capture its fluctuations during an assessment event: at baseline, immediately after teachers announced what form of feedback students would receive (i.e., anticipation stage), and immediately after students received their assigned form of feedback (i.e., receipt stage). </p><p> Results revealed a series of complex interactions between the stage of feedback (i.e., anticipation vs. receipt) and its form (i.e., grades, comments, grades plus comments, or no feedback). Notably, only students in the grades plus comments condition experienced a decline in self-efficacy from anticipation to receipt of this feedback. However, these students also reported an increase in their mastery goal orientation and intrinsic motivation upon the receipt of grades accompanied by comments. Students in the comments condition experienced a similar increase in intrinsic motivation. Finally, students in the no feedback and comments conditions also reported a greater performance-approach goal orientation when they received performance feedback (or lack thereof) compared to when they anticipated it. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that students' perceptions of the evaluation dimension of their classroom goal structure moderated these interaction effects. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of these findings are discussed along with limitations and recommendations for future research.</p> / Dissertation

Introduction. Serious violent offenders and their offending behaviour stood in focus of thisstudy. Scientific literature tends to classify offenders into non-violent or violent; however,it is known that within the area of violent crime, dimensions of offending behaviour such asgoal-directedness, provocation and planning can be expressed differently. The present studyuses these dimensions to evaluate the construct of serious violent offending by analysingdifferent cases, comparing their offending behavioural profiles and evaluating at what levelthese profiles are consistent with the common psychopathic offending behaviour.Methods. Verdicts and Preliminary investigation protocols of nine Swedish offenderslabelled as seriously violent were used to gather the information from scene investigations,autopsy reports and offender/victim interrogations in order to describe the crime history andcrime dynamics of the cases which served as a basis for assessing different dimensions,using the values from a violent incident coding sheet.Results. Cases of serious violent offending displayed heterogeneity rather thanhomogeneity in the offending behaviour. Homicide offenders demonstrated a mixed patternof behaviour compared to sex offenders who showed a more homogeneous profile withtypically goal-directed, unprovoked and impulsive behaviour, also being more consistentwith the offending behaviour commonly displayed by psychopathic offenders.Conclusion. Based on the dimensions analysed, a universal serious violent offendingbehavioural profile does not seem to exist. More criminological research with a largernumber of subjects is required, however, findings from this study make it arguable tosuggest that sex offenders might benefit from treatment focusing on improving their selfcontrolcompared to homicide offenders where aspects of emotional regulation seem to beof even greater importance. / <p>2016-05-27</p>

Developmental transitions are experienced throughout the life-span and necessitate adapting to significant and unpredictable changes (Heckhausen et al., 2010; Perry, 2003). The shift from high school to university in young adulthood serves as an exemplar of how these challenging junctures can undermine motivation and well-being. Recent evidence suggests that most (85%) young adults making this transition feel overwhelmed, half (50%) experience immense anxiety (ACHA, 2012), and more than one quarter (28%) withdraw from their institutions by the end of their first year (Snyder & Dillow, 2013). The present dissertation was designed to counter these developments by conducting a systematic analysis of whether motivation-focused thinking (selective secondary control) sustained young adults’ goal striving, goal attainment, and well-being based on propositions stemming from the motivational theory of life-span development (Heckhausen et al., 2010). Study 1 comprised a seven-month field study and showed that motivation-focused selective secondary control striving positively predicted young adults use of behavior-focused selective primary control strategies, which in turn influenced academic performance. Study 2 was based on a seven-month field study and built on Study 1 by demonstrating that increasing selective secondary control striving was related to lower levels of depressive and stress-related physical symptoms for young adults with low high school grades. These effects were mediated by theoretically-derived mechanisms involving selective primary control and discrete emotions. Building on the preceding studies, Study 3 involved a seven-month, pre-post, field design and showed that students with low high school grades and high perceived control who received a motivation-enhancing selective secondary control treatment attained year-end course grades that were 8% higher than their no-treatment peers (74.85% vs. 66.68%). Consistent with theory, treatment effects were mediated by selective secondary and primary control strategies and emotions. Findings from these studies advance the literature by documenting previously unexplored antecedents, consequences, mediators, moderators, and manipulations (treatment) of selective secondary control for young adults in the midst of a challenging life course transition. / October 2016

This thesis investigates the patterning of the Algonquian “central agreement”, i.e. the primary person-number agreement marking, from a diachronic and comparative perspective. The central agreement patterns differ in the two orders: in the conjunct it is fusional and often portmanteau while in the independent it is discontinuous and non-portmanteau. In addition to these differences, there are also some commonalities, such as a pattern in which 1p consistently outranks 2p in both orders. This thesis shows that the differences between the two orders can be taken to reflect variation in the features of the syntactic probe and different morphological spell-out rules, while the shared properties follow from the underlying structure of φ-features. In particular, it is proposed that an additional person feature under the [plural] node causes first person plural to be privileged over second person plural in the competition among vocabulary items in post-syntactic spellout. / October 2016

Purpose: To assess a caregiver’s oral health attitudes, habits, and behaviors pre and post intervention, and to determine whether a particular delivery-style (verbal-only or with visual supplementation) of a motivational interviewing session is more effective in improving oral health behaviors as well as improving success of a chosen preventive goal. Methods: N=140 caregivers of pediatric dental patients were given questionnaires to assess readiness to change and current preventive oral health behaviors. Oral health education was communicated in a MI style (verbal-only or with visual supplementation). One preventive oral health goal was selected to focus on. The home preventive behavior survey was re-administered at follow-up. Results: Preventive home behaviors improved, with no significant difference between interventions. There was significance in the amount of change in items specified as a goal. Conclusions: Behaviors improved significantly after a MI educational intervention. Goal setting and providing oral health education in a MI style can improve home preventive behaviors.

Background: The majority of Americans - especially women - do not meet physical activity recommendations. Having physical activity goals has been associated with physical activity participation, and physical activity recommendations set by public health experts can be viewed as externally set goals. However, past research has shown that goals that are specific rather than ambiguous are more likely to be achieved, and variations in recommendations over time and across sources may have created perceived goal ambiguity.Objectives: This study aimed to (1) examine the extent of physical activity recommendation knowledge among adults in the United States, (2) quantify perceptions of the ambiguity of these recommendations, (3) determine whether knowledge of physical activity recommendations is associated with physical activity level, and (4) investigate whether perceived ambiguity of recommendations moderates the relationship between recommendation knowledge and activity. An additional objective was to explore demographic differences in any associations detected.Methods: SUDAAN was used to weight data from the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) (N=5,586) to represent the U.S. population. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and logistic regression was used to determine crude and adjusted odds ratios.Results: An estimated 31% of Americans had accurate knowledge of recommendations, and 35% reported engaging in physical activity at the recommended level. An estimated 75% perceived the recommendations as ambiguous. The odds of reporting accurate knowledge of recommendations were significantly higher among women than among men (OR 1.53,95% CI 1.22-1.93), but accurate knowledge of recommendations was associated with physical activity at the recommended level only among men (OR 1.67,95% CI 1.06-2.64). Perceived ambiguity did not moderate the association between knowledge and activity level in any analysis.Conclusions: These findings support disseminating updated physical activity recommendations as indicated by the scientific evidence base. Future research should explore: (1) how to boost knowledge of recommendations, particularly in men, (2) factors that would enable women to act on such knowledge, and (3) gender differences in other determinants of physical activity.

Title: Comparison of selected variables of the game performance in football. Work objectives: The main objectives of this dissertation is primarily a mutual comparison of two consecutive years of UEFA Champions League 2007/ 2008 and 2008/ 2009, where the greatest effort is to identify new and effective trends in training and scoring offensive action from the "open play", due to the ever improving defense systems and outline new methodological and didactic practices in the training process, which could help the current needs of modern football. Methods: Research is carried out by indirect observation using a video records with all the scored goals that were scored in the Champions League in 2008 / 2009. After an accurate record of all the goals, all goals are evaluated and compared with the previous year. All goals are analyzed from two perspectives, in terms of quantity and quality. The former analysis follows the form of attacks, shooting technique, shooting method, the most common areas of shooting or shooting success due to the game time. Based on these quantitative data are then created interesting graphical illustrations. Qualitative analysis focuses on the breakdown of individual model offensive situations in terms gradual developing of attack and fast counter attack. Results: The results...