As the number of people age 65 years or older continues to grow, the need for better designed gerontology programs aimed at addressing the normal memory changes associated with aging, which may lead to treatments designed to offset the effects Alzheimer's (Peterson & Wendt, 1990; Rosen et al., 2002), is also increasing. Therefore, this study compared and systematically replicated two previous studies, Dixon et al. (2011) and Sautter et al. (2011) to investigate if older adults without dementia could learn to recall names of pictures of famous people using problem solving techniques which involve tact training and response prompting versus echoic prompting and immediate intraverbal questions. Results from two participants who completed the study indicate the problem solving techniques can increase picture recall to near 100% levels. One participant also was able to recall 89% of the stimuli that were learned using the problem solving protocol at a two week follow-up.

In a series of studies, rural and urban suicides were compared and the psychological factors underlying suicidal behaviour investigated. In the first study suicides in a Nfid-Wales county were examined and contrasted with a group of urban suicides. The pattern of rural suicides was found to differ from the urban suicides. Rural suicides were more evenly spread through the age bands, mostly married and used more violent means of death. Farmers comprised a large proportion of rural suicides and seem to differ from rural suicides in general in that 88% were over 45 years of age, most died of hanging, only 13% left notes and they had no record of previous suicide attempts. The factors that might cause farmers stress were examined. This showed that farmers found form filling and adjusting to government policy most stressful. Isolation was relatively unimportant as a stressor. In the third study the role of mood and problem solving in suicidal behaviour was investigated in three matched groups (suicidal, psychiatric control and non-psychiatric control). The suicidal group was found to display a careless and impulsive problem solving style and unique deficits in decision making and generation of alternative solutions. They were also more depressed, angry and confused. The problem solving deficits remained even when the effects of the mood differences were removed. The last study investigated the relationship between autobiographical memory and problem solving and found the suicidal group to be significantly more overgeneral in their memories, they produced fewer means and less effective problem solving solutions and these deficits were found to persist over time. These results were interpreted as support for these factors being trait features or alternatively requiring more time to recover. The findings were incorporated into a revised version of the "Cry of Pain" model of suicidal behaviour (Williams, 1997).

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Joyce Baptist / Sandra M. Stith / Black-White couples have the highest rate of divorce compared to other interracial pairings in the U.S. (Zhang & Hook, 2009). Given the racial climate in the United States that privileges White people (Burton et al., 2010; Hardy & Laszloffy, 2008; Killian, 2012), and the on-going opposition to Black-White unions (Pew Research Center, 2017), it is reasonable to expect that Black-White couples experience elevated stress from direct and indirect forms of racial discrimination. In order to identify factors that may help boost the resilience of non- divorced Black-White couples, this study used the Vulnerability Stress Adaptation (VSA) model of marriage (Karney & Bradbury, 1995) to better understand how problem-solving skills may buffer the impact of racial discrimination experienced by Black-White couples on marital satisfaction. The study included 178 Black-White heterosexual couples between the ages of 18 and 40. A common fate moderation analysis investigated whether problem-solving served as a mechanism through which Black-White couples were able to cultivate marital satisfaction despite the detrimental outcomes of discrimination experienced as an interracial couple. Results indicated that experiences of couple discrimination were negatively related to marital satisfaction and that couples’ problem-solving skills buffered the extent discrimination impacted couples’ marital satisfaction. The results have implications for therapists working with Black-White couples whether married or intending to marry. Research should further explore the impact discrimination experienced by interracial couples has on other aspects of relationships as well as on mental and physical health.

Remindings--the retrieval and use of examples from episodic memory--have been characterized as a problem solving strategy indicative of individuals who do not understand the principle underlying a problem's solution (Ross, 1984). Whereas past research has provided insight into how learners in a new domain notice and use examples, the question of whether the use of examples continues after the individual has acquired an abstract understanding of the problem's underlying structure has not been adequately addressed. In Experiment 1, subjects were differentially trained such that half developed an abstract understanding of elementary probability principles, and half did not. Moreover, the existence of the knowledge difference was demonstrated. Similarly in Experiment 2, subjects learned pragmatic inferential reasoning rules, and evidence of rule acquisition was demonstrated. In both experiments, evidence that individuals who understood the principle underlying the problem's solution nonetheless solved the problem by analogy to an earlier example was demonstrated by the emergence of a negative transfer effect. That is, subjects who understood the problem's underlying principle were more likely to use an inappropriate solution procedure when the test problem's story line reminded them of a training problem that used a related but different principle, than when the test problem's story line was new to the experiment. Furthermore, the results of Experiment 1 indicated that memory of an earlier example also influenced how individuals who understood the problem's underlying structure applied the principle to the test problem. The results are discussed in terms of the use of a heuristic by which problems appear similar on the surface are solved using the same solution procedure. / Graduate

Syftet med denna kvalitativa forskningsstudie är att undersöka om och hur lärare/speciallärare inom grundskolans högstadium samt gymnasium upplever att de arbetar med att stärka elevens metakognitiva förmåga i den specialpedagogiska matematikundervisningen. Vi har i studien valt frågeställningarna: 1. Hur ser lärare/speciallärare på begreppet metakognition och inom vilka områden i matematiken blir denne varse elevens metakognitiva förmåga? 2. Hur upplever läraren/specialläraren att denne arbetar med elevens metakognitiva förmåga och upplevs denna förmåga olika hos elever med olika funktionsvariationer? 3. Finns det några framgångsfaktorer i det pedagogiska arbetet med elevernas metakognitiva förmåga inom matematiken? Denna studie omfattar åtta intervjuer med speciallärare/lärare, verksamma på högstadiet och gymnasiet, vilka ger särskilt stöd inom matematik. Vi vill undersöka hur de i sitt arbete stärker elevens metakognitiva förmåga (tankar om tänkande). Intervjuerna var cirka 45 minuter långa och materialet transkriberades samt analyserades för att kunna urskilja passager och kategorier. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats med induktiv analysmetod och teorin grundar sig på det socialkonstruktivistiska perspektivet - som menar att kunskapstillväxten är individuell men sker i ett socialt sammanhang. Resultatet visar att informanterna ser metakognition som en inre utveckling gentemot självständighet och en medvetenhet om sin egna lärprocess, en förmåga att använda ändamålsenliga strategier för att föra tanken framåt. Informanterna uttrycker att de blir varse elevens metakognition i matematisk problemlösning samt i situationer där eleverna skall prata matematik. Elever anses generellt ha svårt med metakognitiva strategier och för elever inom olika funktionsvariationer upplevs det vara en stor spridning av den metakognitiva förmågan. Elever med arbetsminnesproblematik kan ha extra svårt med de metakognitiva strategierna. Däremot upplever informanter att elever med ADHD kan påvisa en mer utvecklad metakognitiv förmåga, än elever med AST, då elever med ADHD har en självinsikt i sin diagnos samt vad den innebär. Några av de framgångsfaktorer som studien påvisar är ett medvetet arbete med synliga mål, möjlighet till reflektion, arbete med metakognitiva strategier, motiverande samtal samt matematiska samtal. Informanterna beskriver att de arbetar med den metakognitiva förmågan dagligen, men uttryckte däremot att de inte alltid arbetar med det medvetet.

Esta pesquisa investiga se e como a argumentação na resolução de problemas pode contribuir para o ensino e a aprendizagem da Matemática. Os objetivos deste trabalho são verificar e analisar as diferentes relações entre o fazer e o compreender na perspectiva da resolução de problemas utilizando a argumentação; observar, através da argumentação, o raciocínio subjacente à resolução do exercício; e analisar, a partir das teorias estudadas, como o estudante chegou à resposta final (correta ou não), buscando entender se ele compreende ou não o conteúdo matemático envolvido. Para tal, nossa unidade de análise é a argumentação na resolução de problemas de Matemática por estudantes de Ensino Fundamental II e Médio, constituindo um estudo de casos múltiplos. Nosso aporte teórico é a Epistemologia Genética de Jean Piaget, por seus subsídios para a análise dos procedimentos e raciocínios presentes na resolução, bem como para o estudo da compreensão da Matemática. Temos como proposição que, na argumentação, podemos observar os procedimentos e conceitos utilizados pelos estudantes e, como hipótese, que é possível encontrar quatro diferentes relações entre a resposta final e a compreensão do conteúdo matemático (verificada verdadeira). Para a argumentação oral, realizamos arguições com os estudantes individualmente e em grupo, com base no Método Clínico piagetiano. Concluímos que a argumentação contribui para o ensino e a aprendizagem da Matemática na perspectiva do professor, que pode identificar os erros cometidos pelos estudantes e se estes compreendem o conteúdo envolvido no problema, além de repensar sua prática docente. Contribui também na perspectiva do aluno, que, em algumas situações, repensa sua estratégia e compreende a Matemática envolvida na questão. / This research seeks to comprehend if and how the argumentation used in problem solving can contribute to Mathematics teaching and learning. The objectives are verify and analyze the different relations between action and comprehension on problem solving perspective using argumentation; observe, through argumentation, the reasoning used on the resolution of the problem; and analyze, using the theories studied, how the student found the answer, seeking to understand if he comprehends or not the mathematics of the problem. We analyzed the argumentation on problems resolution made by students of elementary and high school, composing a multiple cases study. Our theoretical basis is Jean Piaget Genetic Epistemology, because of it subsides to analyze the procedures and reasoning used by the student and to study mathematical comprehension. Our preposition is that, in argumentation, it is possible to observe the procedures and concepts used by the students and our hypothesis is that it is possible to find four different relations between the final answer and the comprehension of mathematics (verified positively). In oral argumentation, we argued the students individually and in groups, using the Clinical Method by Piaget. We concluded that argumentation contributes to mathematics teaching and learning in the perspective of the teacher, because he can identify the student’s errors and if he comprehends the mathematics involved in the problem. Nevertheless, the teacher can also rethink about his professional practice. Argumentation contributes also on the student’s perspective, because, in some situations, he can think about the procedures used and comprehend the mathematics.

Esta pesquisa investiga se e como a argumentação na resolução de problemas pode contribuir para o ensino e a aprendizagem da Matemática. Os objetivos deste trabalho são verificar e analisar as diferentes relações entre o fazer e o compreender na perspectiva da resolução de problemas utilizando a argumentação; observar, através da argumentação, o raciocínio subjacente à resolução do exercício; e analisar, a partir das teorias estudadas, como o estudante chegou à resposta final (correta ou não), buscando entender se ele compreende ou não o conteúdo matemático envolvido. Para tal, nossa unidade de análise é a argumentação na resolução de problemas de Matemática por estudantes de Ensino Fundamental II e Médio, constituindo um estudo de casos múltiplos. Nosso aporte teórico é a Epistemologia Genética de Jean Piaget, por seus subsídios para a análise dos procedimentos e raciocínios presentes na resolução, bem como para o estudo da compreensão da Matemática. Temos como proposição que, na argumentação, podemos observar os procedimentos e conceitos utilizados pelos estudantes e, como hipótese, que é possível encontrar quatro diferentes relações entre a resposta final e a compreensão do conteúdo matemático (verificada verdadeira). Para a argumentação oral, realizamos arguições com os estudantes individualmente e em grupo, com base no Método Clínico piagetiano. Concluímos que a argumentação contribui para o ensino e a aprendizagem da Matemática na perspectiva do professor, que pode identificar os erros cometidos pelos estudantes e se estes compreendem o conteúdo envolvido no problema, além de repensar sua prática docente. Contribui também na perspectiva do aluno, que, em algumas situações, repensa sua estratégia e compreende a Matemática envolvida na questão. / This research seeks to comprehend if and how the argumentation used in problem solving can contribute to Mathematics teaching and learning. The objectives are verify and analyze the different relations between action and comprehension on problem solving perspective using argumentation; observe, through argumentation, the reasoning used on the resolution of the problem; and analyze, using the theories studied, how the student found the answer, seeking to understand if he comprehends or not the mathematics of the problem. We analyzed the argumentation on problems resolution made by students of elementary and high school, composing a multiple cases study. Our theoretical basis is Jean Piaget Genetic Epistemology, because of it subsides to analyze the procedures and reasoning used by the student and to study mathematical comprehension. Our preposition is that, in argumentation, it is possible to observe the procedures and concepts used by the students and our hypothesis is that it is possible to find four different relations between the final answer and the comprehension of mathematics (verified positively). In oral argumentation, we argued the students individually and in groups, using the Clinical Method by Piaget. We concluded that argumentation contributes to mathematics teaching and learning in the perspective of the teacher, because he can identify the student’s errors and if he comprehends the mathematics involved in the problem. Nevertheless, the teacher can also rethink about his professional practice. Argumentation contributes also on the student’s perspective, because, in some situations, he can think about the procedures used and comprehend the mathematics.

Despite what is known about predictors of suicide risk and consequences of insomnia, research has yet to delineate mechanisms that may explain the known relationship between insomnia symptoms and suicide risk. There is some disagreement in the literature regarding whether this relationship could be primarily explained by recent depressive symptoms, or whether there may be other explanatory factors related to sleep deficits. The present study addressed this contention in the literature by examining 1) whether socio-cognitive variables (e.g. fatigue, appraised social problem-solving ability, and hopelessness) explained this insomnia-ideation relationship, and 2) whether these variables contributed some explanatory variance in suicide ideation above and beyond that explained by depressive symptoms. Approximately 483 female participants completed an online study survey. Cross-sectional path analyses were conducted in order to examine the initial hypothesized path, as well as whether the path persisted when depression was integrated in the model. Results suggest that the hypothesized socio-cognitive factors related to sleep deficits partially mediate the established insomnia-suicide ideation relationship. And, further, that the socio-cognitive pathway from sleep loss to suicide ideation persists even when accounting for recent depressive symptoms, such that both pathways separately explain some degree of this relationship. These findings have meaningful implications for understanding mechanisms by which insomnia symptoms may confer heightened risk for considering suicide.

Understanding how humans cope with complexity is perhaps one of the most important targets of scientific research. Humans not only excel at solving complex tasks in their day to day life but also take on objectively difficult problems recreationally. Research, which has focused to date on the famous hard optimization problem the Euclidean Traveling Salesperson problem (E-TSP), has indicated that humans are able to find near optimal solutions in linear time to hard optimization problems despite the objective difficulty of the task. The research presented in this work contributes to this research by comparing human performance on the search and optimization versions of two other visually presented computationally hard problems: Vertex Cover and Independent Set. These two problems were selected in part to explore how human performance might differ on not-Euclidean problems. Performance on the optimization version of the problems used in this study is in keeping the previously reported results; however, performance on the search version is even better suggesting that previous problem solving research might have underestimated the power of the human problem solving system. A key result of this work is that differences in performance between the optimization and search versions of these hard problems can be attributed to differences in how problem solvers encode the goal of the task. Consequentially, subjects in these conditions tasked with identical instances of two very nearly identical versions of a problem are in fact solving very different problems. This work presents a framework to improve how human performance results on hard optimization problems are interpreted. It also demonstrates how the search version of hard computational problems can be used to investigate how people cope with complexity free of the confounding aspect of an ill-defined goal. / Graduate

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract