<p> The vigilance decrement is the decline in performance over time that characterizes tasks requiring sustained attention. Resource Theory proposes that the vigilance decrement is due to information processing assets that become depleted with use. Resource theorists must thus identify these assets and the process of how resources are depleted and replenished. The Microlapse Theory of Fatigue (MTF) identifies the resource that is depleted when performing a sustained attention task as the central executive attentional network. The depletion of the central executive network resource results in microlapses or brief gaps in attention that prevent the perception and processing of information. The MTF can explain various effects in the sustained attention literature regarding how resources are depleted. However, the MTF alone cannot explain the event rate effect or the motivation effect because it does not include replenishment mechanisms that can occur during a sustained attention task. To better understand the process of replenishment, participants were assigned to varying event rate and external motivation conditions in a novel paradigm that could measure the perceptual processing of a trial over time. These stages of processing included when participants looked at the first stimulus, looked at the second stimulus, and responded. In Experiment 1, it was found that the vigilance decrement was more severe for faster event rates, consistent with Resource Theory and counter to the MTF. In Experiment 2, the event rate effect was replicated, but unexpectedly, external motivation did not impact the vigilance decrement. In both experiments it was found that for the stages of processing that involved looking at the stimuli, more slowing was found as event rate increased. Additionally, more slowing was detected earlier in the processing of a trial than later. These results supported the process of microlapses inducing the vigilance decrement due to not having enough time to perceive, encode, and respond to stimuli, as described by the MTF. It was interpreted that the interaction between time-on-task and event rate was due to opportunistic breaks that occurred more frequently in slower event rate conditions. The finding that more slowing occurred earlier in processing was interpreted as evidence for internal rewards related to learning impacting the speed of processing a trial. To explain these findings, I propose the Microlapse Theory of Fatigue with Replenishment (MTFR) a process model similar to MTF, but that includes additional replenishment mechanisms related to opportunistic rest periods and internal rewards. The Microlapse Theory of Fatigue with Replenishment (MTFR) closely correlates to the empirical data and is an important step forward in the effort to build a comprehensive model of sustained attention.</p>

<p> Given the increasing number of older adults in the population, the fact that about 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 will develop mild cognitive impairment, and the substantial individual, familial, and financial burden associated with such disorders, the need for innovative research examining cognitive impairment in older adults is evident. The present study used a microlongitudinal design to assess cognition and contextual factors that may affect cognition for 14 consecutive days using a daily diary method in older adults with varying degrees of cognitive function. This study design enables investigation of concurrent associations between variables, as well as providing unique information not gleaned from the traditional focus on mean values of cognition. The present study had two broad aims: 1) to compare variability in cognition in older adults with varying degrees of cognitive impairment and 2) to investigate relationships between daily cognitive performance, variability in cognitive performance, and contextual factors that may influence daily cognitive performance and variability in older adults with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. Results suggest there was sufficient intraindividual variability in daily cognition to warrant investigation of within-person associations. Furthermore, the contextual factors of pain, stress, and sleep were predictive of cognitive performance, but with significance and directionality of these associations depending on level of measurement (baseline, daily, or mean values). Finally, associations between contextual factors and cognition were frequently conditional upon baseline cognitive status. The findings highlight the need for continued examination of these associations to expand our understanding of cognition in older adults and to discover potential targets for interventions to attenuate cognitive decline.</p>

<p> This thesis seeks to explore the association between ego threat and coping in terms of cognitive strategies and behavioral tendencies. Moreover, the current study is also intended to use attachment dimensions as an underlying mechanism to understand the impact of ego threat on coping. Within the internal working models of attachment theory, the current study seeks to examine two major questions: (1) what strategies individuals use to cope with ego threatening events: and (2) how attachment associates with coping strategies during various ego-threats conditions? The results had a significant impact when individuals were presented with ego threat scenarios suggest that individuals are most likely to use state coping of emotion focused disengagement followed closely by state coping disengagement while experiencing an ego-threat condition. However, all state coping strategies (e.g., state coping engagement, state coping disengagement, state coping problem focused engagement, state coping emotion focused engagement, state coping problem focused disengagement, and state coping emotion focused disengagement) had a significant impact when individuals were presented with ego-threat scenarios. The results of association between attachment dimensions and state coping strategies across ego-threat conditions were not significant. Further this study implies ego-threat conditions make it more likely for individuals to use dysfunctional coping strategies such as state coping disengagement and emotion focused disengagement. Overall, the study has implications for enhancing our understanding of internal working models of attachment and the tendency for ego-threat to impact coping strategies, emphasizes the potency of ego-threatening events as they impact self-view and efficacy of coping solutions.</p><p>

<p> Restricted by the dogma of many forms of Western religion and plagued by the spiritual emptiness of materialism pervading the current age, many seek direct, personal experience of the sacred. Following a hermeneutic methodology, this dissertation explores the relevance of the writings of Jung and others on synchronicity, as both phenomenon and principle, as a foundation for an alternative path promising an authentic spiritual life. Through an exploration of the principle of synchronicity, the study reveals the possibility of a cosmos permeated with meaning, of a path to the spiritualization of matter, and of a bridge between the disparate realms of the sacred and profane. The study finds that synchronicity as a spiritual path naturally leads to direct, authentic experience of the divine, supports the major tenets of the progressive spirituality movement, and reflects the synchronistic principles undergirding the Chinese tradition of Taoism. The principle of synchronicity is found to be a possible psychophysical law supporting the experience of consciousness as well as the process of individuation. The study concludes that Jung's synchronistic model of his psychology of religion dispels the charge of psychologism levied against analytical psychology. In the theory of synchronicity Jung has given depth psychology the means to potentially unite all of humanity in a common purpose: the creation of consciousness. In particular, synchronicity as a spiritual path can draw attention to the value of depth psychology for offering a resolution to the spiritual vacuum in the West. </p><p>

<p> This study sought to determine whether using video stimuli instead of traditional static stimuli would produce better recognition rates of the seven universal human emotions. In an online experiment, native English-speaking respondents were shown either photographs or video clips of actors performing these seven emotions, with particular focus on contempt, which has proven difficult for native English speakers to recognize reliably. Results showed that video did not produce better recognition rates for contempt or any other universal emotion. The results do not mean that the use of video stimuli in emotion judgment research is better or worse than using traditional still images, but it does indicate how video stimuli might be expected to perform in future studies.</p>

<p> Positive psychological capital (PsyCap), a second-order construct formed from optimism, hope, resilience, and self-efficacy, has predicted the performance and psychological well-being of a variety of full-time workers, and mediators of the relationships between PsyCap and performance and psychological well-being have rarely been examined. Using self-determination theory, broaden-and-build theory, and the conceptual framework of positive psychology, this study was an exploration of (a) the relationships among PsyCap, (b) basic psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness), and (c) psychological well-being and performance using a sample of 103 working actors and stunt people. A serial mediation model was proposed whereby PsyCap predicted performance through need satisfaction and psychological well-being. Statistically significant bivariate correlations were found among PsyCap, autonomy, competence, relatedness, psychological well-being, and performance. Multiple regression analyses yielded indirect effects tested for statistical significance using bias-corrected bootstrapping. Results showed a total indirect effect of PsyCap on psychological well-being through need satisfaction and a specific indirect effect of PsyCap on psychological well-being through relatedness. Results showed no total indirect effect for PsyCap on performance through need satisfaction but did show a specific indirect effect of PsyCap on performance through relatedness. No statistically significant indirect effects of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on performance through psychological well-being were found. Theoretical and practical implications for future researchers, independent workers, and organizations supporting independent workers are discussed.</p>

<p> The current investigation examined the nature of the activation-competition process that is the hallmark of spoken word recognition (Luce &amp; Pisoni, 1998). The present experiments focused on acquisition of new nonword forms that are carefully designed to compete with existing lexical items (e.g., "cathedruke" &rarr; "cathedral"; "shum" &rarr; "shun"). The specific aim of the research was to examine the processing costs for recognition of established neighboring words following exposure to new items. Experiments 1a and b examined processing for both mono- and multisyllabic words for which listeners have learned a new competitor in an attempt to contrast claims about the nature of lexical competition made by two prominent models of spoken word recognition, Cohort Theory and the Neighborhood Activation Model. Experiments 2a and b delved further into an examination of the nature of the competitive environment by manipulating the number and exposure frequency of novel items in an attempt to directly assess the costs of multiple activation. In both Experiments 2a and b, effects of more training (additional novel neighbors or increased exposure frequency, respectively) were facilitative, not competitive. The results are discussed within the context of Vitevitch and Luce's (1999) two-stage model of spoken word recognition.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 7, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-07, Section: A, page: 2601. Adviser: Jonathan A. Plucker.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 23, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4247. Adviser: Joyce Alexander.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education and the Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Oct. 5, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-02, Section: A, page: 0469. Adviser: Joyce Alexander.