Signal detection theory (SDT) provides a theoretical framework for describing performance on decision making tasks, and fuzzy signal detection theory (FSDT) extends this description to include tasks in which there are levels of uncertainty regarding the categorization of stimulus events. Specifically, FSDT can be used to quantify the degree to which an event is 'signal-like', i.e., the degree to which a stimulus event can be characterized by both signal and non-signal properties. For instance, an improvised explosive device (IED) poses little threat when missing key elements of its assembly (a stimulus of low, but not zero, signal strength) whereas the threat is greater when all elements necessary to ignite the device are present (a stimulus of high signal strength). This research develops a link between key individual cognitive (i.e., spatial orientation and visualization) and personality (i.e., extroversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism) differences among observers to performance on a fuzzy signal detection task, in which the items to be detected (IEDs) are presented in various states of assembly. That is, this research relates individual difference measures to task performance, uses FSDT in target detection, and provides application of the theory to vigilance tasks. In two experiments, participants viewed pictures of IEDs, not all of which are assembled or include key components, and categorize them using a fuzzy rating scale (no threat, low threat potential, moderate threat potential, or definite threat). In both experiments, there were significant interactions between the stimulus threat level category and the variability of images within each category. The results of the first experiment indicated that spatial and mechanical ability were stronger predictors of performance when the signal was ambiguous than when individuals viewed stimuli in which the signal was fully absent or fully present (and, thus, less ambiguous). The second study showed that the length of time a stimulus is viewed is greatest when the signal strength is low and there is ambiguity regarding the threat level of the stimulus. In addition, response times were substantially longer in study 2 than in study 1, although patterns of performance accuracy, as measured by the sensitivity index d', were similar across the two experiments. Together, the experiments indicate that individuals take longer to evaluate a potential threat as less critical, than to identify either an absence of threat or a high degree of threat and that spatial and mechanical ability assist decision making when the threat level is unclear. These results can be used to increase the efficiency of employees working in threat-detection positions, such as luggage screeners, provides an exemplar of use of FSDT, and contributes to the understanding of human decision making.

This research examined the processes involved when one is acquiring spatial knowledge while traversing an environment, integrating that knowledge into mental representations, and subsequently relying on that knowledge to successfully perform wayfinding. Particularly, the conducted studies aimed to provide evidence reflecting on two ongoing debates: the distinctions between types of knowledge embedded in mental maps, and the unconfirmed sequential or simultaneous nature of the acquisition and integration of those types. The experiments reported in this manuscript addressed drawbacks in existing research by manipulating opportunities for the acquisition of point and route knowledge (two of the potentially distinct knowledge types), and by testing participants' capacity to integrate their acquired knowledge in the context of environmental affordances. Participants in the conducted studies underwent environmental training exposures targeted at providing a) primarily point knowledge or b) route knowledge acquisition, and they also completed a set of knowledge measures tapping point, route, and configuration knowledge. Finally, participants completed tests of wayfinding capacity to demonstrate their ability to rely on integrated mental maps for successful wayfinding. Results of the two conducted studies provided substantial evidence that there are distinct types of knowledge that may be acquired and quantifiably measured, and that spatial knowledge can be acquired in parallel, not necessarily in sequence, across knowledge types. Critically, some knowledge types may also develop in exclusion to others especially for individuals with particular spatial abilities and predispositions. Accordingly, it is likely that previous research indicating sequential spatial knowledge development may be reflecting differential acquisition as a combination of population capabilities and knowledge measurement research methodologies. Finally, the results demonstrate that individual differences, training modalities, and environment iv features have complex, interacting effects on spatial cognition and that no one factor predominantly determines individuals' ability to acquire, integrate, or employ spatial knowledge.

The intent of this thesis is to explore the relationship between spatial ability and the wide range of musical instruments musicians play. Existing literature has established a link between musicianship and improved spatial ability, but researchers have yet to look at how the spatial makeup of different musical instruments may, in turn, reveal unique levels of spatial proficiency from one instrumentalist to the next. This study was formatted as an online survey that included a music experience scale, a demographics scale, and two measures of spatial ability: the Card Rotations Test (CRT) and the Paper Folding Test (PFT). Participants who played larger instruments were hypothesized to score higher on the spatial ability tests. Results show that specific musical instruments score differently on spatial ability measures, and large instruments like the piano and marimba consistently outperform smaller instruments. This largely exploratory study attempts to show that the psychological discipline as a whole should reevaluate how it categorizes and studies musicians. Furthermore, these preliminary findings will encourage better practice for how music educators handle the musical instrument selection process, hopefully leading to a more long-term, student-centered approach.

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O presente trabalho teve, como cerne, o estudo do campo dos conceitos estereoquímicos, sob a luz da Teoria dos Campos Conceituais proposta por Gérard Vergnaud. Neste sentido, a investigação foi conduzida com vistas a identificar os invariantes operatórios empregados por sujeitos ao enfrentar situações que envolvam a representação química. Estudar o papel da habilidade espacial perante a resolução de tarefas no campo em questão, assim como o estudo dos fatores associados à conceituação em situações em sala de aula, também fizeram parte dos objetivos. Mediante a participação de alunos dos cursos de Química e de Farmácia e Bioquímica da Universidade de São Paulo em minicursos que versavam sobre conceitos estereoquímicos, oferecidos como fonte de coleta de dados, foram selecionados três episódios. A partir da transcrição dos registros em vídeo e da análise qualitativa efetuadas com o auxílio de um programa especializado foram inferidas informações sobre o conteúdo conceitual da argumentação oral e gestual utilizados pelos alunos. Quanto à habilidade espacial, foram empregados instrumentos psicométricos distintos, quais sejam um que avalia esta habilidade via processamento gestáltico, disponível na literatura, e outro que avalia via processamento analítico. O desenvolvimento e validação, deste último, foi efetuado mediante o uso de dispositivos estatístico-inferenciais sobre um população de 561 alunos. Como resultado, foram propostos os invariantes operatórios, identidade estrutural (I), equivalência (E) e livre movimentação no espaço (M) como elementos conceituais passíveis de associação durante a ação do sujeito. Esta associação, então, constituiria três esquemas distintos, ME, MEI e EI, responsáveis por diferenças significativas nas conclusões chegadas pelos alunos em pelo menos um dos episódios estudos. Além disso, foi encontrado que, quando confrontados os diferentes episódios, nem todos os alunos empregam regularmente os mesmos invariantes operatórios. Neste sentido, foi proposto que o uso de esquemas está vinculado à reflexao pelo indivíduo. Logo, atividades de natureza metacognitiva estariam vinculadas à conceituação promovendo uma tomada de consciência sobre a própria argumentação e sobre a do outro. Finalmente, também foi sugerido, mediante o cruzamento de dados psicométricos com a análise dos registros efetuados em vídeo, que a habilidade espacial não figura como único nem, tampouco, principal fator envolvido ao sucesso na resolução de problemas estereoquímicos. A associação adequada dos invariantes operatórios bem como a reflexão sobre os procedimentos empregados seriam, também, elementos fundamentais ao desenvolvimento neste campo conceitual / The main objective of the present work was to identify the cognitive requirements for an adequate learning of stereochemical concepts. Vergnaud\'s Theory on conceptualization inspired most experimental activities, aimed to access common operating invariants or strategies that allow for a better understanding of stereo formulae and chirality properties. In order to collect reliable information, a group of graduate students, enrolled in Chemistry or Pharmaceutical Sciences Courses, were invited to follow a specially designed series of lectures. In three different occasions, they were asked to answer questions on stereochemical issues, and their performance was recorded in audio and video, and subsequently fully analyzed. As for the ability of moving or superimposing images in space, two sets of questions , requiring either an unified or an analytical approach, were presented to 561 students from different syllabi. After collecting, the entire database was submitted to statistical analysis, in order to verify if all groups of students could be considered comparable, despite of baseline differences. Data analysis allowed for the identification of three operating invariants, i.e.: structure identity (I), equivalence (E) and free movement in space (M). On the basis of these findings, students were classified as ME, MEI or EI, according to the set of invariants composing their problem solving schemes. However, different cognitive scenarios could be observed when the same students were confronted to new problem solving sessions. In some cases, after presenting their results, students were asked to answer questions raised by their peers or by the instructor. Such process of further reasoning frequently allowed for a change, and was responsible for achieving awareness of their own learning process and learning difficulties. Finally, it should be mentioned that a critical analysis of all experimental data revealed that the ability to operate movements of images in space is not mandatory for conceptualization in Stereochemistry. Moreover, the cooperative construction of cognitive schemes, resulting form reporting back activities, plays an important role towards success