The present research is based on the theory that there are two major modes of consciousness, verbal and imaginal, which are controlled by the left and right hemispheres, respectively. This project was concerned with the relationship between these modes of consciousness and the measures employed in this study. The measures employed were an ongoing mentation report (OMR), a paired-associate learning (PAL) task, the Betts vividness of imagery questionnaire, the Gordon test of imagery control, and the visual imagery scale of Imaginal Processes Inventory (IPI). EEG and EOG measures were recorded during the OMR, and lateral eye movement was taken as an indication of activation in the cerebral hemisphere contralateral to the direction of eye movement.

In order to assess a component of communication in interpersonal relationships, an instrument was developed to determine the correspondence in relational perceptions between partners in a marital dyad. The current study focuses on the levels of awareness spouses exhibit regarding phenomenological perceptions of themselves, their partners and the status of their dyadic system.

This study was designed to examine whether normal information processing does engage both hemispheres of the brain regardless of sensory channel (i.e., auditory or visual), and whether an opportunity for dual encoding (verbal and visual) was advantageous for patients with unilateral brain damage. It compared memory for verbal material presented in the visual and auditory modalities among three groups: right hemisphere brain damaged stroke patients (RBD), left hemisphere brain damaged stroke patients (LBD), and neurologically intact control subjects.

Recent research has identified important functional differences between Prescriptive morality (based in approach motivation) and Proscriptive morality (based in avoidance motivation). The purpose of the present research was to understand the consequences of these moralities applied at the group level for social categorization, especially in response to threat. I measured social categorization with a novel method in which participants categorized same-race and cross-race morphed faces. Social Justice (which is Prescriptive morality applied to the group) was associated with more inclusive social categorization under conditions of threat compared to a control condition. Social Order (which is Proscriptive morality applied to the group) was not associated with social categorization. The implications of this work for social categorization, politics, and our understanding of moral diversity are discussed.

The present study investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and cognitive functioning in women and men college students, and examined the relationship between alcohol intake and sober mood state. Current consumption levels were calculated from a drinking history questionnaire as well as by daily self-monitoring and the data analyzed to determine if the two data collection measures were comparable. Pearson correlation coefficients showed the two measures of frequency of drinking significantly correlated for both the men and women. However, quantity consumed per occasion (QPO) as measured by the questionnaire was not significantly correlated to QPO as measured by self-monitoring for either the women or the men. Student's t-tests revealed significant differences with both men and women rating QPO higher when measured by the questionnaire. For the women, frequency of drinking was significantly lower with the questionnaire. This same trend was noted for the men, although it was not significant. No relationship was found between alcohol consumption and cognitive performance or sober mood state in this group of social drinkers. Awareness of the dangers and the misuse of alcohol are at an all time high. One only need turn on the television or radio to hear messages designed to question our use of this "mind altering drug." Programs to "cure" alcohol dependence are advertised. Announcements designed to reduce the occurrence of drinking and driving are aired with pointed messages, e.g., "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." Even more specifically targeted are warnings aimed at high school and college-aged social drinkers: "If you don't drink and drive on grad night it won't KILL you." As education of the public increases, researchers are questioning not only the acute effects of alcohol but also possible "carryover effects" on sober social drinkers. We are well acquainted with the idea of skid-row alcoholics who have lost everything, including their memory. That long term drinking is associated with cognitive deficits is not surprising, but is there a relationship between cognitive deficits and social drinking in young adults? To address this question, neuroradiological and neuropsychological research on alcoholics and mature social drinkers is first reviewed. Previous research on college-aged social drinkers is examined, problems with prior research on college student social drinkers are identified, and the present study is outlined.

The nature of morphological decomposition in visual word recognition remains unclear regarding morphemically complex words such as prefixed words. To investigate the decomposition process, the current study examined the extent to which effects involving transposed letters are modulated when the transposed letters cross a morpheme boundary. Previous studies using masked priming have demonstrated that transposed letter effects (i.e. superior priming when the prime contains transposed letters than when it contains replacement letters) disappear or markedly decrease when the transposition occurs across a morpheme boundary. The current experiments further investigated transposed letter effects in prefixed words using both parafoveal previews in natural reading and masked priming. There were significant differences between both the correct and transposed letter conditions and the replacement letter condition, but no interaction between the preview effects and type of target word in both the natural reading and masked priming tasks. Thus, unattenuated transposed letter effects can be elicited when the transposition occurs across the morpheme boundary between prefix and root morpheme, indicating that morphemic decomposition is not involved in the early processes of word recognition reflected in parafoveal previews and masked primes.

This thesis examines the nature of long-term absolute pitch memory—an ability traditionally assumed to belong only to absolute pitch (AP) possessors—by testing for evidence of this memory for “standard” frequencies in musicians without AP. Standard frequencies, those based on the equally tempered system with A = 440 Hz, are common in the sonic environment of the Western college musical education, and thus could have the opportunity to penetrate listeners’ long-term memories. Through four experimental tasks, this thesis examines musicians’ ability to recognize and produce frequencies from the set of equally tempered frequencies based on A = 440 Hz, without regard to those musicians’ pitch-labeling abilities. The experimental tasks also compare freshmen with seniors to test if exposure to standard frequencies during a college musical education engrains standard frequencies in long-term memory. The results suggest that musicians without AP cannot distinguish between standard and nonstandard frequencies during listening tasks, but they may be able to recall them without prompting when singing familiar folk songs. However, musical training during the college years does not seem to improve these abilities. Further experimentation is needed to corroborate the results, including modifications to the current tasks and methodology, as well as a larger subject size.

Two studies were conducted to explore the effects of the sociopolitical ideologies colorblindness and multiculturalism on perceivers’ (1) automatic awareness of race and (2) automatic racial stereotyping. Study 1 showed that a colorblind prime caused White perceivers to notice White targets’ race more compared to a no prime condition, although non-White perceivers were able to ignore race when primed with colorblindness. Multiculturalism, on the other hand, caused individuals to notice race no differently than the control. In terms of stereotyping, Study 2 showed that a colorblind prime did not change automatic stereotyping of Black or White targets. In contrast, multiculturalism increased automatic positive stereotyping of Black targets compared to the control condition, but did not affect stereotyping of White targets. Implications discussed include why colorblindness might affect White and non-White perceivers differently as well as whether or not decreased positive stereotyping of Whites (in the case of colorblindness) and increased positive stereotyping of both Blacks (in the case of multiculturalism) are beneficial ways to attain national unity.

This cross-sectional exploratory study considered the associations between mindfulness and symptoms of anxiety. The participants in this study were 183 undergraduate students at a regional university in the southeastern United States. The general hypothesis was that higher levels of mindfulness would be associated with lower levels of anxiety. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine the association between a variety of aspects of mindfulness and symptoms of anxiety while controlling for a variety of demographic and historical variables, including previous experience with meditation. Results suggest that not all aspects of mindfulness were related to anxiety. Of the 12 specific aspects of mindfulness measured, Cognition, Affect, Act with Awareness, and Nonjudge were the most common predictors of anxiety, obsessive-compulsiveness, and stress. Continued research is warranted, including basic relationships, as well as longitudinal and interventional designs.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences of recalled events from a selected university student population. Eyewitness testimony is frequently used to convict defendants each year. Many of these convictions are based solely on eyewitness accounts. While much has been written on the reliability of eyewitness testimony, little is known about demographic characteristic differences that may exist. A videotaped event was shown to a sample of college students who were then asked to complete a questionnaire based on what they watched. There were significant differences found in the respondents‟ accuracy in recalling events of the video according to demographic characteristics of the sample.