<p>  </p> <p>Individual differences in cognitive effort-based decision-making can reveal the variety of decision strategies used in action valuations. For example, factors such as how challenging an action is or how much reward can be gained are often considered when weighing how valuable an action is. Experiment 1 considers task preferences offered at different demand levels (i.e., the degree of challenge) to determine whether decision-making strategies are related primarily to 1) demand levels, 2) individual capability, or 3) task components. Results suggest that participants’ decisions were primarily driven by task options rather than their performance. Experiment 2 then compares task preferences in different incentive-related conditions. While the majority of decisions were in the predicted direction (favoring lower demand levels and higher monetary amounts), there were individual differences that suggested valuations of both task options as well as incentive conditions. The results of these experiments suggest individuals use various decision strategies involving factors that may have been overlooked in past research. These findings challenge the assumption that task preferences are primarily related to how challenging an action is and instead suggest that preferences may be highly susceptible to experimental design factors as well as factors intrinsic to the individual.</p>

<p dir="ltr">In the context of reinforcement learning, extensive research has shown how reinforcement learning was facilitated by the estimation of uncertainty to improve the ability to make decisions. However, the constraints imposed by the limited observation of the process of forming environment representation have seldom been a subject of discussion. Thus, the study intended to demonstrate that when incorporating a limited memory into uncertainty estimation, individuals potentially misestimate outcomes and environmental statistics. The study included a computational model that included the process of active working memory and lateral inhibition in working memory (WM) to describe how the relevant information was chosen and stored to form estimations of uncertainty in forming outcome expectations. The active working memory maintained relevant information not just by the recent memory, but also with utility. With the relevant information stored in WM, the model was able to estimate expected uncertainty and perceived volatility and detect contextual changes or dynamics in the outcome structure. Two experiments to investigate limitations in information availability and uncertainty estimation were carried out. The first experiment investigated the impact of cognitive loading on the reliance on memories to form outcome estimation. The findings revealed that introducing cognitive loading diminished the reliance on memory for uncertainty estimations and lowered the expected uncertainty, leading to an increased perception of environmental volatility. The second experiment investigated the ability to detect changes in outcome noise under different conditions of outcome exposure. The study found differences in the mechanisms used for detecting environmental changes in various conditions. Through the experiments and model fitting, the study showed that the misestimation of uncertainties was reliant on individual experiences and relevant information stored in WM under a limited capacity.</p>

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<p>  </p> <p>Extensive evidence supports the effectiveness of retrieval practice as a powerful method for promoting long-term learning. For students to obtain the maximum benefit from retrieval practice they need to incorporate the strategy into their study routines as a learning tool that is used early and often. Unfortunately, many students avoid retrieval practice and instead rely primarily on less effective learning strategies such as rereading, and existing interventions that encourage students to practice retrieval are rare. Given this troubling gap in the literature, this dissertation sought to create and experimentally evaluate a novel intervention that attempted to improve students’ evaluations of and increase their willingness to use retrieval practice. </p> <p>In two experiments, the Pilot Study and Experiment 1, students studied a list of Lithuanian-English translations and completed two retrieval practice activities. The control retrieval practice activity prompted students to retrieve only difficult translations, whereas the high note retrieval practice activity prompted students to retrieve the same number of difficult translations but ended with additional trials that were normatively less difficult. Students preferred the high note retrieval practice activity over the shorter retrieval practice activity that had a more difficult ending, which suggests that existing retrieval practice activities can be improved by crafting endings that afford more opportunities for successful retrieval. Experiment 2 demonstrated that ending a retrieval practice activity on a high note could encourage students to choose retrieval practice over restudying for a subsequent learning activity. Experiment 3 replicated the findings from Experiment 2 and extended the results to a new type of material that is common in educational settings—general knowledge questions (i.e., fact learning). Finally, Experiment 4 investigated whether the preference for the high note retrieval practice activity found in the previous experiments was driven by the placement of the moderately difficult items at the end of the activity.</p> <p>Overall, this dissertation provides yet another demonstration that most students choose to avoid retrieval practice during learning. However, creating retrieval practice activities that had less difficult endings successfully improved students’ evaluations of and increased their willingness to use retrieval practice. These results have important implications for understanding and overcoming the barriers that prevent students from practicing retrieval.</p>