This study focused on the comprehension and cognitive processing of texts in biology by 36 graduate science students for whom Chinese was their first (L1) and English their second language (L2). The students in the study were from two disciplines: one in biology, and the other in engineering. These groups were subdivided into less proficient L2 (i.e., low-intermediate to intermediate) and more proficient L2 group (i.e., high-intermediate to high). From the perspective of a stratified model, the study examined L1 and L2 comprehension of general biology texts. Specifically, it investigated the effects of readers' domain-specific knowledge and language proficiency on various levels of discourse processing. It also examined two methodological issues: the effects of language of recall on processing of semantic and syntactic information from the L2 texts and the validity of using self-rating of text difficulty or content familiarity to index background knowledge. / Domain-specific knowledge was found to affect every aspect of comprehension of semantic information that was assessed in the study for both the L1 and the L2 texts. It also affected efficiency of processing for the L2 texts. Language proficiency, on the other hand, consistently affected lower-level processing. However, it appeared to have few concomitant effects on processing of semantic information. These results were consistent with predictions from stratified models of discourse comprehension in which processing of syntactic and semantic information are viewed as being both multilevel and modular. The results of the study also suggest the importance of investigating background knowledge in content-specific terms. Although the science students generally were comparable both in their knowledge of science text structures and in their patterns of comprehension of different types of semantic information, this comparability did not result in comparable comprehension. Rather, comprehension depended heavily on domain-specific knowledge. / With reference to linguistic distance, the results of this study suggest that caution is needed in applying conclusions drawn from studies of speakers of languages of the same Indo-European family to speakers of languages of greater linguistic distance such as Chinese and English. The lack of production effects observed in this study may be due to differential processing of syntactic information as well as differential processing strategies that many readers reported to have used with different language conditions. Finally, the general discrepancy between perceived text difficulty vs. comprehension and efficiency of processing as assessed by the objective measures suggests caution in using self-rating of text difficulty or content familiarity to index background knowledge.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Supplemental DVD+R contains a PDF version of the thesis. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-152).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Elizabeth M. Perse, Dept. of Communication. Includes bibliographical references.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 15, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Susan Carol Losh, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 29, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 37 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of British Columbia, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-103).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Oct. 7, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-58).

Undergraduates rated scripts describing the performance of different instructors in the following order: two positive or negative scripts followed by an average script; or two average scripts followed by a positive or a negative script. Context effects were assessed by comparing ratings of the target stimulus in the context and in the context-free control conditions. Several individual difference variables were measured as possible moderators of this phenomenon. Results indicated robust contrast effects mediated by beliefs in the variability of human nature in the extreme context conditions. In the positive context condition, high scorers in Variability were not affected by context, whereas medium or low scorers in Variability exhibited contrast effects. In the negative context condition, high scorers in Variability exhibited a more extreme contrast effect than medium or low scorers in Variability. In the average context conditions, contrast was observed only when the target was positive.

No description available.

As we navigate in the world around us, previous experience generally prepares us well to deal with most situations. Cognitive control is required in situations that do not afford a rapidly retrieved solution to a current problem. In the laboratory, cognitive control is usually studied in the context of distractor interference tasks with reaction time as the dependent measure. These studies investigate the ability to selective attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in space. However, we must also attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in time. A procedure used to study the temporal constraints of selective attention is the attentional blink (AB) task. Here, a modified AB task is utilized to investigate the memorial consequences of engaging in selective attention at one point in time, on the ability to encode new information presented shortly thereafter, with identification accuracy as the dependent measure. This new procedure enables the empirical investigation of the relationship between selective attention and memory processes that are generally studied in isolation. The current research systematically investigated the relative contribution of intentional and automatic influences over selective attention in an AB task, by manipulating the context in which difficult T1 selection trials were presented. The results suggest that contextual influences of control over selective attention occur via a blend of intentional and automatic processes. Whereas intentional processes may be required to establish control settings in novel contexts, once established, control settings can be recruited automatically. These results extend current research on contextual control of selective attention to a novel domain, and consequently, provide insight into the underlying processes that produce the AB effect. Moreover, these results highlight the important role of context-specific learning in the study of cognitive control. Abstract As we navigate in the world around us, previous experience generally prepares us well to deal with most situations. Cognitive control is required in situations that do not afford a rapidly retrieved solution to a current problem. In the laboratory cognitive control is usually studied in the context of distractor interference tasks with reaction time as the dependent measure. These studies investigate the ability to selective attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in space. However, we must also attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in time. A procedure used to study the temporal constraints of selective attention is the attentional blink (AB) task. Here, a modified AB task is utilized to investigate the memorial consequences of engaging in selective attention at one point in time, on the ability to encode new information presented shortly thereafter, with identification accuracy as the dependent measure. This new procedure enables the empirical investigation of the relationship between selective attention and memory processes that are generally studied in isolation. The current research systematically investigated the relative contribution of intentional and automatic influences over selective attention in an AB task, by manipulating the context in which difficult T1 selection trials were presented. The results suggest that contextual influences of control over selective attention occur via a blend of intentional and automatic processes. Whereas intentional processes may be required to establish control settings in novel contexts, once established, control settings can be recruited automatically. These results extend current research on contextual control of selective attention to a novel domain, and consequently, provide insight into the underlying processes that produce the AB effect. Moreover, these results highlight the important role of context-specific learning in the study of cognitive control. Abstract As we navigate in the world around us, previous experience generally prepares us well to deal with most situations. Cognitive control is required in situations that do not afford a rapidly retrieved solution to a current problem. In the laboratory cognitive control is usually studied in the context of distractor interference tasks with reaction time as the dependent measure. These studies investigate the ability to selective attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in space. However, we must also attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in time. A procedure used to study the temporal constraints of selective attention is the attentional blink (AB) task. Here, a modified AB task is utilized to investigate the memorial consequences of engaging in selective attention at one point in time, on the ability to encode new information presented shortly thereafter, with identification accuracy as the dependent measure. This new procedure enables the empirical investigation of the relationship between selective attention and memory processes that are generally studied in isolation. The current research systematically investigated the relative contribution of intentional and automatic influences over selective attention in an AB task, by manipulating the context in which difficult T1 selection trials were presented. The results suggest that contextual influences of control over selective attention occur via a blend of intentional and automatic processes. Whereas intentional processes may be required to establish control settings in novel contexts, once established, control settings can be recruited automatically. These results extend current research on contextual control of selective attention to a novel domain, and consequently, provide insight into the underlying processes that produce the AB effect. Moreover, these results highlight the important role of context-specific learning in the study of cognitive control. As we navigate in the world around us, previous experience generally prepares us well to deal with most situations. Cognitive control is required in situations that do not afford a rapidly retrieved solution to a current problem. In the laboratory cognitive control is usually studied in the context of distractor interference tasks with reaction time as the dependent measure. These studies investigate the ability to selective attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in space. However, we must also attend to relevant information presented amidst distraction in time. A procedure used to study the temporal constraints of selective attention is the attentional blink (AB) task. Here, a modified AB task is utilized to investigate the memorial consequences of engaging in selective attention at one point in time, on the ability to encode new information presented shortly thereafter, with identification accuracy as the dependent measure. This new procedure enables the empirical investigation of the relationship between selective attention and memory processes that are generally studied in isolation. The current research systematically investigated the relative contribution of intentional and automatic influences over selective attention in an AB task, by manipulating the context in which difficult T1 selection trials were presented. The results suggest that contextual influences of control over selective attention occur via a blend of intentional and automatic processes. Whereas intentional processes may be required to establish control settings in novel contexts, once established, control settings can be recruited automatically. These results extend current research on contextual control of selective attention to a novel domain, and consequently, provide insight into the underlying processes that produce the AB effect. Moreover, these results highlight the important role of context-specific learning in the study of cognitive control. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Cognitive control refers to our ability to direct our actions in accordance with our goals. Traditionally, the construct of cognitive control was assumed to be synonymous with the construct of free will. In recent years, cognitive psychologists have questioned the volitional nature of cognitive control. Generally speaking, this thesis investigates the following question; to what extent is control over the allocation of our attentional resources governed by our conscious intentions, or, to what extent are such processes recruited automatically? The results suggest that controlled and automatic processes are not dichotomous in nature, but rather, contribute to performance interactively. While conscious intentions may play a role in the establishment of control procedures in novel contexts, once established these control procedures can be brought online automatically. Decisions regarding the need for effortful processing, given the current context, likely shape the construction of these automatized routines.