Some of the most important discoveries in cognitive neuroscience have come from recent innovations in experimental tools. Computational models that simulate human perception of environmental inputs have revealed the internal processes and features by which those inputs are learned and represented by the brain. We advance this line of work across two separate research studies in which we leveraged these models to both generate experimental task stimuli and make predictions about behavioral and neural responses to those stimuli. Chapter 1 details how nine language models were used to generate controversial sentence pairs for which two of the models disagreed about which sentence is more likely to occur. Human judgments about these sentence pairs were collected and compared to model preferences in order to identify model-specific pitfalls and provide a behavioral performance benchmark for future research. We found that transformer models GPT-2, RoBERTa and ELECTRA were most aligned with human judgments. Chapter 2 utilizes the GloVe model of semantic word vectors to generate a set of schematically structured poems comprising ten different topics whose specific temporal order was learned by a group of participants. The GloVe model was then used to investigate learning-induced changes in the spatial geometry of the representations of the topics across the cortex. A Hidden Markov Model was also used to measure neural event segmentation during poem listening. In both analyses we identified a consistent topography of learning-induced changes in the default mode network, which could be partially explained by the models.

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In this thesis, two studies are presented which examine reading development and proficiency in post-secondary education. The first study examines the utility of a common method for determining print exposure, the Author Recognition Test (ART), in populations less frequently examined—namely, college students (as opposed to university students), and individuals whose first language is not English. Item Response Theory analysis shows that ART is not informative for these populations, which suggests that the development of a novel test of print exposure for comparing different populations is necessary. The second study quantifies the impact of each year of post-secondary study on reading development, and the differential effects between native (L1) and non-native (L2) speakers of English. Findings show that each year of study itself is not a significant predictor of change, but rather improvement is explained by advancement in component skills of reading which develop over the course of the degree. Additionally, contrary to previous studies indicative of the Matthew Effect in college literacy development—which suggest that students improve by the end of their degree as a function of their ability at the beginning—this study demonstrates that L2 students generally benefit more from post-secondary education when compared to L1 peers, who start with a significant advantage. In this way, L2 students with sufficient mastery of component skills of reading emerge from post-secondary education with skills comparable to those of native English-speaking colleagues. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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The author reflects upon and examines his own educational memories, his personal and professional and historical relationship to public education, and his life as a learner. This reflection and examination - complete with connections to many strands of inquiry in broadly accepted educational, sociological, and psychological theory - culminates in both an enhanced self-awareness and in this document, this ethnographic and autobiographic statement of past experiences, present educational frustrations and celebrations, and future educational goals, hopes, and dreams. Likewise, the author argues that this autobiographic statement, this studied articulation, is both an artifact of and a necessary co-requisite to his educational identity. He further asserts the absolute necessity of just such autobiographical writing for his own sanity in the face of multiple institutional mores unrelated to authentic, student-centered learning in public education, for genuine self-awareness and ethical practice for all educational professionals, and for enhanced learning opportunities for all learners at various levels of maturity everywhere. / Ph. D.

This dissertation work considers communication between people. I look at coordinating dyads (couples in relationships) and people in working relationships to develop an understanding of how people engage in high-stakes, or emotional communication via various communicative media. The approach for this research is to observe and measure people's behavior during interaction and subsequent reporting of that behavior and associated internal experiences. Qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. Quantitative data are analyzed using a range of statistical analyses, including correlations matrices, ANOVAs, and multivariate statistics. Two controlled laboratory experiments were conducted for this research. These experiments involved couples in relationships. Couples were brought into the lab and argued with each other across one of three technological media: face-to-face, telephone, and instant messaging (IM). In one set of couples' experiments, the couples argued for twenty minutes; in the subsequent couples' experiment, couples were encouraged to take as much time as they needed for their arguments. One of the main results from the first experiment is that couples did, indeed, argue when brought into a laboratory setting. One of the important findings for the second experiment is that time did not affect couples' tendency to reach closure during their arguments. This research is a contribution in that it examines how people engage in highly emotional communication using various technological media. In a society with ever-increasing communication needs that require technology, it becomes necessary to study its communicative affordances. Understanding the context of highly emotional interactions between members of couples gives insight into how technology meets (or fails to meet) these communication needs. / Ph. D.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / This research is designed to assess the validity of the Sapir Whorf hypothesis in relation to the linguistic and cultural notions of the Yoruba and Zulu language speakers’ via the evaluation of the culture enriched drama text The Lion and The Jewel by Wole Soyinka. The study, which uses both questionnaires and interviews to derive responses from participants, engages both the primary and secondary data throughout the chapters. The study queried both the hypothesis’ strong version, (language governs thought: linguistic classifications restrain and influence mental classifications); and its weak version, (linguistic classifications and their use influence thought as well as some other classes of non-linguistic activities) and their possible reliability. Participants’ ages were between 16 and 46 years old who all speak both English and isiZulu (isiZulu-speaking participants) and English and Yoruba (Yoruba-speaking participants). Questionnaires were used and interviews were conducted, the research questions were answered and the findings provided support for validity of the linguistic relativity hypothesis, that is, languages indeed influence thought. The findings also revealed that linguistic influence on cognition is not limited to different language speakers alone, but also same language speakers per level of exposure to other languages and concepts. Based on these findings, recommendations have been made. Among which is the soliciting more research on language and culture (acculturation and enculturation) such that societal peace, love, unity and development can be maintained and promoted in any monolingual, bilingual or multilingual society. Also, educators should be aware of the possibility of a psycholinguistic influence on thought and assimilate it into schools’ curriculum so that multiculturation is fully adopted and promoted in the schools.