The ability to recall a spatial layout from multiple orientations – spatial flexibility – is a challenging cognitive process, especially when the global configuration cannot be viewed from a single vantage point, as spatial information must first be integrated before it can be flexibly recalled. The current study examined if experiencing the transition between multiple viewpoints enhances spatial flexibility for both non-integrated (Exp. 1) and integrated environments (Exp. 2), if the type of transition matters, and if action provides an additional advantage over passive visual flow. In Experiment 1, participants viewed an array of dollhouse furniture from four viewpoints that presented the global configuration from multiple orientations. In Experiment 2, the array was viewed piecemeal, from four viewpoints that presented the global configuration in partial chunks. The control condition presented the dollhouse as a series of static views, whereas in the remaining conditions, visual flow was continuous. Participants viewed the natural transition between viewpoints, and either passively experienced the transitions (i.e., by watching the dollhouse rotate or being rolled around it), or actively generated them (i.e., by rotating the dollhouse or walking around it). Across both experiments, continuous visual flow significantly enhanced spatial flexibility when paired with observer movement around the dollhouse, either active or passive. Furthermore, when participants had to integrate spatial information across discrete learning experiences (Exp. 2), active movement provided a significant advantage above passive experience. These findings suggest that array stability is key to flexible spatial memory, with action providing an additional boost to spatial integration. / Psychology

Physical activity improves health while combating the obesity epidemic. However, quantifying physical activity through self-report questionnaires or objective measures can provide varying results. The purposes of these studies were to determine if time, body mass index, or treatment assignment could affect the validity of physical activity measurements. The data were part of a larger physical activity promotion study conducted at the Miriam Hospital/Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island and in communities in Southeastern Massachusetts from 2002 to 2005. In this trial, 280 women, with a mean age of 47.1 years, were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: Choose to Move (n=93), Jumpstart (n=95) and Wellness (n=92). A randomly selected sub sample of participants simultaneously wore an ActiGraph accelerometer and completed a 3-Day Physical Activity Recall questionnaire at baseline, 3 months and 12 months. Body mass index and treatment assignment were also used in-group comparisons. The results indicated that all components of time, BMI and treatment assignment influenced the accuracy of self-reported measurements when compared to objective accelerometer data. Additional research is essential to uncover the independent aspects considered influential to these physical activity measurements to enhance study design and participant outcomes in future trials. / Kinesiology

The conceptual relation theory postulates that English noun-noun compound words (e.g., snowman) have an underlying predicate structure that is not present in the surface form, but is recovered during compound processing (e.g., man made of snow). The relational nature of constituent binding in compound words marks them as a linguistic construction that is distinct from both the simplex words (monomorphemic) and other complex words (derived and inflected words) previously examined in the context of verbal working memory. In short-term memory research, a growing body of evidence suggests that semantic properties of words influence verbal recall; however, such effects have not been examined in the context of compound conceptual relations. The present study investigated the possible effects of compound conceptual relations in verbal working memory via an immediate serial recall task. The task was designed to examine whether sharing of an individual relation leads to facilitative or inhibitory effects for compounds associated with that relation and, more generally, whether this semantic property of compound words contributes to their recollection from short-term memory. Evidence from the serial recall experiment suggested an effect of compound relation priming in working memory. Relational similarity between recall list items appeared to inhibit recall performance. The thesis discusses how this may be the result of increased competition between compound constituents as a result of heightened constituent-level activation during word recall. This effect was not observed in relations that appeared to be overly general, suggesting that the effect is only present when compound words are matched according to salient, sufficiently specified relations. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No description available.

No / There is clear evidence of a deficit in episodic memory for older adults compared to younger adults. Using an intertrial technique previous research has investigated whether this deficit can be attributed to a decline in encoding or consolidation. On standard memory tests, these two aspects of memory function can be measured by examining the items forgotten or acquired across multiple learning trials. The present study assessed whether age deficits in episodic memory were affected by stimulus characteristics, specifically age of acquisition (AoA). A standard intertrial design was implemented whereby participants studied word lists over several study-test trials. The stimulus characteristics of AoA were manipulated using a pure-list technique. Our findings showed that older adults demonstrate an overall recall deficit which appeared to be a consequence of both an encoding deficit and consolidation weakness. Earlier-acquired words were recalled significantly better than later-acquired words and this was apparently due to both enhanced encoding and consolidation of earlier- over later-acquired words. The key finding is that older adults show a recall advantage for earlier- compared to later-acquired words over the entire experiment to a greater degree than younger adults.

This study examined the differences in achievement between groups exhibiting different cultural dimensions in a particular online instructional environment. Variables were measured concerning the relationship between instructional environments, cultural dimensions and online learner preference. The subjects of this study were a representative sample of groups of graduate students from different cultures. The instrument was composed of a treatment that was represented across two instructional environments. A web-based tool measured participant?s cultural dimension, recall, transfer of knowledge and learning preference. A 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA analysis method was used to examine the effects of individualism and collectivism on learner preference and achievement (recall, transfer). Significance in transfer measures was found. This indicated deep understanding of materials for collectivist participants. Correlational analysis revealed significance between cultural dimension and learner preference for instructional methods. Findings were consistent with the body of literature on cross-cultural psychology. / Ph. D.

The present study explored the interaction of reconstructive and reproductive memory processes in children’s recall for stories. Specifically, kindergartners, second-graders, and fourth-graders were compared on accuracy measures of both recall structure and content as a function of the form of the presented story and the recall instructions provided. Forty-six kindergartners, 45 second-graders, and 48 fourth-graders listened to four two-episode stories. In two of the stories, the episodes were presented separately (standard story form); in the remaining two stories, propositions from the first and second episodes alternated (interleaved story form). Following a distractor task, children were asked to retell the story either, 1) exactly as they heard it, 2) making a “good” story out of it, or 3) without specific instructions. Multiple measures of structural and content recall accuracy were obtained. The general findings contradict those of Mandler and DeForest (1979) in suggesting that older children adopt a non-schematic (reproductive) recall strategy with regard to story structure. Further, the results for the content accuracy measures show that second- and fourth-graders remember fewer presented words verbatim and produce more theme-relevant elaborations, substitutions, and inferences than younger children. Clearly both story structure and content must be considered in evaluating developmental trends in reconstructive and reproductive recall. / M.S.

An estimated 20.5% of adolescents ages 12 – 19 years were obese (≥95th percentile of BMI-for-age) in 2011 – 2014. Consumption of added sugars (AS) has been linked with adverse effects on weight and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Approximately 16% of adolescents’ calories come from AS, of which sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) are a major contributor. However, the relationship between AS/SSB intake and obesity is controversial, partly due to limitations in self-reported dietary data. Objective dietary intake biomarkers may circumvent this problem. The δ13C biomarker for AS intake is based upon the fact that C4 plants– major source for sugar production in the United States – have elevated δ¹³C values compared to C3 plants, which includes most fruits and vegetables. The δ¹³C value of blood, which is influenced by diet, has been established as a valid, reliable, and sensitive biomarker, but when compared to selfreported AS intake. This investigation evaluated the sensitivity and reliability of the δ13C biomarker, assessed with fingerstick blood samples, in adolescents using a controlled feeding, crossover design. Fingerstick δ¹³C values significantly changed by -0.05‰ and +0.03‰ after subjects completed the 5% and 25% AS diets, respectively (F(1, 30) = 18.828, p < 0.001). High reliability was found between two consecutive fingerstick δ¹³C values on the low (ICC = 0.996) and high (ICC = 0.997) AS diets. Thus, fingerstick δ¹³C may be a sensitive and reliable indicator of AS intake in adolescents. Future investigations should develop an equation to estimate AS intake based on fingerstick δ¹³C / Master of Science

No / Autobiographical memory (AM) concerns the ability to remember past events from one's own life and consists of autobiographical knowledge (personal facts) and autobiographical incidents (personal events). The novelty of this research was to assess both personal factual and personal event AM in Parkinson's disease (PD) for specified lifetime periods. An autobiographical fluency task was used in which participants were asked to recall personal events and personal facts from five separate lifetime periods. Previous findings as well the brain regions affected in PD lead to the hypothesis that Parkinson's patients would recall less autobiographical memories especially for the most recent lifetime periods. Sixteen non-demented and non-depressed Parkinson's patients and sixteen age-education-matched controls participated. The results showed a temporal gradient for the recall of personal events in Parkinson's patients as they recalled fewer events for recent time periods. The PD group also had more difficulties in recalling autobiographical events rather than an autobiographical knowledge. The difficulty in recalling autobiographical events was characterized by overgenerality, with PD patients failing to generate specific episodic memories.

No description available.