Current Search: Sims, Valerie (x)
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- Title
- INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES OF DIRECTED FORGETTING.
- Creator
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Alavez, Griselda, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The present study set out to evaluate the relationship between list-method directed forgetting and one's individual differences. Previous research has found personality and emotion as having an influence in how well participants were able to intentionally forget stimuli. Participants were split into a remember group and a forget group of 22 each and tasked to memorize a list of 10 words. They were then given a free recall test and the results for individual differences such as Need for...
Show moreThe present study set out to evaluate the relationship between list-method directed forgetting and one's individual differences. Previous research has found personality and emotion as having an influence in how well participants were able to intentionally forget stimuli. Participants were split into a remember group and a forget group of 22 each and tasked to memorize a list of 10 words. They were then given a free recall test and the results for individual differences such as Need for Cognition, Mini-IPIP personality test, and Beck's Depression Inventory were analyzed. Our first hypothesis presumes that participants in the forget group will have impaired recall of words. The second hypothesis predicts that individual differences have an effect with how many words participants recall. Results in this study indicated that while individual measures proved not significant between both groups, overall recall for the first list was lower than recall for the second list. There were also indications of an interaction between amount recalled from lists and whether they were in the remember group or in the forget group. Analyses showed that remember group had a recall mean similar in lists 1 and list 2, while the forget group had a higher recall mean in list 2 and a lower recall mean in the list 1, indicating that directed forgetting had taken place in the forget group.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000148, ucf:45959
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000148
- Title
- EMOTIONAL EVALUATION OF A PRODUCT/SYSTEM.
- Creator
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Smith, Hana, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Technological advances in products and systems have brought emotional design or emotional engineering to the forefront of research. While several measures to assess emotional expression of products have been developed, the source of the emotion rating of a product or system was often unclear. The purpose of this dissertation is to conduct three studies to examine the causes of emotional ratings and to establish if product-specific emotion rating scales are useful for capturing accurate user...
Show moreTechnological advances in products and systems have brought emotional design or emotional engineering to the forefront of research. While several measures to assess emotional expression of products have been developed, the source of the emotion rating of a product or system was often unclear. The purpose of this dissertation is to conduct three studies to examine the causes of emotional ratings and to establish if product-specific emotion rating scales are useful for capturing accurate user evaluations. Three studies were conducted using citrus juicers. Juicers were chosen for several reasons: their wide variety of styles, one self-explanatory purpose (to make juice), and the fact that their benign nature is unlikely to harm participants. Study 1 isolated juicers that had unique emotion profiles to use in the Study 2. Participants rated 41 juicers with fourteen product-specific emotions. Participants predominantly used "five" of the fourteen emotions in their juicer ratings. Ten juicers with the highest rating consensus, within these five emotions, were chosen for Study 2. Study 2 determined that anthropomorphic tendencies are predictive of emotional ratings. Extreme Anthropomorphism from the Anthropomorphic Tendency Scale (ATS) was used to test individual differences (Sims et al. 2005;Chin et al., 2005). Individuals with low anthropomorphic tendencies were more critical of the products. Sex differences also were analyzed, and significant interactions were found. Women exhibited different preferences for juicers than me. First impression ratings from Study 1 were validated by first impression ratings from Study 2. Finally, Study 3 measured the impact of product interaction on emotional ratings. Participants used seven juicers to make a minimum of four ounces of juice. Pre and post-interaction ratings were compared to determine the effect of interaction on the emotional appraisal of products. The results confirmed that interaction had an impact on affective ratings. As opposed to experienced users, novice users deviated in their pre-post appraisal, especially on aesthetically boring but highly usable products. Novice users based their entire initial appraisal on aesthetics, while experienced users were influenced by their past experience. Humans rely on past experience to recall likes or dislikes. The findings here suggest that aesthetic appraisal of products (or other environments) will remain influenced by past exposure/experience with those or similar products. Thus, only true novices can remain unbiased by past experience for aesthetic appraisal and capture a true 'first impression'. Also, past experience of users should be assessed when conducting research that relies on emotional appraisal of products. These findings may be especially useful in product development where new designs are based on a golden standard, competition, or go through several iterations of testing. The results may be used to guide human factors professionals to develop measures that more accurately capture affective ratings, and thus create more pleasurable products and systems.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002175, ucf:47513
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002175
- Title
- APPLYING THE APPRAISAL THEORY OF EMOTIONTO HUMAN-AGENT INTERACTION.
- Creator
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Pepe, Aaron, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Autonomous robots are increasingly being used in everyday life; cleaning our floors, entertaining us and supplementing soldiers in the battlefield. As emotion is a key ingredient in how we interact with others, it is important that our emotional interaction with these new entities be understood. This dissertation proposes using the appraisal theory of emotion (Roseman, Scherer, Schorr, & Johnstone, 2001) to investigate how we understand and evaluate situations involving this new breed of...
Show moreAutonomous robots are increasingly being used in everyday life; cleaning our floors, entertaining us and supplementing soldiers in the battlefield. As emotion is a key ingredient in how we interact with others, it is important that our emotional interaction with these new entities be understood. This dissertation proposes using the appraisal theory of emotion (Roseman, Scherer, Schorr, & Johnstone, 2001) to investigate how we understand and evaluate situations involving this new breed of robot. This research involves two studies; in the first study an experimental method was used in which participants interacted with a live dog, a robotic dog or a non-anthropomorphic robot to attempt to accomplish a set of tasks. The appraisals of motive consistent / motive inconsistent (the task was performed correctly/incorrectly) and high / low perceived control (the teammate was well trained/not well trained) were manipulated to show the practicality of using appraisal theory as a basis for human robot interaction studies. Robot form was investigated for its influence on emotions experienced. Finally, the influence of high and low control on the experience of positive emotions caused by another was investigated. Results show that a human robot live interaction test bed is a valid way to influence participants' appraisals. Manipulation checks of motive consistent / motive inconsistent, high / low perceived control and the proper appraisal of cause were significant. Form was shown to influence both the positive and negative emotions experienced, the more lifelike agents were rated higher in positive emotions and lower in negative emotions. The emotion gratitude was shown to be greater during conditions of low control when the entities performed correctly,suggesting that more experiments should be conducted investigating agent caused motive-conducive events. A second study was performed with participants evaluating their reaction to a hypothetical story. In this story they were interacting with either a human, robotic dog, or robot to complete a task. These three agent types and high/low perceived control were manipulated with all stories ending successfully. Results indicated that gratitude and appreciation are sensitive to the manipulation of agent type. It is suggested that, based on the results of these studies, the emotion gratitude should be added to Roseman et al. (2001) appraisal theory to describe the emotion felt during low-control, motive-consistent, other-caused events. These studies have also shown that the appraisal theory of emotion is useful in the study of human-robot and human-animal interactions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001819, ucf:47351
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001819
- Title
- ACCIDENTAL INVERSION DURING 3D ROTATION WITH 2-DOF INPUT DEVICES.
- Creator
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Diaz, Derek, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This dissertation focuses on a human operator's ability to perform rotational control of a three-dimensional object using two-degrees of freedom (DOF) interface devices. Although input devices designed specifically for 3D interaction exist, devices traditionally used for two-dimensional user interaction, such as a mouse or joystick, have become ubiquitous to computer tasks. This research examines a particular human-computer interaction issue that arises from stimulus-response...
Show moreThis dissertation focuses on a human operator's ability to perform rotational control of a three-dimensional object using two-degrees of freedom (DOF) interface devices. Although input devices designed specifically for 3D interaction exist, devices traditionally used for two-dimensional user interaction, such as a mouse or joystick, have become ubiquitous to computer tasks. This research examines a particular human-computer interaction issue that arises from stimulus-response compatibility between three-dimensional stimuli spaces and 2-DOF response sets. The focal point of this research is a phenomenon referred to here as accidental inversion. Accidental inversions occur when an operator erroneously moves a three-dimensional object in a direction opposite than was intended. Thus, the effect of accidental inversion results from a mismatch between the operator's intended and actual input. A key assumption in diagnosing the causal factors involved in the accidental inversion effect is contribution from both internal (i.e., having to do with the individual) and external (i.e., having to do with the environment) influences. Three experiments were conducted to study accidental inversion. The first examined population stereotype, a measure of a target population's natural response tendencies to particular stimuli for a particular task. Results indicated a strong population stereotype for horizontal rotations (i.e., yaw) and weak stereotype for vertical rotations (i.e., pitch). This effect was mediated by whether the task was in the context of flight or ground-based movement. The second experiment analyzed the subjective preference for two opposite input-response (I-R) mappings (i.e., how the system responds to different input into the controlling device) for a task requiring control over vertical rotation. Results indicated that subjective preferences for I-R mappings were not heavily polarized. The third experiment also focused on vertical rotational control and examined how subjective preference for a particular I-R mapping affected performance. Furthermore, this experiment also examined performance when interference was introduced in the form of a temporary interruption where the participant had to conduct the task using an opposite I-R mapping. Results indicated that, upon being interrupted with the opposite I-R mapping, the group who used the mapping they subjectively preferred did worse than the group who used the mapping they did not prefer. This research has implications for the design of human-machine systems requiring human-in-the-loop three-dimensional rotational control. Some human-machine systems can have significant consequences from even a single mistake caused by a human-operator accidentally providing the wrong input. Findings from this research lead to two primary recommendations to the design of human-machine systems: a) an easily accessible and clearly indicated method to select input-response mapping which is provided before beginning the actual task, b) be informed of the current input-response mapping in use.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001961, ucf:47454
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001961
- Title
- THE EFFECT OF GENDER, CONFIRMATION BIAS, AND METACOGNITIVE SELF ASSESSMENT OVER VARYING LEVELS OF EXPERTISE IN A VISUOSPATIAL TASK.
- Creator
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Ballion, Tatiana, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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It has been shown that there exists a relationship between levels of metacognitive ability and estimation of personal ability for largely verbally-based tasks, where those with lessened facility for the task tend toward overestimation of their aptitude relative to their peers (Kruger and Dunning, 1999). This study examines this effect for a task of mechanical ability for volunteer participants (n = 69), where participants were given an abbreviated form of the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension...
Show moreIt has been shown that there exists a relationship between levels of metacognitive ability and estimation of personal ability for largely verbally-based tasks, where those with lessened facility for the task tend toward overestimation of their aptitude relative to their peers (Kruger and Dunning, 1999). This study examines this effect for a task of mechanical ability for volunteer participants (n = 69), where participants were given an abbreviated form of the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test (BMCT) to establish a level of competency. Following the administration of the BMCT, the participants were then asked to speculate on the hypothetical grade for their performance, as well as the relationship between their hypothetical grade, and the grades of others. Participants then "tutored" a hypothetical student on the solution to one of the problems found on the BMCT, and their explanations were coded for degree of bias towards confirmation versus disconfirmation that was utilized in the problem solving. It was found that females' basic ability had a greater range than males', and females on the high and low ends of competency made greater use of confirming strategies in their problem solving. This is indicative of the overall observed interaction effect between Gender, Perceived Relative Competence, and Actual Competence observed in this study.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000547, ucf:46429
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000547
- Title
- POSTURES IN MOBILE DEVICE USAGE: EFFECTS ON INTERPRETATION BIAS, MOOD, AND PHYSICAL TENSION.
- Creator
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Flores-Cruz, Gabriela, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Past research has shown that there is a relationship between body posture and cognitive processes. However, postures used with technological devices has not been studied more extensively. The purpose of this study was to examine posture effects when using a mobile device on interpretation bias, mood, and physical tension. Each participant was randomly assigned one of three conditions: sitting slumped, sitting upright, or lying down. Participants were asked to complete the Scrambled Sentences...
Show morePast research has shown that there is a relationship between body posture and cognitive processes. However, postures used with technological devices has not been studied more extensively. The purpose of this study was to examine posture effects when using a mobile device on interpretation bias, mood, and physical tension. Each participant was randomly assigned one of three conditions: sitting slumped, sitting upright, or lying down. Participants were asked to complete the Scrambled Sentences Task (SST), a task of unscrambling emotional and neutral sentences, to measure their interpretation bias. Additional questions were asked to measure the participant's physical tension and mood. Results suggested no significant differences in interpretation bias depending on posture. There was no significant difference in the performance of unscrambling emotional sentences compared to neutral ones for sitting slumped and sitting upright. When lying down, participants unscrambled fewer neutral sentences compared to emotional ones. Physical tension was found to be a mediator for the relationship between posture (slumped and upright) and mood. The results of this study provide insight of possible confounding variables influencing the relationship between posture and mood.It additionally showed that emotional content is processed differently compared to neutral content when lying down. Further research is needed to understand how physical tension caused by posture being altered when using mobile device affects psychological well-being.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFH2000480, ucf:45737
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000480
- Title
- A PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE PROPOSED PARADOXICAL EFFECTS OF VALUING HAPPINESS.
- Creator
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Coles, Nicholas, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Several researchers in happiness studies have called for an increased sociopolitical interest in indicators of societal happiness. However, recent evidence for the proposed paradoxical effects of valuing happiness suggest that an increase in society's perceived value of happiness may exert a detrimental, inverse influence on well-being. This notion is based on previous research demonstrating that manipulating participants to value happiness causes them to experience less positive emotions,...
Show moreSeveral researchers in happiness studies have called for an increased sociopolitical interest in indicators of societal happiness. However, recent evidence for the proposed paradoxical effects of valuing happiness suggest that an increase in society's perceived value of happiness may exert a detrimental, inverse influence on well-being. This notion is based on previous research demonstrating that manipulating participants to value happiness causes them to experience less positive emotions, compared to controls, when viewing positive film clips. Following the humanistic notion that the maximization of societal happiness is an advantageous sociopolitical endeavor, the proposed paradoxical effects of valuing happiness present a psychological barrier that researchers must strive to understand and, ideally, overcome. Previous experimental research on the paradoxical effects of valuing happiness has focused on participants' emotionality as an operational definition of happiness. However, drawing from the Subjective Well-Being construct, emotionality is only one of several components of happiness. Building from this Subjective-Well Being framework, this study expands upon previous research by investigating whether a valuing happiness manipulation influences participants' emotionality while they contemplate their own happiness. To examine this, nineteen participants were divided into two groups, one which received a valuing happiness manipulation (n=9) and the others served as a control group (n=10), and instructed to contemplate their personal happiness for 45 seconds. To measure participants' emotions during this task, facial electromyography data were collected from the corrugator supercilii and the zygomaticus major facial muscles, a measure that previous research suggests is sensitive to the emotional value of thought. Results indicated that participants manipulated to value happiness did not experience significant differences in facial electromyography activation compared to controls. However, although non-significant, the correlation between facial electromyography activation and participants' rating of happiness differed substantially for participants manipulated to value happiness (average r=.41 for corrugator, average r=-.09 for zygomaticus) and controls (average r=.-.29 for corrugator, average r=.14 for zygomaticus). The counterintuitive correlations for participants led to value happiness, despite not experiencing significant difference in the emotional value of the happiness contemplation task, provide preliminary evidence that these participants utilize the information retrieved from the contemplative stage in a qualitatively different way than controls when judging their own happiness. More specifically, the correlations for participants led to value happiness trend in the opposite direction of controls, demonstrating that increases in positive emotion during happiness contemplation actually are associated with lower scores on a self-report of happiness. This study suggests that the paradoxical effects of valuing happiness does not influence the retrieval of information when contemplating ones' happiness, but may influence (in an apparently detrimental fashion) how this information is utilized when judging one's happiness. Although the between-condition differences in correlations failed to reach statistical significance (more specifically, p=.09 for corrugator), this study provides preliminary evidence for the existence of a new dynamic of the proposed paradoxical effects of valuing happiness that is novel to the happiness studies discourse. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFH0004766, ucf:45360
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004766
- Title
- MEMORY OF WORDS: A CATEGORIZATION TASK.
- Creator
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Maxim, Paulina, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Through the years, the Deese-Roediger-McDermott Paradigm has demonstrated to be a useful method of observing false memories from semantically related word lists. The present study was conducted fully online and measured memory performance dependent on categorization of words by using groups, as well as dragging words across the page as a form of interaction. In a 2 (Categorized, Non-Categorized) x 2 (Interactive, Non-Interactive) between-subject factorial experiment, 56 undergraduate students...
Show moreThrough the years, the Deese-Roediger-McDermott Paradigm has demonstrated to be a useful method of observing false memories from semantically related word lists. The present study was conducted fully online and measured memory performance dependent on categorization of words by using groups, as well as dragging words across the page as a form of interaction. In a 2 (Categorized, Non-Categorized) x 2 (Interactive, Non-Interactive) between-subject factorial experiment, 56 undergraduate students were shown 18 different lists of 15 associative words to be studied, one list at a time. Participants were given a free recall test immediately after studying each individual list. Participants also performed a recognition test after having studied and recalled all 18 lists, which consisted of 216 items; half of the words were presented throughout the studied lists, and the other half consisted of the 18 critical lure words as well as several other distractor items from a subset of word lists. It was hypothesized that participants in both the categorization and interaction condition would show the highest levels of accurate memory recall and recognition compared to those who were simply given a list to review. Findings did not support this hypothesis indicating no clear differences between participants who categorized (or not) or interacted with the lists (or not). High probabilities were found for words ranked as highly falsely recalled and low probabilities were found for those ranked towards the bottom, much like the findings in Stadler et al., (1999).
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000393, ucf:45903
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000393
- Title
- THE EFFECT OF CONTROLLING MESSAGES ON DOCTOR-PATIENT COMMUNICATION.
- Creator
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LaDez, Kayla A, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The doctor-patient relationship is a very important aspect of a patient's health and wellbeing. It is a complex relationship that requires trust and understanding by both parties. Doctor shopping and changes in technology that allow patients to independently learn about their health have further complicated this relationship. This study looks at how participants perceive controlling language depending on the gender of the doctor. Participants were 339 University of Central Florida...
Show moreThe doctor-patient relationship is a very important aspect of a patient's health and wellbeing. It is a complex relationship that requires trust and understanding by both parties. Doctor shopping and changes in technology that allow patients to independently learn about their health have further complicated this relationship. This study looks at how participants perceive controlling language depending on the gender of the doctor. Participants were 339 University of Central Florida undergraduate students (112 men and 227 women, age M= 19.29, SD = 3.60) recruited through SONA. Participants first listened to a recording of a male or female doctor speaking to a patient using high or low level controlling language. They then answered questions about their opinion of the doctor, how they would behave in the patient's situation, and their beliefs about the role of doctors in the doctor-patient relationship. Results indicated both level of controlling language and doctor gender had significant effects on participants' perception of the doctor. Doctors who spoke with high level controlling language were seen as less helpful and supportive than doctors who spoke with low level controlling language. Participants also were less likely to recommend them to another person. Male doctors were seen as ruder than female doctors. These results suggest that doctors must communicate with each patient in that makes them both the most comfortable, and that male doctors may need to work harder to communicate empathy to their patients.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFH2000336, ucf:45910
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000336
- Title
- THE EFFECT OF WEIGHT AND SIZE ON MENTAL ROTATION.
- Creator
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Furtak, Luke, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Shepard and Metzler (1971) argued that mental rotation is analogous to the real world in that people imagine the rotation of an object as if it were being physically rotated. This study tested this assertion by exposing participants to physical shapes that increased in size and weight. Participants interacted with blocks designed after Shepard and Metzler mental rotation size that differed in size and weight then performed subsequent mental rotation. We found no difference in reaction time...
Show moreShepard and Metzler (1971) argued that mental rotation is analogous to the real world in that people imagine the rotation of an object as if it were being physically rotated. This study tested this assertion by exposing participants to physical shapes that increased in size and weight. Participants interacted with blocks designed after Shepard and Metzler mental rotation size that differed in size and weight then performed subsequent mental rotation. We found no difference in reaction time but found that increased size reduced accuracy. We discuss the implications of this study as they pertain to embodied cognition.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004711, ucf:45399
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004711
- Title
- HEBREW AND COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION: THE EFFECTS OF A LANGUAGE MANIPULATION ON PERCEPTION, IDENTITY, AND PRESERVATION.
- Creator
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Nir, Tamar, Sims, Valerie K., University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study aimed to explore the ways in which Hebrew is currently being manipulated online through a linguistic deviation called Fakatsa. In this study, participants were asked to rate random statements of frivolous or serious topics in either standard grammatical Hebrew or Fakatsa Hebrew conditions on specific judgment values. It was hypothesized that participants would rate the Fakatsa writer negatively on certain characteristics, such as intelligence, education, religiosity, and...
Show moreThis study aimed to explore the ways in which Hebrew is currently being manipulated online through a linguistic deviation called Fakatsa. In this study, participants were asked to rate random statements of frivolous or serious topics in either standard grammatical Hebrew or Fakatsa Hebrew conditions on specific judgment values. It was hypothesized that participants would rate the Fakatsa writer negatively on certain characteristics, such as intelligence, education, religiosity, and nationalism and positively on other characteristics, such as femininity and creativity. Twenty-four participants completed this experiment. Results showed that participants responded as expected for certain negative attributes typical of Fakatsa and deviations to computer-mediated communication and did not respond as expected for any the positive attributes typical of Fakatsa. The results showed that fluent Hebrew speakers viewed users of the Fakatsa manipulation differently than users of standard Hebrew and may suggest personal biases and perceptions when encountering computer-mediated communication.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000043, ucf:45531
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000043
- Title
- MENTAL ROTATION WITH MARTIAL ARTS EXPERTS.
- Creator
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Torres, Michael, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This research aims to investigate whether expertise, specifically martial arts expertise, is transferrable across domains, which would indicate spatial skills in one task can also apply to a seemingly unrelated one. In this study, reaction time during a mental rotation task was compared between experts and novices. Participants were shown two images and had to decide if the images were the same or mirror reflections. The images were comprised of Shepard-Metzler blocks, people in martial arts...
Show moreThis research aims to investigate whether expertise, specifically martial arts expertise, is transferrable across domains, which would indicate spatial skills in one task can also apply to a seemingly unrelated one. In this study, reaction time during a mental rotation task was compared between experts and novices. Participants were shown two images and had to decide if the images were the same or mirror reflections. The images were comprised of Shepard-Metzler blocks, people in martial arts poses, and people in neutral poses. The results suggest expertise is not transferable across domains. While experts outperformed novices with some of the martial arts stimuli, there was not a significant difference with the neutral poses. Novices performed better than experts with the Shepard-Metzler blocks. This suggests experts may have embodied some of the stimuli to facilitate faster reaction times. Further research must be conducted to investigate if any type of expertise is transferable across domains, which could assist in the development of employee training programs, and to validate the human figures used as stimuli.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFH0004881, ucf:45433
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004881
- Title
- THE EFFECT OF NEIGHBORHOOD SIZE AND MORPHOLOGY IN THE CHINESE LANGUAGE.
- Creator
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Nguyen, Long, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The Neighborhood Size Effect (NSE), characterized as the effect in word determination based on changing one orthographic aspect of that word. The amount of words that can be created through such manipulation is called a neighborhood size (NS). Number of other factors such as frequency, how often a word appears and morphology, the combination of meaningful word units, have been suggested to have an overriding effect on NSE. In addition, there is a lack of research on NSE with non-alphabetical...
Show moreThe Neighborhood Size Effect (NSE), characterized as the effect in word determination based on changing one orthographic aspect of that word. The amount of words that can be created through such manipulation is called a neighborhood size (NS). Number of other factors such as frequency, how often a word appears and morphology, the combination of meaningful word units, have been suggested to have an overriding effect on NSE. In addition, there is a lack of research on NSE with non-alphabetical languages such as Chinese, which uses characters comprising of a multitude of semantic or phonetic markers. In this experiment, participants coming from mainland China were presented with 60 individual characters and 59 characters with Chinese morphology made up of two characters which form single words. Both conditions, were manipulated with NS by adjusting the semantic or phonetical radical within a character and with frequency by using a website that measures how frequent a character appeared within the language. Both character conditions were found to have a significant effect with frequency and neighborhood size (NS) with characters with higher frequency and lower NS found to have higher accuracy and lower reaction times. With low frequency single characters, it was that those with higher neighborhood size had greater delay in reaction time and lower accuracy. With low frequency morphologically constructed characters, it was found that lower neighborhood size had higher accuracy, but no significant result with regards to reaction time. Due to differing accuracy results with NS and character condition, it is suggested that further factors such as morphological processing in single characters and bigram frequency in morphologically constructed characters might have an effect on word determination in conjunction with neighborhood size. Thus, it is a possibility that Chinese morphological may depend more on other factors than neighborhood size.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000098, ucf:45556
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000098
- Title
- MUSIC AND MEMORY: A QUALITATIVE LOOK AT HOW MUSIC AFFECTS EPISODIC MEMORY.
- Creator
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Coad, Jonathan A, Sims, Valerie K., University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This study was designed to examine qualitative data regarding gender and age differences about significant life events that are recalled when music is remembered. Two groups of participants were recruited, younger adults (M = 19.78, SD = 4.99) and older adults (M = 49.31, SD = 8.72). Data were collected by creating a survey and allowing participants to choose whichever songs, from their own experience, they like and asking them to list detailed memories that are attached to the song. Using...
Show moreThis study was designed to examine qualitative data regarding gender and age differences about significant life events that are recalled when music is remembered. Two groups of participants were recruited, younger adults (M = 19.78, SD = 4.99) and older adults (M = 49.31, SD = 8.72). Data were collected by creating a survey and allowing participants to choose whichever songs, from their own experience, they like and asking them to list detailed memories that are attached to the song. Using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (2015) software, data was coded into categories of word count, positive and negative emotions, and how sociable words are. On average, young adults (M = 18.66, SD = 13.39) use more words when recalling their musical memories than older adults (M = 15.09, SD = 8.86). Data also suggests that young women (M = 9.76, SD = 4.91) use less words that are ranked as social than older women (M = 13.44, SD = 6.25). The impact of this study sheds some light on how music influences the memories of our culture, our society, and our self.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000025, ucf:45598
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000025
- Title
- EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEMALE PARENTS WITH LOW PERCEIVED CONTROL AND ADOLESCENT CHILD STRESS.
- Creator
-
Monaghan, Brendan, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Adolescence is a stressful time for many children. Changes in their environment or changes in social situations are some typical stressors that an adolescent child might encounter. Interactions with parents can also be a stressor for a child. Previous research has shown that a risk factor for a parent using harsh parenting techniques is perceived control. Parents who have low perceived control are at a higher risk to engage in physical parenting techniques or child abuse. This study included...
Show moreAdolescence is a stressful time for many children. Changes in their environment or changes in social situations are some typical stressors that an adolescent child might encounter. Interactions with parents can also be a stressor for a child. Previous research has shown that a risk factor for a parent using harsh parenting techniques is perceived control. Parents who have low perceived control are at a higher risk to engage in physical parenting techniques or child abuse. This study included 198 middle school students and their female parent or guardian pairs (296 total participants), with the adolescent participants ranging in age from 10-year-old to 14-years-old. The adult participants were evaluated for their level of perceived control and the adolescent participants were evaluated for their level of perceived stress. The results showed that parents who perceived themselves as have a low amount of control over their child's behavior (low ACF), regardless of the level of control the parents perceived the child to have over their own behavior (CCF), were linked with their child have a high level of perceived stress, F (1, 182) = 5.14, p = .025. This effect was found only for the 14-year-old participants, t (30) = 2.774, p = .009. Implications of thesis results and areas of further research are suggested. It is possible that as a child gets older and enters puberty, the parent of the child feels as if they are losing control over their child and, as a result, resort to more forceful parenting techniques to regain control.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003830, ucf:44751
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003830
- Title
- MORAL COGNITION IN CHILDREN: AN EXAMINATION OF THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF SCHOOL DIDACTIC PHILOSOPHIES.
- Creator
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Shah, Smit, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effects that Montessori and public school environments have on the moral cognition of children and to assess the differences using modified moral dilemma stories. Through the analysis of these children's responses on moral dilemma stories this thesis reveals that there are stark and statistically significant differences in the children's responses on two of the three stories. The Montessori children scored higher on the morality level and the...
Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to examine the effects that Montessori and public school environments have on the moral cognition of children and to assess the differences using modified moral dilemma stories. Through the analysis of these children's responses on moral dilemma stories this thesis reveals that there are stark and statistically significant differences in the children's responses on two of the three stories. The Montessori children scored higher on the morality level and the answers reflected altruism over authority on story one and story three. Through these results the researcher surmised that school environment can have an impact on moral cognition of children and that further research needs to be done in this field.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0004075, ucf:44810
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004075
- Title
- EFFECT OF A HUMAN-TEACHER VS. A ROBOT-TEACHER ON HUMAN LEARNING: A PILOT STUDY.
- Creator
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Smith, Melissa, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Studies about the dynamics of human-robot interactions have increased within the past decade as robots become more integrated into the daily lives of humans. However, much of the research into learning and robotics has been focused on methods that would allow robots to learn from humans and very little has been done on how and what, if possible, humans could learn from programmed robots. A between-subjects experiment was conducted, in which two groups were compared: a group where the...
Show moreStudies about the dynamics of human-robot interactions have increased within the past decade as robots become more integrated into the daily lives of humans. However, much of the research into learning and robotics has been focused on methods that would allow robots to learn from humans and very little has been done on how and what, if possible, humans could learn from programmed robots. A between-subjects experiment was conducted, in which two groups were compared: a group where the participants learned a simple pick-and-place block task via video of a human-teacher and a group where the participants learned the same pick-and-place block task via video from a robotic-teacher. After being the taught the task, the participants performed a 15-minute distracter task and then were timed in their reconstruction of the block configuration. An exit survey asking about their level of comfort learning from robot and computer entities was given upon completion. Results showed that there was no significant difference in the rebuild scores of the two groups, but there was a marginally significant difference in the rebuild times of the two groups. Exit survey results, research implications, and future work are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0004068, ucf:44809
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004068
- Title
- ATHEISTS, DEVILS, AND COMMUNISTS: COGNITIVE MAPPING OF ATTITUDES AND STEREOTYPES OF ATHEISTS.
- Creator
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Najle, Maxine, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Negative attitudes towards atheists are hardly a new trend in our society. However, given the pervasiveness of the prejudices and the lack of foundation for them, it seems warranted to explore the underlying elements of these attitudes. Identifying these constitutive elements may help pick apart the different contributing factors and perhaps mitigate or at least understand them in the future. The present study was designed to identify which myths or stereotypes about atheists are most...
Show moreNegative attitudes towards atheists are hardly a new trend in our society. However, given the pervasiveness of the prejudices and the lack of foundation for them, it seems warranted to explore the underlying elements of these attitudes. Identifying these constitutive elements may help pick apart the different contributing factors and perhaps mitigate or at least understand them in the future. The present study was designed to identify which myths or stereotypes about atheists are most influential in these attitudes. A Lexical Decision Task was utilized to identify which words related to popular stereotypes are most related to the label atheists. The labels Atheists, Christians, and Students were compared to positive words, negatives words, words or interests, neutral words, and non-word strings. Analyses revealed no significant differences among the participants' reaction times in these various comparisons, regardless of religion, level of belief in god, level of spirituality, or being acquainted with atheists. Possible explanations for these results are discussed in this thesis.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004318, ucf:45041
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004318
- Title
- SPATIAL SCHEMA TRANSFERS TO SIMILAR PLACE: A CASE OF DISNEY THEME PARKS.
- Creator
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Kopel, Daphne, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The intent of this thesis is to explore whether an existing spatial schema assists with learning a similar environment to the existing schema. Spatially experienced and non- experienced participants of Magic Kingdom Park learned a similar park, Disneyland Park, using a virtual environment. Participants learned the virtual environment either passively or actively. Spatially experienced participants outperformed the non-experienced participants on survey and route knowledge assessments, despite...
Show moreThe intent of this thesis is to explore whether an existing spatial schema assists with learning a similar environment to the existing schema. Spatially experienced and non- experienced participants of Magic Kingdom Park learned a similar park, Disneyland Park, using a virtual environment. Participants learned the virtual environment either passively or actively. Spatially experienced participants outperformed the non-experienced participants on survey and route knowledge assessments, despite of the training method used in the virtual environment. The results suggest that the existing schema for a similar place transfers to the new environment regardless of passive or active training.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004573, ucf:45153
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004573
- Title
- SPATIAL ABILITY AND EXPERTS OF NEEDLEWORK CRAFTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY.
- Creator
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Bailey, Shannon, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Spatial ability has been a topic of much research and debate over the past few decades. Yet, there are gaps in the current literature. Spatial ability refers to the aptitude of an individual to mentally rotate objects, visualize spaces, and recognize patterns (Linn & Petersen, 1985). A highly spatial task that is not addressed in research literature is crafting. Crafting may refer to knitting, crocheting, sewing, and other hobbies that include manipulations of materials. These crafts are...
Show moreSpatial ability has been a topic of much research and debate over the past few decades. Yet, there are gaps in the current literature. Spatial ability refers to the aptitude of an individual to mentally rotate objects, visualize spaces, and recognize patterns (Linn & Petersen, 1985). A highly spatial task that is not addressed in research literature is crafting. Crafting may refer to knitting, crocheting, sewing, and other hobbies that include manipulations of materials. These crafts are spatially oriented, because they necessitate mental rotation, pattern recognition, and 3-D visualization to create an object. While research tends to favor males on certain spatial tests (Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995), research on the relationship between expertise and spatial ability has concentrated on traditionally male dominated domains, such as architecture and video games (Salthouse & Mitchell, 1990; Sims & Mayer, 2002). The traditionally female domain of needlework crafting expertise has not been studied empirically. First, a literature review is presented to give an overview of previous spatial ability research. The paper then describes the needlework crafts of sewing, knitting, and crocheting, including their historical significance and the spatial processes involved. A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that more expertise in needlework crafts will correlate with better performance on spatial ability tests. Three hundred and four adult women (ages 18-77) completed the study. Participant experience level was determined by self-perceived level of crafting expertise. Participants performed three spatial ability tests from the ETS Factor Reference Kit (Ekstrom et al., 1976): Paper Folding, Surface Development, and Card Rotations. Results indicated that age was correlated negatively with performance in all spatial tests. Only age was significant in the Card Rotations Test. In the Surface Development Test, self-perceived Sewing Expertise was significant in predicting participants' test scores. For the Paper Folding Test, Knitting and Crocheting Expertise were significant, suggesting expertise may mitigate age effects.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0004106, ucf:44881
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004106