Organizational Unit:

School of Psychology

Permanent Link

https://hdl.handle.net/1853/70756

Parent Organization

Organizational Unit

College of Sciences

Includes Organization(s)

Organizational Unit

Work Science Center

ArchiveSpace Name Record

https://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/agents/corporate_entities/1133

Full item page

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 117

Directability Through AI Customization: The Effect of Choice on Trust and Acceptance in Highly Automated Vehicles

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-12-05) Scott-Sharoni, Sidney Tammie

People feel apprehensive about using or relying on highly automated vehicles (American Automotive Association, 2019). One method of assuaging fears involves providing explanations for the system’s behaviors using a Human-Machine Interface (HMI). However, understanding the amount of information for optimal human-automation interaction can prove difficult due to differences in individuals’ preferences, experiences, and needs. An underexplored method that may account for these discrepancies involves providing users with choices or customization. The Coactive Design Approach suggests that including directability, or the power to influence a system’s actions, may improve how users interact with systems (Johnson et al., 2014). The following study investigated how customization affordances and modified vehicle aspect of a Level 4 automated vehicle affected trust and acceptance. One hundred twenty participants experienced one highly automated simulator drive, during which they engaged in a visually demanding game. A MANOVA assessed the interaction of and main effects of customization availability and modified vehicle aspect on trust and acceptance. While participants who customized had higher average trust and acceptance in the automated vehicle than participants who did not customize, only the main effect of vehicle aspect significantly impacted the multivariate dimension of trust and acceptance in the automated vehicle. That is, modifications to the vehicle impacted users regardless of whether they chose the modification. The game score and subjective trust did significantly correlate to a small, positive extent, indicating that higher trust in a system may improve non-driving related task performance. Future research should continue to investigate the role of choice in the interaction between individuals and highly automated systems to understand the psychological impacts of directability.
Mindfulness and its relationship to race-related stress, racial identity, age, gender, and ses across multiple racial minorities

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-10-13) Mirabito, Grazia

Racism is still a very pervasive problem in our nation. The literature on racism and race-related stress has predominately focused on African American populations, which is not surprising since they experience a disproportional amount of discrimination compared to other ethnicities. Nevertheless, due to the different lived experiences with racism and discrimination for each minority, I believe it is important to assess multiple racial groups’ experiences with racism (e.g. African American, Asian American, and Latinx persons). Racism can lead to race-related stress and thus to significant detriments in mental and physical health outcomes in People of Color (POC). This study took a novel and exploratory approach to understanding whether mindfulness, coping, and ethnic identity can buffer against the effects of race-related stress. Using a single-point-in-time online survey amongst 676 Asian American, African American, and Latinx participants measuring trait mindfulness, coping, ethnic identity, frequency of exposure to racism, rumination, race-related stress, anxiety, well-being, depression, and demographic factors (i.e., age, gender, education, income, and personality). Using multigroup structural equation modeling, I investigated whether mindfulness, coping, and ethnic identity mitigated the effects of race-related stress on rumination and psychological outcomes amongst POC. I found that at high levels of ethnic identity and some mindfulness subscales, there was greater use of adaptive coping skills, reduced race-related stress and rumination, and improved psychological outcomes. Additionally, I found that at high levels of exposure to racism, the cascade from mindfulness to race-related stress to psychological outcomes was worsened. Results were promising concerning the protective effects of most mindfulness subscales and ethnic identity against race-related stress. These variables exerted their influence primarily through the mediator coping. There were also negative effects of exposure to racism on the psychological outcomes. The only mindfulness variables that had a negative impact were Nonjudgement (in the African American sample only) and Observing, where Nonjudgement’s effect is most likely caused by personality, age, or some unmeasured variable, while the effects of Observing are most likely caused by detrimental effects of monitoring without acceptance. Furthermore, many of these pathways (58 out of 64 pathways) do not vary by ethnicity suggesting a primarily universal relationship across groups. The present study was successful in collecting a large sample of POC to compare across group differences and demonstrated that many of these mindfulness, ethnic identity, coping, and race-related stress processes exist similarly across multiple ethnic groups.
A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Procedural Skill Retention and Decay

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-09-26) Tatel, Corey E.

The extent to which procedural skills involving motor components decay over time is an issue that has significant ramifications for the safety and well-being of individuals and society. Prior researchers have concluded that there is a general pattern of skill decay as a function of the length of the retention interval. However, previous researchers relied primarily on studies that leveraged shorter retention intervals than are characteristic of real-world contexts (e.g., days or weeks) and included skills that require both declarative and procedural knowledge. This dissertation presents a new meta-analysis of skill retention that focuses specifically on procedural skills and leverages a recent influx of interdisciplinary literature (e.g., healthcare, sports psychology) consisting of longer retention intervals (e.g., months and years). A broad literature search led to the inclusion of 1,352 effect sizes from 457 sources. Random-effects meta-regression models were computed with retention interval as a predictor of standardized mean differences representing changes in performance between skill acquisition and skill retention for accuracy-based performance measures, speed-based performance measures, and performance measures that were a mix of accuracy and speed. Results indicated that standardized mean differences increased in magnitude by 0.08 per month for accuracy-based performance measures and 0.06 per month for speed-based and mixed performance measures. Initial skill acquisition performance gains were lost between one year and two and half years after they were acquired. Task type, task complexity, infrequent performance opportunities, and task instructions were identified as potentially meaningful moderators of skill decline rates. Findings provide applied audiences with an estimate of how much skill decay can be expected if skills are not frequently used and therefore, when refresher training should be considered. Important methodological considerations for skill retention research were also identified, including the need to isolate retention performance from relearning effects and the need to account for Speed-Accuracy-Tradeoff functions when interpreting changes in performance over time.
Testing the Useful Field: Perceptual Learning Is an Important Factor in UFOV Training Improvements

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-08-09) Lloyd, Maugan

Computerized cognitive training on the Useful Field of View (UFOV) is associated with improved driving behavior in older adults, but the underlying reasons remain subject to debate. Some researchers think that UFOV training enhances fundamental cognitive skills such as selective attention or processing speed, while others remain unconvinced of this so-called process-based approach. Typically, UFOV training includes a briefly presented central discrimination task, coupled with a consistently mapped (CM) peripheral localization task. As the peripheral stimuli for both target and distractors remain constant, perceptual learning would be expected with extended practice on the peripheral task. This study compared training on variably mapped targets (VM), in which targets and distractors come from the same set, and consistently mapped versions of a UFOV task to isolate the component of perceptual learning. When comparing the transfer cost for participants trained on an adaptive UFOV paradigm when transferred to unfamiliar stimuli, VM - trained groups do not exhibit the same performance decrements as CM – trained groups due to the difference in target familiarity. Specifically, we observed that transfer to new CM stimuli following extensive practice was associated with a large performance cost for the CM-trained group due to the loss of the familiar stimulus advantage (d = -1.31, t = -7.91, pbonf < 0.001), while smaller changes in performance were noted for VM trained participants transferred to new VM stimuli (d = -0.86, t = -4.93, pbonf < 0.001). Our findings suggest that future research exploring the relationship between cognitive or everyday task performance and training improvements on the UFOV must take the effects of perceptual learning into account. Furthermore, the study challenges previous assertions that UFOV training improves processing speed, which in turn improves older adult driving.
Memory Self-Modification as a Function of Confidence during Reconsolidation

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-07-31) Yaun, Jeffrey W.

Students are often surprised to find that the grade they receive on an exam does not comport with the confidence they felt about their answers. What use, then, is confidence if it does not necessarily indicate accuracy? Better understanding of this question may not lie in approaching from a perspective of accuracy, but in the consistency of recall. Does confidence influence what is recalled, and does the act of recall itself provide enough of an opportunity to change what is recalled? What does this indicate about reconsolidation, the proposed process of reactivating and updating memory? This study examined these questions by providing participants with a pair of videos and a set of questions about their content, along with confidence judgements about their answers. After 4-day gap periods, participants twice recorded free-recall sessions about one of the two videos, then answered the original questions again. Results indicated that initial confidence is a strong predictor of subsequent recall and the consistency of recall, but failed to be a predictor for accuracy of recall. The predicted interaction of recall with confidence to predict consistency also failed to be statistically significant. Confidence may therefore play a greater role in the consistency of recall than in objective accuracy. The lack of a recall effect on accuracy or consistency may also indicate a more gradual process for changes in memory traces than predicted by reconsolidation theory.
Career Calling in Older Adults: A Socioemotional Selectivity Perspective

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-07-25) Kidwell, Kate E.

Over the past several decades, the meaning of work for employees has evolved beyond solely a means of financial support and toward a source of fulfillment and personal identity. Work that is purposeful, meaningful, and internally motivated can be considered a career calling. As the American workforce ages, fulfilling a career calling may be especially important for the longevity and well-being of older adult workers. Drawing on tenets of Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, the present study tested a model in which socioemotional motives and goal selection predict the attainment of calling, and occupational future time perspective was examined as a meaningful individual difference that may affect these relationships. I analyzed survey data collected from 267 working older adults over a two-week period using structural equation modeling. Support was found for the relationships between motives for meaning and positive emotions and calling. Emotional regulation goals were not found to mediate the relationships between motives and calling, and occupational future time perspective did not alter these relationships. By uniting Socioemotional Selectivity Theory with the calling literature, I further our understanding of antecedents of career calling in a priority working population. Theoretical implications for socioemotional selectivity theory and the calling literature, as well as practical implications for workers and organizations, are discussed.
Time-varying functional connectivity predicts fluctuations in sustained attention in a serial tapping task

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-05-01) Seeburger, Dolly

There is ambiguity in the literature about how large-scale brain networks contribute to focused attention. Part of the problem comes from the methods of analyses that treat the correlates of attention as a static and discrete measure when in actuality, attention fluctuates from moment to moment. This continuous change in attention is consistent with the dynamic changes in functional connectivity between brain regions involved in the internal and external allocation of attention (Liu & Dyun, 2013). Namely, the default mode network (DMN) and the task positive network (TPN)(Fox et al., 2005). In this study, I investigated how brain network activity varied across different levels of attentional focus (e.g., “zones”). Participants performed a finger-tapping task and, guided by previous research (Esterman et al., 2013), in-the-zone was marked by low reaction time variability and out-of-the-zone as the inverse. Employing a novel method of time-varying functional connectivity, called the quasi-periodic pattern analysis (i.e., reliably observed spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations), I found that the activity between DMN and TPN was more anti-correlated during in-the-zone states versus out-of-the-zone states. Further investigation showed that it is the fronto-parietal control network (FPCN) of the TPN that drives the differentiation. During in-the-zone periods, FPCN synchronized with the dorsal attention network, while during out-of-the-zone periods, FPCN synchronized with DMN. In contrast, the ventral attention network synchronized more closely with DMN during in-the-zone periods compared to out-of-the-zone periods. These findings suggest that time-varying functional connectivity in the low-frequency can tell us how different networks of the brain work together during periods of sustained attention.
Modeling The Variability of Automatically Generated Items: The Impact of Incidental Effects on Ability Estimation

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-04-27) Yan, Yan

The advent of computerized testing and more frequent test administration call for a large number of items that can be used to supply item banks. Automatic item generation (AIG) is a comparatively innovative area in assessment and measurement research, where specific cognitive and psychometric propositions are applied to test construction practices to efficiently produce test items using technology (Gierl & Haladyna, 2013). The current work reviewed the historical background of AIG, the development approaches of AIG, and the statistical modeling and evaluation of AIG items. A simulation study was then conducted to:: 1.) investigate the performances of various models for AIG item calibration when different levels of variability lie in item families; 2.) investigate the impact of the incidental effects on candidate ability estimation; and 3.) evaluate test outcomes when item variants are used with known item parameters vs. when recalibration happens on AIG items (estimated item parameters). The results show that, first, the level of similarity within the item family plays a role in the effectiveness of ways to model generated items. Second, adding the incidental effects in item difficulty modeling can improve the model fit statistics and accuracy of the ability measure, especially when the variability of item difficulty within the family is relatively large. Third, the recovery of ability parameters can be impacted by different conditions, including the levels of variability within the item family, the estimation models used, and whether item parameters are estimated or known. Furthermore, it is confirmed that with high-quality pre-calibrated parameters (including known incidental effects) for item models, the item calibration procedure for the automatically generated items can be simplified.
Unconstructive Repetitive Thoughts and Anxiety Mediate the Link Between Daily Stressor Exposure and Everyday Memory Lapses

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-04-26) Hughes, MacKenzie L.

Daily stressor exposure has been linked to poorer cognitive functioning, but less is known about the exact mechanisms underlying the relationship. Stressor-related increases in negative affect (NA) and unconstructive repetitive thoughts (URTs) may play a role in explaining why individuals experience more everyday memory lapses on days with stressor exposure. This study investigated correlates of NA and URTs as time-varying constructs and their role in the relationship between stressor exposure and memory functioning. Publicly available daily diary data from the Midlife Development in the United States Refresher 1 sample were analyzed. For eight consecutive days, 716 adults ages 25-75 years old (Mage = 48.16, SD = 12.57) reported their daily experiences via telephone interviews. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to examine the indirect effect of daily stressor exposure on the frequency of everyday memory lapses through three types of NA (sadness, anxiety, anger) and URTs between- and within-persons. Results highlight important differences in the relationship between stressor exposure and everyday memory functioning at both levels of analysis. Whereas interindividual results suggest URTs mediate the relationship between average stressor exposure and everyday memory lapses, intraindividual results suggest both daily URTs and anxiety mediate the relationship between daily stressor exposure and everyday memory lapses. Additionally, the intraindividual effect of stressors on memory lapses through daily anxiety is stronger in young adults and people high in trait neuroticism whereas the effect through URTs is stronger in people with low executive functioning. Findings extend our understanding of the dynamic relationship between daily stressors and cognitive functioning by shedding light on for whom and under what circumstances memory lapses occur within the context of everyday life.
Exploring the Robustness of the Surprisingly Popular Signal

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-04-18) Sukernek, Justin

A large portion of the decision-making literature is concerned with forecasting the future, often using wisdom of the crowd as the basis for successful forecasts. However, crowd wisdom can be limited when the consensus is incorrect. Bayesian truth serum and the Surprisingly Popular algorithm, two novel methodologies in this space, offer solutions to this limitation by leveraging social sensing to calculate the 'surprisingly popular signal' at the respondent and question level, respectively. In this dissertation, I present three experiments that compare the three methodologies across forecasting, consumer decision-making, and general knowledge. In all three experiments, SP yielded the highest accuracy when utilizing a subsample of the most knowledgeable participants, a finding that is coherent with the existing literature. Experiment two incorporated social influence, uncovering a positive effect of disagreement on BTS scores and bidirectional effects of social influence on respondents' perceptions of how others would answer. Furthermore, two of the experiments demonstrate evidence of the BTS's ability to identify subsamples of participants that increase SP's accuracy, performing a similar function to domain knowledge. Finally, a process-based simulation of knowledge and social influence on SP and BTS is conducted, corroborating empirical findings. Overall, results provide promising evidence of SP's effectiveness across all task contexts, as well as some evidence for a potential new application for BTS.