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School of Psychology

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College of Sciences

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Work Science Center

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

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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 306

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.
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.
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.
Supporting Feedback Loop Reasoning in Simulated Systems with Computer-Based Scaffolding

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-04-12) Dunbar, Terri

Feedback loops are a critical part of systems and a frequent source of misconceptions. These misconceptions are thought to occur because people inappropriately apply their everyday experiences of causality to the types of causal feedback loops present in systems. Feedback loop reasoning can improve with training; however, misconceptions such as failing to close the loop are particularly resistant to change. Two experiments investigated whether factors known to improve positive transfer with other cognitive skills could overcome learners’ misconceptions about feedback loops during simulation training, including learning from multiple examples, similarity to the training context, scaffolding, and desirable difficulties. Results revealed that similarity and potentially cognitive load had the largest impacts on transfer, and the type of scaffolding used or how it was sequenced over training had little effect. Near transfer only occurred for participants who learned from balance systems where the goal is to maintain system equilibrium by counterbalancing relationships, and not with pattern systems where the goal is to determine how spatial patterns emerge from local interactions. There was no evidence of far transfer. Across both experiments, participants also closed the loop more frequently when learning from balance systems. Overall, the current studies suggest that researchers need to carefully consider the type of system used during simulation training because subtle manipulations can lead to different learning experiences. Existing theories of system misconceptions are unable to satisfactorily explain why these performance differences occurred. Instead, the results and their implications are discussed using cognitive load theory.
The Impact of Joint Modeling of Response Accuracy and Response Time on Parameter Predictability and Ability Estimation

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-03-28) Pezeshki, Maryam

To maintain test quality, a large supply of items is always desired. Generating items based on known cognitive complexity features has potential to circumvent the traditional steps in item development required before operational testing; that is, identifying item writers, training them on test blueprints to develop new items, qualitatively reviewing the developed items, evaluating the reviewed items, and finally, estimating and evaluating the empirical properties of items. Automatic item generation can result in a reduction in cost and labor, including empirical tryout, if the generated new items possess predictable item parameters which are required in an accurate estimation of the trait level. The effect of different levels of parameter predictability on the accuracy of trait level estimation is not clear. On the other hand, adding response time as a collateral source of information may have a mitigating effect on the lower predictability of item parameters on person estimation accuracy. Using a hierarchical model of response accuracy and response time, the present study aims, first, to investigate the impact of varying parameter predictability levels on the trait level estimation accuracy under three different estimation comparisons. Second, the impact of adding response time as a collateral source of information on the accuracy of trait level estimation is also examined. Results show smaller Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) when using true item difficulty to estimate the trait level. Further, more accuracy is achieved with item family models representing known parameters compared to other item predictability conditions. Moreover, higher correlations between response accuracy and response time person estimates resulted in more accurate trait estimation. Implications for item generation and response processes aspect of validity are presented.
Model Blindness: Investigating a model-based route-recommender system’s impact on decision making

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12-14) Parmar, Sweta

Model-Based Decision Support Systems (MDSS) are prominent in many professional domains of high consequence, such as aeronautics, emergency management, military command and control, healthcare, nuclear operations, intelligence analysis, and maritime operations. An MDSS generally uses a simplified model of the task and the operator to impose structure to the decision-making situation and provide information cues to the operator that is useful for the decision-making task. Models are simplifications, can be misspecified, and have errors. Adoption and use of these errorful models can lead to the impoverished decision-making of users. I term this impoverished state of the decision-maker model blindness. A series of two experiments were conducted to investigate the consequences of model blindness on human decision-making and performance and how those consequences can be mitigated via an explainable AI (XAI) intervention. The experiments implemented a simulated route recommender system as an MDSS with a true data-generating model (unobservable world model). In Experiment 1, the true model generating the recommended routes was misspecified to different levels to impose model blindness on users. In Experiment 2, the same route-recommender system was employed with a mitigation technique to overcome the impact of model-misspecifications on decision-making. Overall, the results of both experiments provide little support for performance degradation due to model blindness imposed by misspecified systems. The XAI intervention provided valuable insights into how participants adjusted their decision-making to account for bias in the system and deviated from choosing the model-recommended alternatives. The participants' decision strategies revealed that they could understand model limitations from feedback and explanations and could adapt their strategy to account for those misspecifications. The results provide strong support for evaluating the role of decision strategies in the model blindness confluence model. These results help establish a need for carefully evaluating model blindness during the development, implementation, and usage stages of MDSS.
Daily Influences on Everyday Memory, Well-Being, and Affect Among Dyadic Caregivers and Care Recipients With Mild Cognitive Impairment

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12-08) Giannotto, Emily L.

Multifaceted approaches to understanding daily fluctuations that affect memory and well-being among spousal dyads, where one member has diagnosed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the other serves as a care partner, is a relatively unexplored area of research. This study took a novel and exploratory approach to understanding the interconnectedness of different influences on spousal dyads’ daily fluctuations in memory, caregiver burden, stress, sleep, affect, relationship mutuality, and collaborative cognition from the perspective of the care partner and the care recipient. Using a nightly diary, 27 dyads (participants with MCI and their spousal care partners) filled out an online form for 14 consecutive nights. The diary forms included self-report and informant reports about daily stress, sleep quality, caregiver burden, depressive affect, memory, dyadic interactions, and collaboration. Using multilevel modeling, I investigated how daily fluctuations in these variables among both members of the dyad were associated with memory failures, depressive affect, and caregiver burden outcomes within days and from one day to the next. I anticipated higher reported daily stress, lower quality sleep, higher depressive affect, collaborative cognition, negative dyadic interactions, poorer sleep quality and lower daily memory ratings to negatively influence care partners’ daily caregiver burden, depressive affect, and reported memory failures within days and from one day to the next. Results were promising with respect to protective effects of mutuality and collaborative cognition whereas poorer-than-average sleep quality showed significant lagged sleep debt effects on aspects of daily cognition and depressive affect. Problematic behaviors related to cognitive impairment in the care recipients was also associated with poorer memory outcomes for caregivers. The present study was successful in implementing a novel study design and demonstrated the value of multidimensional investigations using repeated measures with both members of caring dyads dealing with MCI.
The nature and measurement of sustaining attention over time: The influence of cognitive ability, internal distraction, arousal, and motivation on sustained attention

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12-07) Tsukahara, Jason S.

It is evident that it takes a great deal of effort to sustain our attention on any one thing over a period of minutes or even seconds. This ability to sustain attention is critical for many everyday tasks and is often seen as a fundamental factor underlying differences in cognitive ability. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that determine how long we can voluntarily sustain our attention. Across two studies I used a novel task, the sustained attention- to-cue task (SACT), to assess sustained attention. The critical element of the task is to sustain attention at a cued location for a variable amount of time (0 – 12 seconds). In Study 1, I investigated how individual differences in cognitive ability are related to sustained attention. I found that those higher on attention control showed less of a decline in performance the longer attention had to be sustained. However, sustained attention performance was not related to working memory capacity or fluid intelligence. In Study 2, I investigated how susceptibility to distraction, changes in arousal, and motivation are related to sustained attention performance on the SACT. Overall, there was a large decline in attention on a shorter timescale based on performance, eye gaze, pupil size, and mind wandering measures. There were no changes in attention at a longer timescale, however there was strong evidence that arousal declined over the course of the task. Reward and motivation lead to improvements in attention overall and motivation led to improvements in sustained attention at a shorter timescale. In general, these findings suggest that attention can fluctuate and wane over a relatively short time scale of around 10 seconds or less and that this is related to individual differences in attention control, distractibility, arousal, and motivation.