More Enduring Questions in Cognitive IS Research

In the April 2012 issue of the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Michael Davern, Teresa Shaft, and Dov Te’eni published an article titled “Cognition Matters: Enduring Questions in IS Research”. Their paper reviewed much of the history of cognitive research in the IS discipline, especially that related to human-computer interaction and decision support systems. While we believe their article is excellent in many respects, we also believe that it omitted a great deal of the most basic cognitive research performed in the IS domain over the past 10-15 years, especially work in the area of systems analysis and design. Our purpose in this paper is to supplement the work of Davern et al. by discussing much of this recent work. We use two theoretical lenses to organize our review: basic cognition and behavioral decision-making research. Our review provides many illustrations of IS research in these areas, including memory and categorization (basic cognition) and heuristics and biases (behavioral decision making). The result, we believe, is a fuller picture of the breadth of cognition-based work in the IS discipline in general and systems analysis and design in particular. The paper provides further evidence of the importance of cognitive research in IS and suggests additional enduring questions for future investigations

Forgetting as a consequence of retrieval: a meta-analytic review of retrieval-induced forgetting

Retrieving a subset of items can cause the forgetting of other items, a phenomenon referred to as retrieval-induced forgetting. According to some theorists, retrieval-induced forgetting is the consequence of an inhibitory mechanism that acts to reduce the accessibility of non-target items that interfere with the retrieval of target items. Other theorists argue that inhibition is unnecessary to account for retrieval-induced forgetting, contending instead that the phenomenon can be best explained by non-inhibitory mechanisms, such as strength-based competition or blocking. The current paper provides the first major meta-analysis of retrieval-induced forgetting, conducted with the primary purpose of quantitatively evaluating the multitude of findings that have been used to contrast these two theoretical viewpoints. The results largely supported inhibition accounts, but also provided some challenging evidence, with the nature of the results often varying as a function of how retrieval-induced forgetting was assessed. Implications for further research and theory development are discussed

Cognitive Decay And Memory Recall During Long Duration Spaceflight

This dissertation aims to advance the efficacy of Long-Duration Space Flight (LDSF) pre-flight and in-flight training programs, acknowledging existing knowledge gaps in NASA\u27s methodologies. The research\u27s objective is to optimize the cognitive workload of LDSF crew members, enhance their neurocognitive functionality, and provide more meaningful work experiences, particularly for Mars missions.The study addresses identified shortcomings in current training and learning strategies and simulation-based training systems, focusing on areas requiring quantitative measures for astronaut proficiency and training effectiveness assessment. The project centers on understanding cognitive decay and memory loss under LDSF-related stressors, seeking to establish when such cognitive decline exceeds acceptable performance levels throughout mission phases. The research acknowledges the limitations of creating a near-orbit environment due to resource constraints and the need to develop engaging tasks for test subjects. Nevertheless, it underscores the potential impact on future space mission training and other high-risk professions. The study further explores astronaut training complexities, the challenges encountered in LDSF missions, and the cognitive processes involved in such demanding environments. The research employs various cognitive and memory testing events, integrating neuroimaging techniques to understand cognition\u27s neural mechanisms and memory. It also explores Rasmussen\u27s S-R-K behaviors and Brain Network Theory’s (BNT) potential for measuring forgetting, cognition, and predicting training needs. The multidisciplinary approach of the study reinforces the importance of integrating insights from cognitive psychology, behavior analysis, and brain connectivity research. Research experiments were conducted at the University of North Dakota\u27s Integrated Lunar Mars Analog Habitat (ILMAH), gathering data from selected subjects via cognitive neuroscience tools and Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to evaluate neurocognitive performance. The data analysis aimed to assess brain network activations during mentally demanding activities and compare EEG power spectra across various frequencies, latencies, and scalp locations. Despite facing certain challenges, including inadequacies of the current adapter boards leading to analysis failure, the study provides crucial lessons for future research endeavors. It highlights the need for swift adaptation, continual process refinement, and innovative solutions, like the redesign of adapter boards for high radio frequency noise environments, for the collection of high-quality EEG data. In conclusion, while the research did not reveal statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups, it furnished valuable insights and underscored the need to optimize astronaut performance, well-being, and mission success. The study contributes to the ongoing evolution of training methodologies, with implications for future space exploration endeavors

The Impact of glucose and glucoregulation on memory

The effect of glucose on memory has been investigated for in excess of 25 years, with some consensus generated amongst the literature indicating that glucose has a facilitating effect. However, the robustness of the glucose effect has been questioned, with a considerable body of evidence reporting no glucose facilitation of memory. It has been suggested that glucoregulatory control may be a key mediating factor of the glucose effect. Glucoregulatory control and cognitive functioning are intrinsically linked, with cognitive impairments a common feature in populations presenting with poor glucoregulatory control such as diabetics, Alzheimer‘s disease sufferers, schizophrenics and the elderly. Although again the evidence has proven contradictory, with evidence to suggest that both better and poorer glucoregulators are more / less susceptible to the glucose effects on cognition. Verbal declarative memory has been reported to be the most reliably enhanced aspect of memory to benefit from a glucose effect. However, it is not yet clear whether verbal declarative memory as a whole is being facilitated, or whether the different phases of memory (encoding, consolidation, retrieval etc.) are differentially targeted. Consequently the primary aim of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of glucoregulatory control and glucose, on the different phases of verbal declarative memory. This was achieved through the use of novel paradigms employed previously within the cognitive sciences literature. Chapter 2 addressed a secondary aim of this thesis; investigating the current gap in the literature pertaining to the effect of glucose administration on cognition in children. Chapter 3 investigated the types of recognition (recollection and familiarity) that were made subsequent to a glucose load, using the ?remember/know‘ paradigm. Chapter 4 investigated encoding efficiency during the item method directed forgetting paradigm, in which participants actively attempt to forget specific stimuli through cessation of encoding. In chapters 5 and 6 the potential mediation of inhibition processes was explored, with both semantically related (Retrieval Induced Forgetting paradigm) and orthographically similar but semantically unrelated stimuli (Memory Blocking Effect paradigm). The tentative evidence presented in this thesis indicates that glucoregulatory control may mediate the glucose facilitation effect during the encoding phase, with better regulators seemingly benefiting from greater encoding benefits than poorer following glucose. Glucose was not observed to influence inhibition processes, or types of recognitions made. However, better glucoregulators exhibited more efficient adaptive inhibition (overcoming inhibition of blocking items to continue searching the lexicon and increased inhibition of semantically related competing stimuli). Administration of glucose did not mediate cognition in children, with the exception of an impairment of performance on a challenging reaction time task following 20 g of glucose. Memory phases are seemingly differentially affected by glucose administration, with the effect mediated by glucoregulatory control. Utilising the paradigms employed here (or similar) to investigate a range of populations presenting with cognitive decline / glucoregulatory control, would further allow the glucose and glucoregulatory effects on the different phases of memory to be further disentangled

Effects of Misinformation as Revealed Through the Concealed Knowledge Test

Misinformation effects occur reliably in laboratory settings despite disagreement over the mechanism(s) responsible for such effects. Both memory impairment hypotheses (e.g.f Lindsay & Johnson, 1987; Loftus 1975, 1977, 1979; Loftus & Hoffman, 1989; Tversky & Tuchin, 1989) and non-impairment hypotheses (e.g., McCloskey & Zaragoza, 1985; Zaragoza, McCloskey, & Jamis, 1987) have been used to explain the phenomenon of misinformation. The present study examined the effects of misinformation on the Concealed Knowledge Test (CKT), a psychophysiological detection of deception technique. Furthermore, the psychophysiological measurements were used to elucidate the controversy surrounding the misinformation effect. Ninety-six subjects watched a videotaped crime used to induce guilt. One week later, subjects were given misinformation about three details of the crime, took a CKT inquiring about the three misled details and three non-misled details of the crime, and took a 20-item recognition memory test concerning the crime. The six details questioned during the CKT were also included in the memory test. Subjects who chose the misinformation on a misled detail were labeled as successfully misinformed regarding that detail. Significant differences in the Lykken (1959) method of scoring the CKT were found between the misled and non-misled CKT series, with misinformation leading to a lower score (i.e., higher probability of being categorized as truthful). A MANOVA demonstrated a significant interaction [Wilks F(18, 3946) = 5.36, p = .000] between type of detail on the CKT (key, misinformation, foil) and information manipulation (non-misled, unsuccessfully misled, and successfully misled) with univariate procedures identifying skin resistance amplitude, skin resistance half-recovery time, and abdominal respiration as significant dependent measures. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that on successfully misled CKT charts, subjects7 responses to the misinformation were significantly stronger than were responses to both the original detail and neutral foils (which did not differ). These findings, supportive of memory impairment hypotheses, are discussed in terms of the (un)permanence of memory

Improving Requirements Generation Thoroughness in User-Centered Workshops: The Role of Prompting and Shared User Stories

The rise of stakeholder centered software development has led to organizations engaging users early in the development process to help define system requirements. To facilitate user involvement in the requirements elicitation process, companies can use Group Support Systems (GSS) to conduct requirements elicitation workshops. The effectiveness of these workshops for generating a valuable set of requirements for system developers has been previously demonstrated. However, a more representative measure of progress towards a system that will meet users’ needs-- the completeness of the requirements generated by such groups has not been explored. We explore two process design considerations for increasing the completeness of requirements generated by these users: increased sharing of user stories (individual electronic brainstorming groups vs. shared user stories electronic brainstorming groups), and the use of reflective inducement prompts (unprompted vs. prompted groups). Using the Search for Ideas in Active Memory model, we predict that prompted electronic brainstorming groups will outperform any other group, including prompted, shared user stories groups at generating a more thorough set of requirements. To test the hypotheses an experiment with 56 groups consisting of 197 users was conducted. The users were asked to generate requirements for a fictitious online textbook exchange website. All hypotheses received support. The study has implications for GSS-Supported workshop design and for future research on collaborative performance in requirements elicitation

What is the functional role of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus?

The dentate gyrus is part of the hippocampal memory system and special in that it generates new neurons throughout life. Here we discuss the question of what the functional role of these new neurons might be. Our hypothesis is that they help the dentate gyrus to avoid the problem of catastrophic interference when adapting to new environments. We assume that old neurons are rather stable and preserve an optimal encoding learned for known environments while new neurons are plastic to adapt to those features that are qualitatively new in a new environment. A simple network simulation demonstrates that adding new plastic neurons is indeed a successful strategy for adaptation without catastrophic interference

Dynamic cognitive control of irrelevant sound:Increased task engagement attenuates semantic auditory distraction

Two experiments investigated reactive top-down cognitive control of the detrimental influence of spoken distractors semantically related to visually-presented words presented for free recall. Experiment 1 demonstrated that an increase in focal task-engagement—promoted experimentally by reducing the perceptual discriminability of the visual target-words—eliminated the disruption by such distracters of veridical recall and also attenuated the erroneous recall of the distracters. A recall instruction that eliminates the requirement for output-monitoring was used in Experiment 2 to investigate whether increased task-engagement shields against distraction through a change in output-monitoring processes (back-end control) or by affecting the processing of the distracters during their presentation (front-end control). Rates of erroneous distracter-recall were much greater than in Experiment 1 but both erroneous distracter-recall and the disruptive effect of distracters on veridical recall were still attenuated under reduced target-word discriminability. Taken together, the results show that task-engagement is under dynamic strategic control and can be modulated to shield against auditory distraction by attenuating distracter-processing at encoding thereby preventing distracters from coming to mind at test

ONLINE MEMORY UPDATING: INVESTIGATING DIRECTED FORGETTING

Memory updating, defined as the replacement of outdated information with new information, is be achieved by both increasing the likelihood of remembering the new information and reducing proactive interference caused by the outdated information. Intentional forgetting provides the means to limit the likelihood of sampling outdated information in the future and consequently its ability to interfere with the learning of new information. Intentional forgetting can occur by selectively rehearsing the correct information or alternatively, suppressing the error representation. The present study conducts an investigation of these processes and their role during an error correction task, which serves as an application of the memory updating process. For this task, participants attempt to forget an erroneous stimulus-response association and immediately update their memory with the correct association, comprised of the same stimulus paired with a new response. Experiments examine dynamics of retrieval and recognition, boundary conditions for intentional forgetting, and the stored memory representations of the new and outdated information to determine the key mechanisms of an online updating process. Findings reveal this process to include components of both selective rehearsal and suppression, which presents a problem for current theories of intentional forgetting. We conclude by proposing an alternative explanation and outline key goals for continued research in memory updating