Heard but Not Seen: Instructor-Led Video and its Effect on Learning

Educators and instructional designers are seeking ways to increase levels of learning. One of the ways this is being done is through cognitive load theory which attempts to reduce cognitive load through a better understanding of working memory and the factors that impact its function. Past studies have found that working memory processes visual and auditory information using separate and non-sharable resources (dual coding theory) and that by properly utilizing multimedia elements, information processing in working memory is more efficient (multimedia learning). What is not known is the effect that instructor-led video, which uses the visual channel but delivers no information, has on the cognitive load of the learner. Further, will the introduction of multimedia elements make the information processing of the learner more efficient? This study examined three ways in which instructional designers may create a more efficient learning environment through a better understanding of multimedia learning. First, by using the theories of multimedia learning, I examined a more efficient use of sensory memory. By minimizing extraneous load, which communication theory calls noise, on working memory through increased utilization of the visual and auditory channels, the effectiveness of instruction was increased. Secondly, the multimedia effect, defined as using visual helps and guides with spoken and written text, was shown to assist working memory in processing new information into existing schema. Last, by using the personalization principle set forth by Clark and Mayer (2008), I used both the video feed and multimedia together to foster a more social or conversational presentation to the learner

Overlooked influences on visual working memory performance

In this thesis, three studies (10 experiments) were reported in which five previously overlooked influences on visual working memory were identified. 1. Influence of achievement emotions: Achievement emotions induced by visual working memory tasks are linked to task performance. Positive emotions are positively linked and negative emotions are negatively linked to task performance. 2. Influence of relative salience: In a dense (complex) display, the relative salience of each target is a major predicting factor of task performance. The more salient targets are recalled more precisely than the less salient ones (Chapter 2.2). In a sense, the more salient targets are winning the competition against less salient targets. 3. Influence of absolute salience: To remove the bias in the aforementioned competition, we equated the targets’ saliencies and the effects of (absolute) salience remained. Performance for displays with more salient targets was better than for displays with less salient targets (Chapter 2.2). Thus, on top of winning the competition (relative salience), how much an object stands out from its surroundings (absolute salience) also has a strong influence on performance. 4. Interaction between salience and encoding time: Varying the presentation time of the memory display revealed that the effect of salience appears almost instantaneously and remains (though weaker) even with long encoding times (Chapter 2.3). 5. Interaction between salience, presentation time and conflicting task-goals: Conflicting task-goals (i.e., decreasing the more salient targets’ relevance) were not enough to counteract the effects of salience at relatively short presentation time. The goal-driven manipulation remained inefficient even at long presentation times (Chapter 2.3), while the combined goal- and experience-driven manipulation successfully erased the effect of salience with long presentation times (Chapter 2.3). However, this merely compensated the effect of salience rather than fully dominating it

Auditory Distractors in the Visual Modality: No Evidence for Perceptual Load Hypothesis or Auditory Dominance

Attention is a valuable resource with limited capacity, so knowing what will distract us during important tasks can be crucial in life. There is a lot of support for the Perceptual Load Hypothesis (PLH) when examining visual distractibility; however, less research has examined if PLH can predict auditory distractibility. Participants in the current study completed three experiments using visual selective attention tasks while being presented with auditory and visual distractions under low/high perceptual loads. In Experiment 1, I took the visual selective attention task from Robinson et al. (2018) and shortened the stimulus presentation while adding a no distractor baseline condition. In Experiment 2, I increased auditory distractor effects by requiring participants to periodically respond to the auditory information. In Experiment 3, I added a working memory task to increase cognitive load. Results showed no support for PLH with auditory distractors in Experiments 1 or 2, and instead showed the opposite pattern, with auditory distractors having a larger effect under high perceptual load (Experiment 2). Results from Experiment 3 show that increasing cognitive load had no effect on distractibility, which suggests the results from Experiment 2 were caused by periodically responding to the auditory stimuli. These findings have important implications for our understanding of selective attention and shed light on tasks that require the processing of multisensory information.No embargoAcademic Major: Psycholog

Reaction Time Differences in Video Game and Non-Video Game Players

This study represents the first phase of a broader study investigating potential brain processing differences between video gamers and non-gamers. The purpose of the current study was to investigate reaction times to visual stimuli in individuals who regularly play action games versus individuals who do not. Stimuli used were based on the visual oddball paradigm in which participants respond to standard and rare occurring visual targets. Results indicate that the speed of decision-making and reaction are increased for those who regularly play video games, and had started playing video games at a younger age. Findings suggest an interacting effect of years experience with video games, and gamer or non-gamer identifying status as determined by the average amount of game play per week. The current results have implications for possible neural processing differences concerning working memory in individuals who have more experience with video games. For this presentation, Benjamin Richardson received a College of the Sciences Best Poster Presentation Award for 2014

The effects of processing speed and memory span on working memory

This study examined the processing speed and memory span of young adults and older people using tasks based on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III, Wechsler, 1997). By comparing the data obtained from these tasks, we examined the effects of processing speed and memory span on working memory (WM). In addition, this study examined how presentation modality and the subject\u27s age are related to WM. Multiple regression analysis of the effect of memory span for each presentation modality used processing time as a factor to predict the WM span of various age groups. The result was two equations for predicting WM span. According to these equations, WM is negatively correlated with "age group" and "processing time," and positively correlated with "memory span." Memory span and processing speed were found to have similar impacts on WM, regardless of the presentation modality. However, our results suggested that visual WM and auditory WM are different functions, and that auditory WM is more strongly affected by memory span than visual WM

Go-getters and procrastinators: Investigating individual differences in visual cognition across university semesters

University-based psychological research typically relies on the participation of undergraduate students for data collection. Using this particular sample brings with it several possible issues, including the self-scheduling done by the participants. Research on performance between students who sign up early versus late in the semester has been inconsistent. Some research report benefits for early participant semesters, while others find no differences between the two groups. Anecdotally, it seems that the former holds true, as many researchers worry about the data collected late in the semester, sometimes opting for more motivated earlier participants in the next semester. The purpose of our study was to examine for the effect of time of semester across a well-known set of visual cognition tasks. To do so, participants completed canonical versions of a rapid serial visual presentation task, a flanker task, an additional singleton paradigm task, a multiple object tracking task and a visual working memory task. These tasks were chosen as typical measures of executive control, temporal selectivity, visual working memory capacity, resistance to distraction, and attentional capacity. Crucially, we correlated task performance with time of semester students chose to participate. Our results demonstrate that there were no significant differences in any of the tasks across semester timing. Furthermore, our findings support the validity of cognitive research relying on the system of recruiting undergraduate students from volunteer pools where students can self-select the time of the semester they undertake the experiments

The memory skills of musicians and nonmusicians

Musicians seem to have superior abilities than those of nonmusicians, that are not just music-related but that extend to classic auditory and even cognitive tasks, in particular memory tasks. However, concerning memory, results tend to vary depending on the memory system investigated (i.e., long-term, short-term, working memory) and on the category of stimuli that are presented (e.g., verbal, visuospatial). The present research project investigated the memory skills of musicians and nonmusicians, with the final goal of clarifying which (if there are some) characteristics of musicians are linked to better memory skills and if this advantage is general or depends on specific tasks or content of the tasks. Study 1 investigated the literature on memory skills of musicians and nonmusicians through a meta-analysis. Three meta-analysis were conducted separately for long-term memory, short-term memory, and working memory. The effect of moderators was also tested; defined as the type of stimuli presented in the memory task (i.e., verbal, visuospatial, and tonal). The three meta-analyses revealed a medium effect-size in working memory and short-term memory (i.e., there is a moderate difference between musicians and nonmusicians) with effect of moderators. The advantage of musicians was larger for tonal and verbal stimuli and smaller for visual ones. In long term memory the effect-size was small, with no effect of moderators. Study 2 aimed to understand if the advantage found in verbal working memory depended on the modality in which the task was delivered (i.e., stimuli presented auditorily or stimuli presented visually). 18 musicians and 18 nonmusicians performed a digit span task that was presented aurally, visually, or audiovisually. The task was performed with or without a concurrent task (i.e., articulatory suppression). Results showed that musicians had significantly larger spans than nonmusicians regardless of the sensory modality and the concurrent task. Secondary analyses showed that the advantage was more evident when the digits were delivered auditorily and audiovisually. Study 3 aimed to investigate the individual differences among musicians. In particular, the goal was to understand whether the type of music training (classic vs self-taught) could influence the advantage of musicians over nonmusicians in verbal working memory skills, always taking into account the modality of presentation of the verbal stimuli (i.e., visual vs auditory). 102 young adults participated to the study: 33 reader musicians (i.e., that could read music notation), 33 nonreader musicians (i.e., self-taught, that could not read music notation), and 36 nonmusicians A digit span forward and backward was presented in three different modalities, alike study 2. Results showed that reader musicians, nonreader musicians and nonmusicians performed equally well in the digit span forward. However, the group interacted with the modality, revealing that reader musicians performed better than nonmusicians in the audiovisual presentation of digits. No other difference was found. In the backward digit span no difference among groups was found. Study 4 aimed to understand whether the superiority of musicians in short-term memory extends to auditory and visual stimuli that are not verbal and not musical. 36 young adults participated to the study, 24 nonmusicians and 12 professional musicians. A verbal memory task was also included as control measure. In the short-term memory tasks, two sequences of elements were presented, with a short delay in between. The participant had to judge whether the second sequence was the same or different from the first. The types of stimuli composing the sequences where the following: verbal stimuli (i.e., syllables, presented either visually and auditorily); visual contour stimuli (i.e., luminance variations); auditory contour stimuli (i.e., loudness variations); visual nocontour stimuli (i.e., kanji ideograms); auditory nocontour stimuli (i.e., pink noises). Results showed that musicians outperformed nonmusicians in the short-term memory task with the auditory contour and nocontour stimuli, and with the visual contour stimuli

How does the Acquisition of a Second Language Affect Cognition?

Valdosta State University Graduate Symposium 2013 poster session by Christan Marsh.This presentation focuses on the effect learning a second language (L2) has on cognition. The studies presented in this poster session investigated the influence of the L2 on thought and the benefits of being bilingual. The main foci of these studies are the effects of two languages on comprehension, production, and processing and the organization of the bilingual memory. Implications of the findings of these studies include the activation of two lexicons, negative interference of the first language (L1) with L2, and the access of linguistic knowledge in the working memory. The purpose of this presentation is to encourage further research on bilingualism and the effects of an L2 on a learner’s general cognition. This poster presentation provides annotated bibliographies of five research articles that investigated the effects of bilingualism on cognition. In addition, a list of practical implications from these studies, key terms, visual aids, and references are included.Victoria Russell, Ph.D

Serial and Concurrent Presentations of Stimuli and Their Effects on Items Recalled

The present study examined differences in accuracy of responses to serial and concurrent stimuli in an immediate free recall task for individuals from chemistry and psychology courses. Average accuracy of responses for presentation order, stimulus type, and gender differences were measured. The procedure used Superlab 4.0 and consisted of one practice trial followed by eight recorded trials of serial and concurrent word lists. Counterbalancing was used to try to control learning of one order of presentation over the opposite order. Serial word lists consisted of ten words presented two seconds apart and one at a time. Concurrent lists consisted of ten words presented simultaneously for twenty seconds. No significant main effects of presentation order, stimulus type, or gender were found when calculating a mixed ANOVA. No gender differences in accuracy between the two types of stimuli were expected. There were also no significant effects of the interactions for these variables. However, a medium effect was found for the interaction of presentation order and stimulus type. Increasing the population may lead to a significant effect of the presentation order by stimulus type interaction. Immediate free recall (IFR) is a common method used to try to determine individual differences in the number of stimuli (usually words) that can be stored in working (short-term) memory (Bhatarah, Ward, Smith & Hayes, 2009; Huang, Tomasini & Nikl, 1977; Seiler & Engelkamp, 2003; Ward & Maylor, 2005). Most often, a recall task involves participants presented with a given number of words in a serial presentation. Presentation of this format is a specific word, followed every one or two seconds by each consecutive word, until the list is complete (Bhatarah et al, 2009; Matlin, 1976). Stimuli presentation is either oral or visual depending on the procedure (Baumeister & Luszcz, 1976; Ozubko & Joordens, 2007). IFR is employed promptly following the final stimulus. According to Laming (2009), the recall task regularly occurs for one minute; and at this time, individuals write down or verbally list as many items as they can remember (Russo & Grammatopoulou, 2003; Smith, Jones & Broadbent, 1981). This provides the measurement of recall as number of items remembered, or accuracy of recall. According to current theory, working memory consists of a system that briefly stores and processes information from the environment, from long-term memory, as well as maintaining and altering stimuli that are still currently in the system itself (Gazzaniga, Ivry & Mangun, 2009). The phonological loop is one aspect of the working memory system and its main function is the encoding and rehearsal of stimuli such as words. Verbal stimuli, rehearsed or processed by the phonological loop, may stay in the working memory system, or may be processed and stored in long-term memory. IFR procedures record the number of words processed and subvocally rehearsed in the phonological loop (Campoy, 2008). The words at the beginning of the list tend to be encoded in long-term memory and the most recent words in the list are thought to be present in the short-term store, or working memory. Accuracy of recall, the number of items correctly recalled, using serial presentation of stimuli, spans most of the literature over the past forty years (Campoy, 2008; Haist, Shimamura & Squire, 1992; Joseph, McKay & Joseph, 1982; Matlin, 1976). Students make up the participants in many of the studies by performing serial presentation recall tasks (Bhatarah et al, 2009; Seiler & Engelkamp, 2003; Ward & Tan, 2004). Serial presentation of IFR is used to test accuracy of individuals’ working memory; concurrent presentation, in a similar manner, is useful for the same reason. Very few recall tests include concurrent presentation of stimuli (Harness, Jacot, Scherf, White & Warnick, 2008; Sneed, Brunts, Mueller, 1977). This method presents all the stimulus words simultaneously to the participants. Once the stimulus exposure period ends, individuals perform the recall task as they would in serial presentation formats. Concurrent presentation recall procedures have been used to compare recall accuracy of schizophrenic populations versus healthy subjects (Brebion, David, Bressan & Pilowsky, 2006). It was found that healthy subjects did have increased accuracy in the free recall task. Concurrent lists, presenting all the words at the same time, may lead to many words being processed into the long-term store, or may allow more words to remain in short-term memory. Some studies suggest that concurrent presentation is believed to lead to diminished accuracy of items recalled in comparison to serial presentation. (Hoppe, Stojanovic, Karg Foundation Young Researchers Group 2008/09, & Elger, 2009). Sneed, Brunts, and Mueller (1977) found that concurrent lists of more than two words decreased performance in free recall. Theoretically, this is due to less ability to process single words in a concurrent list because the individual will instead process that list as a „chunk,’ in which case the entirety of the list can be one single stimulus, as well as a few words, or even just one word. Other research has shown that the availability of more words can also lead to increased recall stemming from the ability to make more chunks from a larger set of words, leading to recalling more words in the list (Chen & Cowan, 2005; Miller, 1956). It is also possible that one chunk can even cue the participant for the next chunk in a list, further increasing the likelihood of recalling more words (2005). The present study aims to determine if format of presentation alters the number of items remembered for each individual. If there is a difference between the accuracy of responses to each presentation, this may lead to increased understanding of the working memory model. If concurrent presentation of stimuli leads to an increased number of accurate responses, it is possible that the list presenting all the stimuli simultaneously allows individuals to process more words and move them into long-term memory. Participants will recall eight lists of words in concurrent presentation and eight lists in serial presentation. Counterbalancing of each presentation type, by switching around the order of presentation, should help counteract learning of one presentation over the other, if accuracy of recalled items increases temporally. This study does not employ the use of distractors between serial presentation stimuli. This allows for performance of chunking in both presentations. Participants can also covertly rehearse words from the lists. Covert rehearsal is the process of practicing the words without orally reciting them. Chunking and covert rehearsal are two of the main strategies used to remember words in a recall task (Eagle, 1967). Accuracy will be determined by the number of items recalled that are perfect matches. Differences in accuracy of items recalled for concurrent compared to serial presentation of stimuli for individuals is the focus of this paper. The effects of stimulus type are expected to alter accuracy. However, it is not clear whether concurrent or serial presentation will lead to increased accuracy. Order of presentation will also be reported. It is expected that as individuals proceed through the serial and concurrent presentation tasks, some learning will occur and items remembered will increase over time for both stimuli presentations for all individuals. As mentioned earlier, counterbalancing will control for learning of the presentation types in a specific order. As a quasi-experimental variable, gender differences in accuracy of items recalled shall be examined. There is expected to be no difference between the accuracy scores of men and women

Just one look: direct gaze briefly disrupts visual working memory

Direct gaze is a salient social cue that affords rapid detection. A body of research suggests that direct gaze enhances performance on memory tasks (e.g., Hood, Macrae, Cole-Davies, & Dias, 2003). Nonetheless, other studies highlight the disruptive effect direct gaze has on concurrent cognitive processes (e.g., Conty, Gimmig, Belletier, George, & Huguet, 2010). This discrepancy raises questions about the effects direct gaze may have on concurrent memory tasks. We addressed this topic by employing a change detection paradigm, where participants retained information about the color of small sets of agents. Experiment 1 revealed that, despite the irrelevance of the agents’ eye gaze to the memory task at hand, participants were worse at detecting changes when the agents looked directly at them compared to when the agents looked away. Experiment 2 showed that the disruptive effect was relatively short-lived. Prolonged presentation of direct gaze led to recovery from the initial disruption, rather than a sustained disruption on change detection performance. The present study provides the first evidence that direct gaze impairs visual working memory with a rapidly-developing yet short-lived effect even when there is no need to attend to agents’ gaze