Does overloading cognitive resources mimic the impact of anxiety on temporal cognition?

Anxiety alters how we perceive the world and can alter aspects of cognitive performance. Prominent theories of anxiety suggest that the effect of anxiety on cognition is due to anxious thoughts "overloading" limited cognitive resources, competing with other processes. If this is so, then a cognitive load manipulation should impact performance of a task in the same way as induced anxiety. Thus, we examined the impact of a load manipulation on a time perception task that we have previously shown to be reliably impacted by anxiety. In contrast with our prediction, across 3 studies we found that time perception was insensitive to our load manipulation. Our results do not therefore support the idea that anxiety impacts temporal cognition by overloading limited cognitive resources, at least as induced by a commonly used load manipulation. Thus, anxiety might affect temporal cognition in a unique way, via an evolutionary-preserved defense survival system, as suggested by animal-inspired theories of anxiety, rather than competing for limited attentional resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Developing game awareness, perception and decision-making in elite youth footballers

In football, elite players appear to have more time and space, understand the pattern of the game, make better decisions with the ball and be one step ahead of their opponents. Some players are anecdotally believed to ‘just have it’. This study examined the process of perception-decision-execution during skill acquisition within football and whether training focussed on cognition and perception leads to players’ decision-making being improved. There appears to be a gap in both the research and application in the sporting context as to the role and trainability of decision-making in football and whether greater perception of the in-game environment contributes to better decision-making. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of multi-task and cognitive effort training during football practice and to determine the impact of these methods on perception and decision-making regarding a player’s first touch in the match environment. The study involved an experimental design using a control trial during the intervention. Players from two teams (N=31, age M=14.18, SD=0.55), competing in the NSW National Youth Premier League (NYPL) were divided into control and intervention groups and completed testing at three time points (pre-, post-intervention and retention). A training intervention was conducted replacing the 20 minute traditional passing practice component of the training. The intervention consisted of cognitive load exercises based on first touch ball manipulation and movements commonly found in football. The effectiveness of the training intervention was assessed via three methods; a video-based decision-making test using 20 video clips with players depicting their first touch, a questionnaire self-assessing decision-making and expert analysis of individuals’ game performance from footage of games. Results indicate that the altered training environment was equally effective to traditional passing practices in all three measures used in the study. There was a significant difference in the video-based testing (p < .01), for both the control and intervention groups between pre-test (M=7.196) and post-test (M=10.714) and between pre-test (M=7.196) and retention test (M=10.750) supporting previous studies that on field training positively influences decision-making in video-based tests. The questionnaire revealed players self-assessed their decision-making ability at a constant level across both the control and intervention groups. Game performance in the match environment indicated players made less poor decisions leading to losing possession, but did not improve decision-making to create more scoring chances. The impact of the altered training environment on players across the three measures are discussed along with the implications of the results for the development of decision-making in youth football. Recommendations are made for the scope and focus of future research into training and testing decision-making through cognitive load training

Exploring Human Perception while Reading Fake and Real News Articles

With the increased spread of misinformation on online platforms and the popularity of AI-generated text, there is a critical need to detect human perception regarding the truthfulness of news. Users’ believability in a news item influences the reading and sharing of that news. Hence, in order to reduce the spread of fake news online, it is important to understand how users\u27 engagement with fake and real news and users\u27 perceived believability impact their behavioral and physiological factors. In this work, we study human eye movements based on the truthfulness of news and their perceived believability. Using the publicly available FakeNewsPerception eye-tracking dataset, we investigate the relationship between the visual scanning behavior, distribution of attention over Areas of Interest (AOIs), and cognitive load with respect to truthfulness and perceived believability of news content using advanced gaze measures, such as Coefficient K, Gaze Transition Entropy, and Low/High Index of Pupillary Activity (LHIPA). Coefficient K is derived from eye movements and acts as a dynamic indicator of fluctuation between ambient/focal visual scanning behavior. The gaze transition entropy is a measure of predictability in Areas of Interest (AOI) transitions and the overall distribution of attention over AOIs. The LHIPA is an eye-tracked measure of pupil diameter oscillation that was introduced as an indicator of cognitive load. We observed the participants exhibit more ambient processing in visual scanning when they are unsure of the truthfulness of news and more focal processing when they do not believe the news is real. We found that the ambient/focal viewing pattern changes over time are similar for all the groups of participants we considered. Further, we observed a similar distribution of attention over AOIs and similar cognitive load among participants regardless of the truthfulness of the news and their believability of the news.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gradposters2023_sciences/1024/thumbnail.jp

Searching on the Go: The Effects of Fragmented Attention on Mobile Web Search Tasks

Smart phones and tablets are rapidly becoming our main method of accessing information and are frequently used to perform on-the-go search tasks. Mobile devices are commonly used in situations where attention must be divided, such as when walking down a street. Research suggests that this increases cognitive load and, therefore, may have an impact on performance. In this work we conducted a laboratory experiment with both device types in which we simulated everyday, common mobile situations that may cause fragmented attention, impact search performance and affect user perception. Our results showed that the fragmented attention induced by the simulated conditions significantly affected both participants' objective and perceived search performance, as well as how hurried they felt and how engaged they were in the tasks. Furthermore, the type of device used also impacted how users felt about the search tasks, how well they performed and the amount of time they spent engaged in the tasks. These novel insights provide useful information to inform the design of future interfaces for mobile search and give us a greater understanding of how context and device size affect search behaviour and user experience

El potencial de la teoría cognitiva en la enseñanza de la contabilidad y auditoría

El artículo examina la asimilación de dos conceptos contables complejos: la imagen fiel (TFV) y el valor razonable (FV) en una muestra de estudiantes de Contabilidad Financiera. El objetivo es evaluar la opinión de los estudiantes sobre TFV y FV durante su educación y detectar si las percepciones cambian con su nivel académico y madurez. La metodología utilizada es una encuesta de opinión. Las respuestas obtenidas muestran que los estudiantes consideran que la TFV es un concepto superior a otros principios contables. Además, en el estudio se observa que las respuestas de los estudiantes dependen del nivel académico y la madurez. Por último, se considera que los postulados que establece la teoría cognitiva podrían servir a los instructores en materia de contabilidad y organismos reguladores para mejorar el proceso de aprendizaje así como la calidad de la información financiera.This paper examines the understanding of two complex accounting concepts: true and fair view (TFV) and fair value (FV) by students in Financial Accounting. The correct assimilation of these concepts is assessed as to whether there are differences in concept perception due to academic level and maturity. We use a survey to examine the perception and assimilation of the TFV and FV. The evidence suggests that accounting students consider that TFV is a superior accounting concept over other accounting principles. Additionally, the study identifies a pattern of change depending on the academic level and maturity of the participants. On discovering differences, a proposal is made to use the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) by standard setters and instructors in accounting and auditing to improve the learning process and the quality of financial information.Ministerio de Innovación y Ciencia DER2009-09539 ECO2010-17463 ECO2010-21627 DER2012-33367 DER2015-67918PConsejería de Educacion y Ciencia Castilla-La Mancha POII10-0134-5011Universidad de Alcalá CCG20014/HUM-03

Searching on the go : the effects of fragmented attention on mobile web search tasks

Smart phones and tablets are rapidly becoming our main method of accessing information and are frequently used to perform on-the-go search tasks. Mobile devices are commonly used in situations where attention must be divided, such as when walking down a street. Research suggests that this increases cognitive load and, therefore, may have an impact on performance. In this work we conducted a laboratory experiment with both device types in which we simulated everyday, common mobile situations that may cause fragmented attention, impact search performance and affect user perception. Our results showed that the fragmented attention induced by the simulated conditions significantly affected both participants' objective and perceived search performance, as well as how hurried they felt and how engaged they were in the tasks. Furthermore, the type of device used also impacted how users felt about the search tasks, how well they performed and the amount of time they spent engaged in the tasks. These novel insights provide useful information to inform the design of future interfaces for mobile search and give us a greater understanding of how context and device size affect search behaviour and user experience

Cognitive Load and Its Relationship with Mental Capacity in Accordance with Their Levels at Students of the Secondary Stage in Terms of Sweller Theory

The study aimed to identify the cognitive load and its relationshipwith mental capacity in accordance their levels at the students of the secondary stage in the terms of Sweller theory. The study sample consisted of (300) male and female eleventh and twelfth grade students from the leadership schools in Amman. The researcher used the cognitive load scale and the mental capacity scale.The results showed a high level of cognitive load in male and female, a high cognitive Load on students of scientific specialization rather than literary specialization, and that the mental capacity of the study sample in general is moderate, and that the mental capacity of students of scientific specialization is high compared to the mental capacity of students of literary specialization. In addition, that the association between higher mental capacity and cognitive load was higher in males than in females, and that the relationship between the mean mental capacity of both sexes with the cognitive load was statistically significant

Dynamic attentional modulation of vision across space and time after right hemisphere stroke and in ageing

This article is available open access and is shared under a Creative Commons licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier Ltd.Introduction - Attention modulates the availability of sensory information to conscious perception. In particular, there is evidence of pathological, spatial constriction of the effective field of vision in patients with right hemisphere damage when a central task exhausts available attentional capacity. In the current study we first examined whether this constriction might be modulated across both space and time in right hemisphere stroke patients without neglect. Then we tested healthy elderly people to determine whether non-pathological ageing also leads to spatiotemporal impairments of vision under conditions of high attention load. Methods - Right hemisphere stroke patients completed a task at fixation while attempting to discriminate letters appearing in the periphery. Attentional load of the central task was modulated by increasing task difficulty. Peripheral letters appeared simultaneously with the central task or at different times (stimulus onset asynchronies, SOAs) after it. In a second study healthy elderly volunteers were tested with a modified version of this paradigm. Results - Under conditions of high attention load right hemisphere stroke patients have a reduced effective visual field, over a significantly extended ‘attentional blink’, worse for items presented to their left. In the second study, older participants were unable to discriminate otherwise salient items across the visual field (left or right) when their attention capacity was loaded on the central task. This deficit extended temporally, with peripheral discrimination ability not returning to normal for up to 450 msec. Conclusions - Dynamically tying up attention resources on a task at fixation can have profound effects in patient populations and in normal ageing. These results demonstrate that items can escape conscious detection across space and time, and can thereby impact significantly on visual perception in these groups.The European Commission, Brunel University and the Wellcome Trust