Exploratory Practice: Researching the Impact of Songs on EFL Learners' Verbal Memory

Traditionally popular songs have been used as a way of enhancing listening and auditory perception skills and teaching vocabulary, but not necessarily for memory recall. Popular song gap-fills are already commonplace within the EFL (English as a foreign language) field; however, this study found that more attention needs to be given, to the lexical, grammatical and phonological items that learners are instructed to retain. The results of this study suggest that, verbal memory is a vital part of language learning that should be incorporated into popular song gap-fills and that EFL teachers, theorists and textbook authors need to review the way language in popular songs is encoded, stored and retrieved, by incorporating memory strategies, following guidelines on gap-selection, including a phonological aspect and using a recycling activity. In this article traditional and contemporary understandings of verbal memory and popular song are outlined and comprehensively analysed within relevant fields that embrace ELT (English language teaching), Biology, Psycholinguistics, Neurolinguistics and Cognitive Psychology perspectives and discusses their pedagogical implications

Future work selves : how salient hoped-for identities motivate proactive career behaviors

The term future work self refers to an individual's representation of himself or herself in the future that reflects his or her hopes and aspirations in relation to work. The clearer and more accessible this representation, the more salient the future work self. An initial study with 2 samples (N = 397; N = 103) showed that future work self salience was distinct from established career concepts and positively related to individuals' proactive career behavior. A follow-up longitudinal analysis, Study 2 (N = 53), demonstrated that future work self salience had a lagged effect on proactive career behavior. In Study 3 (N = 233), we considered the role of elaboration, a further attribute of a future work self, and showed that elaboration motivated proactive career behavior only when future work self salience was also high. Together the studies suggest the power of future work selves as a motivational resource for proactive career behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Towards a shared ontology: a generic classification of cognitive processes in conceptual design

Towards addressing ontological issues in design cognition research, this paper presents the first generic classification of cognitive processes investigated in protocol studies on conceptual design cognition. The classification is based on a systematic review of 47 studies published over the past 30 years. Three viewpoints on the nature of design cognition are outlined (search, exploration and design activities), highlighting considerable differences in the concepts and terminology applied to describe cognition. To provide a more unified view of the cognitive processes fundamentally under study, we map specific descriptions of cognitive processes provided in protocol studies to more generic, established definitions in the cognitive psychology literature. This reveals a set of 6 categories of cognitive process that appear to be commonly studied and are therefore likely to be prevalent in conceptual design: (1) long-term memory; (2) semantic processing; (3) visual perception; (4) mental imagery processing; (5) creative output production and (6) executive functions. The categories and their constituent processes are formalised in the generic classification. The classification provides the basis for a generic, shared ontology of cognitive processes in design that is conceptually and terminologically consistent with the ontology of cognitive psychology and neuroscience. In addition, the work highlights 6 key avenues for future empirical research: (1) the role of episodic and semantic memory; (2) consistent definitions of semantic processes; (3) the role of sketching from alternative theoretical perspectives on perception and mental imagery; (4) the role of working memory; (5) the meaning and nature of synthesis and (6) unidentified cognitive processes implicated in conceptual design elsewhere in the literature

Dissociable Neural Contributions To Prospection During Decisions About The Future

Humans often make decisions that involve tradeoffs between immediate and delayed consequences, and tend to devalue or discount future outcomes. This phenomenon, known as delay discounting, has several real-world implications. A high discounter, indicating more impulsive behavior, is more likely to engage in risky behavior such as smoking or gambling, while a low discounter, exhibiting more patient behavior, is more likely to attain better educational and financial outcomes. Recent studies demonstrate that under certain conditions, imagining the future reduces discounting. The goal of this thesis is to examine the cognitive role and neural basis of imagination during intertemporal choice, and investigate the mechanisms by which imagination influences decision-making. Chapter 2 examines how specific components of imagination modulate activity in specific nodes of the default mode network. We find that two components of imagination, construction and evaluation, distinctly activate the dorsal and ventral nodes of the default mode network, demonstrating separate modifiability and indicating a role for multiple processes underlying imagination. Chapter 3 extends this finding by examining activity in these nodes while participants are completing a choice task. Since tangibility and value are often confounded in intertemporal choice, we used our neural markers of construction and evaluation from Chapter 2 to disentangle these distinct components during choice. Though we find that activity in evaluative regions increases when individuals choose a delayed option, we also find greater activity in constructive regions when individuals choose a delayed outcome, indicating that chosen options are perhaps imagined more vividly than unchosen ones. Further, greater activity in constructive regions seems to be driven by high discounters, suggesting that higher discounters rely on vividness to a greater extent during choice than lower discounters. We extend this finding in Chapter 4 by investigating the effects of behavioral interventions of the constructive component on delay discounting. Surprisingly, we find that being a better visualizer is correlated with steeper discounting, and long-term training in visualization of personal future goals leads to greater impulsive behavior. Together, these findings advance our understanding of how specific imagination processes influence decision-making through differential neural activity, laying the groundwork for implementing targeted, personally-tailored future interventions to reduce risky behavior

Capturing emotions: experience sampling at live music events

Purpose – Using techniques developed mainly in subjective well-being and “happiness” studies, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the applicability of these and related methods for understanding and evaluating the emotional responses experienced within the live music event environment. Design/methodology/approach – The concept of “experience” is debated and set within the context of music events designed to create a specific type of emotional experience for the attendees. The main tools for researching experiences over a time period are considered focusing on the “experience sampling method” (ESM) (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) and the “day reconstruction method” (Kahneman et al., 2004). These methods are critiqued in terms of their usefulness and practicality as research tools in the study of audience emotions. Findings – A revised method was then developed and a small-scale trial undertaken at a live music event, the results of which are presented and discussed. A conceptual model illustrating the interconnectedness of experience is introduced as an example of the application of the data gathered through this method to theory development. The paper concludes by reflecting on both the methodological appropriateness and practicality of ESMs as a way of gathering valuable data on the emotions engendered by events. Research limitations/implications – An obstacle yet to be overcome is using this data to predict attitudinal and behavioural change related to arts marketing goals. However, studies in other areas have clearly shown that emotional response is a significant indicator of future behaviour suggesting that the potential is there. Practical implications – The trialled method provides a useful starting point for better understanding the complexity of emotional effects triggered at live music events. Originality/value – The paper concludes that an adaptation of these methods has the potential to provide much needed rich and credible data on the feelings and emotional reactions triggered by different elements of a live event

Deficits in episodic future thinking following acute alcohol consumption

Rationale Acute alcohol consumption adversely affects many cognitive abilities, including episodic memory and executive functioning. However, no study to date has tested whether these acute effects of alcohol also extend to episodic future thinking (EFT). This is a surprising omission given that EFT refers to the ability to imagine oneself experiencing the future, a highly adaptive ability that has been implicated in many important functional behaviours. EFT is also thought to impose demands on episodic memory and executive control. Objectives The current study was designed to provide the first test of whether a moderate dose of alcohol influences EFT and whether any observed EFT difficulties are secondary to broader problems in episodic memory and executive functioning. Sex differences in EFT following acute alcohol consumption were also examined. Methods One hundred and twenty-four healthy adult social drinkers were recruited and randomly assigned to either the alcohol (n = 61) or placebo (n = 63) condition. Participants were administered a dose of 0.6 g/kg alcohol or a matched placebo drink. Results Relative to the placebo condition, EFT was impaired by acute alcohol consumption. This impairment was underpinned by broader difficulties with episodic memory, but not executive functioning. There were no sex differences in EFT performance following acute alcohol use. Conclusion These data provide novel insights into the effects of acute alcohol consumption on EFT and the broader cognitive mechanisms that contribute to these difficulties. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for understanding many of the maladaptive behaviours commonly associated with acute alcohol use

Different varieties of uncertainty in human decision-making

The study of uncertainty in decision-making is receiving greater attention in the fields of cognitive and computational neuroscience. Several lines of evidence are beginning to elucidate different variants of uncertainty. Particularly, risk, ambiguity, and expected and unexpected forms of uncertainty are well articulated in the literature. In this article we review both empirical and theoretical evidence arguing for the potential distinction between three forms of uncertainty; expected uncertainty, unexpected uncertainty, and volatility. Particular attention will be devoted to exploring the distinction between unexpected uncertainty and volatility which has been less appreciated in the literature. This includes evidence mainly from neuroimaging, neuromodulation, and electrophysiological studies. We further address the possible differentiation of cognitive control mechanisms used to deal with these forms of uncertainty. Finally, we explore whether the dual modes of control theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding the distinction between unexpected uncertainty and volatility

Thinking About Episodic Future Events as a Way to Reduce Smoking Behavior: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

With nearly 35 million Americans currently estimated to smoke and an approximate seven out of ten adult smokers wanting to quit, it is clear that there is a need for enhanced smoking cessation techniques. Encouraging people to think about a future smoke-free self may help to encourage and motivate changes in smoking behavior. The present study investigated the role of an episodic future thinking manipulation on the motivation to quit smoking using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Participants (N = 103) were randomly assigned to either an episodic future thinking (EFT) condition or an episodic recent thinking (ERT) condition, and were asked to write a short paragraph about an EFT or an ERT event from their personal life. Immediately following the writing prompt, participants answered daily questions about mental imagery, mind-wandering, craving, stress, and the motivation to quit smoking. Participants also completed individual differences questionnaires surveying their propensity for holistic thinking, mental imagery, and mind-wandering. It was hypothesized that individuals randomly assigned to the EFT (vs. ERT) condition would report greater motivation to quit smoking. Additionally, participants in the EFT (vs. ERT) condition who reported more holistic thinking were expected to report the strongest motivation to quit smoking. Finally, participants in the EFT group who reported more mental imagery and more frequent mind-wandering (for both the individual differences and daily EMA variables) were expected to report the strongest motivation to quit smoking. None of the hypotheses were supported. However, greater motivation to quit smoking was significantly correlated with greater levels of daily mental imagery and more frequent deliberate daily mind wandering (regardless of the condition). Additionally, daily average deliberate mind-wandering significantly predicted the motivation to quit smoking. Limitations and future directions are discussed

Thinking About Episodic Future Events as a Way to Reduce Smoking Behavior: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

With nearly 35 million Americans currently estimated to smoke and an approximate seven out of ten adult smokers wanting to quit, it is clear that there is a need for enhanced smoking cessation techniques. Encouraging people to think about a future smoke-free self may help to encourage and motivate changes in smoking behavior. The present study investigated the role of an episodic future thinking manipulation on the motivation to quit smoking using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Participants (N = 103) were randomly assigned to either an episodic future thinking (EFT) condition or an episodic recent thinking (ERT) condition, and were asked to write a short paragraph about an EFT or an ERT event from their personal life. Immediately following the writing prompt, participants answered daily questions about mental imagery, mind-wandering, craving, stress, and the motivation to quit smoking. Participants also completed individual differences questionnaires surveying their propensity for holistic thinking, mental imagery, and mind-wandering. It was hypothesized that individuals randomly assigned to the EFT (vs. ERT) condition would report greater motivation to quit smoking. Additionally, participants in the EFT (vs. ERT) condition who reported more holistic thinking were expected to report the strongest motivation to quit smoking. Finally, participants in the EFT group who reported more mental imagery and more frequent mind-wandering (for both the individual differences and daily EMA variables) were expected to report the strongest motivation to quit smoking. None of the hypotheses were supported. However, greater motivation to quit smoking was significantly correlated with greater levels of daily mental imagery and more frequent deliberate daily mind wandering (regardless of the condition). Additionally, daily average deliberate mind-wandering significantly predicted the motivation to quit smoking. Limitations and future directions are discussed

Team Learning: A Theoretical Integration and Review

With the increasing emphasis on work teams as the primary architecture of organizational structure, scholars have begun to focus attention on team learning, the processes that support it, and the important outcomes that depend on it. Although the literature addressing learning in teams is broad, it is also messy and fraught with conceptual confusion. This chapter presents a theoretical integration and review. The goal is to organize theory and research on team learning, identify actionable frameworks and findings, and emphasize promising targets for future research. We emphasize three theoretical foci in our examination of team learning, treating it as multilevel (individual and team, not individual or team), dynamic (iterative and progressive; a process not an outcome), and emergent (outcomes of team learning can manifest in different ways over time). The integrative theoretical heuristic distinguishes team learning process theories, supporting emergent states, team knowledge representations, and respective influences on team performance and effectiveness. Promising directions for theory development and research are discussed