Research In Cognitive Psychology Research Articles

Getting Heard: Practical Strategies for Capturing Attention and Influencing Outcomes at Work

Getting your ideas heard and influencing outcomes at work can be challenging given modern distractions and information overload. This practitioner-focused brief explores evidence-based communication strategies for capturing attention and gaining buy-in. Drawing from research in cognitive psychology, persuasion, and leadership storytelling, it provides guidance on crafting compelling messages through narrative structure, formatting for visual engagement, and crafting an persuasive opening statement, evidence, and resolution. The brief also offers tips for delivering ideas interactively to different learning styles while empowering participation over passivity. Real-world case studies from Patagonia, Anthropic, and Discovery Education demonstrate effective application across industries. By understanding human cognition and facilitating collaborative discovery, communicators can inspire others towards shared goals through respect, understanding and inspiration over directives.

Correction: The illusion of understanding: AI’s role in cognitive psychology research

Correction: The illusion of understanding: AI’s role in cognitive psychology research

Agent-Based Model for Situational Awareness in the Workplace: Enhancing Neural Networks with Direct Feedback Alignment

The integration of direct feedback alignment (DFA) into neural networks presents a paradigm shift in computational models, enhancing situational awareness within professional settings. This paper explores the application of DFA in agent-based computational models, demonstrating its efficiency and biological plausibility over traditional backpropagation methods. The research highlights the significant impact of direct feedback alignment on reinforcing situational awareness, evidenced through comprehensive simulations that show marked improvements in agents' ability to effectively navigate and comprehend complex work environments. The study suggests that direct feedback alignment revolutionizes neural network learning processes and significantly enhances cognitive aspects critical to employee safety and operational efficiency. It lays the groundwork for future investigations into the integration of neural computation techniques with organizational psychology and behavior, offering a new perspective on fostering safer, more aware, and efficient workplace environments. The potential application of direct feedback alignment across various professional scenarios opens new avenues for research in computational neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and organizational behavior, with a focus on optimizing human-environment interactions in complex systems.

Testing the Effectiveness of Computerized Cognitive Training on an At-Risk Student Population.

Core constructs such as working memory, task switching, and processing speed in cognitive psychology research have prominent predictive roles in K12 students' academic performance. Specifically, considerable empirical work shows that variability in such capabilities is linked to differences in numerous academic outcomes. Moreover, there is an increasing awareness and acceptance of the malleability of cognitive abilities. Thus, an emerging strand of research focuses on the use of computerized cognitive training to improve cognitive skills. This project addresses this issue with high-risk students attending community day schools. An in-school cognitive training program implemented (for 30 min per day) at each school site resulted in improvements for working memory, task switching, and processing speed after six total hours of participation. The current results provide evidence for the changeability of what were once thought to be static skills. Equally important, this study highlights the effectiveness of computerized cognitive training and critically extends intervention-based work to a student group that has received little attention. Implications of this work for cognitive research and educational support programs are discussed.

The Impact of Color Cues on the Learning Performance in Video Lectures.

This study explores the learning effects of color cues in video lectures and their underlying mechanisms. With the rapid growth of online education, lifelong learning, and blended learning, video lectures have become integral to teaching and learning. Color, a crucial element in visual design, directs attention, organizes content, and integrates information. Evaluating 78 college students, we assessed learning performance by comparing video content with no-color, single-color, and multi-color cues using eye-tracking technology and cognitive load scales. Results indicate that students viewing videos with color cues demonstrated better retention and transfer test performance, while absence or excess of color cues increased cognitive load. These findings have practical implications for video producers and provide a theoretical foundation for enhancing learners' viewing experience and overall effectiveness. This study not only offers an in-depth analysis of color cue utilization in video lectures, highlighting their positive impact on learning outcomes but also introduces fresh perspectives for educational technology and cognitive psychology research. Future investigations should consider color cue effects in diverse cultural contexts and subject areas, exploring varied strategies to optimize the learning experience.

Perception-action Dissociations as a Window into Consciousness.

Understanding the neural correlates of unconscious perception stands as a primary goal of experimental research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. In this Perspectives paper, we explain why experimental protocols probing qualitative dissociations between perception and action provide valuable insights into conscious and unconscious processing, along with their corresponding neural correlates. We present research that utilizes human eye movements as a sensitive indicator of unconscious visual processing. Given the increasing reliance on oculomotor and pupillary responses in consciousness research, these dissociations also provide a cautionary tale about inferring conscious perception solely based on no-report protocols.

"What about Military Decision-Making?": A Bibliometric Review of Published Articles.

Decision-making processes in the military domain constitute a strategic field of research in cognitive psychology, although there are currently few scientific publications addressing the topic. Professionals in the field and interested parties need access to data on military decision-making processes to understand where and how the scientific community is directing its investigations on the issue. Military decision-making is a strategic field of study because the military is crucial to the security and defense of a country or community. This work aims to be a point of reference for those involved in various capacities in military decision-making, providing key data regarding research trends over the years, the geographical distribution of scientific productivity, methodologies employed, annual statistics, and the prevalence of the most-investigated terms and topics. Therefore, this study serves as a bibliometric analysis of the literature on military decision-making publihed from 1992 to 2023 on the Scopus and Web of Science databases.

50 years of research on working memory

Exactly 50 years ago, Allan Baddeley and Graham Hitch's (1974) working memory model fascinated academics and diagnosticians dealing with human cognition and fundamentally transformed the landscape of memory research. Working memory is the ability of the human mind that enables the creation and reception of messages, mental arithmetic, decision-making and other complex cognitive activities that require the temporary storage of necessary information and manipulation of it in order to perform current tasks (e.g. following the flow of a conversation). It is therefore one of the most dynamically developed areas of mind research in cognitive psychology, cognitive science, neuropsychology and the psychology of individual differences (especially in the diagnosis of intellect). The research dispute concerns many aspects of the construct of working memory described in detail: its structure, functions, capacity limitations, connection with consciousness, long-term memory, attention, etc. (cf. Logie, Belletier et al., 2021). The proposed solutions are so detailed that people who do not closely follow the literature on the subject may have difficulty understanding their essence. The origins of this creative confusion date back to the proposals of Baddeley and Hitch (1974), who carefully analyzed data on temporary memory and recognized it as a system composed of many interacting components, that is, separate subsystems storing information in different formats (e.g., visual or auditory), and from their superior subsystem, which manages the flow and use of the collected information. This article presents the context in which Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) multi-component model of working memory was developed, describes the milestones marking the dynamic changes it underwent, and lists the research projects that prompted a more detailed description of the individual components of the model. Although an influential part of contemporary competing approaches to working memory abandons many of Baddeley's theses (Cowan, 2017; Oberauer, 2019), each of them follows the conceptual paths forged by this author and must specify their positions in the questions asked during the fifty-year journey of working memory researchers.

Does Military Experience Really Matter? An Empirical Examination of Decision Framing and Deterrence Decision-Making

Abstract While it is widely understood that risk tolerance shapes conflict behavior, research in cognitive psychology has long demonstrated that reframing otherwise identical objective conditions can significantly alter people’s risk perception. Nonetheless, the potential impact of reframing during immediate deterrence has received little empirical scrutiny. In this study, we focus our attention on a comparison of the lay public and experienced military officials who, due to their expertise and training, are presumed to be less vulnerable to cognitive biases when making judgments about military affairs. To test this proposition, we deployed a unique set of deterrence decision experiments that, for the first time, directly compare the impact of reframing on a representative sample of the public and on a large (n = 479) sample of experienced active-duty US military officers (ranked Major through General) across three conflict domains (conventional, cyber, and nuclear). We find that, despite their greater expertise with military operations, officers are not less vulnerable to reframing than the lay public. Our results both conditionally challenge the common refrain that military officers serve as “adults in the room” during a crisis and establish that reframing within a crisis constitutes an underexplored mechanism that can both stabilize and destabilize deterrence dynamics.

An investigation of worker decision-making optimization for smart manufacturing

The transition to smart factories, characterized by computer-integrated facilities and advanced technologies, has heightened the demand for specific and advanced skills in workers. This multidisciplinary project brings together insights from cognitive psychology research and qualitative field research to present a framework that identifies factors at the individual and organizational system levels for success in smart manufacturing. The cognitive psychology research indicated that augmenting human cognition, particularly memory, significantly improved performance in training scenarios. The field research resulted in a multi-factor framework to address individual and organizational decision-making factors. A proposal is presented to apply the research findings to designing a training paradigm for smart manufacturing workers and facilities to be adaptable for a variety of situations.

The illusion of understanding: AI’s role in cognitive psychology research

The illusion of understanding: AI’s role in cognitive psychology research

Automated discovery of symbolic laws governing skill acquisition from naturally occurring data.

Skill acquisition is a key area of research in cognitive psychology as it encompasses multiple psychological processes. The laws discovered under experimental paradigms are controversial and lack generalizability. This paper aims to unearth the laws of skill learning from large-scale training log data. A two-stage algorithm was developed to tackle the issues of unobservable cognitive states and an algorithmic explosion in searching. A deep learning model is initially employed to determine the learner's cognitive state and assess the feature importance. Symbolic regression algorithms are then used to parse the neural network model into algebraic equations. Experimental results show that the algorithm can accurately restore preset laws within a noise range in continuous feedback settings. When applied to Lumosity training data, the method outperforms traditional and recent models in fitness terms. The study reveals two new forms of skill acquisition laws and reaffirms some previous findings.

Exploring idyllic healing: developing a multi-sensory image scale for idyllic life and its impact on restorative effects and travel intention

ABSTRACT Under the theme of “idyllic healing”, this article explores the sensory images of idyllic life and their impact on restorative effects and travel intention to reveal the potential for sensory attraction and restorative effects in idyllic tourism destinations. Moreover, research indicates that imagination possesses significant positive emotional and restorative effects. However, empirical validation within the field of tourism is limited, necessitating further scholarly investigation. The article contains two progressive studies. Study 1 constructed an idyllic life multi-sensory image scale containing seven dimensions: vision, audition, haptic sense, taste, olfaction, kinesthesia and atmospheric sense, based on online text data. Study 2 used structural equation modelling to investigate the relationship between sensory dimensions, verified the influence mechanism of sensory images on restorative effects and travel intention, and found that atmospheric sense and restorative effects played an important mediating role. Through the development of the idyllic life multi-sensory image scale, this paper visualises the sensory image of idyllic life and reveals the positive contributions of imagined sensory images associated with an idyllic life to recovery effects and travel intention, underscoring the significant role of imagination, expanding the field of research in cognitive psychology, providing literature support for the integration of mental health and tourism and recreation, and highlighting the potential of rural destinations as healing places. Moreover, the relationship between the sensory dimensions of idyllic life is verified, which enriches the theory of sensory marketing. This study identifies specific sensory elements that enhance restorative experiences and will help to their translation into measurable environmental variables using psychophysics. Building on this foundation, further research into tourism dosage, this approach aims to objectify perceptions and support the scientification and quantification of travel prescriptions. Additionally, the research is expected to facilitate the future quantification of sensory perceptions and establish optimal standards for physical environmental stimuli in rural tourism settings.

Testing memory of a VR environment: comparison with the real environment and 2D pictures

In recent years, there has been a growing trend in cognitive psychology research towards recreating experimental situations in virtual reality (VR). VR settings are thought to have higher ecological validity than laboratory settings using digital, two-dimensional (2D) pictures. Some studies have shown cognitive performance in VR settings to follow that of the real world. However, other studies obtained controversial results. The present study tested the memory performance of three groups of participants who were exposed to the same environment (a room) through different modalities: in real life, in VR, and through 2D pictures. The results highlighted that participants who were exposed to the target room in real life had an overall better memory performance, compared to participants who saw the room in VR or through 2D pictures. On the other hand, no differences in memory performance emerged between the VR and 2D picture groups, except for the non-suggestive verbal task. The results suggest that future research should be careful in assuming that performance in VR settings is comparable to real life and that VR is more ecological than traditional 2D media.

Human and AI collaboration in the higher education environment: opportunities and concerns

In service of the goal of examining how cognitive science can facilitate human–computer interactions in complex systems, we explore how cognitive psychology research might help educators better utilize artificial intelligence and AI supported tools as facilitatory to learning, rather than see these emerging technologies as a threat. We also aim to provide historical perspective, both on how automation and technology has generated unnecessary apprehension over time, and how generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT are a product of the discipline of cognitive science. We introduce a model for how higher education instruction can adapt to the age of AI by fully capitalizing on the role that metacognition knowledge and skills play in determining learning effectiveness. Finally, we urge educators to consider how AI can be seen as a critical collaborator to be utilized in our efforts to educate around the critical workforce skills of effective communication and collaboration.

EZ-CDM: Fast, simple, robust, and accurate estimation of circular diffusion model parameters.

The investigation of cognitive processes that form the basis of decision-making in paradigms involving continuous outcomes has gained the interest of modeling researchers who aim to develop a dynamic decision theory that accounts for both speed and accuracy. One of the most important of these continuous models is the circular diffusion model (CDM, Smith. Psychological Review, 123(4), 425. 2016), which posits a noisy accumulation process mathematically described as a stochastic two-dimensional Wiener process inside a disk. Despite the considerable benefits of this model, its mathematical intricacy has limited its utilization among scholars. Here, we propose a straightforward and user-friendly method for estimating the CDM parameters and fitting the model to continuous-scale data using simple formulas that can be readily computed and do not require theoretical knowledge of model fitting or extensive programming. Notwithstanding its simplicity, we demonstrate that the aforementioned method performs with a level of accuracy that is comparable to that of the maximum likelihood estimation method. Furthermore, a robust version of the method is presented, which maintains its simplicity while exhibiting a high degree of resistance to contaminant responses. Additionally, we show that the approach is capable of reliably measuring the key parameters of the CDM, even when these values are subject to across-trial variability. Finally, we demonstrate the practical application of the method on experimental data. Specifically, an illustrative example is presented wherein the method is employed along with estimating the probability of guessing. It is hoped that the straightforward methodology presented here will, on the one hand, help narrow the divide between theoretical constructs and empirical observations on continuous response tasks and, on the other hand, inspire cognitive psychology researchers to shift their laboratory investigations towards continuous response paradigms.

On the computational complexity of ethics: moral tractability for minds and machines

Why should moral philosophers, moral psychologists, and machine ethicists care about computational complexity? Debates on whether artificial intelligence (AI) can or should be used to solve problems in ethical domains have mainly been driven by what AI can or cannot do in terms of human capacities. In this paper, we tackle the problem from the other end by exploring what kind of moral machines are possible based on what computational systems can or cannot do. To do so, we analyze normative ethics through the lens of computational complexity. First, we introduce computational complexity for the uninitiated reader and discuss how the complexity of ethical problems can be framed within Marr’s three levels of analysis. We then study a range of ethical problems based on consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, with the aim of elucidating the complexity associated with the problems themselves (e.g., due to combinatorics, uncertainty, strategic dynamics), the computational methods employed (e.g., probability, logic, learning), and the available resources (e.g., time, knowledge, learning). The results indicate that most problems the normative frameworks pose lead to tractability issues in every category analyzed. Our investigation also provides several insights about the computational nature of normative ethics, including the differences between rule- and outcome-based moral strategies, and the implementation-variance with regard to moral resources. We then discuss the consequences complexity results have for the prospect of moral machines in virtue of the trade-off between optimality and efficiency. Finally, we elucidate how computational complexity can be used to inform both philosophical and cognitive-psychological research on human morality by advancing the moral tractability thesis.

Managerial decision-making: exploration strategies in dynamic environments

PurposeWe argue that a fundamental issue regarding how to search and how to switch between different cognitive modes lies in the decision rules that influence the dynamics of learning and exploration. We examine the search logics underlying these decision rules and propose conceptual prompts that can be applied mentally or computationally to aid managers’ decision-making.Design/methodology/approachBy applying Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) modeling to simulate agents’ interaction with dynamic environments, we compared the patterns and performance of selected MAB algorithms under different configurations of environmental conditions.FindingsWe develop three conceptual prompts. First, the simple heuristic-based exploration strategy works well in conditions of low environmental variability and few alternatives. Second, an exploration strategy that combines simple and de-biasing heuristics is suitable for most dynamic and complex decision environments. Third, the uncertainty-based exploration strategy is more applicable in the condition of high environmental unpredictability as it can more effectively recognize deviated patterns.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to emerging research on using algorithms to develop novel concepts and combining heuristics and algorithmic intelligence in strategic decision-making.Practical implicationsThis study offers insights that there are different possibilities for exploration strategies for managers to apply conceptually and that the adaptability of cognitive-distant search may be underestimated in turbulent environments.Originality/valueDrawing on insights from machine learning and cognitive psychology research, we demonstrate the fitness of different exploration strategies in different dynamic environmental configurations by comparing the different search logics that underlie the three MAB algorithms.

Watching videos of a drawing hand improves students' understanding of the normal probability distribution.

Understanding normal probability distributions is a crucial objective in mathematics and statistics education. Drawing upon cognitive psychology research, this study explores the use of drawings and visualizations as effective scaffolds to enhance students' comprehension. Although much research has documented the helpfulness of drawing as a research tool to reveal students' knowledge states, its direct utility in advancing higher-order cognitive processes remains understudied. In Study 1, qualitative methods were utilized to identify common misunderstandings among students regarding canonical depictions of the normal probability distribution. Building on these insights, Study 2 experimentally compared three instructional videos (static slides, dynamic drawing, and dynamic drawings done by a visible hand). The hand drawing video led to better learning than the other versions. Study 3 examined whether the benefits from observing a hand drawing could be reproduced by a dynamic cursor moving around otherwise static slides (without the presence of a hand). Results showed no significant learning difference between observing a hand drawing and a moving cursor, both outperforming a control. This research links the cognitive process of drawing with its educational role and provides insights into its potential to enhance memory, cognition, and inform instructional methods.

Illiteracy and cognitive sciences: A psycholinguistic perspective

This text emphasises the importance of considering literacy and nonverbal IQ (NVIQ) in cognitive psychology research, highlighting their significant impact on language acquisition and cognitive abilities. Inclusion of diverse populations is crucial to avoid overgeneralizations and gain a comprehensive understanding of these influences.