Psychology
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Role of object semantics in guiding overt attention of younger and older adults, and AD patients
(The University of Edinburgh, 2021-01-08)For decades, vision research has investigated the influence of object semantic information on visual attention by examining eye movements. However, it has provided contrasting evidence about the extent to which object ... -
Linguistic systematicity between phonology, semantics, and orthography in English and Korean
(The University of Edinburgh, 2021-07-31)Language is a complex system with multiple hierarchical subsystems. The current thesis investigates the relation between sub-domains of language: phonology, semantics, and orthography. The dissertation consists of two ... -
Bilingualism meets autism: an investigation of executive functions profiles in English-Arabic children
(The University of Edinburgh, 2021-07-31)Autism is described as a lifelong neurodevelopmental spectrum condition, with each individual varying in their abilities across social and cognitive domains. The current prevalence estimates range between 1/100 and 1/132 ... -
Effects of language learning and bilingualism on executive functions: influence of exposure, experience and linguistic distance
(The University of Edinburgh, 2021-07-31)The debate as to whether bilingual experience benefits individuals in terms of certain aspects of executive function has received much attention. The differences on cognitive performance between monolinguals and ... -
Virtually in love: the role of romantic anthropomorphism in the digital age
(The University of Edinburgh, 2021-07-31)Introduction: Romantic relationships are a cornerstone of human nature. Today, the needs and benefits of romantic relationships have the potential to be fulfilled by virtual agents (VAs). Although previous psychological ... -
Effects of similarity on speakers’ production of referring expressions
(The University of Edinburgh, 2021-07-31)When people talk, they often wish to refer to a discourse entity that has been previously mentioned. Nevertheless, they often have several choices about how to do so. This thesis aims to understand the choice of referring ... -
The Effect of Semantic Constraint on Lexical Access in Bilingual Word Recognition
(The University of Edinburgh, 2017-10-13)The current study investigated how a constraining sentence context affects processing times in second language (L2) word identification. We used eye-tracking to look at whether the cognate facilitation effect, a cue of ... -
Understanding autonomous behaviours in children: an investigation of self-directed cognitive control development
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-11-30)Gaining autonomy is a key aspect of growing up. However, little is known about how children engage cognitive control in an autonomous (or self-directed) fashion to achieve goals. The aim of this dissertation is to better ... -
How can we help children to learn?
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-11-30)This thesis began with a question: How can we help children to learn? I examined this question by testing four distinct factors proposed to influence learning: number awareness, mindset, stereotyping and conscientiousn ... -
Processing of novel grammatical features during real-time second language production and comprehension
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-11-30)Second language (L2) learners often have difficulties acquiring grammatical features which do not exist in their first language (e.g. inflectional morphology, number agreement etc.), and exhibit real-time production and ... -
In the face of consciousness: how emotion, orientation, and gaze modulate face perception
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-21)Human faces convey essential information for social behaviour, such as information about others’ mental states and intentions. Crucially, many studies have claimed that several facial features such as configural facial ... -
Not all synaesthetes are the same: cognitive and personality differences in different types of synaesthetes
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-07-20)Synaesthesia is a perceptual condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic and involuntary experiences in a secondary sensory or cognitive pathway (e.g. seeing music or tasting words). ... -
Comparative lower-order hierarchical personality structure and personality development in nonhuman great apes
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-06-26)The aim of this thesis is to identify the structure of personality below the factor level in chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas in terms of both facets and items and to investigate the development of these lower-order ... -
Critical evaluation of interference-based accounts of forgetting via studies of minimal interference
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-06-26)There is a growing consensus that the forgetting of information from long-term memory occurs as a result of interference. Interference is experienced when the encountering of extraneous stimuli impedes the retention and ... -
Is human-animal inequality foundational to human inequalities?
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-06-26)Around the world, human-animal inequality is widespread; the meat industry alone slaughters billions of animals each year. Some human groups face similar inequalities. For example, drug addicts are routinely persecuted ... -
Mechanisms of variation in language use: insights from lexical entrainment
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-06-26)Language use is variable, such as we can call the same object umbrella or brolly. But what determines this variability? This thesis aimed at better understanding how speakers vary the words they use during dialogue, by ... -
Advancing our understanding of major depression and its assessment using experience sampling methodology
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-06-26)The development of the classification systems of psychiatric disorders illustrates a long-term debate on whether a discrete and categorical or a continuum and spectral view best describes psychiatric disorders. This ... -
Understanding men’s sexual aggression against women: dehumanization, objectification and development of a measure of online intrusive behaviors
(The University of Edinburgh, 2020-06-26)This thesis successfully accomplishes two major aims. First, it explores the relationship between dehumanization, objectification, and men’s sexual aggression. Correlational and experimental results robustly support a ... -
Health literacy, cognitive ability and health
(The University of Edinburgh, 2019-12-13)Poorer health literacy—the ability to acquire, understand and use health information to make better health decisions—has been associated with worse health outcomes. Poorer cognitive ability has also been found to predict ... -
Investigating the development of executive functions and their relationship with educational attainment during adolescence: a study of inhibition, shifting and working memory
(The University of Edinburgh, 2019-11-29)Background Research regarding the development of executive functions (EFs) and their association with educational attainment has disproportionately focused on younger ages, mainly pre-schoolers and primary school aged ...
