Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Divergence cognitive'

Les études récentes en santé humaine supposent un lien de causalité entre la complexité des systèmes de contrôle psychophysiologique et la complexité des biosignaux qu’ils émettent. Le travail mené dans le cadre de cette thèse illustre ce principe en s’appuyant sur une démarche interdisciplinaire, combinant physiologie, psychologie et traitement du signal. Il vise à étudier les dynamiques des signaux physiologiques émis par l’Homme, en réponse à un stress induit en situation individuelle ou collective. Le stress étant un processus multifactoriel qui dépend de la perception et de l’interprétation d’une situation donnée par un individu, l’étude des signaux physiologiques est combinée à l’évaluation de caractéristiques psychologiques contextuelles et dispositionnelles. En particulier, nous nous intéressons aux régulations cardiaques qui sont analysées à partir des séries temporelles définies par les durées successives des intervalles RR. Des approches statistiques temporelles, fréquentielles ou non-linéaires sont utilisées afin d’étudier les capacités d’adaptation des individus confrontés à différentes situations de tâches cognitives associées ou non à des facteurs stressants. Il s’agit d’extraire des signatures caractéristiques des régulations centrales et autonomes, au repos ou dans différentes situations expérimentales. Dans ce travail, un intérêt particulier est accordé à l’entropie multi-échelles afin d’évaluer la complexité des signaux, une complexité induite par les interconnexions existant entre structures corticales, sous-corticales et régulations autonomes cardiaques. Nous proposons également d’analyser les signaux collectés durant les différentes situations expérimentales, en comparant deux à deux leurs densités de probabilité à partir de la divergence de Kullback-Leibler, et en particulier d’une estimation de l'incrément asymptotique de la divergence de Kullback-Leibler. Les résultats obtenus mettent en évidence que l’étude des signaux cardiaques peut permettre d’appréhender l’état psychophysiologique d’un individu lorsqu’il est confronté à des situations de tâches cognitives et de stress. Des différences d’états apparaissent non seulement à l’échelle individuelle, mais également à l’échelle collective, lorsque l’individu n’est pas directement confronté aux stimuli stressants mais que le stress est de nature empathique. Enfin, deux applications sont réalisées. Nous montrons que la complexité des signaux cardiaques, altérée chez des personnes stressées au travail, peut être améliorée par un entraînement à la cohérence cardiaque. Nous appliquons également les méthodes de traitement du signal à l’étude de la régulation posturale. L’ensemble de nos résultats renforcent l’intérêt du monitoring de l’humain en matière de santé
Recent studies in human health assume a causal link between the complexity of psychophysiological control systems and the complexity of their resulting biosignals. This PhD illustrates the aforementioned principle by relying on an interdisciplinary approach, combining physiology, psychology and signal processing. The dynamics of human output physiological signals are studied in response to induced stress in individual or collective situations. The objective is to extract individual signatures depicting the central and autonomic regulations at rest or in different experimental situations. Since stress is a multifactorial process depending on the individual perception and interpretation of a situation, the study of physiological signals is combined with the evaluation of psychological contextual and dispositional characteristics. We focus our attention on cardiac regulations which are analysed from the time series defined by the successive durations of the RR intervals. Statistical signal processing methods, either temporal, frequency or non-linear, are used to study the adaptive capacities of individuals facing different situations of cognitive tasks associated or not with stressors. A particular interest is given to multiscale entropy to assess the complexity of signals, which makes it possible to consider the interconnections existing between cortical, subcortical structures and autonomic cardiac regulations. The probability density functions of recorded cardiac signals along each different experimental situation are compared two by two by using the Kullback-Leibler divergence, and in particular the estimate of the asymptotic increment of the divergence of Kullback-Leibler. The results show that studying cardiac signals allows to discriminate the psychophysiological state of an individual when facing either cognitive tasks or stressful situations. Psychophysiological state differences emerge during stress, not only at an individual level, but also at a collective one, for which the subject is not directly confronted with stressful stimuli. The stress is therefore empathic. Two experimental applications are carried out from our results. First, we show that the cardiac complexity, which is altered in people stressed at work, can be improved by cardiac coherence biofeedback training. Second, signal processing methods are also used to the study of postural regulation. Overall, our results strengthen the interest of human monitoring in health

Les employés sont confrontés à plusieurs situations où ils ressentent le décalage entre leurs croyances et leurs comportements, ce qui crée un sentiment de détresse, impactant leur prise de décision et leurs comportements au travail. Cette étude visait à acquérir des connaissances approfondies sur la dissonance cognitive du point de vue de divers employés. La première qualitative explique les antécédents et les effets possibles de la dissonance cognitive, en analysant 30 semi-entretiens d'employés d'universités, de banques et de multinationales. La deuxième étude a examiné les relations entre la dissonance cognitive et la satisfaction au travail, l'intention de départ, la performance au travail et le comportement voice des employés. Il a analysé l'effet médiateur de l'éthique du travail dans ces relations, analysant 304 réponses du Pakistan. Les résultats ont également révélé que l'éthique du travail était un médiateur important dans les relations hypothétiques. La troisième étude a analysé les relations entre la dissonance cognitive sur le comportement au travail des employés et les attitudes dans les deux cultures nationales. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de 538 répondants de divers secteurs. Les résultats de l'analyse de régression hiérarchique ont trouvé des relations significatives. Une analyse plus poussée a montré que les salariés français étaient plus enclins à l'intention de départ. Leurs comportements voice ont eu un effet moins négatif dans les situations dissonantes que ceux des employés pakistanais. Cependant, deux hypothèses concernant l'effet modérateur de la culture sur la satisfaction au travail et le rendement au travail n'ont pas été acceptées
Employees face several situations where they feel the discrepancy between their beliefs and behaviors, which create a distressful feeling, impacting their decision-making and work behaviors. This study focused on gaining in-depth knowledge about cognitive dissonance from various employees’ viewpoints. The first qualitative part explains antecedents and effects of cognitive dissonance, analyzing 30 semi-interviews of employees of universities, banks, and MNCs. The second study investigated the relationships between Cognitive dissonance and job satisfaction, turnover intention, job performance, and employee voice behavior. It analyzed the mediating effect of work ethics in these relationships, analyzing 304 responses from Pakistan. Regression analysis results found significant associations between cognitive dissonance and the dependent variables. Results also found work ethics to be a significant mediator in the hypothesized relationships. The third study analyzed the relationships between Cognitive dissonance on employees’ work behavior and attitudes in two national cultures. The data were collected from 538 respondents from various sectors in France and Pakistan. Hierarchical regression analysis results found significant relationships between cognitive dissonance and employee voice behavior, job satisfaction, job performance, and turnover intention. Further analysis showed that the French employees were more prone to turnover intention. Their voice behaviors had a less negative effect in dissonant situations than those of Pakistani employees. However, two hypotheses regarding the moderating effect of culture on job satisfaction and job performance were not accepted

Cette étude vise à décrire les différences liées à l'âge sur le plan cognitif en fonction du niveau de l'habileté créative des personnes. Sachant que le vieillissement normal est accompagné d'un déclin cognitif, celles-ci présentent-elles un vieillissement plus favorable c'est-à-dire des effets de l'âge moins prononcés sur le plan cognitif ? L'indice de " créativité " nécessite plus de stimulation cognitive qu'un indicateur de " stimulation classique " tel que les mots croisés, la lecture et met en jeu aussi des aspects motivationnels qui pourraient multiplier le caractère stimulant de l'activité créative d'où son intérêt pour cette recherche. Pour cela, chaque participant est évalué selon différentes mesures cognitives (mémoire de travail, raisonnement, vocabulaire et vitesse de traitement). La créativité a été évalué à l'aide des épreuves de créativité les plus courantes qui sont les tests de pensée divergente et les épreuves d'insight.

An educational framework proposed by Chi (2009) aims to link overt study activities with outcomes via the underlying cognitive processes experienced by learners. Activities are classified along a continuum of passive, active, and constructive . Overt activities--¬such as reading, highlighting, and self-explaining--are grouped according to the hypothesized cognitive processes they engage. The framework posits that constructive activities yield the best learning, passive yield the poorest, and active is somewhere in between. Although these hypotheses are not supported by this experiment, there is evidence to suggest that college students employ study techniques that go beyond what they are asked to do. Also, the content of the text to be studied is potentially an important factor for determining the type of studying learners do regardless of what they are asked to do. In sum, although the framework is supported by many other studies, there might be additional variables that need to be considered when implementing this framework.

“After the group had played [improvisation] game[s]…colours became brighter, people and spaces seem of a different size, focus is sharper. Our normal thinking dulls perception…” Keith Johnstone (1979, pg. 131) Improvisation is considered to be both the process and product of creativity. It involves the creation of new ideas, on the spur of the moment that are novel and unplanned. Spontaneity, the ability to do something on the spot with no prior preparation is seen as a key element of improvisation and distinction in relation to creativity. The process of improvisation involves thinking in different ways and as a result, could influence our thought processes. It is important to note here that while we are interested in the process of improvisation, it is only possible to measure this through the product. The product is therefore seen as a direct outcome of the process of thinking that occurs during improvisation. It has been suggested that improvisation could relate to cognitive processes (Karakelle, 2009; Schmidt, Goforth & Drew, 1975; Scott, Harris & Rothe, 2001). This program of research therefore aims to identify the cognitive changes in relation to the process of improvisation. This is measured by looking at cognitive tasks pre and post improvisation. Several studies were therefore conducted investigating the effects of improvisation on various cognitive abilities, with a focus on differences between divergent and convergent thinking; (i) the Effect of Verbal Improvisation on Mood, Creativity and Cognition; (ii) verbal improvisation in relation to divergent and convergent thinking; (iii) dance improvisation in relation to divergent and convergent thinking; (iv) Divergent thinking; Differences among expert and novice improvisers and (v) length of Treatment; Cognitive effects following a shorter improvisation treatment length. As a result of the above experiments, results were extended to a clinical sample of Parkinson’s disease. An extensive investigation was also carried out investigating the scoring of method of the Alternative Uses Task (AUT; Guilford, 1957b). Furthermore, the level of cognitive load as a result of improvisation was investigated by observing gesture in improvisation. Taken together, results showed that after a series of verbal improvisation activities, participants improved in scores of divergent thinking tasks. However, this was not observed in scores of convergent thinking tasks. Issues surrounding reliability of the scoring method of the AUT were also discussed. However, this did not affect the consistency of the results observed in this program of research. A theory of schemas was applied to the process of improvisation as a result of the cognitive changes that occured, such that improvisation helps people think in more original and flexible ways by improving access to schemas and working memory.

The use of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) as an instructional strategy to increase the creativity levels of students across all levels of the curriculum is currently a popular topic of investigation. Curriculum content and the underlying objectives that are presented to students in public schools have been the subject of close scrutiny since school accountability became a hot topic during the 1980's. However, despite all the efforts to improve student productivity through a well defined curriculum, and possibly because of the increased emphasis on student accountability to reflect that student improvement, concern for the apparent declining creativity levels among students appears to be growing. The purpose of this dissertation was to compare conventional instructional methodologies with those of creative problem solving. It was hypothesized that students' low, high, and total cognition levels, overall creativity levels, and satisfaction with instructional methodologies, improve as a result of instruction through creative problem solving strategies. By improving the levels of creativity within students, they will be better equipped to deal with the complex types of problems the future will present. This study utilized an experimental, posttest only, control group design. Participants were ninth grade students (n=20) who were enrolled in an Introduction to World Agricultural and Science Technology I course. Posttests were administered to measure low, high, and total levels cognition at the conclusion of the course. For this measure of the dependent variable, a forty question (10 true/false, 25 multiple choice, and 5 short answer) test was administered. Pretests and posttests were administered to measure student creativity. A standardized Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was used as the measure of the dependent variable of creativity. Pretests, mid-tests, and posttests were used to measure student satisfaction. A satisfaction instrument developed by Brashears (2004) was used for the measurement of clarity, delivery, content, and total satisfaction as the dependent measure of satisfaction. These instruments were used to measure the five research hypotheses of the study. Results of the study did not support the hypotheses that significant differences exist between creative problem solving and traditional instructional strategies, as they pertain to student cognition, creativity, and satisfaction. However, although not significant, possibly due to the small sample size, upon closer examination of group means, one can detect definite patterns of greater mean score gains among the CPS group over the traditional group in cognition, creativity, and satisfaction. Based on these findings, this researcher suggests that replications of this study be performed with larger sample sizes in different curriculum areas to further perpetuate the integration of creative problem solving strategies as an effective instructional strategy for all age groups and in all areas of the curriculum.

Cette thèse traite de méthodes « model-based » pour résoudre des problèmes d'apprentissage par renforcement. On considère un agent confronté à une suite de décisions et un environnement dont l'état varie selon les décisions prises par l'agent. Ce dernier reçoit tout au long de l'interaction des récompenses qui dépendent à la fois de l'action prise et de l'état de l'environnement. L'agent ne connaît pas le modèle d'interaction et a pour but de maximiser la somme des récompenses reçues à long terme. Nous considérons différents modèles d'interactions : les processus de décisions markoviens, les processus de décisions markoviens partiellement observés et les modèles de bandits. Pour ces différents modèles, nous proposons des algorithmes qui consistent à construire à chaque instant un ensemble de modèles permettant d'expliquer au mieux l'interaction entre l'agent et l'environnement. Les méthodes dites « model-based » que nous élaborons se veulent performantes tant en pratique que d'un point de vue théorique. La performance théorique des algorithmes est calculée en terme de regret qui mesure la différence entre la somme des récompenses reçues par un agent qui connaîtrait à l'avance le modèle d'interaction et celle des récompenses cumulées par l'algorithme. En particulier, ces algorithmes garantissent un bon équilibre entre l'acquisition de nouvelles connaissances sur la réaction de l'environnement (exploration) et le choix d'actions qui semblent mener à de fortes récompenses (exploitation). Nous proposons deux types de méthodes différentes pour contrôler ce compromis entre exploration et exploitation. Le premier algorithme proposé dans cette thèse consiste à suivre successivement une stratégie d'exploration, durant laquelle le modèle d'interaction est estimé, puis une stratégie d'exploitation. La durée de la phase d'exploration est contrôlée de manière adaptative ce qui permet d'obtenir un regret logarithmique dans un processus de décision markovien paramétrique même si l'état de l'environnement n'est que partiellement observé. Ce type de modèle est motivé par une application d'intérêt en radio cognitive qu'est l'accès opportuniste à un réseau de communication par un utilisateur secondaire. Les deux autres algorithmes proposés suivent des stratégies optimistes : l'agent choisit les actions optimales pour le meilleur des modèles possibles parmi l'ensemble des modèles vraisemblables. Nous construisons et analysons un tel algorithme pour un modèle de bandit paramétrique dans un cas de modèles linéaires généralisés permettant ainsi de considérer des applications telles que la gestion de publicité sur internet. Nous proposons également d'utiliser la divergence de Kullback-Leibler pour la construction de l'ensemble des modèles vraisemblables dans des algorithmes optimistes pour des processus de décision markoviens à espaces d'états et d'actions finis. L'utilisation de cette métrique améliore significativement le comportement de des algorithmes optimistes en pratique. De plus, une analyse du regret de chacun des algorithmes permet de garantir des performances théoriques similaires aux meilleurs algorithmes de l'état de l'art.

L'objectif de mon projet de recherche était de faire le lien entre structures cérébrales et fonctions, pour mieux comprendre les bases de la cognition. La première partie de ma thèse a été de développer des tests comportementaux pour analyser la cognition et ses fondamentaux. Les résultats suggèrent fortement que les téléostéens possèdent des fonctions exécutives semblables à celles des mammifères. J’ai par la suite cherché le substrat anatomique de ces capacités cognitives nouvellement mises à jour chez cette espèce, notamment dans le pallium (équivalent du cortex cérébral des mammifères). Cependant la neuroanatomie du poisson zèbre adulte est mal connue, car il est souvent utilisé au stade larvaire. Une seconde partie de mon travail a cherché à analyser et identifier l'origine développementale des structures cérébrales adultes. Nous avons découvert que certaines structures considérées jusqu'ici comme faisant partie du cerveau antérieur (prosencéphale) font en fait partie du cerveau médian (mésencéphale) chez le poisson zèbre. L’une de ces structures est le lobe inférieur, précédemment considéré comme hypothalamique. Une autre structure est le noyau préglomérulaire, le noyau sensoriel relais majeur et analogue fonctionnel du thalamus. Cette voie sensorielle contient la principale voie visuelle vers le pallium. Ainsi, même si certaines structures ont la même fonction, elles peuvent avoir une origine évolutive et développementale différente des structures connues chez les mammifères. En résumé, des fonctions similaires ont évolué indépendamment chez les amniotes et les téléostéens. Ce travail élargit ainsi les champs d'application pour la recherche en neurosciences, et permet d'approcher les fondamentaux de la cognition de manière nouvelle par l'identification des structures essentielles à l'émergence d'une cognition de haut niveau telle qu'elle est observée dans l'espèce humaine
The aim of my research project was to link brain structures and functions, to better understand the fundamental bases of cognition. The first part of my thesis consisted in the development of behavioral tests to analyze the essential principles of cognition. The results strongly suggest the existence of executive functions in teleosts similar to those of mammals. Then I looked for the anatomical structures responsible for these cognitive capacities, in particular in the pallium (equivalent of the mammalian cerebral cortex). However, little is known about adult zebrafish neuroanatomy. Indeed, zebrafish is often studied at larval stage. A second part of my work aimed at studying adult structures in more detail through their developmental origin. This has redefined some parts of the brain. We have discovered that some of the structures that were considered as part of the forebrain (prosencephalon) are actually part of the midbrain (mesencephalon) in zebrafish. This includes the inferior lobe, previously classified as hypothalamus. Another structure is the major sensory relay nucleus, the preglomerular nucleus, functional analogue of the thalamus (part of the forebrain) in amniotes. This sensory pathway contains the main visual pathway to the pallium. Thus, even if some structures have the same function, they may have an evolutionary and developmental origin different from structures known in mammals. In summary, similar functions have independently evolved in amniotes and teleosts. This comparative work adds new perspectives for neuroscience research. It also allows us to approach the fundamentals of cognition in a new way: what are the essential building blocks for a higher level of cognition like the human one?

This study developed a Methodology for the systematic and strategic fostering of creativity in graphic design education at university level. The thesis identified four social-psychological factors that have an effect on graphic design students' creative ability, namely their level of intrinsic motivation for creative activities; their ability to maintain autonomous, self-regulative behaviour that is conducive to creativity; a healthy self-belief in their creative ability and the minimization of negative stress in the educational milieu where creative tasks are undertaken. Each of these factors imply a range of strategies that may be used to maintain and stimulate creativity in graphic design education, such as the use of certain types of feedback, evaluation procedures that supports creativity, the creation of a safe, democratic, non-controlling classroom climate or the deliberate use of music and humoristic activities in the educational milieu. Additionally, a range of cognitive strategies that may be used for idea generation in graphic design are proposed. They include divergent thinking techniques, such as 'Random Association'; 'Morphological Synthesis'; 'Metaphors and Analogies'; 'Mind-mapping'; 'Idea Checklist'; 'Visual Thinking' and 'Sense Connections'. Each technique is described in terms of its unique methodology, advantages, creative potential and its applicability to graphic design. The study also proposes a tactical approach to the creative process, suggesting various cognitive strategies that may be used for each phase of the creative process. These strategies ensure that the whole spectrum of cognitive activities required for the successful production of a creative product is executed. The sum of these cognitive and social-psychological strategies provided the basis for the development -of two theoretical constructs that may be implemented as part of an undergraduate graphic design curriculum to cultivate creativity in students. They are: (1) a Learning Program in Creativity studies that consists of a number of study units and aims to provide tuition in the theoretical foundation that students need to enhance their creative ability (2) a range of General Guidelines that aim to provide educators with a range of didactic strategies and practices to support and stimulate creative ability in graphic design students.
Thesis (Ph.D. (History of Arts))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The purpose of this qualitative study has been; how social bonds are interlaced between the social worlds contained within the analytical division of “outside Internet” and “within Internet”. What happens with the social bond as the individual oscillate between this analytic bisection? This purpose raises important questions of the use of Internet in everyday life.

A new stance is taken toward studying the Internets integration into everyday life. The focus is adjusted to the importance of emotions. Emotions of pride and shame will be treated as the signals of social bonds state and will indicate the resistance or openness of this integration. Goffmans theory on face-work will be used as a complement. A cognitive approach on social bonds will assist the emotional approach. This is interwoven with a perspective for understanding Internet as a medium in form rather than only to focus on the “content”.

The conclusion consists of a required consistency between the quality of the social bond on the Internet and outside the Internet. The fear of inconsistency had to do with a threat of loss of face, not to come in conflict with established norms from outside the Internet. Development of close and intimate social bonds on the Internet that didn’t have a counterpart or was in inconsistency with the social bond outside Internet, lead to shame that threatened the social bond. The integration of Internet in everyday life is therefore not accomplished. Still, a new generation with instant access to the Internet is to be primary socialized under new conditions.

In this thesis I have investigated verb frame divergences in a bilingual Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar for machine translation. The purpose was threefold: (1) to describe and classify verb frame divergences (VFDs) between Swedish and English, (2) to practically implement a bilingual grammar that covered many of the identified VFDs and (3) to find out what cases of VFDs could be solved and implemented using a common semantic representation, or interlingua, for Swedish and English.

The implemented grammar, BiTSE, is a Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar based on the LinGO Grammar Matrix, a language independent grammar base. BiTSE is a bilingual grammar containing both Swedish and English. The semantic representation used is Minimal Recursion Semantics (MRS). It is language independent, so generating from it gives all equivalent sentences in both Swedish and English. Both the core of the languages and a subset of the identified VFDs are successfully implemented in BiTSE. For other VFDs tentative solutions are discussed.

MRS have previously been proposed as suitable for semantic transfer machine translation. I have shown that VFDs can naturally be handled by an interlingual design in many cases, minimizing the need of transfer.

The main contributions of this thesis are: an inventory of English and Swedish verb frames and verb frame divergences; the bilingual grammar BiTSE and showing that it is possible in many cases to use MRS as an interlingua in machine translation.

Creativity is a topic that is relevant to everyday life. Research in this area has mainly focused on comparing creativity in work contexts and between Eastern and Western conceptualizations. The current study was designed to measure differences in creativity between students in the United States and India by comparing a measure of cognitive creativity, the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults, to a measure of creative achievement, the Creative Achievement Questionnaire. The results from a linear regression showed that the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults was predictive of the Creative Achievement Questionnaire in the United States, but not in India. Results from independent samples t-tests showed that participants from the United States scored significantly higher on the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults than participants from India. Independent samples t-tests further showed that participants from India scored significantly higher on originality domain of the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults than participants from the United States. Independent samples t-tests showed there was no significant difference between the two countries in terms of overall creative achievement. However, participants in the United States scored significantly higher in the domain of creative writing, and marginally higher in the domain of music. Participants from India scored significantly higher in the domain of culinary arts. Part of the explanation for the results revolves around the idea that the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults is western-centric test. There is a need for a creativity test that takes into account Eastern conceptualizations of creativity. Based on the results the researcher recommends staying away from overgeneralizing East/West dichotomies, instead shifting the focus towards the uniqueness of individual cultures.

Social learning has given us insight into how children learn actions from others across different domains (e.g., actions on objects, pretend play, and tool use). However, little research exists to confirm whether young children can generate their own novel actions. Three different settings were chosen to offer a varied investigation of children’s ability to generate novel actions: generating multiple actions with novel objects; generating iconic gestures in order to communicate; and generating pretend actions using object substitution. Generating multiple actions with novel objects: The Unusual Box test was developed to investigate children’s ability to generate multiple actions with novel objects (Chapter 2). The Unusual Box test involves children playing with a wooden box that contains many different features (e.g., rings, stairs, strings), and five novel objects. The number of different actions performed on the box and with the objects (i.e., fluency) was used as a measure of their individual learning. Positive correlations between the fluency scores of 24 3- and 4-year-olds on the Unusual Box test and two existing measures of divergent thinking were found. Divergent thinking relates to the ability to think of multiple answers based on one premise. Furthermore, a large range of fluency scores indicated individual differences in children’s ability to generate multiple actions with novel objects. In addition, 16 2-year-olds were assessed on the Unusual Box test, twice two weeks apart, to investigate test-retest reliability and the possibility that the Unusual Box test could be used with children younger than 3 years. A strong positive correlation between the scores on the two assessments showed high test-retest reliability, while individual differences in fluency scores and the absence of a floor effect indicated that the Unusual Box test was usable in children from 2 years of age. Generating iconic gestures in order to communicate: Children’s ability to generate iconic gestures in order to communicate was assessed using a game to request stickers from an experimenter (N = 20, Chapter 3). In order to get a sticker children had to communicate to the experimenter which out of two objects they wanted (only one object had a sticker attached to it). Children’s use of speech or pointing was ineffective; therefore only generating an iconic gesture was sufficient to retrieve the sticker. Children generated a correct iconic gesture on 71% of the trials. These findings indicate that children generate their own iconic gestures in order to communicate; and that they understand the representational nature of iconic gestures, and use this in their own generation of iconic gestures. Generating pretend actions using object substitution: In order to determine whether children are able to generate their own object substitution actions and understand the representational nature of these actions, 45 3- and 4-year-olds were familiarized with the goal of a task through modelling actions. Children distinguished between the intentions of an experimenter to pretend, or try and perform a correct action. Children mainly imitated the pretend actions, while correcting the trying actions. Next, children were presented with objects for which they had to generate their own object substitution actions without being shown a model. When children had previously been shown pretend actions, children generated their own object substitution actions. This indicates that children generate their own object substitution actions, and that they understand the representational nature of these actions. An additional study with 34 3-year-olds, revealed no significant correlations between divergent thinking, inhibitory control, or children’s object substitution in a free play setting, and children’s ability to generate object substitution actions in the experimental setting.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Systemising involves the observation of environmental contingencies and the subsequent formulation of concrete rules to predict events. Empathising underpins social cognitive processes, and consists of two primary components, which are (I) the drive to attribute affective states to others, and (II) the ability to produce appropriate behavioural responses based on these inferences. Hyper-systemisation represents an unusual imbalance in the cognitive profile, where systemising abilities are significantly greater than empathising abilities. This pattern of extreme divergence in cognitive abilities is observed in those with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) (Baron-Cohen, 2009). As well, anxiety disorders are frequently co-morbidly diagnosed with both primary ASC diagnoses (van Steensel, Bögels, & Perrin, 2011) and when ASC is diagnosed as secondary to a pre-existing developmental disorder, for example, in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (Fine et al., 2005), and the prevalence of anxiety disorders is higher for the population on the autism spectrum than for those in the general population (Kim, Szatmari, Bryson, Streiner, & Wilson, 2000; van Steensel et al., 2011). For those on the autism spectrum, reduced empathic functioning means that these individuals often find it difficult to find their place in a highly socially oriented society. A common assumption is that the increased prevalence of anxiety disorders observed in this population occurs as a consequence of difficulties integrating into the social environment. However, this assumption has not been evaluated experimentally, and leaves open the possibility of an inverse relationship, where increased anxiety levels make a twofold contribution, serving to both reduce the degree to which an individual can actively engage in appropriate empathising, and also, in facilitating the development of an alternative, non-social, skillset – that which is informed by the drive to systemise. Manipulations of anxiety have demonstrated that when in highly anxious states, individuals show reduced empathic capacity towards others, suggesting a causal influence of anxiety on empathising abilities (Negd, Mallan, & Lipp, 2011). As well, given that the fundamental function of anxiety is to facilitate preparatory responses during potentially dangerous encounters, it is likely that adopting strategies that improve the reliability with which one can predict events in the environment, for example, by systemising aspects of the environment, would be favoured, especially in high states of anxiety. For the general population, systemising is adaptive in that it explains the general preference for daily routines, which maximise one’s sense of control during everyday activities. Whilst in extreme forms, it explains the compulsive hand washing demonstrated by some individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and the rigid behavioural routines of individuals with ASC (Baron-Cohen, 2009). Collectively, this account suggests that high anxiety levels would reduce empathising abilities, and increase systemising abilities. The focus of the studies conducted within this thesis was to explore these possible causal effects experimentally within the general population, and to establish whether anxiety is a mechanism that drives divergence in empathising and systemising abilities. In the first study of this thesis (see chapter 2), the hypothesised link between high anxiety levels and hyper-systemisation was demonstrated. Those high in anxiety reported low empathising and high systemising scores, and relative to their less anxious peers, also demonstrated the greatest divergence between these cognitive tendencies. Based on this initial evidence, a series of studies were developed in order to test one possible pattern of causation – the hypothesis that an increase from baseline anxiety levels would reduce the ability to empathise whilst facilitating improvements on tests of systemising performance. The first in this series of studies (see chapter 3) focused on better understanding the low-empathising component of hyper-systemisation. The study utilised a social exclusion paradigm called Cyberball (Williams & Jarvis, 2006), which has been shown to affect state anxiety levels. Empathic performance was assessed using a modified emotion recognition task called the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001), both at baseline and after participation in anxiety manipulation. Results from this study suggested that participants who experienced social exclusion during the task maintained levels of state anxiety consistent with their reports at baseline, and also maintained comparable performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test throughout the study. In contrast, those who experienced group inclusion during Cyberball reported reduced state anxiety levels after their Cyberball experience, but surprisingly, demonstrated lower expression recognition accuracy on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, relative to their baseline performance. This pattern of results was in direct contrast to the initial hypothesis, and as such consideration was given to the nature of Cyberball as an anxiety manipulation and its potential impact on attention allocation when processing cues to social performance, specifically, facial expressions of emotion. In a follow-up eye-tracking study (see chapter 4), the effects of social exclusion on attentional biases to emotionally expressive faces were evaluated. Here, participants completed an expression-based dot-probe task, both as a baseline measure, and after participating in Cyberball. The dependent variables of interest were the time to categorise targets presented in the same spatial location as expressive (happy, angry, disgusted) faces, as well as eye movements to towards these expression types. Both the reaction time and eye movement data, captured as proportion of fixations and proportion of time spent viewing expressive versus neutral faces, indicated that participants who experienced social exclusion during Cyberball biased their attention toward expressive faces (particularly angry faces) over neutral faces, whilst those who experienced inclusion during Cyberball attended more to the neutral expressions after their Cyberball experience. Whilst participants also reported changes to their state anxiety levels as a function of their participation, it was concluded that it may have been the cues to social evaluation experienced during Cyberball that facilitated hypervigilance to such information, and as such, may have contributed to superior performance when identifying facial expressions of emotion demonstrated by those who were social excluded in the previous chapter. In the final experimental chapter of this thesis (see chapter 5), the objectives were twofold. First, we sought to develop an anxiety manipulation procedure that was free of the extraneous variability introduced when using the Cyberball manipulation. Second, we sought to demonstrate the hypothesised divergent effects of increased state anxiety on both empathising performance and on systemising performance within a single paradigm. The results of this study partially supported the anxiety-divergence hypothesis. Participants whose state anxiety levels were increased using a threat-of-shock paradigm demonstrated reduced empathic responding towards individuals depicted in distressing situations, and improved efficiency on a local/global processing task (Navon, 1977), a visuospatial task that has previously been correlated with systemising scores (Billington, Baron-Cohen, & Bor, 2008). This thesis demonstrates that empathising and systemising performance can be differentially affected by state-based changes in anxiety levels, and that anxiety may be a key factor in exaggerating the divergence between empathising and systemising abilities. A fundamental contribution of this thesis will be to provide an informative platform from which similar investigations can be undertaken with participants who have developmental disorders e.g. autism spectrum conditions, which are characterised by both extreme imbalances in their empathic and systematic cognitive abilities, and are also known to be complicated by co-morbid diagnoses of anxiety disorders. When formulating clinical diagnoses, clinicians should seek to account for the contribution of anxiety to behaviour, particularly when relying heavily on observations of externalised “autistic” behaviours that may be exaggerated by the presence of anxiety.

abstract: In this study, the oppositional processes theory was proposed to suggest that reliance on semantic and episodic memory systems hinder originality during idea generation for divergent thinking tasks that are generally used to assess creative potential. In order to investigate the proposed oppositional processes theory, three experiments that manipulated the memory accessibility in participants during the alternative uses tasks were conducted. Experiment 1 directly instructed participants to either generate usages based on memory or not from memory; Experiment 2 provided participants with object cues that were either very common or very rare in daily life (i.e., bottle vs. canteen); Experiment 3 replicated the same manipulation from Experiment 2 with much longer generation time (10 minutes in Experiment 2 vs. 30 minutes in Experiment 3). The oppositional processes theory predicted that participants who had less access to direct and unaltered usages (i.e., told to not use memory, were given rare cues, or were outputting items later in the generation period) during the task would be more creative. Results generally supported the predictions in Experiments 1 and 2 where participants from conditions which limited their access to memory generated more novel usages that were considered more creative by independent coders. Such effects were less prominent in Experiment 3 with extended generation time but the trends remained the same.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2017

Competition has increased, business has become increasingly more global facing constantly evolving technological challenges that require companies to develop creative and innovative solutions to survive in the marketplace. Thus, the business community and researchers have identified both individual factors and organisational characteristics that boost creative thinking among their employees. This thesis studies how goal difficulty influences creativity depending on one’s power. It is proposed that high power leads to higher creativity and low power to lower creativity. Moreover, it is proposed that challenge and hindrance appraisals mediate the relationship between goal difficulty and creativity, such that goal difficulty leads to higher levels of hindrance appraisals for low power people and higher levels of challenge appraisals for high power people. The results did not support the hypothesis. However, contrary to the expectations, power moderates the relationship between goal difficulty and hindrance appraisals, such that high power leads to more hindrance appraisals when compared with the control group. By examining the complex nature of power and associated psychological consequences, this research adds to the power literature and fills an existing gap.
A concorrência aumentou, os negócios tornaram-se gradualmente mais globais, enfrentando desafios tecnológicos em constante evolução que exigem que as empresas desenvolvam soluções criativas e inovadoras para sobreviver no mercado. Assim, a comunidade empresarial e os investigadores identificaram fatores individuais e características organizacionais queimpulsionam o pensamento criativo entre seus funcionários. Esta tesea pretende estudar como a dificuldade de um objetivo influencia a criatividade dependendo do poder social do próprio. Além disso, propõe-se que avaliações de desafio e impedimento medeiam a relação entre dificuldade de objetivo e criatividade, de modo que a dificuldade do objetivo conduz a níveis mais altos de impedimento para pessoas de baixo poder e níveis mais altos de avaliação de desafio para pessoas de elevado poder. Os resultados não revelam efeito principal significativo da dificuldade do objetivo na criatividade por meio de avaliações cognitivas moderadas pelo poder. No entanto, contrariamente às expectativas, poder elevado modera a relação entre a dificuldade do objetivo e as avaliações de obstáculos. Ao examinar a natureza complexa do poder e as consequências psicológicas associadas, este estudo adiciona à literatura sobre poder e preenche uma lacuna na pesquisa acadêmica atual.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020
The purpose of this is to investigate how teachers go about for the development of Creative Thinking Skills (CTS) in a grade 9 technology classroom. The introduction of technology in the South African curriculum by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to develop CTS through the Design Process (DP) as the cornerstone of the learning area. Technology as a learning area should provide learners with opportunities to solve real-life problems, in the process developing their CTS (DBE, 2011). In the 21st century, CTS have been seen as skills that are crucial across the spectrum of day to day activities. However; it appears to be very complex for technology teachers to enhance the teaching and learning of CTS in a technology classroom. The literature suggests that technology teachers tend to suppress the development of learners’ CTS by limiting the process of teaching and learning to low order thinking cognitive levels rather than high order cognitive levels. This study employed a qualitative research enquiry, purposive sampling was used for the selection of the relevant participants. Qualified technology teachers who teach grade 9 technology with at least three years’ experience in teaching technology were considered. Data collection was obtained through interviews, observation and document analysis. The research finding showed that teachers lack the understanding of policies, particularly CAPS hence they continuously compromise its implementation hindering with the development of CTS of learners as it is envisaged in the CAPS document. Furthermore, the research findings reveal that the teacher has a little or no understanding of what is creative thinking (CT) and what it entails, hence they did not unpack what is it exactly that they do to support the development of learners CTS in a technology classroom This study recommends that technology teachers be familiar with the CAPS document and implement it correctly without any compromise. Furthermore; understanding of the design process is of vital importance to teachers as it is the cornerstone of teaching and learning, particularly the development of CTS of learners. Technology teachers need also to have a clear understanding of what CT is and what it entails, that will assist to arouse their CT and help to develop the CTS of learners in a technology classroom.

In the last 30 years, mindfulness has become the focus of considerable attention for clinicians and empirical psychology. This attitude can be cultivated through mindfulness meditation (MM), a traditional form of Buddhist meditation where the practitioner tries to be attentive to and fully aware of present moment experience with a gentle and non- judgmental attitude (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). The strong relation between MM and creativity and the positive effects that both exerts on psycho-physical well-being suggest a new research line that could compare the effects of MM with creative activities (creative writing and painting for instance). Further studies could try to create a standardized model of creative activities training to better understand which is the role of personality and mood in MM and creativity, and which is the key component, if there is one, that makes the difference on personal well-being in this comparison.

The diploma thesis "Cognition and Ritual: Application of the divergent Modes of Religiosity Theory to the Jewish Ritual Praxis of the Community Bejt Praha" presents the application of the divergent Modes of Religiosity theory to the Jewish ritual praxis. The thesis is based on the method of textual analysis and ethnographic data collection. The theory by anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse seeks to explain ritual dynamics of the doctrinal mode and of the imagistic mode in terms of underlying cognitive mechanisms. I show the limitations of Whitehouse's cognitive model with regard to the application of the theory to the ethnographic data. The main goal of the thesis is the critical evaluation of the divergent Modes of Religiosity argument.

O projeto de investigação “Criatividade, filosofia e emaravilhamento” foi desenvolvido com um grupo de crianças do ensino pré-primário e duas turmas do 1º ciclo de escolaridade. A investigação decorreu em Comunidades de Investigação Filosófica, através da aplicação da metodologia de Filosofia Para Crianças, de Mathew Lipman. Sendo a matriz deste projeto holística, a dimensão cognitiva integrou a corporalidade e fê-la dialogar dialeticamente com os conceitos de sensibilidade estética (aisthésis) e razão prática (phronésis), através de uma poiésis orientada para o desenvolvimento cognitivo, ético e estético. O recurso às técnicas de criatividade de David Prado Diez, nomeadamente a Analogia Inusual, o Torvelinho de Ideias e o Relaxamento Criativo, permitiu estabelecer o diálogo entre a imaginação, a cinestesia, a criatividade e o discurso argumentativo. A cooperação, a intersubjetividade, a comunicação autêntica, a vivência imagética da beleza, da harmonia e da paz, visaram a formação de um ethos comum e de uma consciência em simbiosinergia com as comunidades bióticas e com o cosmos.
The research project "Creativity, philosophy and Amazement" was developed with a group of preschool children and two classes of the 1st cycle: from the 1st and the 2nd year, respectively. The research took place in communities of Philosophical Research, through the application of the methodology laid out in Philosophy for Children, by Matthew Lipman. The matrix of this project was holistic, and thus the cognitive dimension included corporeality aspects, in conjunction with the concepts of aesthetic sensitivity (aisthésis) and practical reason (phronésis) through a poiésis oriented towards a cognitive, ethical and aesthetic development. The use of the creative techniques of David Prado Diez, notably the Unusual Analogy, the Whirlwind of Ideas and Creative Relaxation, allowed for a dialogue between imagination, kinesthesia, creativity and argumentative discourse. Cooperation, intersubjectivity, authentic communication, the visual experience of beauty, harmony and peace, aimed at the formation of a common ethos and a conscience in symbiosynergy with the biotic communities and with the cosmos.