The continual retrieval of a subset of information i.e., from lists can often lead to a unique phenomenon known as Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF), where the practiced items cause an individual...Show moreThe continual retrieval of a subset of information i.e., from lists can often lead to a unique phenomenon known as Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF), where the practiced items cause an individual to forget the non-rehearsed but related information. This effect can also be demonstrated through visual images – referred to as Recognition Induced Forgetting. The present study replicated the recognition induced paradigm used by Maxcey and Bostic during their 2015 study examining RIF in children. The present study sought to demonstrate recognition-induced forgetting into two separate age groups (6–7-year old’s and 11–12-year old’s). Additionally, the current study further contributed to the research on RIF by examining the mean reaction times of both age groups throughout the study. The main findings of the study demonstrated that for the sample used, RIF was not found in terms of percentage of correct items nor the reaction time of the children across the different items. Furthermore, the study found that age was a significant influence on reaction times of participants during different phases of the experiment – with older children demonstrating faster reaction times. The main conclusion reached was that further research must be done usingShow less
Performance on a Stroop-like tasks require individuals to inhibit irrelevant but interfering stimuli while performing a specific task. This ability is called interference control, a cognitive...Show morePerformance on a Stroop-like tasks require individuals to inhibit irrelevant but interfering stimuli while performing a specific task. This ability is called interference control, a cognitive function that is not fully developed until adulthood (Nigg, 2000). The aim of the current study was to investigate whether immature interference control of children are indeed the underlying reason behind the interference effect observed on Stroop-like tasks. This was done by calculating children’s, adolescents’ and adults’ stability of reaction times and interference effects within a single testing session. Data from the performance on four different Stroop-like paradigms (colour-object; positionobject; number-object; and picture-word) of participants from five age groups (6, 8, 12, 16, and 20 years old) was used to carry out this investigation. It was predicted that, overall, there would be a stability of reaction times and interference effects across two session halves. Furthermore, it was predicted that the stability of interference effect would vary when comparing different age groups and experimental paradigms, with older age groups showing more stability and greater variability between paradigms. Results of the current study found an asymmetrical result with evidence for high within-session stability of reaction time with no effect of age or paradigm and less strong, albeit similar, results for interference effects.Show less
The goal of this study was to investigate the colour-object and picture-word interference in the same child. The participants of this study were second and sixth graders. The participants had to do...Show moreThe goal of this study was to investigate the colour-object and picture-word interference in the same child. The participants of this study were second and sixth graders. The participants had to do two different tasks, namely, the colour-object task and the picture-word task. Both interference effects were indeed found. Furthermore, the reaction time of the second graders was slower than the reaction time of the sixth graders for the picture-word task. No significant correlations between the two interference effects have been found. This could be due to the low number of children seen because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to differences in the nature of the tasks. Further research is necessary to explore the correlation between these two tasksShow less
The aim of this study was to investigate whether the extent to which adolescents feel lost in a fictional story (i.e. narrative transportation) affects the extent to which they justify or forgive...Show moreThe aim of this study was to investigate whether the extent to which adolescents feel lost in a fictional story (i.e. narrative transportation) affects the extent to which they justify or forgive the protagonist’s immoral actions (i.e. moral disengagement). Ninety-two Dutch secondary school students (37 males) between 12 and 16 years of age participated and were randomly assigned to an instructed fiction or uninstructed fiction condition. While participants in both conditions read the same story, only those in the former condition were instructed to immerse themselves in the narrative. Participants then completed the Narrative Transportation Scale and a moral disengagement questionnaire. Contrary to expectations, this study did not find a significant link between transportation and moral disengagement. Moreover, the transportation-enhancing instructions appeared to be ineffective. Although the results indicate transportation does not affect moral disengagement in adolescents, several limitations of the study suggest that further research is warranted.Show less
Smartphones facilitate everyday life and offer possibilities for entertainment and communication. Because of their widespread use they can affect the psychological state of the user. It has been...Show moreSmartphones facilitate everyday life and offer possibilities for entertainment and communication. Because of their widespread use they can affect the psychological state of the user. It has been found that high smartphone use correlates with anxiety and Fear of Missing out (FoMO) and that FoMO mediates the relationship between anxiety and smartphone use. However, most research is correlational. The current study conducted an experiment in order to investigate the effects of a two-week smartphone limitation on anxiety and FoMO in Dutch students. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group, which received instructions on how to limit smartphone use for 14 days, and a control group which continued smartphone use as usual. Anxiety and FoMO were measured at baseline and after the end of the intervention. We expected that the intervention would lead to higher decreases in anxiety and FoMO in the experimental group compared to the control group. We also expected that FoMO would mediate the relationship between smartphone use and anxiety. The results indicated that smartphone use, anxiety and FoMO did not significantly differ in the two groups. Moreover, no mediating effect of FoMO between smartphone use and anxiety was found. These results show that the intervention was not adequate in order to improve participants’ anxiety and FoMO, possibly highlighting the positive role of smartphones in everyday life. Due to several limitations, these study results can only be generalized to specific populations and future research should replicate this experimental design with a more representative population.Show less
