Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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The power spectral density (PSD) exponent value, indicative of the brain's excitation and inhibition (E/I) balance, has been associated with cognitive fluctuations over time and show disruptions in...Show moreThe power spectral density (PSD) exponent value, indicative of the brain's excitation and inhibition (E/I) balance, has been associated with cognitive fluctuations over time and show disruptions in neurological disorders. Yet, how this balance influences real-world behavioral dynamics remains less explored. In this study, we examined the relationship between E/I and real-world behavioral dynamics. We captured spontaneous real-world behavioral dynamics from 68 participants using inter- touch intervals (ITI) on the smartphones during a 45–90-minute EEG session. Following EEG recordings, we computed the power spectral density (PSD) over the data and applied the FOOOF method to extract the E/I balance. We then analyzed the relationship between this E/I balance and the real-world behavioral dynamics, as indicated by ITI’s. We show that real-world behavioral dynamics and E/I are related but show a considerable amount of inter-individual variability. On average, behaviors occurring between 0.03 and 1 second were accompanied by an increase in excitation, while behaviors (between 1 and 3 seconds) showed an increase in inhibition. Moreover, we identified three distinct participant types, each demonstrating unique patterns of interaction between E/I balance and real-world behavioral dynamics. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the value of the JID as a tool capable of capturing the relationship between real-world behavior and E/I on a detailed scale. This level of detail provides a unique perspective that increases our understanding of how cognition plays a role in complex real-world behavioral dynamics.Show less
E-commerce is constantly changing since the innovation of mobile devices. In this study, purchase behavior will be analyzed more in-depth between desktop and smartphone. Having a better...Show moreE-commerce is constantly changing since the innovation of mobile devices. In this study, purchase behavior will be analyzed more in-depth between desktop and smartphone. Having a better understanding of the human-computer interaction is an interest within MetrixLab for the innovation of their DFST research. Aiming to answer the following research question: !Do we see differences in e-commerce data when a study has been completed on desktop or smartphone?” E-commerce data is made up of the following variables: time in store, stopping power, and purchase preference. We expected a difference in time in store and stopping power (click-through rate), with participants shopping on desktop having a lower quantity compared to participants in the smartphone condition. We expect no difference between purchase preference of the two devices. A total of 251 participants were included in this study, 164 placed in the desktop condition and 87 in the mobile condition. This study was divided in three sections: (1) pre-questionnaire, (2) an online shopping assignment, and (3) a post-questionnaire. It was found that using desktop, participants spent significantly longer in store (p < .05) and stopping power (p < .01) was higher compared to using a smartphone. Purchase preference (p <.05) showed a significant difference between the two devices. There is a significant difference between devices which should be researched further to draw conclusions. Limitations of this study was the chosen population and analyzed variables. Future study could include a broader range of participants and products, featuring a wider range of variables, including eye-tracking movement.Show less
Smartphones are constant multifunctional companions for the majority of the population worldwide. Smartphone applications engage a wide spectrum of cognitive functions while accommodating our daily...Show moreSmartphones are constant multifunctional companions for the majority of the population worldwide. Smartphone applications engage a wide spectrum of cognitive functions while accommodating our daily routines. Thus, smartphones are powerful experimental tools to explore the underpinnings of cognition. Most importantly, assessing the neural correlates of smartphone usage is a probe into natural everyday behavior. Our goal was to explore the attentional modulations during smartphone use. We used the alpha band power modulations as a proxy to attention. The EEG activity of 28 university students was recorded during 3 conditions – smartphone use, interaction with a smartphone-like unresponsive object and resting state. Our exploration included 6 channel pairs over the prefrontal, sensory and visual cortex. No significant differences between alpha power modulation during the different conditions were found. There was an increase in alpha power during the resting state which is in line with mind-wandering and self-imagery processes during resting conditions. We suggest that by applying two well-researched in classical settings, EEG-derived cognitive metrics – the alpha band power and the frontal alpha asymmetry index, cognitive theories can be validated for scenarios of daily life interactions. Future larger-scale studies based on the full 64 channel data and exploring the interaction instead of a single band activity are still needed to reveal the potential influence of smartphones on neural activity.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
