Dissociable mechanisms of spatial processing and decision-making on mental rotation tasks: influences from affect and motivation between genders Open Access

Abstract

To perform well on a cognitively demanding task (i.e., mental rotation), one needs to accumulate enough evidence from the available information to increase one’s likelihood of attaining the correct answer. Although the extant evidence suggests roles for affective and motivational factors on decision-making, much remains unknown about how these factors influence the performance of mentally rotating objects (mental rotation task), where robust gender performance disparities are observed. In the current dissertation, I used drift diffusion modeling (DDM) to test the extent to which the mechanisms of visuospatial information processing and decision-making are influenced by affective and motivational states. Using DDM, I examined the model parameters of processing efficiency (indexed by drift rate) and the amount of evidence accumulation (indexed by decision thresholds) to inform the mechanisms underlying individual differences on mental rotation performance. Moreover, I examined whether affective and motivational factors may shed light on the gender differences found on mental rotation tasks. Consistent with the hypotheses that affective and motivational states may differentially associate with information processing and decision-making, I found gender differences on drift rates when the mental rotation task emphasized speed over accuracy (Chapter 2). Furthermore, decision confidence uniquely mediated the link between gender differences in drift rates and decision thresholds (Chapter 3). In addition, I found that approach/avoidance states interacted with gender and affective states to differentially associate with drift rates and decision thresholds (Chapter 4). Taken together, these studies uncover the mechanisms underlying spatial processing efficiency and decision-making with respect to gender differences, providing support for the roles of affective and motivational states in visuospatial task processes.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

 

Abstract

1

Chapter 1: General Introduction

2

Chapter 2: Gender differences on mental rotation tasks emphasizing speed over accuracy

 

 Introduction

9

 Methods

  Results

10

12

 Discussion

16

 Supplementary Materials

19

 

Chapter 3: Affective Factors Affect Visuospatial Decision-making: A Drift Diffusion Modeling Approach

 

Introduction

27

Methods

29

Results

30

Discussion

34

Supplementary Materials

36

 

Chapter 4: The effects of motivational and affective states on spatial information processing and decision strategies

 

 Introduction

37

 

 Experiment 1

39

 

 Experiment 2

50

 

 General Discussion

62

 

 Supplementary Materials

65

 

 

Chapter 5: General Discussion

68

References

73

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Cognition and Development
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Behavioral
Keyword	gender differences drift diffusion modeling mental rotation
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Stella F. Lourenco, Emory University
Committee Members	Michael T. Treadway, Emory University Arber Tasimi, Emory University Hillary R. Rodman, Emory University Kim Wallen, Emory University

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