Dissociable mechanisms of spatial processing and decision-making on mental rotation tasks: influences from affect and motivation between genders Restricted; Files & ToC

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.

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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, Behavioral Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Cognitive
Palabra Clave	gender differences mental rotation drift diffusion modeling
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Stella F. Lourenco, Emory University
Committee Members	Hillary R. Rodman, Emory University Michael T. Treadway, Emory University Arber Tasimi, Emory University Kim Wallen, Emory University

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