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The influence of future expected outcomes on retrieval-induced forgetting in undergraduate students

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The influence of future expected outcomes on retrieval-induced forgetting in undergraduate students Messaros, Sierra Retrieval-Induced Forgetting (RIF) is a cognitive phenomenon in which successful remembering of a strengthened memory item (Rp+) results in suppression and forgetting of related memory items (Rp-) compared to unpracticed memory items (Nrp) (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). Current research suggests that RIF is associated to a positivity bias of memory, where greater retrieval-induced forgetting effects result in remembering the past and imagining the future more positively (Giebl et al., 2016; Storm & Jobe, 2012). This study used the Retrieval Practice Paradigm to examine the dimensions and boundaries of the positivity bias correlation. Using the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R) scale and the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS), RIF effects were able to test positivity and optimism by focusing on a broader episodic memory perspective, while also targeting specific episodic memory through event expectancies and outcomes (i.e., GPA estimations and likelihood of future event outcomes). We focused our analyses on individuals who demonstrated RIF. Results found no significant main effects of RIF among all participants, however a small portion of participants displayed stronger individual RIF effects. Effect sizes found no relationships between the optimism and positivity measures. We conclude with a discussion on methodology, retrieval time responses, and characteristics of RIF with broad versus specific memory. As well, we examine coping mechanisms of memory, and the role present situation influences perspective of past and future. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 41 p.

Categorization catastrophe: applying hypodescent and contact theory to biracial photo lineups

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Categorization catastrophe: applying hypodescent and contact theory to biracial photo lineups Steinke, Tilar Past research shows that biracial individuals tend to be categorized into the most marginalized group (i.e., hypodescent; Ho et al., 2011; Chao et al., 2013). Per contact theory, the quantity and quality of contact with Biracial people (Civile & McLaren, 2022) may predict outgroup categorization and biases (Dickter et al., 2015). The current study sought to examine the role of hypodescent and contact theory in understanding participants’ ability to categorize target faces. Participants were asked to categorize Black-White biracial targets on both a discrete and continuous scale, as well as complete the General Intergroup Contact Quantity and Contact Quality Scale. Results of the study generally followed the expected trajectory, indicating that estimates of ancestry roughly paralleled actual morph level. Neither Biracial nor Black contact was a significant predictor of categorization. Together, these findings may be used to craft photo lineup studies for a wider range of targets. We argue that Psycholegal researchers should expand their range of target groups to include biracial populations. Future researchers should attempt to replicate these findings with other mixedrace groups and control for observer race. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 19 p.

The effect of mask wearing and emotional deficits on lateralized perception and expression of emotion

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The effect of mask wearing and emotional deficits on lateralized perception and expression of emotion Stradeski, Zoe The posing bias is the phenomenon explaining that individuals perceive and express emotion more in the left side of the face. This is based on the right hemisphere hypothesis, which posits that emotions are typically processed in the right hemisphere of the brain. This study aims to assess this neurological bias in cases where not all facial cues are visible in the case of widespread mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in relation to emotion expression and perception deficits. Deficits of emotion perception and expression of interest are the result of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), wherein people with ASD have a significantly harder time recognizing and expressing emotion. ASD has also been linked to the subclinical emotional processing deficit called alexithymia, which is the inability to recognize or express others’ or one’s own emotions. The current study investigated these deficits and the influence that masking has on emotion perception and expression. In the present study, we recruited 44 undergraduate students who completed handedness, ASD, and alexithymia questionnaires and participated in two tasks: a forced choice task where they were presented with images posed left or right with and without a mask, and an expression task where they posed with and without a mask after reading two scripts. Findings suggest that alexithymia may be a better predictor of emotion expression and perception deficits than ASD, and that mask wearing may modulate lateral posing, warranting further review. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 51 p.

From the war on terror to a war on territory: corporate counterinsurgency at the Escobal mine and the Dakota Access Pipeline

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From the war on terror to a war on territory: corporate counterinsurgency at the Escobal mine and the Dakota Access Pipeline Granovsky-Larsen, Simon; Santos, Larissa As extractive industries expand and adapt to the globalized economy, new methods have emerged to ensure extraction at any cost. In the context of the global war on terror and the privatization of security, private military and security companies now offer their services to extractive corporations in non-combat scenarios. This paper applies the concept of corporate counterinsurgency to the Escobal mine in Guatemala and the Dakota Access Pipeline in the United States in order to identify the characteristics of militarized campaigns launched by transnational corporations and supported by states. Based on primary documents and investigative reporting from both cases, we argue that the counterinsurgent tactics deployed against movements resisting extractive projects stem from a strategic goal to control territory, shared by transnational corporations in the extractive and security sectors. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 46(1), 121-145 (2021), available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08263663.2021.1855892




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