Successful language comprehension requires the rapid deployment of working memory resources alongside the capacity to predict upcoming linguistic input. While previous research views these as competing factors, this dissertation explores a unified theory of processing complexity and evaluates the interaction between memory and prediction. The…

The ability to use knowledge to guide the completion of goals is a critical cognitive skill, but 3-year-olds struggle to complete goals that require multiple steps. This study asked whether 3-year-olds could benefit from "plan chunking" to complete multistep goals. Thirty-two U.S. children (range = 35.75-46.59 months; 18 girls; 9 white,…

The results of Cognitive Intervention (CI) programs vary considerably; thus, it is helpful to assess the characteristics that enhance the effectiveness of these programs. Our objectives were to analyze the effectiveness of a multicomponent CI program called UMAM on cognitive performance, subjective memory, daily forgetfulness, and mood of…

In today's rapid dissemination of information, discerning truth from falsehood is crucial. We investigated how cues signaling information veracity influence memory accuracy and confidence in coherent narratives. Two studies manipulated perceptual difficulty in distinguishing true-labeled from false-labeled information in event descriptions using…

This study aimed to identify the perspectives of post-graduate students on online learning in the field of educational sciences utilizing Bloom's revised taxonomy specified for the cognitive domain to qualitatively explore the factors affecting lower-order thinking skills (LOTS) including remembering, understanding, and applying as well as…

Although we cannot see or touch time, across many cultures, we use spatial representations to think about this abstract concept. Spatial representations of time are thought to support temporal concepts that might otherwise be difficult to represent and reason about, such as the temporal component of episodic memory. One common form of spatially…

In mathematics education, representations are used in place of mathematical structures, ideas, or relationships to concretize, transform, and represent them. When students interact with these representations, they engage in various cognitive activities such as thinking, reasoning, understanding, remembering, problem-solving, attention, and…

The forgetting curve is one of the most well known and established findings in memory research. Knowing the pattern of memory change over time can provide insight into underlying cognitive mechanisms. The default understanding is that forgetting follows a continuous, negatively accelerating function, such as a power function. We show that this…

Dopamine participates in encoding memories and could either encode rewarding/aversive value of unconditioned stimuli or act as a novelty signal triggering contextual learning. Here we show that intraperitoneal injection of the dopamine D1/5R antagonist SCH23390 impairs contextual fear conditioning and tone-shock association, while intrahippocampal…

Research has shown that gesture production supports learning across a number of tasks. It is unclear, however, whether gesture production during encoding can support narrative recall, who gesture production benefits most, and whether certain types of gestures are more beneficial than others. This study, therefore, investigated the effect of…

Awake quiescence immediately after encoding is conducive to episodic memory consolidation. Retrieval can render episodic memories labile again, but reconsolidation can modify and restrengthen them. It remained unknown whether awake quiescence after retrieval supports episodic memory reconsolidation. We sought to examine this question via an…

According to the active system consolidation theory, memory consolidation during sleep relies on the reactivation of newly encoded memory representations. This reactivation is orchestrated by the interplay of sleep slow oscillations, spindles, and theta, which are in turn modulated by certain neurotransmitters like GABA to enable long-lasting…

People often need to update representations of information upon discovering them to be incorrect, a process that can be interrupted by competing cognitive demands. Because anxiety and stress can impair cognitive performance, we tested whether looming threat can similarly interfere with the process of updating representations of a statement's…

Recent studies demonstrate that eyes-closed rest benefits memory consolidation, perhaps due to reduced attention to environmental stimuli. Here, we asked whether focusing attention to "internal" thoughts and feelings after learning similarly blocks memory consolidation. Verbal memory was tested following an eyes-closed consolidation…

In 2020, 21.5% of US preschoolers spoke a language other than English at home. These children transition into English-speaking classrooms in different ways, often handling foundational concepts in two languages. Critically, some knowledge may be dependent on the language of learning. For instance, both bilingual children and adults typically…