/library/oar/handle/123456789/112385 2025-12-28T12:50:59Z 2025-12-28T12:50:59Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/112792 2023-09-01T08:50:52Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Investigating the other-race categorization advantage within the context of learning Abstract: It is well established that people process own-race and other-race faces differently. When required to recognise or differentiate between specific facial identities, better performance is achieved with own-race faces compared to other-race faces, a finding termed the other-race effect (ORE). However, when asked to categorize faces, performance is better for other-race faces than for own-race faces, a finding termed the other-race categorization advantage (ORCA). This work explored how these race effects might vary as a function of face familiarity. A race categorization task was chosen in which stimuli were covered with two-dimensional Gaussian noise and participants were required to classify faces as Asian or Caucasian. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, the signal (face) alpha level on each trial was gradually increased to modulate the visibility of the target face such that the faces emerged from noise. Participants ended the trial by making a response as soon as possible. Faces were repeated across blocks to include face familiarity. The ORCA was present in the task in both accuracy data and levels of alpha, with participants responding more accurately for other-race faces as well as requiring less visible face to categorize other-race faces. Despite the repetition of faces, no learning took place in this task. In Experiment 2, the alpha levels of the face within the dynamic noise were predetermined, providing 4 possible levels (0.5, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8) of visibility. Participants were required to respond as quickly as possible, with reaction time (RT) being the main dependent measure. Faces were again repeated across blocks. The ORCA was present in both accuracy and RT data. A learning effect for own-race faces was obtained such that RT to categorize own-race faces decreased while the RT to categorize other-race faces increased. A follow- up control experiment presented a new set of faces in each block and concluded that the learning effect obtained in Experiment 2 was due to the individuation of the faces presented during the task, not more general task or race-template learning. Taken together these results suggest that the ORCA is a robust phenomenon that can be consistently measured in novel, online tasks. The results of Experiment 2 further suggest that with repetition of faces, faster individuation of own-race faces takes place, reducing the influence of the ORCA and leading to patterns of performance more consistent with the ORE. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/112790 2023-09-01T08:48:58Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Analysing the overlapping cognitive processes between language switching and task switching : an ERP study Abstract: In this research project we wanted to test 23 Maltese-English bilinguals in a language and task switching experiment. The experiment involved a cued-picture naming task to assess participants both at the goal level and at a performance level. We assessed the reaction times and switch costs for the behavioural data while also looking at the ERP components for an in-depth analysis of the cognitive processing mechanisms involved. The goal of this project was to examine whether language control overlaps with executive control and pinpoint specifically at which processing level does the overlap occur (i.e., the goal level or the lexical level). This study was a replication of Declerck et al., (2021) who paved the way for further studies to follow their approach. The Language and Task switching paradigms were closely matched picture naming tasks (i.e., naming the color or semantic category) except the response had a different goal. For the language switching task participants had to switch between two languages (Maltese and English) while in the task switching participants switched between naming the color of the category. The response was guided by a prepresented cue. No differences were found between the cue-locked and picture-locked ERP windows across both paradigms and nearly no clear ERPs were found however waveform defections were similar to the target paper thus supporting the idea of language control being somewhat part of executive control. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/112787 2023-09-01T08:47:11Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Does global context affect memory for position in the onset repulsion effect? Abstract: The onset repulsion effect (ORE) refers to the tendency to misremember the first appearance of a moving object as being back behind its true onset position, that is, in a direction opposite to the path of motion (Actis-Grosso & Stucchi, 2003; Thornton, 2002). While the ORE has been replicated many times, the underlying cause for such a backward shift is still unclear. The present study was designed to (i) test whether the ORE can be observed in an online environment, and (ii) examine whether the global context of a motion event (e.g., the number of motion segments or the presence/absence of shape-cueing) modulates patterns of responding. In three separate experiments, observers were asked to watch a smoothly moving target and to subsequently indicate its starting, stopping and, if relevant turning points. In some conditions, shape cues were provided via both instructions (e.g., complete the sides of the triangle/rectangle) and visual feedback. In all conditions a robust ORE was measured, indicating that the effect can be observed in an online environment, where viewing conditions are not controlled. However, the global context of the motion event had very little influence on the pattern of error. This contrasts with Representational Momentum – the tendency to misremember the stopping point of an event –which is known to be modulated by context (Freyd & Finke, 1984; Vinson & Reed, 2002). The current findings suggest that the ORE is likely determined by low-level perceptual mechanisms, with less susceptibility to higher-level contextual influences. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z