/library/oar/handle/123456789/15399 2025-12-24T18:36:24Z 2025-12-24T18:36:24Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/133086 2025-03-11T13:55:50Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Exploring the impact of personalised digital advertisements on attention and recognition memory Abstract: Research in cognitive science has shown that stimuli related to oneself can affect attention allocation and influence recognition memory performance. This study investigated the role of personalisation in digital adverts on a simulated social media application in attention allocation and recognition memory. Three types of advertisements were created: User (with the participants own name); Random (with randomly assigned names); and NoName (standard adverts with no names). Participants viewed these advertisements within 10 unique social media feeds created to mimic Instagram feeds and were instructed to carry out a cover task to ascertain the gender and age of the owner of each social media feed. Afterward participants completed a recognition memory task, which used images from the advertisements, stripped of text. Using a within-subjects experimental design, we measured attention allocation by how long participants kept each advert on screen (dwell time) during the first phase of the experiment, and in the second phase their recognition memory performance (hit rate, d prime and response criterion), and response latency. We found no significant difference in attention allocation to the three advertisements categories, and no significant difference between recognition performance. However, participants were significantly faster in responding to images which had appeared in the Random category, compared to the User category during the recognition task. Factors such as age, social media usage, adaption to new technology and perceived comfort with personalised advertisements did not affect attention allocation or recognition memory performance. We found an effect of between name and dwell time in the Random advertisements, suggesting that the names themselves may have influenced participants attention, possibly as an artefact of the cover task. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.)

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/133049 2025-03-11T09:41:55Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Does being in a foreign language environment influence individuals' moral decision making? : exploring the foreign language effect in Maltese native speakers Abstract: The issue of moral judgment and decision-making has garnered significant attention in psychology, linguistics, and cognitive science. One intriguing area within this domain is the Foreign Language Effect (FLE), which examines how processing information in a foreign language influences moral judgment. This study investigates the FLE among Maltese native speakers, exploring whether a foreign language environment (English) affects their moral decision-making compared to their native language (Maltese). Conducted with 60 bilingual participants, this research employed moral dilemmas presented in both Maltese and English to analyse the nature of moral decisions (utilitarian vs. deontological) and reaction times. While previous studies suggest that the FLE may lead to more utilitarian choices by creating cognitive distance and reducing emotional involvement, our results indicate a more nuanced impact. There was no significant difference in the proportion of utilitarian decisions between languages; however, participants exhibited faster reaction times when making decisions in English. These findings imply that the cognitive distancing effect of a foreign language facilitates quicker moral reasoning by reducing emotional interference rather than significantly altering the type of moral judgments made. This research contributes to understanding the complex interplay between language, emotion, and moral decision-making, particularly within the unique bilingual context of Malta. By shedding light on how language influences ethical decision-making, this study offers valuable insights for educational practices, ethical training, and cross-cultural communication in multilingual societies. Future research is encouraged to further explore the FLE across diverse linguistic and cultural settings to deepen comprehension of its broader implications. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.)

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/133046 2025-03-11T09:40:27Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Foraging for famous faces : exploring the interaction between facial expression and facial identity processing Abstract: This thesis aimed to investigate two ongoing debates within the face perception literature. The first debate revolves around the question of whether expression and identity processing interact when making decisions about faces. The second debate concerns the possibility of a valance bias during the processing of positive or negative facial expressions of emotion. We adopted a foraging paradigm to explore whether categorising an emotional expression is independent of facial identity in the context of multiple-target search. Stimuli consisted of AI generated images of Caucasian male celebrities, each providing 4 exemplars to fill a 2 (valance) x 2 (arousal) expression space. Specific expressions were characterised as: a slight smile, full laughter, a slight frown, or extreme anger. In separate trials, participants (N=12) searched on an iPad for positive amongst negative facial expressions (or vice versa) irrespective of the level of arousal (high or low) depicted in the images. Each display contained an array of 40 faces: 20 target expressions, 20 distractor expressions (4 images per identity). The crucial manipulation was whether all faces within a trial shared the same identity or whether identity varied, with images being sampled from the full set of celebrities. Data were analysed using a 2 (Identity: Same/Different) x 2 (Expression: Positive/Negative) factorial design. A near identical follow up experiment (N= 12) was conducted, the main change being the stimuli. Additional stimuli for each expression space were created to reduce stimuli repetition. Results from both experiments clearly indicated slower response time for multiple identity trials. Results also revealed a significant processing bias for positive valence facial expressions, with reduced response time for positive target trials compared to negative target trials. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.)

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/132738 2025-03-04T08:22:48Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Investigating the impact of emotions on memory Abstract: It is generally well known that memory processes are impacted by emotions; however, much less is known about how emotion during the encoding of neutral information can influence the recall of this information. The current thesis examined how emotions influence individuals’ working memory and long-term memory performances in a free recall task. After each Emotional Induction through Music (positive, negative, and neutral), participants reported their emotions with the Self-Assessment Mannikin (SAM). The Skin Conductance Level (SCL) was also measured to give an objective insight into the arousal level of the participant’s emotions. Following the emotional induction and report, participants studied lists of neutral words and had to recall as many words as possible. It was expected to see an increase in the recall of words at the beginning of the list and the end in the positive condition, while in the negative condition, it was expected to see a decrease in the memory performance for the words at the beginning and the end of the list, compared to the two other conditions. Results show that in the neutral condition, participants demonstrated a higher recall of words from the end of the list compared to the negative emotion condition. However, there was no significant difference in SCL in the positive condition compared to the other conditions. SAM’s analyses revealed a higher valence in the positive condition compared to the neutral condition, and a higher arousal in the positive condition compared to the negative condition. Since the emotional induction did not work as expected, caution is advised in interpreting the results from the free recall task. This study highlights the importance of methodological considerations in emotional induction, given the intricate relationship between emotions and memory. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.)

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z