The Psychology Graduate Student Council (PGSC) is an organization of elected graduate students from the Psychology Department at Georgia Tech. The officers guide and foster a sense of community, information, and achievement within the psychology graduate student body. Throughout the school year, PGSC hosts social events, provides opportunities for student feedback on the program, and facilitates continual communication between department leadership, program alumni, and students.
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CURRENT NEWS:
CONGRATULATIONS to the poster award winners at the 2022 Welcome Back Event:
“Best Theoretical Contribution”: Yohan Nakuci
“Best Elevator Pitch”: Lauren Moran
“Best Poster Design”: Lauren Moran
“Best Poster Overall”: Zachary Tidler & Marshall Green
CONGRATULATIONS to the recipients of the 2023-2024 Psychology Interlab Grant:
1) “Great Expectations: Cognitive Placebo Effects in Older Adults”
by Maugan Lloyd, Abigail Marne, Emily Parcell
Abstract:
Many studies have identified a link between computerized speed of processing training using the Useful Field of View (UFOV) and enhanced driving behavior in older adults, but the cause of the association is hotly debated; specifically, it's unclear whether the observed improvements are due to genuine cognitive enhancements or simply a boost in confidence. Cognitive placebo effects have been observed in younger adults, and the effects may be even larger for older adults due to a pervasive negative belief in their own cognition.
In this study, we aim to investigate whether the relationship between UFOV training and driving proficiency in older adults is primarily mediated by increased confidence in driving skills rather than speeding up the brain or other fundamental improvements in basic cognitive processes.
We plan to examine the impact of cognitive training on older adults' beliefs about their cognitive abilities, their performance on fluid intelligence tasks, and driving ability using a simulator.
We propose a 2x2 design along dimensions of cognitive training type, and the valence of instructions and feedback. We expect an interaction effect showing that if older adults believe that their training task improvement demonstrates a broader change in their cognitive and everyday abilities, then this will be reflected in their actual post-training performance.
To say that UFOV training speeds up the brain may be putting the cognitive cart before the metacognitive horse. This demonstration of the cognitive placebo effect would be a compelling argument that older adults can perform at a higher level in cognitive and everyday tasks if they believe in themselves.
2) “Narratives, Extended Reality, and Memory in Aging Population”
By Simin Nasiri , Hanna Neroj, Amanda Arbuckle
Abstract:
Current advancements in technologies have the potential to enable the aging population to form a better connection with the world and perhaps improve their spatial memory and navigation skills. In this study, we want to investigate the effect of cultural narratives on social curiosity and connection, and then investigate the impact of this curiosity on spatial memory in the aging population. This study will take place in the format of a social game, taking advantage of augmented reality (AR) technologies with participants wearing AR goggles and exploring parts of the city with designated AR objects and characters to find and connect them to narrate the story. We hypothesize that the familiar cultural narratives, stories, and literature floating in the city will impact people’s curiosity in three aspects intellectual, environmental, and social. These levels and layers of curiosity will encourage them to find objects and complete the narratives either individually or in groups. These visual narratives associated with particular locations in the city will help them as a mnemonic/iconic aid to remember the environment, and as a result, navigate the space better.
CONGRATULATIONS to the recipients of the 2021-2022 Psychology Interlab Grant:
- “The Effect of AI Directability on Trust and Adoption in Automated Vehicles among Older and Younger Drivers: Proposing an Extension to the UTAUT Model" by Sidney Scott-Sharoni and Lucas Provine
- "Developing a Scale of Mastery of Technology" by Emily Gleaton and Emily Parcell
ONGOING PGSC PROJECTS:
Community:
- Various Monthly Social Events (yoga, dinners, more!)
- Monthly First Fridays
- Monthly Convos and Joes
- Annual Welcome Back Poster Event
- First-Year Mentorship Program
- Merchandise (Designed by our treasurer & social chair!)
- Alumni Connection & Survey
- Annual Better Together Conference
Information:
- Monthly PGSC Newsletter
- Monthly Share with Chair Meeting
- Annual Graduate Student Survey
- Annual School of Psychology Town Hall
- First-Year Handbook
- First-Year Experience Survey
- Faculty Meeting Minutes
Achievement:
- Shout-Outs in Monthly PGSC Newsletter
- Applied Speaker Series
- Annual Internship Talk
- Psychology Interlab Grants
ADMINISTRATIVE DOCUMENTS:
