Psychology (Theses)

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“It’s wrong but I can’t explain why!” Moral dumbfounding and moral judgement: how failure to justify moral judgements can inform our understanding of how they are made
(2024-10-17) McHugh, Cillian
Moral dumbfounding occurs when people fail to justify a strongly held moral judgement with supporting reasons. The discovery of moral dumbfounding coincided with a growth in intuitionist and dual-process theories of moral judgement over rationalist theories, and its existence has directly informed their development (e.g., Haidt, 2001; Prinz, 2005; Bucciarelli, Khemlani, & Johnson-Laird 2008; Dwyer, 2009; Cushman, Young, & Greene 2010). Despite the influence of moral dumbfounding on the morality literature, the phenomenon is poorly understood. Direct evidence in support of dumbfounding is limited to a single study (Haidt, Björklund, & Murphy, 2000), which had a final sample of 30 participants and was never published in peerreviewed form. The aim of the current project is to examine the phenomenon of moral dumbfounding directly, firstly, to test if it is a real phenomenon, and secondly to evaluate how the existence (or absence) of moral dumbfounding can inform theories of moral judgement. Three studies demonstrate that dumbfounding is a genuine phenomenon that can be reliably elicited in a laboratory setting, and develop methods for studying dumbfounding. Two studies address specific challenges to dumbfounding, and demonstrate that (a) people do not reliably articulate reasons that may be governing their judgement, and (b) moral principles are not consistently applied across differing contexts. A final set of studies tested two hypothesised explanations of moral dumbfounding associated with dual-process theory (e.g., Cushman, 2013; Crockett, 2013), and model theory (Bucciarelli et al., 2008). Using a range of manipulations across seven studies, the observed evidence for these explanations is weak. That dumbfounding is poorly explained by existing theories of moral judgement presents a significant limitation of current theories of moral judgement. To address this limitation, a possible alternative theoretical approach that provides an explanation for moral dumbfounding is explored.
Exploring the influence of early screen use in the home on psychological development from an ecological perspective
(2023-10-23) Beatty, Chloé
The present research focuses on the influence that early screen use in the home has on young children’s psychological development. While a large body of research has been conducted on the influence that screens have on physical health factors, there is a paucity of literature focusing on early psychological development. Furthermore, the little research that has been conducted in this area has not considered early screen use from a fully ecological perspective. To explore this topic, the current research draws on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model while using a nationally representative birth cohort study, as well as primary data, to assess the unique contribution early screen use has on developmental outcomes. The empirical studies in this thesis suggest that screen use had varying influences on children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development. However, the effect sizes were small in comparison to those seen for environmental factors, such as household income or parent-child relationships. Longitudinal analyses also indicated reverse-causal effects, which suggests screen time to not be the initial causing factor for the children’s later developmental outcomes. Further ecological factors, such as parental screen beliefs and engagement during screen time were also found to be associated with the prevalence and type of early screen use, highlighting the importance of controlling for such factors in the analyses. These findings highlight the screen use factors, and the ecological factors related to this, that are important to measure in future research to provide a more nuanced understanding of screen time’s unique role in early development. The findings are discussed within the context of the bioecological model and provide evidence-based guidelines for caregivers, educators, practitioners, and policymakers, on best early screen use practices. The findings also add to the debate on what influence, if any, early screen use has on the young developing child – an area that has been under-researched to date.
The role of self-regulatory individual differences in counterfactual thinking
(Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, 2013) Maloney, David
The aim of this research was to investigate the role of self-regulatory individual differences in counterfactual thinking. In particular, we examined individual differences in autonomy, action/state orientation and cognitive self-affirmation inclination over the course of seven experiments. Autonomy, which emphasizes intrinsic motivation and reduced preoccupation with external outcomes, was explored in Experiments 1, 2, and 3. The results showed that autonomy influenced counterfactual controllability and that the method of eliciting counterfactual responses was important to observe this association. Additionally, the experiments demonstrated the adaptiveness of controllable counterfactuals in performance improvement. Experiments 4 and 5 examined action/state orientation which is the capacity to view self-representations as unthreatened following negative outcomes. We found that an action-orientation was associated with counterfactual controllability when participants encountered prolonged difficulty in a cognitive task. Also, by experimentally manipulating action/state orientation we found that innately action-oriented and state-oriented participants differed in the counterfactuals they generated. Finally, Experiments 6 and 7 demonstrated that individuals high in cognitive self-affirmation inclination, a tendency to self-affirm, generated more controllable counterfactuals, compared to individuals without this tendency. The findings from the seven experiments indicate that individual differences in selfregulatory traits are important in the types of counterfactual thoughts that people generate. We discuss the implications of the findings for the functional theory of counterfactual thinking and for the use of counterfactual thought in applied settings.
How does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?: An investigation of the mechanisms underpinning the intermanual transfer of acquired skilled hand movement as postulated by the Proficiency, Callosal Access and Cross Activation Models.
(Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, 2013) Ryan, Deirdre
This thesis proposes that the data conflicts observed in studies of three models of intermanual transfer (the Proficiency Model (Laszlo, Baguley, & Bairstow, 1970), the Callosal Access Model (Taylor & Heilman, 1980) and the Cross Activation Model (Parlow & Kinsbourne, 1989) may be due in part to methodological artefacts such as the nature of the hand skill (task) and types of task-related feedback rather than conceptual or process differences between the models. An in-depth analysis of classical and contemporary research on intermanual transfer of hand skills underpinned the design of the three experimental studies reported in this thesis. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of task type and feedback conditions in intermanual transfer, and to provide evidence that might lead to the refutation of at least one of the three models. The first study addressed some of the methodological differences in the original studies, in particular, the role of task type (simple/complex motor tasks) and feedback (knowledge of results (KR), visual, auditory) on direction and strength of transfer of hand skills. The second study examined the effect of terminal KR on right hand skill acquisition and includes a more in-depth analysis of the nature of intermanual transfer (motor and spatial representation). The impact of task presentation (overt/covert) on acquisition and transfer of hand skills (motor and spatial representation) was examined in the final study. The data from these studies support the idea that task type and feedback interact to influence acquisition and transfer of hand skills and thus task type and feedback may have contributed to the conflicts in the observations of earlier researchers. The results provide partial support for the Proficiency Model, in particular, the concept of the standard (STD) which it is proposed is used to indicate to the person the accuracy of their response. The STD comprises both intrinsic and extrinsic feedback. Greater right hand transfer gains (motor representation) following left hand training provides partial support for the Callosal Access Model. The results from the three studies did not provide support for the Cross Activation model.
Phenomenology in laboratory-based tasks: exploring methodologies that integrate experiential reports with behavioural measures in psychological research
(Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, 2016) McAuliffe, Alan
Disparate research traditions in the study of experience have led to contentious arguments over the use of first-person methods in psychological research (Dennett, 2001; Schwitzgebel, 2003). Some believe that researchers are inclined to avoid qualitative techniques due to their many limitations (Vermersch, 2004), largely because these methods may resist replication and fail to control for the subtleties of meaningful experience, as well as the effects these methods have on the examined behaviour (Petitmengin, 2006; Hurlburt & Aktar, 2006; Schwitzgebel, 2008). However, recently emerging approaches within Psychology and Cognitive Science have argued strongly that experience should play a more central role in our examination of behavioural data. Despite this emerging consensus, the relationship between experience and behaviour remains very poorly understood. Placing emphasis on understanding subjective experiences calls for a re-examination of the methods we commonly use in psychology, with the aim to gain a better understanding of the person's experiences, and the meaning of their actions, at the time that the behaviour of interest is carried out. In order to further investigate this phenomenon, the current project has built on research using integrative and phenomenologically-informed methods in the study of experience. Five experiments were conducted to explore the potential use of such methods in the laboratory, with the initial series of experiments aiming to find an experimental paradigm that engages the participant in meaningful ways. The final experiments of this thesis directly gather data on participant experiences during a contextualised lab-based paradigm. Findings suggest that the use of integrative methods in the laboratory may have extraneous effects on task behaviour and we are still in the early stages of the development of more far reaching methods in the study of experience. This work highlights the challenges and necessity of understanding how we can use revised methods to further explore the relationship between experience and behaviour in meaningful, but controlled, ways.
What you see is what you get, but do you get what you see: Higher education students’ evaluation of the credibility of online information.
(Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, 2013) Glasheen, Michelle
Information literacy involves the ability to find, access, evaluate, organise and store information in a variety of media, though there is as yet no consensus on a precise definition. This thesis, set in the context of higher education, explores aspects of information literacy associated with students’ evaluation of information found on the World Wide Web. Two studies relating to third level students’ evaluation of the credibility of online information were conducted. Study 1 examined whether the search results ranking that a website receives following a Google search query affects students’ perceived credibility of that website. Study 2 presented final year psychology students with information that was either relevant or not relevant to their area of study. In order to examine the frequency of information verification behaviours and to explore the nature of information processing (either heuristic or systematic) that underlies students’ interactions with online information. The results of Study 1 are consistent with the idea that state search engine rankings do not significantly impact participants’ evaluation of webpage content. The results of Study 2 indicate that final year psychology students did not engage in information verification behaviours more frequently when evaluating psychology-relevant versus psychology non-relevant information, but that they did evaluate the credibility of such information differently. These results are discussed in the context of the conceptual overlap between information literacy skills and the aims of higher education.
An Inquiry into the Efficacy of Filial Play as an Intervention with Families from Disadvantaged Areas in Limerick City and County
(2013) Ó'Braonáin, Cóilín
Painful decisions: an exploration of pain assessment (from the perspective of others) within a signal detection theory framework
(Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, 2012) Whisker, Lorraine
Pain perception is individualistic, subjective and difficult to assess and measure accurately. It is vital for the implementation of appropriate treatment strategies, that healthcare providers and receivers arrive at a similar pain assessment when evaluating a pain experience. The benefits that accrue from mutually derived pain assessment cannot be overstated. These include patients’ well being, appropriate patient care and support, enhanced cost effectiveness of health care systems, and more efficient deployment of available resources. The primary aim of this research is to develop and assess the use of a pain detection and measurement tool within a social communication framework based on Craig’s 2009 Social Communication Model of Pain. The proposed pain detection/measurement tool integrates vignette methodology with a Signal Detection Theory (SDT) framework. The objective is to help explain the under and over estimation of pain commonly observed between healthcare receivers (i.e. patients, individuals etc. who experience pain) and healthcare providers (health practitioners, doctors, nurses, families, carers etc). Existing pain measurement instruments fail to accommodate the social interaction between these two parties. A convenience sample of 660 (i.e. undergraduates n =579; those who have chosen to work in healthcare aka student nurses n =81) judged four pain levels (no pain, mild, moderate and severe pain) experienced by characters depicted in a vignette series that incorporated pain descriptors from McGill Pain Questionnaire (Melzack, 1970) and pain indicators associated with Kehoe et al’s (2007) ‘profile of pain’, (e.g. the distress of pain, physical pain, its influence on suffers, etc). Pain judgement data was subjected to inferential and SDT analysis. Significant differences were found between groups in their criterion adopted in their pain perception at all levels and between the response-spread across the pain rating scale. Age and gender of characters depicted in vignettes were also found to influence pain judgements differently between groups. Student nurses’ criteria in their pain detection were lower in the no pain condition and higher in the moderate and severe pain condition compared to undergraduates. SDT analysis identified student nurses’ higher pain detection rates compared to undergraduates across mild, moderate and severe pain levels. Differences in willingness to report pain where there were no pain descriptors/indicators were also observed. Benefits of vignettes in clinical settings where both healthcare providers and receivers respond to a similar pain experience are explored. Results fuel a discussion of the use of SDT as an alternative framework for pain detection, assessment and measurement.
The time of our lives: an investigation into the effects of technological advances on temporal experience.
(Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, 2012) McLoughlin, Aoife
Previous research (Blatchley et al., 2007) investigating the relationship between timing accuracy and computer use highlighted a potential difference between individuals with high and low levels of computer usage. In order to further investigate this phenomenon the current research has built on research in the area of human time perception, modernity and technology acceptance and use. In order to quantify the level of information communication technology use in participants the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire was developed. Five studies were then conducted in order to investigate the effects which use of these types of technologies may be having on subjective timing. The initial two studies conducted found that when split by technology use, participants gave significantly different responses on both interval production and duration estimation tasks overall. In order to further investigate evidence for a difference in the subjective timing of both groups two further studies were conducted. These examined the performance of participants on timing tasks when the number of available options and integration of sensory modalities were manipulated by the researcher. A final study was conducted exploring the behavioural priming effects of technology use. It was found that integrating the modalities of the stimulus that the participants engaged with, and also priming participants to think about advanced technologies or time management, elicited responses suggestive of an increase in the pace of subjective time.

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