Symposia

The following unique symposia are likely to have broad influence in shaping future research. Don't miss these sessions during the meeting:

Temporal dynamics of affect and surprise shape laboratory and real-world memories
Organizer: James W. Antony, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date/Time: Friday, November 17, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM US PST
Room: Continental 5/6

Humans continuously update their predictions about the environment, and these changes coincide with surprises or affective states that drive learning and memory. Here, we examine how these factors alter the content and structure of memory across different timescales and modalities, ranging from lab-based studies using media stimuli to various real-world scenarios. First, David Clewett will show how emotion dynamics transform experiences into memorable episodes. Next, Alyssa Sinclair will demonstrate that anxiety and beliefs about learning change how we update knowledge in response to prediction error. In the third talk, Nina Rouhani will connect laboratory findings of mnemonic prediction-error effects to a longitudinal study of autobiographical and collective memory across three years. Following this, Kimberly Chiew will show the importance of preferences and expectations in memory for the high-stakes US elections of 2016 and 2020. Finally, James Antony will examine how model-derived surprise during sports viewing correlates with memory for events spanning from seconds to months. Altogether, these diverse approaches show how prediction and affect influence cognitive processing across many domains and levels of resolution.

• Emotion as the Grammar of Human Memory—David Clewett, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
• Reframing the Value of Errors Mitigates Anxiety-Related Learning Deficits—Alyssa H. Sinclair, Duke University, USA
• Collective Events and Individual Affect Shape Memory— Nina Rouhani, California Institute of Technology, USA
• Expectation Shapes Affective Response To and Memory For Real-Life Election Events—Kimberly S. Chiew, University of Denver, USA
• Long-Term, Multi-Event Surprise Correlates with Enhanced Autobiographical Memory—James W. Anthony, California Polytechnic State University, USA

The bright and dark side of technological development: a window on its impact on physical, psychological and social well-being across the life-span
Organizers: Chiara Fini. University of Rome, Vanessa Era, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Italy & Sapienza University of Rome, and Dimitris Bolis, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
Date/Time: Friday, November 17, 1:30 PM–3:30 PM US PST
Room: Continental 5/6

The present symposium will contribute to the discussion about the pros and cons of technologically mediated interactions with the external environment across the life-span. Prof. Porciello will review evidence on how technology may change atypical bodily self-representation through embodiment experiences, and by providing new physiological measures. Prof. Wykowska will illustrate how social robots can ameliorate atypical social interactions, such as those characterizing autistic persons. The growing intrusion of technological devices in our culture, however, deserves a deep reflection. Prof. Gallagher will highlight how mental processes are “externalized” through and within technological devices, with a special focus on the consequences for the private dimensions of mental life. Crucially, the impact of technology evolves across life-span, in this regard, Prof. Costello will support the thesis that —being less embodied—older adults might benefit more from unmediated modes of being in relation with the world. Finally, Prof. Annalisa Setti will sustain that natural environments are ideal backgrounds to promote unmediated interactions with the world for the preservation of cognitive and sensorimotor resources.

• Future Bodies: How Technology Will Change the Neuroscience of Bodily Representations—Giuseppina Porciello, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
• Social Robots for the Benefit of Humans—Agnieszka Wykowska, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy
• Changing Your Mind: AI and Transparency—Shaun Gallagher, University of Memphis, USA
• The Necessity of Physicality for Older Adults—Matthew Costello, University of Hartford, USA
• Nature as Antidote to Disembodiment: Real and Technological Nature in Older Age People with Perceptual Sensitivity— Annalisa Setti, University College Cork & The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Ireland
   
  

Diversity in Disability: Evidence from Disability Identity and Research (PS Diversity & Inclusion Symposium)
Organizer: Jill Shelton, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Date/Time: Friday, November 17, 3:45 PM–5:45 PM US PST
Room: Continental 5/6

December 2020 marked the first United Nation’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Although there were sufficient conversations surrounding disability, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA), there is a continued need to cultivate a culture of inclusivity in the academic and scientific workforce.  Despite the prevalence of people living with a disability, colleagues in our fields have limited knowledge of how disability affects our personal identities and professional lives. Notably, considerable diversity exists within the disability community, making it important to consider multiple perspectives of individuals with lived experience. We have assembled a group of inter-disciplinary scholars who possess both personal and professional expertise about the disability experience. We will discuss theoretical and empirical work that extends our understanding of disability identity, perceptions of the disability community, neurodiversity, and initiatives for support and empowerment. Importantly, we will integrate our own lived experience to provide real-world context. Our goal is to encourage our Psychonomic Society colleagues to become more knowledgeable and active in promoting DEIA initiatives.

• Discovering More About Yourself Through Research and Professional Development—Karen Arcos, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
• Are We WEIRDA? Ableist Sampling in Psychology Research— Rain G. Bosworth, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
• Strategic Advocacy: Individuals and Institutions—Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, Gallaudet University, USA
• Autistic Identity Across Development: A Critique of “Regression” Into and “Outgrowing” Autism—Steven Kapp, University of Portsmouth, UK
• Discussion of Diversity in Disability: Evidence from Disability Identity and Research—Morton Ann Gernsbacher, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA

Attentional control as a psychometric construct: Challenges and responses
Organizers: Julia M Haaf, University of Amsterdam and Alodie Rey-Mermet, UniDistance Suisse
Date/Time: Saturday, November 18, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM US PST
Room: Continental 5/6

Attentional control - also referred to as executive functions, cognitive control, executive attention, or inhibition - is our ability to maintain and implement a goal and goal-relevant information in the face of distraction. Recent research has highlighted the difficulty of establishing attentional control as a psychometric construct, that is, a reliable and valid construct that leads to robust patterns of individual differences across tasks and situations. While the reliability of experimental tasks used to assess attentional control has been extensively discussed, the validity of these tasks has yet to be thoroughly debated. The purpose of this symposium is to move the field forward beyond the reliability debate and explore the validity issues that we face when using attentional control tasks. The first talk will introduce the methodological and conceptual challenges. The next five talks will present diverging responses to these challenges. Finally, the symposium provides a rare opportunity for discussion between speakers and audience members on the current controversy around individual differences research of attentional control.

• What Are the Challenges We Are Facing when We Aim to Establish Attentional Control as a Psychometric Construct?— Alodie Rey-Mermet, UniDistance Suisse, Switzerland; and Gidon T. Frischkorn, University of Zurich, Switzerland
• Examining the Psychometrics of Attention Control—Matthew K. Robison, The University of Texas at Arlington, USA
• The Toolbox Approach to Assessing Individual Differences in Attention Control—Christopher Draheim, Lawrence University, USA
• Linking Issues of Validity and Reliability with the Signalto-Noise Ratio in Attentional Control Tasks—Julia Haaf, University of Amsterdam (UVA), Netherlands
• Formally Linking Computational Models of Attentional Control Tasks Can Help Validate Measures and Constrain Theory—Maria Robinson, University of California, San Diego, USA
• Exploring the Potential and Limitations of Electrophysiological Measures of Attentional Control for Individual Differences Research—Anna-Lena Schubert, University of Mainz, Germany

Finding the Way: Advances in Spatial Navigation Research
Organizers: Steven Weisberg, University of Florida and Nora Newcombe, Temple University
Date/Time: Saturday, November 18, 1:30 PM–3:30 PM US PST
Room: Continental 5/6  

Spatial navigation is a vital everyday task involving the coordination of sensory, cognitive, and physical systems. Yet, spatial navigation abilities vary widely across individuals. Thus, it is critical to understand the variety of skills and strategies involved in navigation and how to apply these findings toward supporting and enhancing navigation-relevant skills. In this symposium, we present research using a wide array of techniques, including navigation-relevant training, design and architectural analyses, VR/AR simulations, and psychometrics. We explore the significant implications in both applied and theoretical areas, including how cognitive psychology research can be more effectively used to improve daily life (particularly in older adults, and people with disabilities, who may have navigation difficulties). We also consider our research in the context of theories of cognitive training (e.g., far and near transfer) and information representation (e.g., cognitive maps and graphs).

• Virtual Copetown: Integrating Spatial Relationships Across Separately Learned Routes—Nora S. Newcombe, Temple University, USA; and Merve Tansan, Temple University, USA
• Individual Differences in Human Navigation Ability: Interactions with Brain Structure and Function—Elizabeth R. Chrastil, University of California, Irvine, USA
• The Influence of Augmented Reality (AR) Cues on Wayfinding and Spatial Learning—Sarah H. Creem-Regehr, University of Utah, USA; Yu Zhao, Vanderbilt University, USA; Jeanine K. Stefanucci, University of Utah, USA; and Bobby Bodenheimer, Vanderbilt University, USA
• Learning the Layout of Different Environments: Common or Dissociated Abilities?—Mary Hegarty, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA; Chuanxiuyue (Carol) He, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA; and Alexis Topete, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
• Age Differences in Spatial Navigation: Determinants and Consequences?—Denise Head, Washington University in St. Louis, USA; Hannah Maybrier, Washington University in St. Louis, USA; Marta Stojanovic, Washington University in St. Louis, USA; Taylor F. Levine, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, USA; and Jennifer Shearon, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
• How Does the Brain Encode New Complex Cognitive Skills?—Arne Ekstrom, University of Arizona, USA; and Steven M. Weisberg, University of Florida, USA