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Dynamics of Frontal Midline Theta and Fronto-Parietal Theta Coherence in Reasoning and Judgment

Weil, Audrey M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1498402004316457

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Psychology.
Very little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms of individual differences in judgment and reasoning ability, and even less work has been done to investigate neural correlates of dual-processing. According to many dual-processing theories, type 2 processing in judgment and reasoning relies heavily on cognitive control. Two particular patterns of neural activity, frontal midline theta (FMT) and fronto-parietal theta coherence, have been related to cognitive control in several different paradigms. As such, they presented candidates for neural correlates of type 2 processing. Additionally, working memory capacity has been linked to FMT, fronto-parietal theta coherence, and performance on judgment and reasoning tasks. However, the relationship between these variables had not been tested in previous research. Across two experiments, working memory capacity failed to predict FMT or fronto-parietal theta coherence, but did predict more logical fallacies and semantic coherence in Experiment 2. Judgment ability was measured through the number of conjunction and disjunction fallacies committed, as well as semantic coherence, a stricter benchmark of judgment ability that measures how well participants’ responses correspond to the type of probability set described in the problem In Experiment 1, FMT predicted more logical fallacies and more semantic coherence, reflecting higher levels of cognitive control. In Experiment 2, there was less fronto-parietal theta coherence in identical sets compared to other types of probability sets, which require more cognitive control, supporting the link between fronto-parietal theta coherence and cognitive control. However, neither FMT nor fronto-parietal theta coherence predicted logical fallacies or semantic coherence in Experiment 2. Together, these experiments provide preliminary evidence that FMT and fronto-parietal theta coherence are important for cognitive control in judgment and reasoning tasks, but no evidence that they are neural correlates for type 2 processing.
Christopher Wolfe, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Robin Thomas, Dr. (Committee Co-Chair)
Joseph Johnson, Dr. (Committee Member)
Anne Farrell, Dr. (Committee Member)
78 p.
Cognitive Psychology
judgment; semantic coherence; frontal midline theta; fronto-parietal theta coherence; working memory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Weil, A. M. (2017). Dynamics of Frontal Midline Theta and Fronto-Parietal Theta Coherence in Reasoning and Judgment [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1498402004316457

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Weil, Audrey. Dynamics of Frontal Midline Theta and Fronto-Parietal Theta Coherence in Reasoning and Judgment. 2017. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1498402004316457.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Weil, Audrey. "Dynamics of Frontal Midline Theta and Fronto-Parietal Theta Coherence in Reasoning and Judgment." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1498402004316457

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1498402004316457
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© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.