Baz, Natalia (2022) Does stimulus location prime the retrieval of information from memory? A pupillometry study. Master thesis, Psychology.
|
Text
N.Baz_Master_Thesis.pdf Download (340kB) | Preview |
Abstract
The constriction or dilation of the pupil following changes in brightness is referred to as the pupil light response. In the past, the pupil response was believed to be based on an exclusively reflexive mechanism. However, recent research shows that it may also be affected by higher cognitive functions relating to visual working memory and attention. The current study tested whether the location of a stimulus can prime retrieval of information from memory, using pupillometry measures. The task consisted of a stimulus array, where a bright and a dark grated circle were presented on the screen. Following, the stimuli were removed from the screen and the participants made eye movements to the previous locations of the stimuli following a fixation point. The participants’ pupil size was recorded when they made saccades to the dark and bright locations. The trial ended with a memory task, which kept the participants engaged in the experiment. Upon visual inspection of the data, it could be seen that for the first saccade the pupil constricted more when the movement was made to a bright location compared to a dark location. Tests for this effect did not reach significance, however. The trend observed in the pupil traces may still be meaningful, therefore more research in this area is suggested.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Span, M.M. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Cognitive Psychology and Psychophysiology (CPP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Aug 2022 11:18 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Aug 2022 11:18 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1277 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |