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athlete counterparts on spatial tasks. Similarly, while everyday short-term memory should be equivalent for athletes and non-athletes, memory for location was hypothesized to be better for athletes. To test the similarity of everyday short-term memory, strings of letters were presented which participants had to recall immediately. Athletes and non-athletes were equivalent in performance for this typical short-term memory task, suggesting that any difference in performance on other tasks was due to a more specialized form of memory. To test memory for location, a moving object was presented on a computer monitor among a varying number of distracters, with or without a landmark. Participants were then asked to recall the beginning or ending location of the moving object. As expected, memory performance decreased with an increase in the number of distracters, but even more so for non-athletes. When a landmark was unavailable, athletes performed much better than non-athlete participants demonstrating a disparity in memory performance. These results suggest that athletes have improved spatial abilities due to consistent practice. Facilitation of memory for location is believed to be due to the increased ability of the athletes to use the spatial coordinates of the landmark as a reference for the location of the object.
Must Feedback have a Dollar Value to Reduce Overconfidence?
STUDENTS Jamie L Flannery, Kristen A Kemp ADVISORS Susan T Davis LOCATION, TIME RecPlex, 11:00AM-12:30PM College of Arts and Sciences: Psychology, Poster- Independent Research When determining our ability to be accurate in accomplishing specific tasks, we tend to show overconfidence, which is defined as the inconsistency between how well we think we performed and our actual performance (e.g., Fischoff, Slovic, & Lichtenstein, 1977). On a daily basis, we are required to estimate our ability to accomplish certain tasks accurately. These estimations are greatly influenced by individual differences, such as narcissism--the enhancement of oneself in a positive way--, and risky behavior, defined here as the willingness to place high bets on uncertain answers (Campbell, Goodie, & Foster, 2004). Previous research suggests that those who are narcissistic are generally overconfident, greater risk-takers and more likely to bet on their answers even when their accuracy is low (Campbell etal., 2004). Undergraduate participants were asked to complete a series of general knowledge questions (GKQs) and personality questionnaires, including the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), Need for Achievement Scale, Indicators of Problematic Gambling, and the Risk Adverseness Scale. Participants were assigned to a confidence (n=81) or a betting condition (n=107). Both groups expressed their confidence in their answer: those in the confidence condition with a percent confidence, and those in the betting condition with virtual money. Half of the participants in the confidence condition received feedback about the accuracy of their answer; participants in the betting condition received feedback in the form of an increase or decrease in virtual money. Preliminary analyses reveal that participants in the betting condition were significantly less confident when they had received feedback on their performance. In contrast, in the confidence condition, participants were significantly less confident when no feedback was given. Overall, participants in the confidence condition were more under confident than those in the betting condition, regardless of whether or not they had received feedback.
Past Partner Disclosure to Current Partners: A New Measure of Motivations
STUDENTS Megan Adelson, Ellen I Snyder, Scott Wagoner ADVISORS Lee J Dixon LOCATION, TIME RecPlex, 11:00AM-12:30PM College of Arts and Sciences: Psychology, Poster- Graduate Research Past Partner Disclosure to Current Partners: A New Measure of MotivationsMegan Adelson, Lee J. Dixon, Ellen Snyder, and Scott Wagner, University of DaytonDerived from research concerning self-disclosure in romantic relationships, it has been posited that couples share information with one another about past romantic relationships to accommodate specific needs (Omarzu, 1999). Newman (1982) suggests this type of disclosure might occur in order to achieve particular goals in one’s current relationship.Therefore, Newman (1982) theorized five possible motivational constructs, including Creating Psychological and Emotional Closeness and/or Distance, Negotiating Relationship Rules and Expectations, Confirming Self-Image, and Relating Important Relationship History. The goal of the current study was to develop a measure assessing these motivations. Therefore, our measure consists of five subscales aimed to reflect Newman’s (1982) motivations. We examined correlations with other relational constructs such as relationship satisfaction, attachment, rejection sensitivity, self-silencing, and commitment. We predicted each motivational subscale to relate to these constructs differently, based on the motivations they represent. At the time of this analysis, participants were 24 individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 in a committed romantic relationship. Participants were given self-report questionnaires that included 54