My Thesis Poster

Author: Trinity Walker | Majors: Spanish and Psychology | Semester: Spring 2022

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the cognitive, social, and emotional skills a person utilizes to identify and infer others’ emotions. Prior research suggests that a short session of reading literary fiction improves ToM abilities (Kidd & Castano, 2013). However, other researchers have been unable to replicate these results consistently. Replications and extensions of this research have solely focused on the social and emotional aspects of ToM. During the academic year of 2021-2022, to address this dilemma, and further add to the current body of literature, we independently replicated the methodologies of researchers Kidd and Castano and added a cognitive measure to assess the impact of reading literary fiction on cognitive aspects of ToM. Participants (N = 70) read either literary fiction, popular fiction, or non-fiction and then completed either the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task (RMET) or the Avatar Disc Task (ADT). Our affective task, the RMET, measured the putative first stage of ToM: attribution of others’ emotions. Our novel cognitive measure, the ADT, provided the extent to which participants were influenced by their own egocentric view or altercentric view.  Participants then completed a self-report measure of empathy. The results did not replicate Kidd and Castano’s findings in the affective condition. However, cognitive condition participants in the literary fiction group showed difficulty when required to ignore another person’s perspective when asked to adhere to their own.

For the duration of about one year, prior to starting this research, Dr. Levine and I read over 30 research papers in this area of field.  We gathered different methodologies and then pieced together our own version that matched the original study as close as possible. Kidd and Castano, the original authors of the research we are replicating, shared with us their exact Qualtrics survey that they used. We added a few small details to their survey and had finalized it by mid-September. We added additional measures to the study but did not remove any significant tasks or methods from the original research.

This year, we were able to run about 100 participants in the lab. Participants came into one of two rooms and then followed instructions on the screen. Each participant came in twice for about 45 minutes each session. We were able to find any errors within the first week of data collection and corrected them in a timely manner. Also, while participants were in the study, I would schedule lab hours, contact missing participants, manage data on Sona, and work on revising my thesis writing.

During the Spring semester, we started collecting data from community members rather than just students. We recruited these participants via social media, posters, and the Arkansas news wire emails.  We utilized the funding from our research grant to compensate these participants. In the first session of data collection, participants received five dollars in cash. Upon completion of the second data collection, participants were compensated ten dollars in cash. We kept a record of these transactions and participants provided a signature and ID.

Through my Honors College Research Grant, I have been able to conduct research over a topic I am passionate about. Without this funding, I would not have been able to recruit and compensate participants to address external validity. Our data would have been limited to a very small sample pool- especially because of the pandemic. By having this research grant, we were able to gather data from a diverse group and more closely represent the population. Additionally, we have been able to buy software needed to create our study. To further contribute to the overall body of literature regarding theory of mind, we needed to add data that had not yet been analyzed. With this research grant, we were able to create a software program on PsycoPy. This is the key element that furthers the ideologies behind theory of mind. This allowed us to have two conditions (affective vs cognitive.)

The Honor’s College Research Grant has also aided me in developing the skills necessary in the lab to apply to graduate school programs. I plan on returning to school to pursue either a masters or Ph.D. in psychology. By having funding to support my thesis research, I have been given daily practice with lab regulations, writing, and participant interactions. I have learned how to utilize several programs such as PsycoPy and also learned the necessary writing skills for future grants and projects. Additionally, this research has helped me grow professionally. I believe the use of my Honors College Research Grant will allow me to obtain all the skills necessary to further my research career in a professional matter. I utilize skills from my lab in my current position all the time. My organization, communication, and analytical skills have improved significantly.

I can not thank the honors college enough for supporting my research in the Language Processing Lab headed by Dr. Levine. My thesis is something I will always be proud of. It demonstrates all of the benefits I received from the University of Arkansas in practical applications: organization, communication, and the accumulation of the knowledge I obtained in courses. This thesis poster for this research received third place in the psychology section of the National Undergraduate Research Poster Competition during the Spring semester of 2022. Additionally, our research is being presented this summer at a literature research conference in July. The Language Processing Lab plans to continue collecting data in this upcoming semester and further explore the results of this study. Without the funding of the Honor’s college, this thesis would not have been possible.