virtual SMP Fast Talk

Grounded in resource theory and the notion of limited multitasking capacity, this study investigates how visual search tasks impact auditory working memory performance, highlighting the competition for shared cognitive resources between visual attention and auditory processing. Further, the primary task load of one modality influences the performance of the second task in another modality. In this work, we investigate how the difficulty of the visual search (VS) task influences ones’ ability to complete an auditory Sternberg working memory (WM) task. Specifically, we assess how behavior and cognitive efficiency changes in a single bound (go/no-go) aural WM task at a constant difficulty (set size = 6) when in context of a single bound (go/no-go) VS task of varying difficulty (i.e., size of search area and number of items) compared to the isolated context. Using evidence accumulation models, we capture parameters (such as drift, threshold, and non-decision times) for each task, at each level of difficulty (VS-low, -medium, -high) and in both single-/dual-task contexts. We find that performance decreased, and parameters of the cognitive models changed in both the WM and VS tasks when completed in multi-tasking context versus isolation. These decrements were heightened as the VS task difficulty increased. By understanding the cognitive resource limitations involved in multitasking, designers can optimize visual interfaces to minimize interference with auditory tasks. Additionally, workload protocols can be refined to reduce cognitive overload, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in tasks that require simultaneous visual and auditory processing.

In a modern world, that requires abilities to act effectively in situations of uncertainty and rapidly changing contexts, the application of relevant learning methods, such as competency-based, problem-based or project-based learning, becomes important. Various studies have noted particular effectiveness of specifically project-based learning. Its effectiveness is associated with a high stress load caused by the student experiencing the situation of evaluation, and depends on a set of student's personal individual psychological resources. For the purpose of optimizing the project-based learning in education, it is relevant to study the specifics of students' psychological resources as predictors of experiencing stress in project activities. The research sample: 363 students (from 18 to 24 years old). Psychological methods: psychological stress scale Lemyre-Tessier-Fillion, Rusalov's Structure of Temperament Questionnaire, methodology "Typology of life path personal choice” V.G. Gryazeva-Dobshinskaya, A.S. Maltseva, S.R. Maddi's Hardiness test, The Rorschach inkblot test. Statistical methods：multiple regression analysis method was used for the data analysis. Three regression models for predicting the level of stress experience in project activity were constructed. The first model used psychodynamic indicators as predictors (dispersion 40%), the second one – personality indicators (dispersion 36,8%), and the third one – both psychodynamic and personality indicators (dispersion 48,1%). In the constructed regression models following indicators act as predictors: motor and social emotionality, social plasticity and social ergonicity as psychodynamic predictors; involvement, psychophysical activity, flexibility and orientation towards others as personal predictors. When model contains all indicators at the same time, the predictors are motor and social emotionality, social plasticity, involvement and recognizing of external complexity awareness and acceptance of external difficulty. The research was carried out under the RSF grant No. 23-28-10216.

Configural information provides relational information that facilitates individuals' visual processes. Symmetry is one type of configural information, but it is unclear when, if ever, perceiving multiple lines relies on symmetry. If people perceive pairs of lines using their relative slope (e.g., if they are symmetric), then we would not expect independent nor separable perception of the individual line’s slope. This study uses General Recognition Theory (GRT) to examine slope perception when the varied slopes lead to symmetrical or asymmetrical pairs of lines. GRT enabled us to examine two types of perceptual relationships between pairs of lines: failures of perceptual separability and failures of perceptual independence. The former indicates perception of one dimension does not vary across levels of another dimension. Perceptual independence focuses on the perceptual effect of single stimuli: it is violated when the perceptual effects on each dimension are stochastically dependent . From the perspective of configuration processing theory, we expected violations of both perceptual independence and perceptual separability across all conditions because we assumed people would rely relational information. Indeed, tests of perceptual separability and independence all failed for all participants. Furthermore, people tended to make more errors within responses with the same symmetry status than would be predicted by a local model. Together, these results indicate separate, independent processing of the lines is likely not occurring; instead, people do seem to rely on symmetry in our task.