The Cognitive Representation of  Pretense (2012 - Present)

Investigator:  Jennifer Van Reet, Providence College
Mentor:  David Marc Sobel, Brown University 

Abstract: Four experiments are proposed to test theories of how the human mind represents pretend actions, as well as how these representations develop from the preschool period to early adulthood. The goal of this research is the creation of a new, data-driven model of pretense representation.  The research will seek to characterize pretend representations by discovering the pattern of mental activation that occurs after being exposed to pretend actions; ensuring that the pattern of mental activation that occurs after exposure to a pretend action is unique by comparing it to the pattern of mental activation that occurs after exposure to a similar real action; determining whether exposure to a pretend action causes a lasting change in semantic memory; and testing what role inhibitory control plays in the ability to represent pretend actions.  The research will employ a reaction time paradigm, a standard cognitive psychology technique to measure mental activation.  Participants will either read depictions of or hear about simple pretend actions, the object that was created through the pretense, or a neutral object.  If a representation is mentally activated, participants will respond more quickly to the word or image related to it.  Reaction time to the word or image related to the neutral image will serve as a baseline.  For the experiments testing the involvement of inhibitory control, an ego depletion paradigm will be used. Before completing the pretense task, participants will engage in computer-based inhibitory control task until they become fatigued.  If reaction time in the pretense task changes after this executive function is taxed, this will indicate that inhibitory control is utilized in representing pretense.  The proposed research will be the first to reveal how pretense, a mental activity fundamental to human cognition, is represented in the human mind.  Results from this research will add to our knowledge of normal human cognitive development; and, they have the potential to inform best practices in education as well as the understanding and treatment of some psychological disorders and disabilities.