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Taboo word processing in bilingual speakers of Czech and English
Piskáčková, Adéla ; Chládková, Kateřina (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
The thesis aims to explore bilingual emotional word processing, utilizing the event-related potentials method. In the literature review, I define the term bilingualism and outline several other related terms. I then discuss the way emotions may reflect in language. Taboo words are classified and investigated as a separate category from other emotionally valenced stimuli. Then, electroencephalography and the event-related potentials methods is explained, finally I describe the way this method has been used for researching bilingual emotional processing, most frequently utilizing the EPN and LPC components and some of the time the N400 too. These components were then the focus of observation during the experiment and the data analysis. No modulation of the EPN was present, which was probably due to the absence of positive stimuli and is in line with most of the previous research. There was no significant change of the N400 either, this is further discussed in the thesis. There was a significant modulation of amplitude by valence at the LPC time window, for both negative and taboo words when compared to the neutral condition at the central electrode site. An increase in amplitude of the LPC was found at the parietal electrode site for the taboo word category in comparison to neutral words. This could...
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The effect of negative emotion on neural speech tracking and lexical processing
Kikoťová, Natálie ; Chládková, Kateřina (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
The thesis investigates the differences in the neural processing of emotional and non- emotional speech. The theoretical part summarizes previous research findings on emotional language processing and the underpinnings of speech processing in the domain of neural oscillations. The empirical part reports the results of an EEG study that was conducted to explore the differences in neural speech tracking during exposure to angry and neutral speech. Twenty-six participants listened to recordings of angry and neutral conversation segments, as well as to speech-shaped noise, while their EEG was recorded. Neural speech tracking, which was quantified as oscillatory power and the inter-trial phase coherence, and the N400 component of event-related potentials (ERP) to sentence-final words were analyzed. The results revealed larger delta, theta, and gamma power during exposure to angry speech in comparison to neutral speech. Negative emotional valence also significantly reduced the amplitude of the N400 elicited by sentence-final words. The results demonstrate enhanced neural processing and facilitated prediction in angry as compared to neutral speech. The present study represents one of the first investigations of the oscillatory dynamics during continuous emotional speech processing. Key words: emotional...
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Suicidality in young adults with homosexual orientation
Slezáková, Karolína ; Loneková, Katarína (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
The diploma thesis deals with the topic of suicidality in emerging adulthood of same-sex-oriented individuals. In addition to the definition of basic concepts, the theoretical part of the thesis focuses on suicidal behavior in the context of same-sex-oriented young adults. Attention is also focused on general risk factors as well as specific factors for the homosexual subpopulation. Furthermore, there are also mentioned general protective factors and preventive measures of suicidality, as well as factors and measures specific to the same-sex-oriented subpopulation. The empirical part of the diploma thesis describes the realization of research project the main aim of which was to verify whether same-sex-oriented young adults show a significantly higher suicidal risk compared to their opposite-sex-oriented peers. The SBQ-R, MSPSS and MSS methods were used to obtain the necessary data and due to the pandemic situation of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic, the data collection was administrated online. The sample consisted of 194 participants, aged 19 to 29 years. Hypotheses were tested using Welch's t-test or correlation analysis. Based on the obtained data, it was found that the same-sex-oriented young adults have a significantly higher suicidal risk compared to their opposite-sex-oriented peers. The...
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Coping mechanisms of police officers from the perspective of the theory of planned behavior
Burdová, Dominika ; Faberová, Karolína (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
This thesis examines the coping mechanisms used by police officers to cope with the stress inherent in their profession and attempts to better understand the processes behind the decision to use specific coping mechanisms by applying Ajzen's theory of planned action. The first chapter of the thesis is devoted to the structure of the Police of the Czech Republic and the topic of stress, focusing on the most common consequences of chronic stress as well as the most significant stressors in police work. The second chapter first theoretically introduces the concept of coping, followed by a description of the psychological care provided to members of the Police of the Czech Republic and the results of Czech and foreign research on coping mechanisms of police officers. The last chapter of the theoretical part first introduces the individual components of the theory of planned action, presents research that has used it to predict the intention to use psychological care, and finally applies this theory to the use of psychological services offered to police officers. The empirical part of the thesis then aims to test the ability of a modified model of the theory of planned action to predict police officers' intention to use professional psychological help. Based on the literature search, it was found that...
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Validation of Goldberg index in czech version of MMPI-2 for detection of the psychotic spectrum disorders
Kraupnerová, Julie ; Michalec, Jiří (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
This master's theses is a validation study that aims to verify the ability of Goldberg index to discriminate between psychiatric patients with either psychotic or nonpsychotic mental health disorders. There were 374 patients included in this study after selecting valid MMPI-2 profiles based on validity criteria specific for the clinical population. Goldberg index's ability to discriminate patients was analyzed using the ROC curve and independent samples t-test. Results show very weak ability to discriminate between patients close to the classification by chance (AUC = 0.668). Means of the psychotic and nonpsychotic group are significantly different but only with moderate effect size (Cohenovo d =-.576, p<.001). The optimal cut-off as a combination of highest sensitivity and specificity for Goldberg index was 48. Screening and diagnostic cut-offs were also explored. Since Goldberg index shows very weak ability to discriminate between psychotic and nonpsychotic patients generating too many false positives and false negatives, it is not possible to support the use of this parameter in clinical and diagnostic practise. Presented study is the first one to validate Goldberg index on any population, czech or otherwise. Key words: mmpi-2; goldberg index; psychotic disorders;
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Effect of Verbal Dual-tasks on Function of Central Executive Network and Default Mode Network
Valeš, Jáchym ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
This paper examines the role of inner speech in the domains of the central executive and default mode network. Studies of inner speech have repeatedly indicated its role and use in a variety of cognitive tasks, regardless of the verbal or non-verbal nature of the procedure employed in their execution. These studies have primarily focused on the domains of the central executive network; no such study has yet been conducted for the default mode network. The aim of the present work is to design an fMRI study that could approximate the role of inner speech in a selected domain of the default mode network - the retrieval of content from long-term, episodic memory. The theoretical section provides a definition of inner speech, describes the neural correlates of different types of speech, and compares a number of studies and their approaches to studying inner speech. In addition, the thesis emphasizes neurodevelopmental and neurobiological aspects, which the thesis places in the context of significant developmental leaps, particularly between the ages of 5 and 10 years. The given facts are also developed in the context of autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, deaf-mute individuals and individuals with aphasia. Key words Inner speech; Cognitive functions; Central Executive Network; Default Mode...
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Procrastination and smartphones - possible cause or solution?
Vondrášková, Anežka ; Dlouhá, Jana (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
This bachelor's thesis focuses on linking the topic of procrastination with the topic of smartphone use. The aim of this bachelor thesis is to answer the question whether smartphones can be a cause or a solution to procrastination. Smartphones, with their comprehensive features, have the potential to be a tool to reduce procrastination behaviour. However, problematic aspects of their use may include procrastination. The literature review section focuses on the concepts separately and their interconnections. The phenomenon of procrastination is described in more detail, as are aspects of smartphone use. The bachelor thesis mentions studies that have investigated the connection between the phenomenon of procrastination and the use of smartphones. In the empirical part, a research project design is presented. Qualitative and quantitative research methods are used in the research project. The research design aims to find out whether a group of research participants who do not carry a smartphone during the research will procrastinate less than a group of research participants who do carry a smartphone but use an app to manage procrastination. This work could benefit research into effective procrastination interventions, as well as it could enrich the field of digital wellbeing.
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EEG Neurofeedback as an instrument to explore introspective correlates of cortical activity
Kaplan, Cyril ; Kulišťák, Petr (advisor) ; Nekovářová, Tereza (referee) ; Uher, Tomáš (referee)
Background: EEG neurofeedback is mostly used as a tool in clinical research and practice. Though many studies exploring the efficiency of neurofeedback training in treating distinct symptoms were performed, mostly adopting a design similar to clinical trials, many aspects of the whole process remain unclear as they are frequently neglected by and/or underreported in the published studies. Surprisingly, one of the first uses that the EEG neurofeedback was put to, had no clinical ambitions. The act of playing a simple sonic game with a goal to generate simple tones (by upregulating own alpha activity) served as a bridge for subsequent interviews targeting the subjective experience that accompanied the shifts in alpha oscillations. Objectives: The series of studies as a whole (a pilot and three studies) was designed around the instrument of EEG neurofeedback loop. The main objective was to capture the essence of subjective experience that accompanies rises and drops in the power of specific EEG features. Similarities and incongruencies in the character of subjective experience across subjects while interacting with the same EEG neurofeedback game were of interest, as well as the similarities and incongruencies in the subjective experience of one subject engaged in distinct EEG neurofeedback tasks....
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The PASS Theory - from research to intervention
Khánská, Lenka ; Morávková Krejčová, Lenka (advisor) ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
This bachelor thesis focused on the origin and principles of the PASS theory (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive Processing processomg). It introduces the the information processing theory by A. R. Luria, from which the PASS theory stems. It also describes CAS and CAS2 (Cognitive Assessment System) tools, which enable the assessment of PASS processes. The work offers an overview of some possible interventions that are based on the PASS theory. The work includes a number of studies that examined how CAS is able to recognize specific groups of children (e.g. Children with ADHD, Down syndrome, etc.), and how to verify whether interventions are effective. The research proposal examines how the PASS processes influence school activities focusing on pupils in primary schools. This research could serve as the basis for the use of interventions within the frame of school education and thus it could help for the effective development of the PASS processes. Keywords: PASS Theory, Planning, Attention, Simultaneous Information Processing, Successive Information Processing, Cognitive Assessment System, Intervention
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The evaluation of noise and its impact on attention
Doležalová, Pavlína ; Kaplan, Cyril (referee)
Attention is a complex ability that contributes significantly to the process of intentional learning. This rigorous thesis is an extension of the original diploma thesis, which at the theoretical level focused on the types and theories of attention related to the effective management of school demands. More specifically, it focused on the developmental period of older school age and adolescence, i.e. on secondary school pupils - this target group was kept in the rigorous work as well. The diploma thesis analyzed the results of scientific studies that dealt with research into attention and its properties (such as stability, concentration or selectivity). The work was focused on examining whether a simple compensatory aid - here it is earplugs - can improve concentration and stability of attention during learning. She also briefly mentioned the physiological basis of the functioning of this cognitive process. The conclusion of the theoretical part of the diploma thesis mapped the current possibilities of attention diagnostics, especially in children and adolescents. Selected disorders of attention (e.g. ADD, ADHD), which (not only) are closely related to learning, were also mentioned in passing. The rigorous work complements the theoretical part with chapters on the topic of music and its effect on...
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