Cognitive factors that influence entrepreneurial behavior, such as decisions to become an entrepreneur and remain an entrepreneur, have received considerable attention. However, we do not yet understand how changing life dynamics and cognitions influence entrepreneurial entry decisions among wage employees and entrepreneurial commitment among…

Situation awareness (SA) is linked with actionable decision-making and clinical judgment in nursing practice. The cognitive processes used in developing SA, outlined in Endsley's (1995) model, is the framework underpinning this study and are interwoven into the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Clinical Judgment Measurement Model…

The Q-diffusion model is a cognitive process model that considers decision making as an unobservable information accumulation process. Both item and person parameters decide the trace line of the cognitive process, which further decides observed response and response time. Because the likelihood function for the Q-diffusion model is intractable,…

The goal of a triathlon is to provide a challenge to the athlete, but this comes with inherent risks. The drowning rate of triathlon participants has increased exponentially over the years in open water triathlon venues. This study sought to understand the decision-making process of experienced lifeguards in the unique conditions of the open water…

College students are asked to make critical decisions about which academic major to choose and subsequently to make specific career decisions. Students come to college with a myriad of different skill sets, backgrounds, developmental levels, cognitive processes, familial support, and levels of self-efficacy that may influence how they make these…

News sharing has become a common user behavior in social networking services (SNS) and has been extensively studied as an emerging community practice. This dissertation presents four studies extending current news sharing knowledge. It also provides promising new directions for future investigation. Study 1: suggests that news sharing is a complex…

Librarians insist that one of the ways they can contribute to the fight against mis-and disinformation is by teaching information literacy. Yet the demands they place on individuals-- whether through lengthy checklists or expectations that individuals interrogate every piece of information encountered--are unrealistic in view of information…

While the supply of information pertaining to many decisions is seemingly limitless, the capacity of the human mind to process it is not. In this dissertation, I study some of the implications of information processing constraints for human decision-making. Its three chapters span different levels, investigating the consequences of information…

Due to the ever-increasing leveraging of technology in learning and human performance, multimedia e-learning continues to see rapid adoption as an instructional method for both business and formal education environments. Cognitive load theory (CLT) and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) provide prescriptive strategies to optimize…

This phenomenological study provides insight into the experiences of public-school board directors as they experience, cognitively process, and respond to religious-based reasoning during deliberations on controversial issues while serving in their elected role at school board meetings. Understanding how elected public-school district directors…

Individuals rely on accurate information to make important decisions, but in the current environment the vast amount of misinformation present in society is complicating people's thinking. Many people fall prey to a cognitive bias called the continued influence effect, which occurs when they continue to use misinformation even when they have seen…

In this thesis, we hypothesize that data visualization users are subject to systematic errors, or cognitive biases, in decision-making under uncertainty. Based on research from psychology, behavioral economics, and cognitive science, we design five experiments to measure the role of anchoring bias, confirmation bias, belief bias, and myopic loss…

The purpose of the current study was to gain an understanding of the differences related to the capability dimension of readiness for career choice in college students as measured by career thoughts, career state, and occupational choice self-efficacy when initiating career counseling prior to and during COVID-19. Research indicates that students…

Despite years of educational reform, many students do not perform on grade level, and all graduates are not prepared to succeed in college. As a result, there has been a renewed interest in personalized learning. This qualitative case study explored the thinking and decision-making processes of teachers who implement personalized learning for…

Although scholars have suggested that cognitive errors may plague school psychologists' decisions, there is little research documenting these effects or the extent to which school psychologists are trained to spot these biases. I conducted a study using experimental vignette methodology (EVM) in conjunction with a survey of knowledge, attitudes,…