The Impact of Real World Stressors on Problem-Solving

现实世界的压力源对解决问题的影响

基本信息

批准号：
1734883
负责人：
Ying Choon Wu
金额：
$ 74.91万
依托单位：
University of California-San Diego
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2017
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2017-10-01 至 2023-09-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1734883&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Impact Real World Stressors Problem

项目摘要

This project examines how variability in daily stress and fatigue--previously dismissed as uncontrollable 'noise' in cognitive processing--relates to variability in learning and problem-solving. This project is motivated in part by evidence that performance on tests of executive function and memory can fluctuate as a function of recently experienced, real-world, daily stressors. Because problem-solving recruits these and other cognitive abilities, it is hypothesized that day-to-day stressors can also impact our approaches to and success with complex, open-ended challenges regularly faced in educational and professional contexts. Further, on the basis of preliminary research, it is anticipated that a subset of individuals will exhibit greater resilience to stressors than others. In other words, for some, day-to-day stressors may create contexts that facilitate tackling problems to greater or lesser degrees, whereas for others, recent stressors may impact outcomes minimally. This work wields important implications for STEM education given the increasing priority placed on problem-solving skills. It will offer new foundations for modeling individual differences in resilience and vulnerability to everyday stressors during complex tasks. Moreover, understanding stressor-related intra-individual variability can lead to strategies for improving performance of high-stakes, resource demanding operations (e.g., piloting an airplane). Building from methods of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), both subjective and physiological measures of stress and fatigue will be sampled from healthy adults on a daily basis as they engage in their regular routines of daily life. These data will be uploaded by participants to a secure server via smart phone and will be monitored by research staff. When daily sampling logs suggest the recent experience of high, medium, or low levels of stressors, participants will be scheduled for a testing session to be conducted in their own home or at the research facilities of the Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience. They will engage in STEM-related problem-solving tasks modeled after real world activities. Simultaneously, electroencephalographic (EEG) data, eye movement, and electrocardiography will be recorded and synchronized. Monitoring periods are expected to last between one and three months and encompass nine testing sessions. This project will result in a rich corpus of data that can be probed from many different angles, offering an unprecedented view of intra-individual variability in task performance as a function of day-to-day changes in physiological and cognitive state. It is expected to reveal behavioral and brain dynamics supporting insight and discovery. Further, expanding from episode-based models of the metacognitive components of problem-solving, it is expected to tease apart ways in which various theorized components--such as representing the problem space, exploring, planning a solution, and implementation--may be differently affected by daily stressors. This project is funded by Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NSF-NCS), a multidisciplinary program jointly supported by the Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Education and Human Resources (EHR), Engineering (ENG), and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE).

该项目研究了日常压力和疲劳的变化（以前被认为是认知处理中无法控制的“噪音”）与学习和解决问题的变化之间的关系。该项目的部分动机是有证据表明，执行功能和记忆测试的表现可能会随着最近经历的现实世界日常压力因素的变化而波动。由于解决问题需要这些和其他认知能力，因此假设日常压力也会影响我们应对教育和专业环境中经常面临的复杂、开放式挑战的方法和成功。此外，根据初步研究，预计一部分人会比其他人表现出更强的应对压力的能力。换句话说，对于某些人来说，日常压力源可能会创造出有助于或多或少解决问题的环境，而对于另一些人来说，最近的压力源可能会对结果产生最小的影响。鉴于解决问题的技能日益受到重视，这项工作对 STEM 教育具有重要意义。它将为模拟复杂任务期间日常压力源的复原力和脆弱性方面的个体差异提供新的基础。此外，了解与压力源相关的个体内部差异可以制定提高高风险、资源需求型操作（例如驾驶飞机）绩效的策略。根据生态瞬时评估（EMA）方法，将在健康成年人每天进行常规日常生活时对压力和疲劳的主观和生理测量进行采样。这些数据将由参与者通过智能手机上传到安全服务器，并由研究人员监控。当每日采样日志表明最近经历过高、中或低水平的压力源时，参与者将被安排在自己的家中或斯沃茨计算神经科学中心的研究设施中进行测试。他们将参与模仿现实世界活动的 STEM 相关问题解决任务。同时，脑电图 (EEG) 数据、眼球运动和心电图将被记录和同步。监测期预计持续一到三个月，包括九次测试。该项目将产生丰富的数据集，可以从许多不同的角度进行探究，提供前所未有的视角来了解任务表现的个体内部变异性作为生理和认知状态日常变化的函数。预计它将揭示支持洞察力和发现的行为和大脑动力学。此外，从解决问题的元认知组件的基于事件的模型扩展，预计将梳理各种理论组件（例如表示问题空间、探索、规划解决方案和实施）可能的方式。受到日常压力源的不同影响。该项目由理解神经和认知系统综合策略 (NSF-NCS) 资助，这是一个由计算机和信息科学与工程 (CISE)、教育和人力资源 (EHR)、工程 (ENG) 理事会联合支持的多学科项目，以及社会、行为和经济科学（SBE）。