Researcher ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2702-0288

Graduation Year

2024

Date of Submission

12-2024

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Psychology

Reader 1

Sharda Umanath

Abstract

This proposal investigates hyper-binding, a phenomenon of forming irrelevant associations during memory encoding, within the context of ADHD and Virtual Environments (VEs). Built on prior research that links hyper-binding to attentional control deficits in aging populations, this study aims to explore whether young adults with ADHD exhibit similar patterns of hyper-binding and assesses the validity of using VE-based paradigms for studying this phenomenon.

Two experiments will be conducted according to the proposal: the first replicates traditional hyper-binding paradigms with ADHD and non-ADHD participants, while the second extends these methods into a VE setting. Results are expected to show heightened hyper-binding tendencies among ADHD participants, primarily indicated by slower reaction times and increased errors in partial-binding tasks where distractors must be ignored. Additionally, this research examines whether VEs can replicate findings from traditional lab-based experiments. Findings of the proposed study aim to validate VEs as effective tools for studying attentional control and associative memory deficits in ADHD, as well as evaluate the potential of using them to design personalized interventions.

This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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