Competition vs. Collaboration Test Proposal. By: Kaya, Adam, Johana, and Mike

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Competition vs. Collaboration Test Proposal. By: Kaya, Adam, Johana, and Mike"

Sarah Small
5 years ago
Views:

1 Competition vs. Collaboration Test Proposal By: Kaya, Adam, Johana, and Mike

2 The Overarching Question: Is there a higher rate of occurrence of neural synchrony during competition or collaboration?

3 Our Hypothesis: We hypothesize that neural synchrony will have a greater rate of occurrence during the collaborative section of the test. Vs.

card. The task must be done accurately and quickly.

(the amount of time it takes the subject to complete the task).

4 The Block Design Test! GOAL: To rearrange several blocks in various colors to match a pattern on a given card. The task must be done accurately and quickly. o The test is scored by both accuracy in matching the pattern as well as speed (the amount of time it takes the subject to complete the task). What does the test measure?: o A subtest on many IQ batteries testing brain function and assessing intelligence. o Used to understand a person s spatial visualization capabilities and motor skills

More Info on the Block Design Test: Historical Background: Developed in 1923 by Samuel Calmin Kohs (1890-1984) at Stanford University originally called Kohs block design test David Wechsler adapted

5 More Info on the Block Design Test: Historical Background: Developed in 1923 by Samuel Calmin Kohs ( ) at Stanford University originally called Kohs block design test David Wechsler adapted Kohs test by adding measuring factors: accuracy and speed What we will see from the test: o Those who do well on the test tend to have well-functioning parietal and frontal lobes. o Subjects who have ever had a severe head injury, Alzheimer s disease, or a stroke will show very poor results (luckily, we are measuring young people so they most likely won t have any of these issues). o Subjects with anxiety or over-cautious behaviour can affect the outcome of the test. o Subjects prone to impulsivity will tend to disregard accuracy for speed.

excessive movements Collaboration o Block Design Test o Same task o Compelled by prize to

6 Methods Used Competition o Block Design Test o Blind to other task o Same design goal o Compelled by prize to beat other subject o Use EEG headset to measure o No talking or excessive movements Collaboration o Block Design Test o Same task o Compelled by prize to beat time o Use EEG headset to measure Several methods to reduce factors No talking or excessive movements

7 Identifying Test Focuses/ Variables 9th and 10th Grade Boys o Why? More subjects = more trials = more accuracy o One gender and same age group rules out any difference in gender and age variables Redesigned Pre-testing Questionnaire o Touch on a person s competitiveness, awareness, impulsivity, and familiarity (with the game and their partner) to help us rule out undermining variables o In addition to our typical survey questions

8 What is the big picture- what are we ultimately trying to find? The goal would be to obtain greater knowledge and a deeper understanding on how and what parts of the brain are involved with synchrony. Understanding the differences and similarities that occur during these kinds of situations (collaboration and competition) have the potential to provide very useful and applicable information about brain synchrony.

9 Existing Research Hyperscanning - simultaneously recording the hemodynamic or neuroelectric activity of the brain in multiple subjects. Results obtained in a study of several groups recorded by the hyperscanning reveals causal links between prefrontal areas of the different subjects when they are performing cooperative games in different frequency bands. Results obtained in a study of several groups recorded by the EEG hyperscanning reveal larger activity in prefrontal and anterior cingulated cortex in different frequency bands for the player that start the game when compared to other players.

10 Potential Problems Excessive movement (Electrical currents) Difficulty of the puzzles Familiarity between testing pairs Familiarity with the Block Design Test The testing individual s mental tendencies during the experiment

11 Potential Outcomes/Results We are able to prove our hypothesis: that neural synchrony will have a greater rate of occurrence during the collaborative section of the test than the competitive section because the subjects share the same goal and work together to complete the block design test. We find the very opposite: that neural synchrony will have a greater rate of occurrence during the collaborative section of the test Worst case scenario, we find inconclusive data

Why Our Project? Our project is relevant because. o Being high school students (especially seniors applying to colleges) we often find ourselves in both competitive AND collaborative environments.

12 Why Our Project? Our project is relevant because. o Being high school students (especially seniors applying to colleges) we often find ourselves in both competitive AND collaborative environments. Students work together to help each other do better in school and to support their peers, especially when students are going through similar situations. Students also compete with each other all the time, such as applying to college, getting better grades than their peers, working to be at the top of their class, etc. By choosing our project we could discover certain things regarding the neuroscience behind competition and collaboration between people. Said knowledge could be very helpful towards understanding real-world situations like high school, college, and careers.

correlates with social context behavioral adaptation.

correlates with social context behavioral adaptation. REVIEW OF FRONTAL LOBE STRUCTURES Main organization of frontal cortex: 1. Motor area (precentral gyrus). 2. Premotor & supplementary motor areas (immediately anterior to motor area). Includes premotor,