Jessica Marcon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Jessica Marcon
Applied Cognitive Psychology
Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protectio... more Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protection to workers and the driving public. Alerting the traveling public of the approaching work activity and providing guidance is vital to maintaining safety and mobility. Previous research conducted for IDOT on mobile lane closures (Steele and Vavrik 2009) identified driver confusion as a concern to the safety of nighttime highway operations. Users are subject to warning lights from multiple agencies with varying characteristics and configurations, but we know little about driver comprehension of these signals and their influence on driver behavior. Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) studied the effectiveness of warning lights on nighttime highway operations, including mobile lane closures, incident responses, and police activities, by reviewing pertinent literature, performing observational and experimental field studies, and conducting driver surveys and focus groups of driver perceptions and behavior in response to nighttime mobile operations. We used a cognitive model of driver mental processes to analyze this information and better understand the interaction between warning lights and driver perception and behavior, and to identify and evaluate potential improvements to current practice. The research showed that drivers view current vehicle-mounted warning lights as highly visible, attention-getting, and effective at conveying the message caution/alert. However, intense lights can cause discomfort glare and multiple light sets on individual vehicles, or multiple vehicles at a location, can be distracting, annoying, or anxiety-inducing. Complex visual scenes can confuse drivers and take longer to process cognitively, leading to slower reaction times. Often, information provided by flashing arrows, signs, and changeable message signs can be interfered with by other warning lights on the same vehicle. Suggestions for improvement from the focus groups centered primarily on reducing the number of flashing lights, or synchronizing their flashing, on individual vehicles, reducing the intensity of specific lights, sequential flashing of arrows between multiple trucks in a convoy, and incorporating directional motion in light bars. Researchers were not able to test some of the ideas due to limitations of current device technology; however, field experiments on several suggested concepts showed the potential to improve driver perception, comprehension, and behavior by modifying the number, intensity, and synchronization of lights on individual vehicles, as well as between vehicles.
PsycEXTRA Dataset
The purpose of this research was to validate a threat detection skills trainer developed in previ... more The purpose of this research was to validate a threat detection skills trainer developed in previous research (Zimmerman, Mueller, Daniels, & Vowels, 2012; Zimmerman, Mueller, Grover, & Vowels, in preparation). The trainer consists of exercises intended to improve visual threat detection, including dynamic threat monitoring, threat prioritization, and causal reasoning (Zimmerman et al., 2012). The current research utilized four tasks to measure the impact of the skills trainer: time and resource limited threat search; dynamic change detection; situation awareness at the perception and comprehension levels; and, scenario-based causal reasoning. Findings did not provide evidence that the trainer alone is a viable option for training visual threat detection, likely due to low statistical power and practice effects. However, all participants showed improvement on all dependent variables from pre-test to post-test, suggesting that acute, cognitive training could enhance the skills required for effective threat detection. Future research should tease apart the effects of practice and the effects of training via the threat detection skills trainer. Additional future experiments should test threat detection in live and simulated scenarios to increase ecological validity. Longitudinal research would determine if practice and training on visual threat detection have long-term effects.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me complete this research. First, I'd like to thank... more I would like to thank everyone who has helped me complete this research. First, I'd like to thank my mentor, Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D., for his support, guidance, and encouragement during the course of this project. Without his mentorship and friendship this dissertation would not have been possible. I would also like to express my thanks to my dissertation committee members, Harmon Hosch, Wendy Francis, Steve Crites, and Ted Curry for their insights and assistance. Additional thanks goes out to the members of the Investigative Interviewing Laboratory, especially Dr. Jacki Evans & Allyson Horgan, M.A., for their friendship and support. My research assistants Martin Portillo, Marlib Gonzalez, and Linsey Walsh, worked tirelessly on this project and have all my gratitude. Finally, I'd like to thank my family and friends (near, far, and very far away). Thank you for taking this journey with me but more importantly for joining me on this incredible journey called life.
Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series, 2013
Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protectio... more Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protection to workers and the driving public. Alerting the traveling public of the approaching work activity and providing guidance is vital to maintaining safety and mobility. Previous research conducted for IDOT on mobile lane closures (Steele and Vavrik 2009) identified driver confusion as a concern to the safety of nighttime highway operations. Users are subject to warning lights from multiple agencies with varying characteristics and configurations, but we know little about driver comprehension of these signals and their influence on driver behavior. Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) studied the effectiveness of warning lights on nighttime highway operations, including mobile lane closures, incident responses, and police activities, by reviewing pertinent literature, performing observational and experimental field studies, and conducting driver surveys and focus groups of driver percep...
Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series, 2013
Currently, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is one of the few state transportatio... more Currently, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is one of the few state transportation agencies that require warning lights on nighttime work zone channelization devices, such as drums and barricades. The intent of the steady-burn, amber warning lights is to increase visibility of the channelization devices, providing guidance to motorists and preventing intrusions into the closed lane. However, their additional benefit beyond that provided by the high-reflectivity materials used on the channelization devices themselves has not been evaluated, including taking into consideration their initial, maintenance, and replacement costs; and the environmental and economic issues of routine battery replacement. Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) studied the effectiveness of warning lights on nighttime channelization devices by reviewing pertinent literature, experimental studies of nighttime work zones with and without lights on drums, driver surveys, and focus groups of driv...
Psychology Crime & Law, 2009
The current research examined the potential benefit of context reinstatement on the cross-race ef... more The current research examined the potential benefit of context reinstatement on the cross-race effect in lineup identification. Participants viewed a series of own-and other-race faces and subsequently attempted identification of these faces from target-present and target-absent lineups. The traditional cross-race effect was found on measures of discrimination accuracy and response bias; however, discrimination accuracy across own-and other-race faces was shown to interact with context reinstatement such that only own-race faces benefited from the provision of contextual information. This finding is discussed in light of encodingbased theories of the cross-race effect, and with regard to the theoretical and practical limitations of mitigating the phenomenon at the time of identification.
: Two cultural studies were conducted to clarify the ideological characteristics that serve as en... more : Two cultural studies were conducted to clarify the ideological characteristics that serve as enablers for extreme action. The approach for both studies was to collect and analyze knowledge source materials from the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is a rich source of cultural information that provides important clues as to the beliefs, attitudes and values of group members. Documents and postings from extremist and moderate sources were collected and translated. Relevant passages were then extracted and analyzed in order to elucidate the ideological characteristics within them. Human cultural researchers conducted the analysis in Study 1 and a new model of core extremist beliefs-values was constructed. In Study 2, the model was further tested by using computational text analysis methods to aid in analyzing sentiment from the web-based sources. Such methods remain at a early research phase of development, so new approaches and techniques were developed. Study 2 served both to cor...
The purpose of this research was to explore the decision-making processes of Soldiers with differ... more The purpose of this research was to explore the decision-making processes of Soldiers with different levels of experience as they evaluated scenarios with varying levels of uncertainty. This research focused on understanding the interaction of experience and uncertainty on hypothesis generation and testing, and on the relationship between confidence and decision-making. Soldiers engaged in computer-based exercises that measured decision-making performance in a threat detection task. These exercises involved reading threat-relevant scenarios and then reporting threat decisions. We gained a better understanding as to how Soldiers select and integrate cues in uncertain decision environments involving potential threats by having them complete such exercises. Findings indicated that experienced and inexperienced Soldiers tended to focus on different priority threats (or what they perceived as the most important threats). Experienced Soldiers were likely to report more discrete threats when identifying their priority threat in each scenario. They were also more likely to search information that confirmed their initial hypotheses. Overall, changes in hypotheses appeared to be associated with lower initial confidence ratings. Across experience levels, Soldiers tended to search relevant details more often than irrelevant details. Those findings provide insight into the cognitive processes Soldiers with varying levels of experience use to make threat decisions in certain and uncertain environments.
Join My Mailing List. Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D. University of Texas at El Paso. Associate Prof... more Join My Mailing List. Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D. University of Texas at El Paso. Associate Professor, Departments of Psychology & Criminal Justice. National Science Foundation. Program Director, Law & Social Sciences; Contact Information; Curriculum Vitae [PDF]. ...
Applied Cognitive Psychology
Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protectio... more Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protection to workers and the driving public. Alerting the traveling public of the approaching work activity and providing guidance is vital to maintaining safety and mobility. Previous research conducted for IDOT on mobile lane closures (Steele and Vavrik 2009) identified driver confusion as a concern to the safety of nighttime highway operations. Users are subject to warning lights from multiple agencies with varying characteristics and configurations, but we know little about driver comprehension of these signals and their influence on driver behavior. Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) studied the effectiveness of warning lights on nighttime highway operations, including mobile lane closures, incident responses, and police activities, by reviewing pertinent literature, performing observational and experimental field studies, and conducting driver surveys and focus groups of driver perceptions and behavior in response to nighttime mobile operations. We used a cognitive model of driver mental processes to analyze this information and better understand the interaction between warning lights and driver perception and behavior, and to identify and evaluate potential improvements to current practice. The research showed that drivers view current vehicle-mounted warning lights as highly visible, attention-getting, and effective at conveying the message caution/alert. However, intense lights can cause discomfort glare and multiple light sets on individual vehicles, or multiple vehicles at a location, can be distracting, annoying, or anxiety-inducing. Complex visual scenes can confuse drivers and take longer to process cognitively, leading to slower reaction times. Often, information provided by flashing arrows, signs, and changeable message signs can be interfered with by other warning lights on the same vehicle. Suggestions for improvement from the focus groups centered primarily on reducing the number of flashing lights, or synchronizing their flashing, on individual vehicles, reducing the intensity of specific lights, sequential flashing of arrows between multiple trucks in a convoy, and incorporating directional motion in light bars. Researchers were not able to test some of the ideas due to limitations of current device technology; however, field experiments on several suggested concepts showed the potential to improve driver perception, comprehension, and behavior by modifying the number, intensity, and synchronization of lights on individual vehicles, as well as between vehicles.
PsycEXTRA Dataset
The purpose of this research was to validate a threat detection skills trainer developed in previ... more The purpose of this research was to validate a threat detection skills trainer developed in previous research (Zimmerman, Mueller, Daniels, & Vowels, 2012; Zimmerman, Mueller, Grover, & Vowels, in preparation). The trainer consists of exercises intended to improve visual threat detection, including dynamic threat monitoring, threat prioritization, and causal reasoning (Zimmerman et al., 2012). The current research utilized four tasks to measure the impact of the skills trainer: time and resource limited threat search; dynamic change detection; situation awareness at the perception and comprehension levels; and, scenario-based causal reasoning. Findings did not provide evidence that the trainer alone is a viable option for training visual threat detection, likely due to low statistical power and practice effects. However, all participants showed improvement on all dependent variables from pre-test to post-test, suggesting that acute, cognitive training could enhance the skills required for effective threat detection. Future research should tease apart the effects of practice and the effects of training via the threat detection skills trainer. Additional future experiments should test threat detection in live and simulated scenarios to increase ecological validity. Longitudinal research would determine if practice and training on visual threat detection have long-term effects.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me complete this research. First, I'd like to thank... more I would like to thank everyone who has helped me complete this research. First, I'd like to thank my mentor, Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D., for his support, guidance, and encouragement during the course of this project. Without his mentorship and friendship this dissertation would not have been possible. I would also like to express my thanks to my dissertation committee members, Harmon Hosch, Wendy Francis, Steve Crites, and Ted Curry for their insights and assistance. Additional thanks goes out to the members of the Investigative Interviewing Laboratory, especially Dr. Jacki Evans & Allyson Horgan, M.A., for their friendship and support. My research assistants Martin Portillo, Marlib Gonzalez, and Linsey Walsh, worked tirelessly on this project and have all my gratitude. Finally, I'd like to thank my family and friends (near, far, and very far away). Thank you for taking this journey with me but more importantly for joining me on this incredible journey called life.
Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series, 2013
Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protectio... more Vehicle-mounted warning lights for nighttime mobile highway operations provide critical protection to workers and the driving public. Alerting the traveling public of the approaching work activity and providing guidance is vital to maintaining safety and mobility. Previous research conducted for IDOT on mobile lane closures (Steele and Vavrik 2009) identified driver confusion as a concern to the safety of nighttime highway operations. Users are subject to warning lights from multiple agencies with varying characteristics and configurations, but we know little about driver comprehension of these signals and their influence on driver behavior. Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) studied the effectiveness of warning lights on nighttime highway operations, including mobile lane closures, incident responses, and police activities, by reviewing pertinent literature, performing observational and experimental field studies, and conducting driver surveys and focus groups of driver percep...
Civil Engineering Studies, Illinois Center for Transportation Series, 2013
Currently, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is one of the few state transportatio... more Currently, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is one of the few state transportation agencies that require warning lights on nighttime work zone channelization devices, such as drums and barricades. The intent of the steady-burn, amber warning lights is to increase visibility of the channelization devices, providing guidance to motorists and preventing intrusions into the closed lane. However, their additional benefit beyond that provided by the high-reflectivity materials used on the channelization devices themselves has not been evaluated, including taking into consideration their initial, maintenance, and replacement costs; and the environmental and economic issues of routine battery replacement. Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) studied the effectiveness of warning lights on nighttime channelization devices by reviewing pertinent literature, experimental studies of nighttime work zones with and without lights on drums, driver surveys, and focus groups of driv...
Psychology Crime & Law, 2009
The current research examined the potential benefit of context reinstatement on the cross-race ef... more The current research examined the potential benefit of context reinstatement on the cross-race effect in lineup identification. Participants viewed a series of own-and other-race faces and subsequently attempted identification of these faces from target-present and target-absent lineups. The traditional cross-race effect was found on measures of discrimination accuracy and response bias; however, discrimination accuracy across own-and other-race faces was shown to interact with context reinstatement such that only own-race faces benefited from the provision of contextual information. This finding is discussed in light of encodingbased theories of the cross-race effect, and with regard to the theoretical and practical limitations of mitigating the phenomenon at the time of identification.
: Two cultural studies were conducted to clarify the ideological characteristics that serve as en... more : Two cultural studies were conducted to clarify the ideological characteristics that serve as enablers for extreme action. The approach for both studies was to collect and analyze knowledge source materials from the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is a rich source of cultural information that provides important clues as to the beliefs, attitudes and values of group members. Documents and postings from extremist and moderate sources were collected and translated. Relevant passages were then extracted and analyzed in order to elucidate the ideological characteristics within them. Human cultural researchers conducted the analysis in Study 1 and a new model of core extremist beliefs-values was constructed. In Study 2, the model was further tested by using computational text analysis methods to aid in analyzing sentiment from the web-based sources. Such methods remain at a early research phase of development, so new approaches and techniques were developed. Study 2 served both to cor...
The purpose of this research was to explore the decision-making processes of Soldiers with differ... more The purpose of this research was to explore the decision-making processes of Soldiers with different levels of experience as they evaluated scenarios with varying levels of uncertainty. This research focused on understanding the interaction of experience and uncertainty on hypothesis generation and testing, and on the relationship between confidence and decision-making. Soldiers engaged in computer-based exercises that measured decision-making performance in a threat detection task. These exercises involved reading threat-relevant scenarios and then reporting threat decisions. We gained a better understanding as to how Soldiers select and integrate cues in uncertain decision environments involving potential threats by having them complete such exercises. Findings indicated that experienced and inexperienced Soldiers tended to focus on different priority threats (or what they perceived as the most important threats). Experienced Soldiers were likely to report more discrete threats when identifying their priority threat in each scenario. They were also more likely to search information that confirmed their initial hypotheses. Overall, changes in hypotheses appeared to be associated with lower initial confidence ratings. Across experience levels, Soldiers tended to search relevant details more often than irrelevant details. Those findings provide insight into the cognitive processes Soldiers with varying levels of experience use to make threat decisions in certain and uncertain environments.
Join My Mailing List. Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D. University of Texas at El Paso. Associate Prof... more Join My Mailing List. Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D. University of Texas at El Paso. Associate Professor, Departments of Psychology & Criminal Justice. National Science Foundation. Program Director, Law & Social Sciences; Contact Information; Curriculum Vitae [PDF]. ...