Elle Footlik
Research Mentor: Emily Yerington
Mentor Department: Combined Program in Education & Psychology, LSA
Author(s): Elle Footlik, Emily Yerington , Priti Shah
Session: Session 2 (10:00 AM – 10:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 66
Abstract
Executive function (EF) is a set of cognitive control processes that support goal-directed behavior (Bunge, 2024), including working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control(Bunge, 2024). While EF is a widely studied topic in research, it is often treated as a stable trait because most studies assess it at a single time point, when in fact it varies across a variety of internal and external factors. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a longitudinal method measuring within-person and between-person variability (Hawks et al., 2022) that allows us to capture data on participants using smartphones in real-time within their natural environment. Participants completed an initial hour-long laboratory session involving standardized cognitive tasks and retrospective surveys, followed by a two-week EMA. During the EMA portion, participants received three random smartphone notifications daily through Expiwell, where they were prompted to complete three brief cognitive tasks on Lumosity, each measuring a different aspect of EF (inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, visual spatial working memory, and attention), and a few brief survey questions. EMA participation was relatively high among the 119 FLUX participants, with the majority of participants completing at least 80% of prompts during the 14 days. Completion rates declined slightly as the study went on, suggesting reduced compliance later in the study. Compliance was slightly lower on the weekends than on weekdays, while participation levels were similar across recruitment sites. Overall, the results indicate strong engagement and compliance with the EMA protocol, with a small group of participants becoming less responsive over time.
