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Cognitive science, belief, and interactive media as a distribution platform for experiences that enhance human development

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Cognitive science, belief, and interactive media as a distribution platform for experiences that enhance human development

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Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

By:

Clarissa Joan Middleton

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTERS OF FINE ARTS
(INTERACTIVE MEDIA AND GAMES)

May 2019

Copyright 2019 Clarissa Joan Middleton

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements I

List of Figures VI

Abstract VII

Keywords VIII

Chapter 1 Introduction: The What, Who, Why, and How of It 01

Chapter 2 Research, Concepts, Logic, and Thoughts 10

Chapter 3 What is The Being Academy? 26

Chapter 4 Building the Dream: Production Goals and Adjustments 36

Chapter 5 Reflections 46

Reference List 51

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development
I

Acknowledgements

“To God be the glory forever more.” Philippians 4:20

I’m not sure in what universe a mother of three children under the age of five
has the opportunity to retire from one career at 28 and study art full-time. It is
because I know that my reality borders magical wonder and absurdity, I thank
the only source I know to be able to make this all possible, YHWH.

My intention to study Finance at St. John’s University where I received my
Bachelors in Science in 2009 was inspired by my humble beginnings as the
generational offspring of small business owners in West Philadelphia, Pa. I desired
to understand value and how to impact my community by increasing its value in
the global marketplace. Post-graduation, I realized that value was not absolute,
but relative based on the stories we tell ourselves. Whatever we love becomes
valuable. Whatever is different or beyond our comprehension, becomes
discounted, undervalued, and/or discontinued.

As a Mellody Hobson Scholar at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, it has been
my honor to transfer my finance degree skill sets, i.e. valuation, to the vocation
of communicating the intrinsic value of human capital regardless of race, color,

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

II

or creed. I am beyond grateful to have the support of humanitarians with
expertise in the fields of both my passions. I am here to tell the truth about life,
love, and every human beings right to pursue a good life, and SCA has been
the perfect place to do so. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Lucas from the bottom of my
heart for supporting my education through George Lucas Family Foundation
Endowed Student Support Fund for Diversity.

I was contemplating going to seminary, but I decided to follow my heart’s desire
to attend film school. My first day on campus I discovered that the University’s
Office of Religious Life was a stone’s throw away from the USC School of
Cinematic Arts. Both of these places, would become my lifelines over the three-
year coursework in pursuit of MFA degree in Interactive Media.

When my family and I took the 3000 mile journey to Southern California from
Philadelphia, Pa, we had not yet secured a job for my husband, childcare
support for our kids, or a place to permanently rest our heads. We literally
moved on a hope and a prayer that would be answered beyond our wildest
imaginations. By the end of my first semester, I lived within 10 minutes walking
distance of the SCA Interactive Building, my husband started his new job the last

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for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

III

day of classes, and I jumped into care for our children over the holiday break
having already secured a wonderful childcare provider for the start of the new

year. I finished the semester with a 3.8 GPA having my mind blown wide open.
Years prior, I dreamed in angst praying to be exposed to all the design
concepts, experiments, and knowledge my first semester presented as a buffet.

This journey has been nothing short of miraculous. At the time I write this
acknowledgment, my next steps aside from presenting an amazing thesis,
showcasing my work at the USC Games Expo, and celebrating this wild ride on
graduation, are not definitive. I do know that the same God that brought me
through these last ten years culminating with the birth of my dream project, The
Being Academy, is clearly not done. For all this I say thank you, thank you, thank
you.

There are key people who have guided and supported this work in various ways
without which none of this would be possible. Thank you Marientina Gotsis for
being a guiding light and demonstrating to me that there is a way for all of me
to exist in my work so long as I never let go of my truth. Thank you Joe Thackwell,
Lisa Thackwell, and the Thackwell Family for your spiritual counsel, your ministry
advisement, your stamp of approval on my credentials in spaces and places

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for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

IV

that would otherwise denied my access, your friendship, your encouragement,
and for making Southern California feel like home.

To all of my project advisors, Dean Varun Soni, Cindy Mori, Richard Lemarchand,
Peggy Bustamante, Keith Plocek, Kesha Cash, and Pablo Frasconi, thank you for
your mentorship, your genius, your precious time, and for always pushing me to
be better. This project came to life because of the hands the held it so dear.
Thank you for making room in your hearts and minds for my dreams.

To my team, Keith Ellerbe, Briana Ellerbe, Jaimie Milner, Patrick O’Malley, and
Sydney Rubin. God is dope and so are you all. I am beyond grateful for having
the opportunity to work with rockstars. This is how I see you, because you are the
brave folks walking this world not afraid to shine your light. Thank you for sharing
your light with The Being Academy. I pray that this is a beginning to a lifetime of
creative genius swapping.

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

V

To my village, Philadelphia PA, The Philadelphia High School for Girls, West
Philadelphia, South 60
th
Street, 59
th
and Pine, The Greene Family, and the
descendants of Madalyn Mae Comithier, thank you for grounding my entire
existence in joy, truth, unconditional love, and the greatness of God.

Saving the best for last! To Theodore, Genesis, Viva, and Theo III., for your
patience, your sacrifice, your endurance, your hugs, your smiles, your laughter,
and your love, without you I could not breathe, and I would not be. This work is
for you, for us, and for the generations to come who will know love always in all
ways and that the promise of a good life is within reach of every open heart that
seeks to find it.

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for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

VI

List of Figures

1. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs 13
2. The Being Academy Framework Guide 18
3. The Process (2017 Directed Research Documentation) 19
4. The Being Academy Landing Page (Alpha) 35
5. True Stories Paper Prototype Images 1 36
6. True Stories Paper Prototype Images 2 - 4 37
7. True Stories Digital Prototype Images 1 38
8. True Stories Digital Prototype Images 2 - 3 39
9. The Being Academy Wireframe Images 1 – 2. 40
10. The Being Academy Emotional Disposition Grid 43
11. True Stories Alpha Images 1 44
12. True Stories Alpha Image 2 45

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
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VII

Abstract

The intention of this thesis paper is to review cognitive science, belief, and
interactive media as a distribution platform for experiences that enhance
human development. It will specifically review research that supported the
design concepts, articles of documentation, the pre-production, and the
production process for my thesis project, The Being Academy. This work explores
what it means to live a good life by comparing the Human Development Index
Model to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and then to a new framework The Five
Pillars of Being developed through my cross-disciplinary research on cognitive
science, belief as it relates to spiritual formation, and interactive media and play
as distribution platforms for behavioral health interventions. The Being Academy
thesis project and the True Stories visual meditation application will be discussed
as it relates to how they can contribute to enhancing human development
through the distribution of affect-regulation interventions, spiritual development
coursework, and transformational leadership training. This paper is a curation of
exploration, research, and media production spanning the course of 10 years. It
is my hope that the documentation of my process to designing a life that I love
and to discovering a purpose/vocation in alignment with my heart’s rhythm, I
will inspire others to work towards the same ways of being and existing in this
world.

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Keywords

Affect-Regulation, The Being Academy, The Brain Architecture Game,
Christianity, Cognitive Science, Dallas Willard, Executive Function, The Five Pillars
of Being, Human Development Index, Interactive Media, Neuroplasticity,
Spiritual Formation

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development
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“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you
not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?”
-1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV

Chapter 1 Introduction: The What, Who, Why, and How of It!

“What is a good life?” Prof. Christopher P. Vogt addressed his classroom of
business students at Saint John’s University. It was the Spring of 2008, and I sat
there along with my fellow classmates not sure how to answer the question. I
was also not sure why I had to answer the question, but I was intrigued.

Moral Theology of the Marketplace was required coursework for undergraduate
finance majors at The Tobin College of Business. It was the Vincentian university’s
way of making sure they did all they could to not unleash the next version of the
“wolf on wall street” from their great lawn of ethics and prestige.

The essence of this question was not unfamiliar to my psyche in concept, but
rather unfamiliar in presentation structure and the expectation of my agency as
a young adult that came with it. For most of my life, I was told what it meant to
live a good life and not asked my opinion on the matter. My thoughts, ideas,

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concepts, and beliefs on the subject matter were all inherited from my family,
my culture, my community, and my education thus far which included what
data I gathered on the subject from media consumption. This inheritance
dictated my decisions, behaviors, and practical expressions in pursuit of what I
then cognitively processed and believed to be a good life.

I was raised to believe that I was responsible for the quality of life that I lived. I
was raised to believe that I could and would live a good life if I so chose to do
so. I was raised to believe that the way I chose to do so was by a matter of
obedience to the wisdom of my elders, this included God, and by opting into
the culturally accepted status quo of success in America. A good life, up until
this point in my being human and aware of it, was an educated life, a sober life,
a married life, a moral life, a physically healthy life, and an economically sound
life.

I did not know it at the time Dr. Vogt proposed this question to our class, but I
would eventually commit my life force energy to living a good life and helping
others do the same. The answer to this question, for myself, and others varies
vastly. There is not one way to live a good life. There are 7 billion plus people on
the planet, and rightfully so, there are 7 billion ways to live a good life.

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Research, however, has shown, my own studies and others included, that there
are common denominators.

From the paintings on the walls of Egyptian tombs, to the gospels of Jesus Christ,
to the psychology of Abraham Maslow, the quick tips from today’s top social
media influencers and beyond, everybody has a unique perspective on what it
means to live a good life. What we all cannot escape, however, is the responses
of our physiology to the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and behavioral choices we
make as individuals and as a collective race of people. Everybody either feels
pleasure or pain based on their life’s daily experiences and this is our most
common denominator.

I don’t recall what I eventually wrote in my paper on “the good life” for Professor
Vogt’s class. I do know that whatever I processed during this semester long
philosophical and theological discussion changed the trajectory of my life as I
knew it. I believed I was going to work in finance until I acquired enough clout to
make my application for a JD/MBA stand out in a crowd. Approximately two
years later, the feeling of pain like I never felt it before would send me in another
direction.

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At the age of 23 years old, I was a well-paid financial analyst living in one of the
best cities in the world, New York, NY. I was the perfect weight, and I had the
perfect diamond on my finger exhibiting my intent to marry the perfect man. I
was educated, healthy, respected by my colleagues, and in a committed
relationship. This was the formula I had been fed my entire life regarding the
answer to Dr. Vogt’s question. I was living the gold standard of a good life. What
more could I desire?

Yet, I did desire something else. I desired to kill myself. Why was the good life not
working for me? Why was I experiencing cognitive dissonance and dis-ease?

The last decade of my life has been spent in pursuit of a better answer to Dr.
Vogt’s question. My capacity to answer this question and to help others find an
answer to this question without cognitive dissonance is not only the foundation
of my work as an immersive storyteller and interactive media designer, but I also
consider it to be my raison d’être. For the last three years as an MFA candidate,
I have researched “Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a
Distribution Platform for Experiences that Enhance Human Development.”

Three things have emerged to be true for me from my studies as an interactive
media designer.

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for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

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1.) What we believe about ourselves as people dictates how well we
function in society and if we live a good life. My previous beliefs about a
good life were not inclusive of my own organic thoughts, feelings, desires,
and how I processed my life’s experiences. I had been passed down a
blueprint for life that did not make room for my unique design and when
tested it broke. All people deserve to live a life that makes room for who
they truly are on a cognitive, emotional, and spiritual level. If life does not
make room for the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires of others, we
cause those individuals dis-ease and sickness by way of cognitive
dissonance.

When a person, or persons, have to fundamentally change who they are,
how they feel, or what they believe to be true about themselves to
connect to society at large in an economically viable and socially
networked manner, this person dies a slow cognitive death. Human
development must not only factor what we deem to be materially
successful in this world, but also what individuals express to be cognitively
relative, emotionally supportive, and spiritually uplifting.

2.) Media and technology are the fastest growing forms of communication
and industry. We use our smartphones, computers, televisions, tablets, car

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interfaces, etc. as physical extensions of ourselves. The big
media/technology companies, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and
Netflix, have more information on us then our own families, friends, and
doctors combined. This information is used primarily to create more ways
to control our eyeballs and wallets for the benefit of those companies. It’s
time for an equitable marketplace.

Media specifically can be leveraged to improve our distribution of tools
for education, well-being, self-actualization, child development,
emotional intelligence, and human development. Never before have we
had real-time capacity at scale to customize learning or coaching
experiences in respect to the differences of a vast majority of people.
Spirituality, Psychology, Sociology, Behavioral Health, and Education now
have a powerful tool at their disposal. The impact of these sectors can be
increased by customizing services based on the assessment and needs of
the individual.

Entertainment is fun and we all love products and services that make life
more pleasurable and convenient. However, the greatest resource known
to man aside from the natural elements is the power of his or her own
cognition and volition. Virtual reality, augmented reality, non-linear films &

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television through web-based platforms, digital applications, online
publishing, games, and massive open online courses can be leveraged to
advance human development through the distribution of experiences
that decrease stress and cognitive dissonance while increasing self-
awareness and well-being.

3.) Lastly, all persons deserve sacred spaces for retreat of the mind, body,
and soul to affirm, restore, and exercise their sense of self-worth without
bias or interference from the cognition of others. Families, churches,
hospitals, health and wellness centers, and even schools have attempted
to create those spaces but the cost of operations, and the differences in
ideology on the whole person across sectors have limited the success of
these institutions. My intention is to make room for the affirmation of the
goodness of mankind and our infinite potential to be our best selves. I am
doing this by creating a space where people can self-reflect and
meditate on their own truths without bias and judgement.

The Being Academy, my thesis project, is the culmination of ten years of
work across the country, across industry, and across culture to curate a
framework for living a good life that can be easily adoptable by all
persons. Specifically, for the last three years, I have worked with experts in

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religion, behavioral health, business, interactive media, storytelling, and
design to develop a proof of concept for an e*learning platform where
“exploration of the self” is the core curriculum and a manifesto on how to
live a good life is the degree!

My thesis project is not the end of this work, but the beginning of a lifetime
of helping people live a good life by being true to their own thoughts,
beliefs, desires, and feelings with respect to those of others. Interactive
media is based on the design intention of co-agency within narrative and
play. This element of the discipline mirrors perfectly to the real world where
we are called to co-exist. We cannot be at peace with others if we are
not at peace with ourselves, and this is the essence of being and living a
good life.

I now live a good life. Instead of committing suicide I enrolled into classes at
Clarissa University. I committed to the discovery of the patterns and ruminations
of my own cognition and the influences, good and bad, of my heart’s rhythm.
As human’s we are ever evolving and the nuances of our likes and dislikes that
which causes us pain or pleasure can change. Every season of life brings new
conditions, challenges, and context for us to navigate in truth. If we never stop
to assess our individual operating system, which is our subconscious codification

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of every experience we’ve ever had as painful or pleasurable, we put ourselves
at risk for discomfort, disease, and death before we get a chance to fully
express our true selves and live a good life.

It is my intent that this paper, my thesis project, and my work as an immersive
storyteller and interactive media designer will be a source of motivation. I dream
of a world where all people have the capacity to seek and find the formula for
an existence that their hearts truly desire instead of suffering through the
limitations of someone else’s unfit definition of a good life.

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Chapter 2 Research, Concepts, Logic, and Thoughts

In addition to my own research, The Being Academy is based on the work of
three other fields of study:

1.) Human Development – is a global index and standard of metric for
wellbeing actively used by the United Nations. It was introduced to the world
by Nobel Laureate Amaryta Sen.

2.) Spiritual Formation – is a philosophical and practical approach to the
teachings of Jesus Christ and the Christian text, The Holy Bible. Spiritual
formation as a term was made famous by USC philosophy Professor Emeritus
Dallas Willard who is known to be the father of the Evangelical Christian
spiritual formation movement. Spiritual Formation was introduced to me by
my family as a form of worship and a paradigm on suffering associated with
our cultural lineage as members of the Black American community of faith
and our history as descendants of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

3.) Cognitive Science – is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its
processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions
of cognition (in a broad sense). Cognitive scientists study intelligence and

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behavior, with a focus on how nervous systems represent, process, and
transform information.
1
My research is influenced by this science of the mind
as it relates to the concepts of resiliency, affect regulation, neuroplasticity,
and executive function presented in the Brain Architecture Game
developed by USC Professor Marientina Gotsis, Director of the Creative
Media and Behavioral Health Center in partnership with the Harvard Center
for Child Development and the USC Keck School of Medicine.

This section of my paper will review these fields of study and their specific
relationship to my research of interactive media as a “distribution platform for
experiences that enhance the human development” and the specific design
philosophy of my thesis project, The Being Academy.

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Human Development
Human development, as we assess it today, is based on an index
2
developed
by Economic Nobel Laureate Prize winner Amaryta Sen. The HDI, Human
Development Index, adopted by the United Nations Development Programme
measures education level, life-span, and wealth. While these three components
of a human being’s life have been proven pertinent to survive, we as a society
lack the means to collectively consider the personal fulfillment of the
individual. In other words, how happy are people with their day-to-day life
experiences, and what methodologies do they employ to destress when they
are not happy?

Abraham Maslow is an American psychologist who was best known for
creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health
predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-
actualization.
3

Maslow is known for creating a pyramid image that depicts what a human
person needs to reach optimal psychological health. It is with Maslow’s work
that I began to assess the gaps between my inherited concepts on the

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qualifications of a good life vs. my
intrinsic feeling that I was not living a
good life.

By the HDI standards, I was living a
good life. By Maslow’s standards, I was
just scratching the surface. One glance at Maslow’s chart and we can
immediately see how there can be 7 billion different measures by which to
assess a life lived well or not. This is because these measures must be assessed by
individuals, because we all have our own thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and desires
as to what gives us a sense of safety, belongingness, esteem, and the
perspective that we have fulfilled our human potential. The key word here is
feelings, because every thought, action, and encounter we experience is
processed in our nervous system as a pleasurable feeling or a painful one. If we
are not aware of our feelings, regardless of the cause of this lack of awareness,
our capacity to design a good life for ourselves is limited.

Academic institutions by design are achievement focused, as it relates to
understanding material information in the world, and they do not address
feelings. Families may or may not address feelings. Most churches or religious
institutions lack the scale to assist people with the individual assessment of their

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feelings. Psychologist, Psychiatrists, and centers of well-being, spas, rehabs and
social service centers alike, do address feelings, however, cost,
location/convenience, and cultural biases based on the lack of diversity
amongst experts in the field stand as barriers to access these avenues for every
day people.

We all have feelings, but we have yet to come up with a safe, supportive, and
accessible space in society to address the feelings our day-to-day life
experiences elicit.

The Being Academy is designed to be that space.

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Spiritual Formation

“Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been
found difficult and left untried.” – G. K. Chesterton
4

When I found myself to be unhappy with my own existence, the year was 2010.
I experimented with a lot of different solutions to find myself in a more appeasing
state, but none of them worked as well as my discipline of studying biblical
scripture and seeking to find its truth in my own life. I have always had a belief, a
sense, or feeling that I was loved beyond measure. I can recall having this belief
as early as preschool. The awareness that God, the name I use to address my
belief in the existence of a higher power, loved me was an important part of my
psychological training as an adolescent.

Fast forward to me hating my life in 2010. Even though I hated my life, I still
believed that God loved me and that everything I was going through was for a
reason. These two beliefs represent three fundamental teachings in the Christian
Holy Bible:

1. God cares for the wellbeing of human beings. John 3:16
2. God desires that human beings live a very good life. Genesis 1:26-28
3. God makes all things work together for those who believe. Romans 8:28

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So when my life did not represent my internal beliefs, in the tradition of my
upbringing as a Christian and a member of the Black American Faith
Community, I began to attend church service regularly. This helped me to calm
my nervous system through the acts of worship; they are prayer, song, liturgical
dance, and meditation. It also cleared my mind and put things back into proper
perspective for a while, but gaining a sense of clarity on Sunday about one
aspect of my life while struggling through confusion Monday through Saturday
was not my idea of the perfect fix. This is when I began a personal study called
“The Holiness Project” to understand why I was not living the good life my beliefs
about God and my faith proclaimed I should 24/7 365.

During this same timeframe, I was asked by a mentor to assist a local
organization with a college prep workshop for New York City youth. This
workshop that I developed would evolve into a summer course entitled, “The
Who Am I Leadership Academy.” This course was my attempt to prevent the
students from growing up and experiencing the same confusions haunting me
and limiting my ability to live a good life. Like these students, I worked very hard
between the ages of six to twenty-two, as a top performer in the American

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education system. Yet here I was failing to curate a lifestyle I was happy to live
and desired to sustain.

It was a philanthropic organization serving a diverse group of children. While my
work was heavily influenced by my faith and how it informed my identity, It
would have been inappropriate for me to address the topic of love and self-
worth as it related to identity formation concepts rooted in my religious beliefs.

None-the-less, the work translated and the children thrived. By the end of the
summer, they flooded me with letters of appreciation and praise. One particular
letter talked about how I made them feel like their voice mattered and that no
one had ever listened to their personal desires for the future.

This experience affirmed my feelings about how my inherited concept of a
good life was flawed, and it inspired me to consider ways in which I could have
this conversation with a broader audience. I also begin to desire to make the
course available to more minds seeking a more authentic definition of a good
life.

The Holiness project was comprised of my qualitative coding of scripture. Every
week I would attend Calvary Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa for service on

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Sunday and Bible Study on Wednesday. The Pastor Dr. Garth G. Gittens earned
his Masters of Arts in Theology from the prestigious seminary Wheaton College
Graduate School and his Doctorate in Education from Northern Illinois University.
With Pastor Gittens’ teaching and sermons as my foundation, I began to
categorize scripture based on 1.) the area of my life it related to, I called these
pillars of being 2.) the character trait of God it represented 3.) the emotional
state it helped me better manage as a human being. With this data, I
developed a framework titled, The Five Pillars of Being. It would evolve to be the
algorithm behind The Being Academy’s meditation application True Stories.

The Being Academy Framework Guide

In the fall of 2016, I met a minister affiliated with the USC Office of Religious Life,
Joe Thackwell. Our common interest, spiritual formation, would unite our efforts
in ministry. Prior to attending USC, I discovered that The Holiness Project and its
intent had a name and a philosophical language associated with it in the world
of Evangelical Christians. I was not the only person in the world wondering how
to bridge the gap between what they believed to be true about God and how
this manifested in their everyday reality. The name of this intention in the
Evangelical Christian world was spiritual formation.

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“A spiritual life consists in the range of activities in which people cooperatively
interact with God – and with the spiritual order deriving from God’s personality
and action.” – (Willard, 1991)
5

In my second semester at USC, Minister Joe Thackwell along with Dr. Varun Soni,
Dean of the Office of Religious Life supervised my directed research on spiritual
formation as presented to the Evangelical Christian world by Professor Dallas
Willard. This study specifically reviewed Dallas’ work in an effort to understand
the best spiritual formation practices could be integrated with interactive media
as a distribution platform for the effects of the practices.

My research was grounded in the literary
review of two of Professor Willard’s books: 1.)
The Spirit of the Disciplines 2.) Renovation of
the Heart. Both books were helpful in helping
me better shape my vision regarding spiritual
formation integrating with interactive media.
Renovation of the heart was key because it
directly discussed how to transform your life to
be more aligned with your Christian beliefs.

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In renovation of the heart, I saw my framework “The Five Pillars of Being,”
affirmed in Dallas’ outline of a model for transformation he called VIM, vision,
intention, means.

This model would inspire the mechanics and experience design of the scripture
meditation application True Stories.

The figure on page 19, The Process, depicts the first thoughts and drawings ever
development to flesh out what is now called The Being Academy.

My culture knowledge on worship, prayer, song, meditation, and dance as
effective techniques to form ones spirit when used consistently inspired the
artistic assets of music, still images, and film for the project.

My research, The Holiness Project, coupled with Dallas’ philosophical breakdown
of spiritual formation and the VIM model inspired the interactive design
concepts of The Being Academy.

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Cognitive Science
In the Spring of 2013, my husband and I experienced a horrible tragedy. We
delivered our first child stillborn at 38 weeks full-term. This tragedy coupled with
the loss of my legal mother and my biological mother two months after, sent me
deeper into my spiritual formation studies. The outcome of being able to stabilize
my emotional well-being through such tragedies would birth a multi-media
website entitled, The Clarissa Joan Experience.

On this website, I used op-ed writings on spiritual formation and short videos to
share how studying scripture in a way that applied to my everyday life
experiences helped me navigate my sorrow and despair. By the launch of The
Clarissa Joan Experience, I discovered that I was pregnant again. Having
experienced the pain of losing a child, I was more vigilant in my preparation for
our new child’s future. This inspired me to purchase a book called Brain Rules for
Babies: How to Raise Smart and Happy Babies by John Medina.

It would be the first time I ever learned about what makes the human brain work
properly and how this relates to our capacity to live a good life as children and
adults. The book was all about feelings, empathy, emotional regulation, and
imagination. It tied all of these concepts to how children become smart and

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happy adults. This book was another link in my chain of knowledge on why
listening to our feelings as adults mattered in the process of us living a good life.

By the time I arrived at USC, Professor Marientina Gotsis was waiting for me with
open arms to further expand my mind on the topic. At the Creative Media and
Behavioral Health Center, directed by Prof. Gotsis, I learned about affect
regulation, neuroplasticity, executive function, and resiliency through play. I
specifically learned about her work in partnership with the Harvard University
Center on the Developing Child and the Keck School of medicine, The Brain
Architecture Game. The Brain Architecture Game teaches players about the
important elements of our adolescent life that shape how we behave in the
world and process information for the mainstay of our existence.

The Brain Architecture Game
6
demonstrates that the more loved, supported,
and safe a human being feels as an infant through the age of 5, the better their
brain works. When an infant feels safe, loved, and supported their brains sustain
more healthy neurological pathways increasing their execution function
capacity. Executive Function skills are the mental processes that enable us to
plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks
successfully. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages
the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain

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needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and
control impulses.
7
When a person develops executive function skills they are
more resilient and able to better manage challenges over the course of their
lifetime.

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural
connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in
the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in
response to new situations or to changes in their environment.
8

I took a research class with Prof. Marientina in the Spring of 2017. While mapping
spiritual formation practices into mechanisms compatible with interactive media
experiences, I was also collecting research on cognitive science as it relates to
faith-based interventions. My directed research with Dean Soni and Minister
Thackwell gave me the awareness that using technology to spread spiritual
teachings about belief and how to live well was not a new concept but rather
an inevitable progression on how we communicate beliefs.

From cave paintings, to books, to music, and now digital assets, we as human
beings have always used the newest technologies to share our most precious
ideals. Interactive media is just the next powerful wave in a long tradition of

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doing so, and I am lucky to be at the forefront of persons thinking about how to
effectively transition the messages to this medium.

We as humans have always had an incline that our thoughts dictate our reality.
From sayings like “if you see it you can be it,” or “so a man thinketh so he is”
which is scripture based, our philosophies and folklore and religions have
warned us about the power of our thoughts and their impact on our lives for a
long time. Now through cognitive science, and the power of technology and
biofeedback, we can prove these intangible truths in the material world more
definitively.

When I say, knowing that God loved me saved my life and helped me transition
through my quarter life crisis, I can also prove this through the studies of
neuroplasticity and affect regulation. My adolescent psychological training
through cultural based spiritual formation practices such as worship and my set
of beliefs from my Black American Christian experience hard wired my brain for
resiliency. The Holiness Project was a natural extension of this training and
secured my ability to affect regulate the impact of the trauma I experienced as
a young adult.

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For this reason, The Being Academy is positioned as a faith-based behavioral
health interventionist platform. The platform hosts interactive media experiences
that can help users improve their executive function, affection regulation, and
resiliency skill sets by inducing the brains neuroplasticity function through
immersive storytelling, interactive and play mechanisms. Everyone is entitled to a
sense of wellbeing, because as the research demonstrates the acquisition of or
lack thereof a sense of wellbeing is a determining factor in one’s ability to live a
good life.

“Well-being is “measured by self-acceptance (positive evaluation
of oneself and one’s life), personal growth, purpose in life, positive
relations with others, environmental mastery (the capacity to
effectively manage one’s life and the surrounding environment)and
autonomy.”(Ryff, 2014)
10

Do you feel well about your life? Do your life experiences give you an overall
sense of pleasure or pain? Having the ability to truthfully answer these questions
is a vital component to one’s capacity to design a good life for themselves.

The Being Academy will be an accessible and affordable tool for people to self-
reflect and meditate on how they can live a good life.

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“The unexamined life is not worth living.” -Socrates
10

Chapter 3 What is The Being Academy?

The Being Academy is an interactive media company specializing in digital
applications, virtual reality, and location based entertainment. The focus of the
company is world-building in the digital realm that empowers self-expression,
fosters peace of mind, and produces awe-inspiring moments of magic and
wellbeing for our end-users. Our interactive media experiences are intentionally
created as distribution platforms for behavioral health interventions, spiritual
development coursework, and transformational leadership training. We believe
in the power of immersive storytelling, as an agent for social change, to create
spaces in our world where every man and woman feels valued and free to be
just as they are.

True Stories, the premiere experience on The Being Academy digital platform, is
an interactive visual meditation experience available via web browser and
mobile. The application provides an intimate digital space
for meditation and self-reflection. Through interactive still images and
synchronized audio the application takes the user on a journey of self-reflection
that helps them affect regulate and strengthen their executive functions.

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True Stories is essentially a brain exercising application that can induce the
brains neuroplasticity function. The application can strengthen the users
executive function skillset and help them relax their mind via pleasurable
reflection on their emotional disposition and life experiences juxtaposed spiritual
and/or positive psychology resolves.

Daily use of the application can improve the quality of one’s life by aiding in the
persons improved capacity to process thoughts in a manner that contributes to
the stabilization of their nervous system and improved thinking about the self,
God, others, and the world at large.

We, as individuals, do not mentally process thoughts in literal text formation. In
our minds, which is the thought system our brain houses, all ideas, concepts, and
perceptions appear as images, moving images, and neurological stimuli
transmitted from our physical senses.

Like every other part in and of our bodies, our brains are a physical mass whose
formation is based on its functioning capabilities and its contribution to our
capacity to live well.

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The grooves in our brains are similar to the 5 fingers located on each hand that
we use to pick up things we deem additive to our being. The grooves in our
brain pick up thoughts; these are our concepts, beliefs, and perceptions about
our experiences.

Our brain is essentially a hard drive that holds the operating system for our
bodies and the operating system for our character which is rooted in our
thoughts: ideas, concepts, and perceptions about the life that we live. Our
nervous system controls how our thoughts are organized in our brain.

Our brains have the capacity to process more thoughts at one time than the
amount of things we can carry in our hands at one time. This happens on a
conscious and an unconscious level.

Our brains, just like our hands, find strength in our muscle dexterity, the capacity
to bend, move, reposition, and flex. Our brain’s capacity to reshape itself and
flex and adjust to the amount of thoughts it can process seamlessly is called
neuroplasticity.

Just like the muscles in our hands must be used often to avoid the experience of
muscular atrophy, which is the loss of functionality, our brain must be exercised

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so that it does not become overwhelmed and unable to properly function. As
our number one tool for critical thinking and problem solving our way towards
surviving, thriving, and living a good life, it is vital that we maintain a lifestyle that
incorporates consistent strength and conditioning for our brain and how it stores
and processes the thoughts: ideas, concepts, and perceptions about life that
comprise our character.

Meditation, prayer, focused thinking and proper breathing are known ways that
we can exercise and strengthen our brain’s capacity to process information
seamlessly.

Just like with the physicality of our body muscles, we can over work our brains,
mishandle thoughts and damage nerve-endings in our brain which then affects
the architecture of the grooves and synapses and muscle tissue that comprise
our brain and support our mental health and overall wellbeing.

If we could not feel things with our fingers, we would acknowledge that the
nerves in our fingers are damaged. If we could not pick up items with our fingers,
we would acknowledge that our fingers are weak. If we were carrying too much
weight in our hands and they became overworked and stressed, it would be
recommended that we let some of the things we were carrying go.

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All of this same understanding for the hand as a real physical form that functions
within our control is the same for our brains.

Everything we experience on a daily basis and in life is encoded in our brains by
our nervous system. The synapses in our brains are strengthened and weakened
by our ability to positively connect and relate to our own being, other humans,
our environment at large, and our life experiences. When we do not have
positive relationships or we have not cultivated positive paradigms regarding
our own being, we lose vital nerve endings in the brain, and our brains operate
on a level of dysfunction that disrupt our capacity to critically think. This leads to
hormonal imbalances which then over time affect the entire ecosystem of our
being internally and externally. In short, our lives and our bodies begin to reflect
the dysfunction present in our brains due to our inability to positively relate to our
reality as human beings.

Our brains are wired to entice us to seek out that which we know to cause
joy/pleasure and to advise us to stay away from that which causes us pain. This
is apart of our limbic system and it is why we have adrenaline, the flight or fight
response mode, and hormones, like serotonin and dopamine, that control
happiness/pleasure.

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All persons should have the capacity to paradigm shift and perceive their life in
a way that all their life experiences whether painful or not can be categorized in
a meaningful way thus contributing to their long-term well-being and the
stabilization of their nervous system.

Scientific research has proven that persons with a deeper sense of
spirituality/connection to God, as well as, persons with healthy committed
relationships and social supports live longer and healthier, and have a stronger
capability to overcome illnesses.
11

Our brains are wired for connection and love. Science has also proven that most
medical and mental health issues, about 85%, stem from the stress on the brain,
an abundance of thinking that overwhelms us and triggers the fight or flight
reflex in our brains.
12

One of the biggest barriers to personal growth and wellbeing is
stress. Stress can decrease productivity and chronic stress has
severe impact on the brain. Scientifically speaking, “any intrinsic or
extrinsic stimulus that evokes a biological response is known as
stress. The compensatory responses to these stresses are known as
stress responses. Based on the type, timing and severity of the

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applied stimulus, stress can exert various actions on the body
ranging from alterations in homeostasis to life-threatening effects
and death.”
13
(EXCLI J. 2017; 16: 1057–1072.)

When we go through life, without connecting to others positively, via healthy
relationships, and not understanding our experiences in a way that supports our
overall well being, we create a dysfunctional atmosphere in the brain that is
built on chemical imbalances and toxic stress.

Toxic stress
14
is sustained challenge without resolve or a hopeful/faithful
perspective. Our brains were built to create and think and strategize ways in
which we can manipulate matter, defined as all that exist, to create
personalized meaning for ourselves and others. This is called problem solving,
critical thinking, innovation, invention, genius, and so forth. It is the ability to take
what is, and manipulate it (see it from different views; paradigm shift) so that its
impact can be multiplied or expounded upon.

The issue is that when we have trouble problem solving and thinking critically in
situations we believe to threaten our livelihood, our bodies produce chemicals
that break down the systems designed for us to thrive. You cannot think that you
cannot survive and thrive, because this is a perspective contrary to your design
as a human from a cognitive science perspective and as a child of God from a

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spiritual perspective. Thinking this is against the wiring of our neurological system
and thus begins to corrode it and damage it. It’s like trying to make a fire in a
freezer. If you succeed at doing so eventually you will melt the ice, and the
freezer will no longer cease to exist.

We, as humans, were made to live well and be blessed and to use our bodies to
multiply and expound upon the blessings that we already are. When we worry or
have fear that this is not so, we send a virus into our own mainframes, our brains.
Since the system, our brains were not meant to handle thoughts of doubt and
lowliness at identity truths but rather conditional signals, if sustained these
negative charges begin to shut down the brain.

Spiritual formation secularly known as social formation or identity formation is
comprised of the tools and habits a person implements to get and sustain an
understanding of their persons, who they are and why they matter in the world.

Spiritual formation practices, such as consistent times for prayer/meditation,
intentional fellowship with others in alignment with one's own thinking, or
journaling/self-reflection etc., are all ways in which one can strengthen the
grooves and synapses in their brain to function well and live a good life.

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The Being Academy uses media to help individuals assess how their own ways of
being in life align properly or poorly with the healthy identity formation
concepts. Our proprietary framework, the Five Pillars of Being, is an easily
adoptable filing system that helps a person better process their thoughts about
their own life experiences. Once adopted the framework contributes to an
improved capacity for surviving, thriving, self-love, and living a good life based
on a person's ability to better organize their thoughts and manage their feelings.

Today’s average American consciously absorbs more information through
digital and interactive media than they do through direct interaction with other
humans. It is vital that we understand how to properly process this overload of
information as well as be disciplined enough to control the frequency in which
we interact with media and be intentional about the content we expose our
psyche’s/minds to.

“Love is at the root of everything. All learning, all parenting, all
relationships. Love or the lack of it. And what we see and hear on
the screen is part of who we become.” – Mr. Rogers
15

Our future depends on our capacity to sustain our own wellbeing via the proper
perspective on our own self-worth, at The Being Academy we call this an

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individual’s True Story. It is a visualization via an image that elicits a
corresponding feeling that communicates one’s own life experiences from the
viewpoint of a positive psychology affirmation or religious text on the intrinsic
goodness of the human person. It is vital to our own mental health and
wellbeing that we as individuals possess the capability to present and affirm our
own life’s experience in a relative way to all that we engage with and
encounter throughout life. A person’s understanding of their own true story
empowers them to live a life of peace, love, joy, patience, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, humility, and self-control. It also gives them the freedom to
present their authentic self to the world at all times with courage and love.
The Being Academy Landing Page (Alpha)

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Chapter 4 Building the Dream: Production Goals and Adjustments
Image 1.

Experience Goals

The application provides an intimate digital space for meditation and self-
reflection.
Production Goals
- Production: To visually portray the human experience with an intimate
and vulnerable and relative tone, via still images and video clips, as it
relates to scripture and emotional intelligence.
- Systems Design: To create a data management system for the qualitative
coding of biblical scriptures as a service product.
- Interactive Design: To design a calming and an alluring digital sanctuary

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for the believers of today known as the churchless generation.

Thesis Prep Spring 2018

I entered into our second year thesis prep class with a paper prototype and a
digital prototype. This gave me the space and time to think about long-term
reach goals for my project, because I had already identified my core
mechanic, image scrolling externally addressed as visual meditation. I also had
the opportunity to playtest my paper prototype over the course of a year to
establish a list of must haves/priorities that end-users seemed most intrigued by.

Image 2. Image 3.

Image 4.

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The previous images display the True Story paper prototype playing board,
player’s assessment sheet, and the rule sheets. Transforming my paper
prototype into a digital prototype presented my first challenge due to my limited
programming skills. To solve for this challenge, I enrolled in JOUR 553: Coding
and Programming for Storytelling in the Annenberg School of Communications.
The final assignment for this class was an interactive website. My work in this class
enhanced my skillsets as a web developer and helped me produce my first play
test ready digital prototype. See images below.
Image 1.

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Image 2.

Image 3.

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The first digital prototype was structured on one web-page. It did not have
synchronized audio. It also asked the end-users to choose from words instead of
images for their final input. The tone of the prototype was established by a red,
black, and white color pattern. This was an abrasive color combination
especially when the visual meditation images appeared with their array of
colors mirroring the rainbow. Because of the long form one-page experience
flow, the prototype lacked a sense of discovery and responsiveness in regards to
end-user agency.

By the time I developed my final wire frame in Thesis prep, all of the above
would evolve. This prototype, though just a development mapping, was closer
to my desired flow of experience based on the elements the paper prototype
revealed to be successful.

Image. 1 Image 2.

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Production
I entered Thesis Year five weeks after the natural delivery of my third child. It is
safe to say, I was not thesis ready. I was, however, ahead of my milestones. This
can be attributed to the fact that I commenced thesis prep a year before it was
mandated by way of my directed research. I had a very good sense of what I
needed to build because of my paper prototype testing. Being honest with
myself about what I could and could not achieve given my unique
circumstances was tough. I still, however, felt confident that I would take from
the year what I intended and produce a project in alignment with my
experience and design goals.

Fall semester, I focused on the technology of the platform and the feel of the
experience. Instead of using my own builds, I switched to a web template that
gave me the affordances of a very clean structure and free range of
features/plug-ins to support my mechanics. I did not have a team during the Fall
semester. With the help of my advisors, I was able to hit my milestones alone,
while simultaneously vetting potential team members for the heavy production
schedule I planned to take on in the Spring semester. I intentionally pushed off
all asset production until Spring knowing that being feature complete at Alpha
was most important. This strategy was very successful!

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I was able to be very hands on with all aspects of my project in the Fall Semester
while still pacing myself and not becoming overwhelmed by the very
demanding schedule of caring for a newborn. I ended the semester with my
team identified, the platform at alpha complete, the core of my paper written,
and having had ample time to enjoy working on the project while embracing all
the love and cuddles at home.

Spring Semester has been a very different story. Onboarding my team took
much longer than expected. My original production plans for the meditation
videos revealed themselves to be too labor intensive. I needed to scale it down.
I also experienced some personal health issues that slowed down my
performance capability. The final stretch of the project has been taxing.

With that in mind, the silver lining is that I have a great team. Taking the time to
onboard my team and immerse them in the project’s vision turned out to be
energy well spent. Our final assets are coming out amazing and beyond my
expectations. We are on track to be at Beta by Thesis Defense and Gold Master
by Thesis Show.

Some of the changes to the platform include the color scheme. It is now based
on outer space and a 90’s neon rainbow schematic. (See The Being Academy

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Framework picture on page 18 for a better reference.) This is a color pattern
that personally excites me as a child of the 1990’s. It also has very significant
spiritual meanings in regards to the belief that God is light, that as believers we
are children of the light,
16
and that to walk in our light electrifies our entire being
with goodness. The color scheme communicates the hope for the end-user that
their whole being be filled with light and love.

The Being Academy Emotional Disposition Grid

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True Stories currently offers 12 unique scripture outputs with video meditations
and four distinct audio meditations based on the categorization of the 12
emotional states into 4 segmentations.

The end user goes through three self-reflection visual meditations with prompt
questions. Their input loops to a corresponding meditation video with unique
audio where the scripture matching their emotional disposition is revealed.
Upon completing the scripture meditation, the end user is taken to a resource
page where there scripture is presented with additional information and still
images for further context.
The Being Academy (Alpha) Image 1

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The Being Academy (Alpha) Image 2

This version of The Being Academy platform will eventually host a podcast called
HeartSpace that offers spiritual commentary on pop culture. In addition to the
podcast and the True Stories meditation application, it will also host a monthly
thematic editorial piece and vlog that further explores one of the Five Pillars of
Being.

Over the next 18-24 months, True Stories will be tested to confirm its cognitive
science and spiritual formation benefits for marketing and commerce
preparation.

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Chapter 5 Reflections

This is what Thomas S. Henricks, professor of sociology at Elon University,
summarizes as the power of play and interactive media:

“How do we discover who we are? How do we determine the
character of the world in which we live? And how do we decide
that we can do in a world so configured? Such questions, each
connected to our lifelong quest for self-realization, are central to this
book. Its thesis is that we learn about ourselves and the world– and
about the intersection of these two realms– through acts of play
[interactivity].” – (Henricks, 2015)
17

In a recent lecture at Hulu, Ted Schilowitz, Futurists at Paramount Pictures shared
these facts with our class:

- About 5.1 billion people on the planet have cellphones. This is almost 1
billion more than the number of people who have toothbrushes.
- The average smartphone owner sends about 150 text messages per day
and touches their phone over 2000 times per day, about every 6 minutes
to be exact.

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It is vital that we understand how to properly process this overload of
information. We, also, need to limit the frequency in which we interact with
media that does not mirror our desired emotional states. It is best to become
intentional about the content we expose our psyche’s/minds to.

Our future depends on our capacity to sustain our own wellbeing via the proper
knowledge of self, at The Being Academy we call this an individual’s True Story.
A true story is the visualization of one’s own life experiences coupled with a
positive perspective, be it faith-based or psychology based. A true story is
rooted in the resilience to live a good and fully expressed life no matter what
hardships we encounter.

It is vital to our own mental health and wellbeing that we as individuals possess
the capability to present and affirm our own life’s experience in a relative way
to all that we engage with and encounter throughout life. A person’s
understanding of their own true story empowers them to live a life of peace,
love, joy, patience, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, humility, and self-control.
It also gives them the freedom to present their authentic self to the world at all
times with courage and love.

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The Being Academy creates interactive media as affordable and convenient
tools for reflection and expression on one’s life in a relaxing, pleasurable, and/or
fun way. Our products are designed to induce the brains neuroplasticity
function. They can aide in the rebalancing of hormones in the brain from toxic
stress. Frequent use engagement of our experiences over extended periods of
time can calm the mind, rewire toxic correlations in the nervous system, as well
as, sustain or grow positive correlations about life and the end-users relationship
to it.

The Being Academy expounds upon the powerful impact of new media and
technology by offering consumers, specifically Generation Y and Z, entertaining
and pleasurable interactive media tools for self-empowerment, self-expression,
spiritual growth, and mental wellness. Our experiences help consumers destress
and heighten self-awareness aiding in a more holistic view of their growth and
wellbeing.

Interactive media is the first medium for the masses that can be manipulated in
real-time based on the end-users perspective. This capability presents
interactive media as the optimal conduit to innovate our approach to human
development. Interactive Media gives us the capacity to scale our distribution

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of behavioral health interventions, spiritual development, and personal growth
strategies in real-time with transparency around efficacy and metrics.

A Gallup poll in 2017 revealed that about eight in 10 Americans say they
frequently (44%) or sometimes (35%) encounter stress in their daily lives. Just 17%
say they rarely feel stressed, while 4% say they never do. Now because of new
research in neuroscience, we are able to see how toxic stress specifically
weakens the parts of the brain responsible for affect regulation of emotions,
execution function, decision making, and productivity. If we really want to thrive
as a nation, we must take inventory of how stressed out Americans are and do
something about it. This is especially true for our younger generations who due
to poor digital health behaviors experience loneliness and affects on the
brain/body at an all time high.

A 2018 study of adults by health insurer Cigna found that loneliness has reached
"epidemic levels" in the U.S. – and that young adults are more lonely and in
poorer health than the elderly. One study found that loneliness has a similar
impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes each day.

Generation Y, also known as Generation Me, is responsible for the demand that
has catapulted interactive media into tour de force status. This generation grew

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up during the apex of the console video game. Their entire life experience has
been rooted in interactive mediums that honor personal choice. As the world
turns, Generation Y is coming into the age of home mortgages, childbirths,
support of aging parents, and the need to save for retirement or business
investments. As things shift for Generation Me, they will begin to see their buddy
old pals in the world of interactive less important for the sole purpose of
entertainment and self-gratification, and as the social change agents primed
for health, wellness, and living a good life.

When this happens, it is my intent to be ready to offer them the best interactive
media products and services for personal transformation, because everyone
deserves to see themselves worthy of a life they love to live.

“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten,
smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us,
and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.”
– Maya Angelou
18

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

51

Reference List

1. Thagard, Paul, Cognitive Science, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
2. United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, ed. (2010). "Overview | Celebrating 20
years of human development". Human Development Report 2010 | 20th anniversary
edition | the real wealth of nations: pathways to human development. New York, NY:
United Nations Development Programme. p. 2. ISBN 9780230284456
3. "Dr. Abraham Maslow, Founder Of Humanistic Psychology, Dies". The New York Times.
June 10, 1970. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
4. Chesterton, G.K. (1910) What’s Wrong With the World
5. Willard, Dallas (1991) The Spirit of the Disciplines New York, NY: HarperSanFranscisco
6. The Brain Architecture Game (2009) https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/the-
brain-architecture-game/
7. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2011). Building the Brain’s “Air
Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive
Function: Working Paper No. 11. http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu
8. Leaf, Dr. Caroline (2013) Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks p.22
9. Carol D. Ryff, Psychological Well-Being Revisited: Advances in the Science and Practice
of Eudaimonia (Psychotherapy Psychosomatics 83, 2014) p. 10 –28
10. Plato. Apology 38a. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 1 translated by Harold North Fowler;
Introduction by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William
Heinemann Ltd. 1966. via Perseus Tufts

Cognitive Science, Belief, and Interactive Media as a Distribution Platform
for Experiences that Enhance Human Development

52

11. Newberg, Andrew M.D., Waldman, Mark Robert., (2010) How God Changes Your Brain:
Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist. New York, NY: Ballantine Books p.
14
12. Steward, Brian Luke. (2006) Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and
Wellbeing. London: Jones and Bartlett
13. (EXCLI J. 2017; 16: 1057–1072.) The Impact of Stress On The Body: A Review
14. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2005/2014). Excessive Stress Disrupts
the Architecture of the Developing Brain: Working Paper 3. Updated Edition.
http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu
15. Neville, Morgan. (2018) Won’t You Be My Neighbor. Tremolo Productions
16. Willard, Dallas. (2002) Renovation of the Heart: Putting On The Character of Christ.
Colorado Springs, Co: NavPress p. 217 - 231
17. Henricks, Thomas S. (2015) Play and the Human Condition. United States of America:
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. p. I
18. Salters, J.N. (05.29.2014) 35 Maya Angelou Quotes that Changed My Life. The Huffington
Post. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/35-maya-angelou-quotes-th_b_5412166

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Creator Middleton, Clarissa Joan (author)

Core Title Cognitive science, belief, and interactive media as a distribution platform for experiences that enhance human development

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Interactive Media

Publication Date 04/28/2019

Defense Date 05/08/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag affect-regulation,Brain Architecture Game,christianity,Clarissa Joan Middleton,cognitive science,Dallas Willard,empathetic design,executive function,Five Pillars of Being,Human Development Index,Innertainment,Interactive Media,neuroplasticity,OAI-PMH Harvest,Spiritual formation,The Being Academy,True Stories

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Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Wixon, Dennis (committee chair), Fullerton, Tracy (committee member), Watson, Jeff (committee member)

Creator Email clarissajoan@gmail.com,cmiddlet@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-149895

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