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Borderline Personality Disorder And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Unique Patterns Of Emotion Reactivity And Regulation, Clara Defontes Oct 2022

Borderline Personality Disorder And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Unique Patterns Of Emotion Reactivity And Regulation, Clara Defontes

Masters Theses

Both borderline personality disorder (BPD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with emotion dysfunction and often co-occur. Emotional reactivity is also evident in some studies in BPD and PTSD. Despite the frequent co-occurrence of these diagnoses, only a few studies have examined the independent and joint effects of BPD and PTSD on emotional functioning. Some data suggest that co-occurring PTSD may drive discordance between domains of emotional reactivity in BPD, dampening physiological reactivity but increasing subjective reactivity. Low reliance on acceptance-based emotion regulation may also account for this divergence. The current study examined the independent and interactive effects of …


Borderline Personality Disorder And Learning: The Influences Of Emotional State And Social Versus Nonsocial Feedback, Elinor E. Waite Oct 2022

Borderline Personality Disorder And Learning: The Influences Of Emotional State And Social Versus Nonsocial Feedback, Elinor E. Waite

Masters Theses

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been linked to impulsive behaviors, interpersonal difficulties, and emotional reactivity. Although these impairments imply underlying deficits in decision-making, theory suggests that such deficits may be context dependent. Both emotional state and social context may influence learning in BPD. Reinforcement learning models offer an avenue to parse types of impairments in learning. The current study used reinforcement learning models to examine whether the type of feedback (social vs. nonsocial) moderates the association between BPD and learning under conditions of distress. Adults with BPD (N = 37), subthreshold BPD (N = 29), and without BPD …


Two Sides To Every Story: Investigating Changes In Cultural Attitudes Using Discourse Analysis In Computer-Mediated Infidelity Discussions, Michaela J. Dipillo May 2022

Two Sides To Every Story: Investigating Changes In Cultural Attitudes Using Discourse Analysis In Computer-Mediated Infidelity Discussions, Michaela J. Dipillo

Masters Theses

Despite overt cultural consensus on the reprehensible nature of infidelity, prevalence rates of infidelity behavior remain elevated— highlighting a substantial discrepancy between widely-accepted infidelity practices and actual behavior. To understand this incongruence and elucidate the cultural meaning of infidelity, communication surrounding infidelity warrants extensive scrutiny. The study employs methods of discourse analysis to investigate three Reddit threads from 2017, 2019, and 2021, that address infidelity. I make a case that recent changes in the discourse surrounding infidelity reflect changes in broader societal attitudes and accepted practices concerning infidelity. Using empirical methods of discourse analysis, I conducted three analytical procedures to …


Patient–Therapist Expectancy Convergence And Outcome In Naturalistic Psychotherapy, Averi N. Gaines Mar 2022

Patient–Therapist Expectancy Convergence And Outcome In Naturalistic Psychotherapy, Averi N. Gaines

Masters Theses

Aim: Research on close relationships demonstrates that dyadic convergence, or two people becoming more concordant in their experiences and/or beliefs over time, is commonplace and adaptive. As psychotherapy involves a close relationship, patient–therapist convergence processes may influence treatment-specific outcomes. Although prior research supports that patients and therapists tend to converge on their alliance perspectives over time, which associates with subsequent patient improvement, no research has similarly examined belief convergence during therapy. Accordingly, this study focused on patient–therapist convergence in their outcome expectation (OE), a belief variable associated with patient improvement when measured from individual participant perspectives. I predicted both that …


Role Of Feedback And Social Anxiety In Dating Situations, Kanika Singh Jan 2022

Role Of Feedback And Social Anxiety In Dating Situations, Kanika Singh

Masters Theses

Social anxiety has been linked to both the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) and the Fear of Positive Evaluation, suggesting that receiving feedback (whether positive or negative) is difficult for persons with social anxiety. However, little research has examined whether receiving feedback in an evaluative setting (e.g., dating) can directly affect social anxiety levels. Thus, this study examined whether varying types of feedback (negative, positive, and neutral) can affect the levels of social anxiety for individuals in a dating scenario. Feedback was provided to participants and examined in relation to their levels of FNE and FPE. Participants consisted of undergraduate …


Problematic Social Media Use And Depression In College Students: A Mediation Study, Morgan Hummel Jan 2022

Problematic Social Media Use And Depression In College Students: A Mediation Study, Morgan Hummel

Masters Theses

Recent research has shown a relationship between problematic social media use and depression symptoms in adults in the United States. Social comparison has been identified as a mediator in this relationship in previous studies. Little research has explored the underlying mechanisms in social media use and the onset of depression symptoms in college aged students. The present study examines whether social comparison mediates the relationship between problematic social media use and depression symptoms in 102 college students in the US. The participants completed measures of problematic social media use, social comparison, and depression symptoms. The results indicated a positive relationship …


Ethnic Differences In The Way College Students Cope With Stress, Temavulane N. Motsa Jan 2022

Ethnic Differences In The Way College Students Cope With Stress, Temavulane N. Motsa

Masters Theses

Stress is one of the key concerns for students and has also been labelled the highest factor impacting students’ academic performance in colleges. A student’s ability to adequately cope with their stressors could determine their academic success or failure. This study examined whether there are any ethnic differences in the way African American and Caucasian American Students cope with stress. Data were collected from Students at Eastern Illinois University which included 45 African American Students and 40 Caucasian American students. The results revealed no significant differences in the way Caucasian American and African American students cope with stress. This paper …