Digital Commons Network^™

Gender And Theory Of Mind In Preschoolers’ Group Effort: Evidence For Timing Differences Behind Children’S Earliest Social Loafing, Robert Thompson, Bill Thornton

Bill Thornton

This study explored mental state reasoning within the context of group effort and possible differences in development between boys and girls. Preschool children (59 girls, 47 boys) were assessed for theory of mind (ToM) ability using classic false belief tests. Children participated in group effort conditions that alternated from one condition, where individual effort was transparent and obvious, to one where individual effort remained anonymous. The aim was to investigate if emergent mental state reasoning, after controlling for age, was associated with the well-known phenomenon of reduced effort in group tasks (“social loafing”). Girls had slightly higher ToM scores and …

California Community Colleges Child Development Laboratory Schools, Shari Yates

Dissertations

Community colleges in California are the primary source for preparing the early childhood care and education (ECE) workforce. The California child development lab school mission is to prepare ECE practitioners, provide a laboratory where college students can study and research child development/education, and offer a service to children and families. There are many benefits that are derived from laboratory schools but many community college lab schools have been reduced and/or closed over the past three years. The purposes of this Delphi study were (a) to examine the most pressing issues, problems and barriers facing California community colleges child development labs …

The Association Between Trauma Exposure, Maladjustment, And Aggression In Detained Boys, Kelli R. Thompson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated an association between violence exposure and aggression; however, research exploring the association between violence exposure and the forms and functions of aggression is scarce. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between trauma exposure with both reactive and proactive functions of aggression by examining two potential mediators (e.g., psychopathic traits and emotional dysregulation). Participants included 132 male juvenile offenders mandated to treatment in a residential facility (M = 16.78 years old; SD = 1.25). Results indicate emotional dysregulation partially mediated the association between trauma exposure and reactive aggression while controlling for proactive …

Hemispheric Bases For Emotion And Memory, Tad T. Brunyé, Sarah R. Cavanagh, Ruth E. Propper

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The goal of this Research Topic was to bring together diverse scientific perspectives on lateralized brain mechanisms underlying emotion, motivation, and memory. The Topic resulted in eight articles, three of which report original research and five of which review and synthesize past research with the aim of developing new hypotheses and theory. A range of international experts with diverse backgrounds, theoretical perspectives, and experimental methods contributed to the Topic. Contributions strongly reflect this diversity, ranging from examining pupil dilation in response to viewing Rembrandt portraits to understanding how caffeine supplementation influences levels of spatial processing. In all cases, the authors …

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …

The Phenomenon Of Abstract Cognition Among Scholastic Chess Participants: A Case Study, Brent C. Laws

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of abstract cognition among a purposive sample of 5 secondary scholastic chess club participants. The case study enabled the researcher to explore the faculties of abstract cognition among students of contrasting skills and abilities in playing chess. The study also allowed for the consideration of potential visual-spatial, logical, academic, social competency and life benefits of chess play. Through analysis of interviews, chess simulations, blindfold chess play, and narration of chess lines and sequences, the investigator was able to extract meaning and code schemata into a holistic understanding of the phenomenon of …

The Utility Of The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire In Identifying Stably Peer-Victimized Children, Freddie Aníbal Pastrana Rivera

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I evaluated the utility of using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) in identifying stably peer-victimized children. Participants were 676 fourth grade students from 37 classrooms in ten public schools. Stable peer victims were identified as children who met elevated levels of peer victimization at both fall and late spring assessments from at least one source (i.e., self, peer, teacher). Four potential screeners using the OBVQ were evaluated. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify how well a recommended cutoff point from the global item of the OBVQ (i.e., being bullied 2 or 3 times a month) identified stable victims. Additional …

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Knowledge? Action Manipulation, Parental Discourse, And Children’S Mental State Understanding In Pretense, Dawn Melzer, Laura J. Claxton

Psychology Faculty Publications

Studies on pretense mental state understanding in young children have produced inconsistent findings. These findings could potentially emerge from the confounding influences of action manipulation or the failure to examine possible influences on individual children’s performances. To address these issues, we created a task in which 68 3- and 4-year-olds viewed two actors, side by side, on a monitor. Children were told that one actor was knowledgeable about a specific animal, whereas the other actor was not. The actors performed identical movements that were either related or unrelated to the animal they were mimicking or engaged in different behaviors contradictory …

An Analysis Of Methodological Differences In Longitudinal Studies Of Infant Manual Preference, Sabrina Lynn Thurman

Masters Theses

Studies on infant manual laterality can be very similar in terms of the goals of the research, but they often show wide variability in several aspects of methodological approaches. This can be problematic when researchers directly compare findings from studies that employ different methodologies. The most common methodological inconsistencies are how many trials are utilized, which behaviors are observed, and how bilateral behaviors are addressed in computations. Here we aim to address whether methodological differences can lead to dissimilar conclusions about patterns in infant manual behaviors like laterality and coupling for three versus eight trials, reach versus grasp actions, and …

Enhancing Training Motivation In The Public Sector In South Korea: The Value Of A Contingency Approach, Yong Hyun Kim, Ong, Madeline, Jang Hoon Chung

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Public sector organisations which invest in trainingprogrammes care about their employees’ successful application of learntknowledge and skills in the workplace. The present study finds that leadersupport positively influences public sector employees’ training motivation,specifically the motivation to transfer learnt knowledge and skills to theirjobs. However, this positive relationship is moderated by employees’ priorknowledge of training content. When employees have high levels of priorknowledge of training content, leader support is not a significant influence ontheir motivation to transfer learnt knowledge and skills to their jobs. Thesefindings are derived from a survey of 335 South Korean government officials whorecently participated in a training …

Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Support For Juvenile Sex Offender Registry Laws: Prototypes, Moral Outrage, And Perceived Threat, Margaret C. Stevenson, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Jessica M. Salerno, Tisha R.A. Wiley, Bette L. Bottoms, Katlyn S. Farum

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We investigated whether and how a juvenile’s history of experiencing sexual abuse affects public perceptions of juvenile sex offenders in a series of 5 studies. When asked about juvenile sex offenders in an abstract manner (Studies 1 and 2), the more participants (community members and undergraduates) believed that a history of being sexually abused as a child causes later sexually abusive behavior, the less likely they were to support sex offender registration for juveniles. Yet when participants considered specific sexual offenses, a juvenile’s history of sexual abuse was not considered to be a mitigating factor. This was true when participants …

The Impact Of Television Program Diet On Children's Achievement, Heather J. Lavigne

Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, three waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics’s Child Development Supplement were used to examine patterns of children’s early TV exposure and its influence on middle childhood and adolescence. Analyses examined the pathways of influence depending on whether a dosage (hours of exposure) or diet (proportion of content to total TV time) variable was used. Results revealed that, in a dosage model, violent hours of early TV exposure were associated with decreases in independent reading and increases in externalizing behavior problems, but these did not predict later achievement. Early educational TV amount of exposure …

The Role Of Napping On Memory Consolidation In Preschool Children, Laura Kurdziel

Doctoral Dissertations

Nocturnal sleep has been shown to benefit memory in adults and children. During the preschool age range (~3-5 years), the distribution of sleep across the 24-hour period changes dramatically. Children transition from biphasic sleep patterns (a nap in addition to overnight sleep) to a monophasic sleep pattern (only overnight sleep). In addition, early childhood is a time of neuronal plasticity and pronounced acquisition of new information. This dissertation sought to examine the relationship between daytime napping and memory consolidation in preschool-aged children during this transitional time. Children were taught either a declarative or an emotional task in the morning, and …

Emotion In Adoption Narratives: Links To Close Relationships In Emerging Adulthood, Holly A. Grant-Marsney

Doctoral Dissertations

An adopted person develops a narrative or story to help make sense of his or her adoption. This narrative provides a window into how the adoptee understands the role of adoption in his or her life and articulates feelings and thoughts about it. Adolescent and emerging adult adoptees’ data from the Minnesota-Texas Adoption Research Project (MTARP) were examined. MTARP longitudinally followed 190 adoptive kinship networks, with varying levels of openness in the adoption, from childhood to emerging adulthood. The current study sought to understand how emotion (affective valence and specific emotions), as identified in the adoption narratives during adolescence and …

Attachment Relationships Across Siblings And Their Common Mother: Patterns And Predictors, Kathleen Anne O'Connor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Traditional attachment theory suggests that because maternal state of mind regarding attachment is generally stable by adulthood, mothers should interact similarly with their children and, consequently, should share a similar quality of attachment with each. Early empirical work, however, suggests that the quality of siblings’ relationships is frequently different. Using varied theoretical and methodological approaches, this dissertation expanded upon the existing literature to further explore the nature and underpinnings of variability in the quality of mother-infant attachment across siblings.

Study 1 comprehensively described patterns of attachment within the family, investigating the extent to which the quality of siblings’ relationships with …

Effects Of Altered Prenatal Sensory Stimulation On Postnatal Contingency Learning In Bobwhite Quail Neonates (Colinus Virginianus), Namitha Raju

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Preterm infants are exposed to high levels of modified early sensory experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Reports that preterm infants show deficits in contingency detection and learning when compared to full-term infants (Gekoski, Fagen, & Pearlman, 1984; Haley, Weinberg, & Grunau, 2006) suggest that their exposure to atypical amounts or types of sensory stimulation might contribute to deficits in these critical skills. Experimental modifications of sensory experience are severely limited with human fetuses and preterm infants, and previous studies with precocial bird embryos that develop in ovo have proven useful to assess the effects of modified perinatal …

The Role Of Representational Flexibility In Toddlers' Manual Search, Lauren Hartstein

Masters Theses

In the model room task, children watch as a miniature toy is hidden somewhere in a scale model of a room and are asked to find the larger version of the toy in the corresponding place in the actual room. Previous work has shown that children under age three often perform very poorly on this task. One prominent theory for their failure is that they lack the ability to understand the model as both a physical object and as a symbolic representation of the larger room. An alternative hypothesis is that they need to overcome weak, competing representations of where …

40. Question Types, Responsiveness And Self-Contradictions When Prosecutors And Defense Attorneys Question Alleged Victims Of Child Sexual Abuse, Samantha J. Andrews, Michael E. Lamb, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Assessing The Effects Of Derived Relational Responding On Intraverbal Use Of Same-Opposite And More Than-Less Than Relations In Children With Autism, Jane P. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Relational Frame Theory provides an analysis of verbal behavior involving a focus on the development of relational operants which are seen as a basis for language. From this basis, a framework is provided for establishing relational networks in individuals who lack derived relational ability. Establishment of relational frames may increase the probability of responding relationally to novel instances and use of the specific relational frames during social interactions; therefore, training verbal relations in accordance with an RFT approach may enhance intraverbal responding and facilitate the emergence of untrained responses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the emergence of …

Effects Of Prenatal And Early Postnatal Exposure To Aversive Stimuli On Fearfulness And Exploratory Behavior In Bobwhite Qauil Neonates (Colinus Virginianus), Michael Suarez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neophobia, the fear of novelty, is a behavioral trait found across a number of animal species, including humans. Neophobic individuals perceive novel environments and stimuli to have aversive properties, and exhibit fearful behaviors when presented with non-familiar situations. The present study examined how early life exposure to aversive novel stimuli could reduce neophobia in bobwhite quail chicks. Experiment 1 exposed chicks to a novel auditory tone previously shown to be aversive to naïve chicks (Suarez, 2012) for 24 hours immediately after hatching, then subsequently tested them in the presence of the tone within a novel maze task. Postnatally exposed chicks …

39. Young Children’S Difficulty With Indirect Speech Acts: Implications For Questioning Child Witnesses, Angela D. Evans, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Kang Lee, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Executive Function And Mental Health In Adopted Children With A History Of Recreational Drug Exposures, Brian J. Piper, Hilary M. Gray, Selena M. Corbett, Melissa A. Birkett, Jacob Raber

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Adoptive children are at increased risk for problematic behaviors but the origin of these individual differences in neurobehavioral function is unclear. This investigation examined whether adopted children with prenatal exposure to a wide variety of recreational drugs exhibited higher scores (i.e. more problems) with executive function and psychiatric symptomology. Caregivers of children ages 5 to 18 completed an online survey with items about use of alcohol, nicotine, or methamphetamine during pregnancy followed by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF, N = 437 including 59 adoptive parents) or the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL, N = 549 including 54 adoptive …

The Effect Of Prenatal Auditory Enrichment On Perceptual Narrowing In Bobwhite Quail Neonates, Briana O'Dowd

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of species-typical perceptual preferences has been shown to depend on a variety of socially and ecologically derived sensory stimulation during both the pre- and postnatal periods. The prominent mechanism behind the development of these seemingly innate tendencies in young organisms has been hypothesized to be a domain-general pan-sensory selectivity process referred to as perceptual narrowing, whereby regularly experienced sensory stimuli are honed in upon, while simultaneously losing the ability to effectively discriminate between atypical or unfamiliar sensory stimulation. Previous work with precocial birds has been successful in preventing the development of species-typical perceptual preferences by denying the organism …

Postural Sway In Infants At Low And High Risk For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rachel C. Harris

Open Access Theses

ABSTRACT Harris, Rachel C. M. S., Purdue University, December 2014. Postural Control in Infants at Low and High Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Major Professor: Laura J. Claxton. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder more commonly known for deficits in social and communication skills. More recently, aspects of motor development have been shown to be delayed in children with ASD, including deficits in their postural control abilities. Children with ASD have difficulty integrating information from their sensory systems to help control their balance. Infants at risk for ASD and infants who are later diagnosed with ASD have delays …

Conflict And Playmaking: The Impact Of A Recess Enhancement Program On Elementary School Playgrounds In New York City, Elizabeth Lake

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As time demands for schooling increase and children's freedom to play is under threat, the question of how play during school recess can best be designed to serve children has grown in importance. This research examines whether a peer-training program can influence children's activity choices and social behaviors and reduce conflict on elementary school playgrounds during recess and what aspects of such a peer-training program are important to this goal. Three general recess issues are considered: conflict, activity level and choice, and gender inclusion. The data was collected as part of a Recess Enhancement Program in a select group of …

Work-Life Experiences For People With Mobility Disabilities In New York City, Jessica A. Murray

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Work-family (or work-life) studies aim to measure interactions between the realms of work and home. It is necessary to examine these interactions within a broad context to understand external sources of tension on the work-life dynamic, including environmental, economic, and political factors. Exploratory interviews were conducted with participants of working age with a mobility disability, and when applicable, their significant others. Questions focused on work, home and transportation environments. Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, a model of contextual issues was constructed as the basis for an in-depth analysis of work-life issues for people with a mobility disability. Contextual research and …

Developing A Culture Of Citizenship In Elementary School Classrooms: How Democratic Schools Teach Children About Rules, Rights And Responsibilities, Mindi Reich-Shapiro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore development of civic participation in children in primary grade (K-2) classrooms. Young children are accorded neither the rights nor responsibilities of adolescents or adults, nor given many opportunities to participate meaningfully in the decisions that directly impact their lives. The public school classroom is, in a sense, the first opportunity for children to develop a sense of how to participate in a diverse community organized to address the needs of many. As such, it is a microcosm of the larger society within which children are learning to engage as active participants. The …

Breadth Of Emotion Vocabulary In Middle Schoolers, Marina Ebert, Zorana Ivcevic, Sherri S. Widen, Lance Linke, Marc Brackett

Yale Day of Data

How many different emotion words can middle schoolers think of to describe major categories of emotional experiences? While most existing ability tests of emotion understanding and vocabulary are based on word recognition, the goal of this study was to assess prompted emotion word generation. Students in 5^th-8^th grades (N=236) were asked to list all feeling words they can think of to describe five major emotion groups (happiness, calm, sadness, anger and nervousness). They also completed an ability measure of emotion understanding, the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test – Youth Version (MSCEIT-YV). When asked to generate emotion …

Annotated Bibliography: Interaction With Animals (1998-2013), Erich Yahner

Erich Yahner, MSLIS

No abstract provided.

Annotated Bibliography: Cruelty To Animals And Violence To Humans (1998-2013), Erich Yahner

Erich Yahner

No abstract provided.