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Uncertainty Monitoring In Category Learning And Transfer, Rose Deng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Uncertainty is commonly experienced by many people during learning and decision making. Given that many career paths require the ability to monitor uncertainty, it’s important to understand how metacognitive processes influence cognitive performance. In attempts to explore how uncertainty monitoring impacts learning, three experiments were conducted. The first and second experiment utilized a categorization task in which participants explicitly learned to categorize Chemistry concepts. The third experiment assessed the impact of uncertainty monitoring on implicit learning and utilized a different task to tap into the implicit learning system. The present dissertation is one of few to investigate the role of …

Systemic Growth Factor Increases As A Result Of Exercise May Reduce Alzheimer's Disease Risk In Midlife Mice And Humans, Amanda Hewes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with insidious onset and slow progression. AD research has traditionally been based on neuronal and glial dysfunction due to hallmark beta-amyloid and tau pathologies. Although literature supports an association between AD and cardiovascular disease and/or cardiovascular risk factors, vascular dysfunction as an etiology of AD has been overlooked. Cardiovascular risk factors have been associated with both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in midlife individuals, an age at which modifiable risk factor management may be the most beneficial. Up to half of AD cases worldwide and in the USA are attributable to modifiable risk factors. …

Self-Regulation, Emotion Regulation, & Social Problem-Solving: Common & Distinct Pathways To Depression, Michelle L. Buffie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationships among three psychological constructs: self-regulation (SR), emotion regulation (ER), and social problem-solving (SPS), and their connection to depressive symptomology. SR, ER, and SPS arose from independent, well-established literature bases and each has demonstrated links to psychopathology. The theories underlying these constructs, however, suggest overlap in their operationalization and measurement. Despite these concerns, no empirical investigations to date have examined the measurement and predictive validity of measures of SR, ER, and SPS in the context of one another. Undergraduate students aged 18-29 (N = 592) completed three self-report measures each of the constructs interest, …

How Race, Gender, And Body Positioning Impact Perceptions And Interactions With Those In Power, Adele Weaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How might the typical white perceiver behave while interviewing with a Black manager who puts her hands on her hips when she speaks? Would they act uncomfortable and anxious, leaning away from her? Would they engage with her and smile more? Lastly, would they react differently if the manager was a white man or a Black man? Even though it is known that Black people in expansive positions are perceived more negatively than white people in expansive positions, there has yet to be an observation of white people’s nonverbal behavior in interactions with Black and white individuals in different body …

Inhibitory Control And Mentalizing: Potential Contributing Factors To Maladaptive Interpersonal Behaviors Associated With Depressive Symptoms, Eliot Fearey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current project considered the role of inhibitory control and mentalizing as vulnerability factors for engagement in excessive reassurance seeking, negative feedback seeking, and conversational self-focus among a sample of 222 older adolescents. It was hypothesized that lower levels of both inhibitory control and mentalizing would exacerbate the effect of elevated depressive symptoms on higher levels of the three interpersonal behaviors. Additional analyses further explored the role of self-reported gender identity. Models tested inhibitory control and mentalizing separately. In assessing inhibitory control, a self-report measure of impulsivity was used as a proxy for inhibitory control, and the Go/No-Go task was …

An Experimental Investigation Into The Effects Of Trait And State Self-Criticism On The Benefits And Barriers To Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Melissa Jankowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI; e.g., harming oneself without the intent to die) is a leading health concern, and research indicates rates of NSSI are increasing. Despite the clear negative implications of NSSI, mechanisms that reinforce the continual engagement in these behaviors remain unclear. The Benefits and Barriers Model (Hooley & Franklin, 2017) proposes there are barriers that prevent most individuals from engaging in these deleterious behaviors; however, once these barriers are eroded, one becomes more likely to engage in NSSI. One such barrier is a positive association with the self. Self-criticism is generally understood as a trait lowering desire to avoid …

Social Capital, Indigenous Storytelling, And Fish Diversity: Learning Together Through Community-University Partnerships In Downeast Maine, Michelle De Leon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Not only can community-university partnerships be vehicles for mobilizing community resources and affecting change, they also have high potential to produce useful, nuanced research and enable renewed visions of trust. I explore partnerships rooted in trust in the context of a community-university partnership between the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik and the University of Maine and its work through the Passamaquoddy-led StoryMaps Team. To accomplish this, I take a transdisciplinary approach to incorporate diverse perspectives on understanding critical and ethical approaches to engagement with Indigenous communities. The central focus among all three chapters is the need for Indigenous communities and institutions …

Co-Rumination, Romantic Relationships, And Depressive Symptom Development In Adolescence, Jessica L. Shankman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present research aimed to better understand the associations among romantic involvement, co-rumination with friends, and depressive symptom development in a sample of 338 adolescents (ages 14-19 years). Using a multi-method, longitudinal study design, the present study examined whether co-rumination (self-reported and observed) mediated the relationship between romantic involvement and depressive symptoms over time. Next, analyses separately tested whether this process was further moderated by positive friendship quality, whether youth discuss romantic experiences during problem talk with friends, and/or gender. Analyses also tested whether romantic relationship quality among romantically involved youth influenced depressive symptoms over time via co-rumination.

Results supported …

The Role Of Confrontation Effectiveness For Women's Psychological Wellbeing After A Sexist Event, Shelby Helwig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation includes three experimental studies investigating how confronting sexism impacts college-aged women. In Studies 1 and 2, we investigated how confronting effectively versus ineffectively influenced women’s imagined (Study 1) and actual (Study 2) psychological wellbeing. In Study 3, we investigated how imagining the costs and benefits of confronting sexual harassment impacted women’s confrontational behavior and negative affect. All three studies supported the conclusion that an effective confrontation is a goal for most confronters (Study 3) and whether or not a confrontation is effective influences women’s imagined (Study 1) and actual (Study 2) psychological wellbeing. Beyond this, all three studies …

I Am Kind, I Am Smart, I Am Important: The Effects Of Self- Affirmation On Women’S Confrontational Responses To Sexism, Kathryn L. Roderick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present research sought to examine the effects of self-affirmation on women’s confrontation approaches following exposure to sexism. However, before examining the effects of self-affirmation, we needed a way to measure confrontation approaches. In Study 1, participants read either prototypical HATE or CARE confrontations and assessed the response. Researchers then conducted an exploratory factor analysis to create a novel scale that can assess approaches to confrontation. Study 1 also established the reliability of the HATE and CARE subscales (α = .956 and α = .929, respectively). Study 2 sought to establish the construct validity of the new measure. Study 2 …

Self-Referent Pronouns, Self-Focus, And Depressive Symptoms In Adolescence, Olivia F. Petersen

Honors College

Youth with elevated depressive symptoms tend to engage in self-focusing behaviors, such as rumination and conversational self-focus. Past adult research also suggests that these self-focusing behaviors relate to depressive symptoms and may further be related to behavioral, implicit self-referent word use. Specifically, adults with higher depressive symptoms typically use more self-referent pronouns (e.g., ‘I,’ ‘me,’ ‘my’). The current adolescent study (N = 186, M = 15.68 years) utilized Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; Pennebaker et al., 2015) software to test whether depressive symptoms, rumination, and conversational self-focus related to self-referent pronoun use during an observational task. Results indicated that …

Perfectionism, Perceived Stress, And Maladaptive Eating Behaviors In High-Achieving And Honors Undergraduate Students At The University Of Maine, Jaimie Giguere

Honors College

This thesis investigates the differences in perceived stress, perfectionism, and maladaptive eating behaviors among high-achieving honors and non-honors undergraduate students (N=413) at the University of Maine. Students were classified as high-achieving based on a UMaine Honors College c-index ((GPA× 12.5)+(SAT×

.03125)), which uses a student’s GPA and SAT score to assign them a numerical value. All UMaine undergraduate students were invited to participate. Participants completed a survey containing measures that assessed levels of perceived stress, perfectionism, and maladaptive eating behaviors. They were also asked questions about their major, honors status, grade point average, and SAT scores. Results indicated that there …

Examining Women's Psychophysiological Responses Under Increasingly Obvious Sexism, Shelby Helwig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When women experience sexism, it may at first be subtle and difficult to label only becoming clearer over time. Sexism is often ambiguous in nature and experienced over an extended period; therefore, studying sexism as it occurs in daily life is crucial to extending our understanding of how women cope with discrimination. Past research has shown that women may experience maladaptive physiological responses when exposed to various forms of sexism. The current study investigated women’s cardiovascular reactivity and recovery responses to prolonged, increasingly obvious sexism. Women evaluated resumes in a mock search committee meeting with two male confederates whose statements …

Effects Of Religious And Science Identity On Compatibility, Darby C. Casey

Honors College

Science and religion sometimes appear to clash; for example, some religious organizations reject COVID-19 restrictions on religious grounds. However, many people, like millions of religious scientists, see science and religion as perfectly compatible. The purpose of this study is to examine how people who identify as religious and people who identify as scientists think about science and religion as either compatible or in conflict. The study was conducted with psychology and honors undergraduate students at the University of Maine and consisted of surveys asking about students’ religious and science commitment, as well as their perceptions of the science-religion relationship. We …

Melissa Jankowski: Aspiring Forensic Psychologist Evaluates Inmates, Patients At N.C. Prison Complex, Division Of Marketing And Communications, Marcus Wolf

General University of Maine Publications

To become a forensic psychologist, Melissa Jankowski decided to participate in a competitive internship at a prison complex famous for housing several high-profile inmates—the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina.

The Role Of Personality In Early Alliance Formation In The Context Of Clinical Supervision Of Psychotherapists In Training, Cynthia Bilodeau, Stéphanie Lalande, Andréanne Kyle

Journal of Educational Supervision

The literature suggests that working alliance is an important predictor of clinical supervision outcomes. However, little is known about the individual factors that influence the development and maintenance of the working alliance. This study aims to explore the role of supervisor and trainee personality traits in the development of early working alliances, as well as supervisor and trainee concordance rates in the context of clinical supervision. This study used the NEO-PI-3 measure to assess personality traits and the Working Alliance Inventory-Supervisor and Trainee Versions (WAI) measures to assess working alliance ratings. Results suggest that supervisors rate the strength of their …

Washington County Asset Map And Needs Assessment: Building A Network To Serve Youths At Risk For Serious Mental Illness, Jeffrey Hecker, Lois-Ann Kuntz, Carol Lane

Psychology and Community Studies | Faculty Scholarship

This study is the first in a series of planned investigations into pathways to care for adolescents and young adults with serious mental illness in Washington County. Resources were identified that may support a network for identifying and accessing services. Over 120 agencies were categorized into one of seven types: education, mental health, health, substance use / recovery, community / library, and law enforcement. Web-based information was collected for 85 of these agencies and representatives of 47 of these agencies were interviewed about challenges, collaborations, and ideas for solutions. We found a great deal of collaboration among agencies within different …

Washington County Asset Map And Needs Assessment : Building A Network To Serve Youths At Risk For Serious Mental Illness, Jeffrey E. Hecker, Lois-Ann Kuntz, Carol Lane

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

This study is the first in a series of planned investigations into pathways to care for adolescents and young adults with serious mental illness in Washington County. Resources were identified that may support a network for identifying and accessing services. Over 120 agencies were categorized into one of seven types: education, mental health, health, substance use / recovery, community / library, and law enforcement. Web-based information was collected for 85 of these agencies and representatives of 47 of these agencies were interviewed about challenges, collaborations, and ideas for solutions. We found a great deal of collaboration among agencies within different …