Effects Of Advertising Employee Resource Groups (Ergs) On Female Applicants’ Intentions To Pursue Employment Through Perceived Organizational Support, Jamie Crites

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Employee resource groups (ERGs) have existed since the 1960’s to provide additional support for a group of employees within an organization that share a common identity (e.g., gender, race, sexual orientation, veteran status). Gaining in popularity over the past 25 years, they are utilized to drive change and foster diversity management (Welbourne et al., 2017). Organizations have also realized the potential for demonstrating a commitment to diversity to external stakeholders, future applicants, and current employees (Biscoe & Safford, 2010; Friedman & Holtom, 2002). ERGs are unique, thus are difficult to quantify and study empirically. However, given the prevalence of ERGs, …

To Make Or Buy: How Does Strategic Team Selection And Shared Leadership Strategy Interact To Impact Nba Team Effectiveness?, Brandon Purvis

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The study of shared leadership is growing to address the challenges faced in an increasingly dynamic and interdependent workplace. Shared leadership under the right conditions has been found to be related to team adaptability, creativity, and effectiveness. However, there is growing research on the conditions that limit or enhance the effectiveness of shared leadership. Specifically, it was proposed that teams which are more made than bought (internally developed) should adopt a shared leadership model. In contrast, teams that are more bought than made (developed externally) should use a traditional hierarchical team leadership model. Using data from the National Basketball Association …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Prosocial Action On Psychological Resilience In Female Volunteer Maskmakers During Covid-19, Linda D. Montano

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Building and maintaining psychological resilience is important because it mediates the impact of stress on life outcomes such as depression, life satisfaction, and well-being. The purpose of this dissertation was to assess the impact of prosocial action as a way to enhance resilience and reduce the impact of adversity. Using 12 waves of longitudinal data collected from 86 female volunteer maskmakers in the U.S. between April and July 2020, this study assessed the hypothesis that the prosocial action of maskmaking will moderate the impact of the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic such that at higher levels of maskmaking, the volunteer’s …

Implicit Trait Policies And Situational Judgment Tests: How Personality Shapes Judgments Of Effective Behavior, Alexander Edward Johnson

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The Situational Judgment Test (SJT) is a popular selection tool used by employers to

make hiring decisions due to their strong predictive validity. SJTs present job candidates with

hypothetical scenarios, asking them to choose the responses that best fit those situations. SJTs

have been used to measure a range of knowledge, skills, and abilities, but what they measure and

why they predict performance remains unclear. Lievens and Motowidlo (2016) called for a

reframing of the SJT as a measure of general domain knowledge. According to their theory, SJTs

measure procedural knowledge, which is composed of general domain knowledge—

operationalized as …

Suicidal Ideation And Community Connectedness In Lgbtq+ Adults: Can Emotion Regulation And Mindfulness Skills Help?, Samantha V. Jacobson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Suicidal ideation disproportionally affects the LGBTQ+ community. Community connectedness and mindfulness can be protective against suicidal ideation, whereas emotion regulation difficulty is associated with increased suicidal ideation. Community connectedness, emotion regulation difficulty and mindfulness have demonstrated relationships to each other in the LGBTQ+ community and while they are each independently associated with suicidal ideation, their combined impact on suicidal ideation has not yet been examined. The present study examines moderating effects of emotion regulation difficulty and mindfulness on the relationship between community connectedness and suicidal ideation in LGBTQ+ adults. 141 LGBTQ+ adults completed self-report measures of suicidal ideation, community connectedness, …

Nmda Receptor Inhibition On Rodent Optimal Decision-Making In The Diminishing Returns Task, Seth Foust

Research Psychology Theses

There has been growing interest in using N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists as treatments for mood disorders, but there is still much to learn about their cognitive effects. Research shows NMDA receptors can affect decision-making, and the antagonist MK-801 has had varying effects in rodents. Specifically, some have reported impairments in working memory while foraging behaviors remained intact, while others have demonstrated changes in choice behavior related to delay or risk in behavior tasks. We investigated the role of NMDA receptors in the specific paradigm of optimal decision-making to further confirm MK-801’s effects and to explore whether inhibiting NMDA receptors alters …

Love And Hate Across The Us Political Spectrum, Joseph Walker

Research Psychology Theses

Twitter is a vast source of qualitative and quantitative data on human interaction. This proposed study examines group identity strength (GIS), measured as how strongly one identifies with a group, as a factor of positive and negative partisanship in the US by observing tweets and follower interactions. The top 10 words collocated with “love” and “hate” will be analyzed for each level of GIS for liberals and conservatives. Expected findings are that those with stronger GIS will display more in-group favoritism than out-group animosity, and that the top collocates of love and hate will be different for liberals and conservatives.

The Moderating Effect Of Race On Ipts Factors And Suicidal Ideation In A Military Sample, Shelan A. Porter

Research Psychology Theses

Suicide rates have increased over the last 20 years in all ethnic and racial groups in the US, but most prominently for veterans and non-white racial subgroups. Suicidal Ideation is a predictor for suicide but there is limited research looking at mental health differences in the at-risk military community due to race. 794 military personnel were surveyed electronically on a range of mental health measures in a southern US joint forces training center between 2014 and 2015. Guided by the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide, this secondary data analysis considered the moderating effect of a three-group race model on the relationship …

The Psychometric Evaluation Of Decent Work In India, Jadvir K. Gill

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Work has a high impact on an individual’s well-being, health, and the lives of their loved ones who depend on them (Ford et al., 2013). The Decent Work Scale, constructed by Duffy et. al. (2017), measures what it means to have access to decent work (safe conditions, time for leisure and rest, support for family and social values, adequate compensation, and access to adequate health care) in the United States. However, a gap in the social sciences is the lack of external validity. Psychological research has mainly focused its attention on western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic nations and then …

Unhealed Wounds: From Complex Trauma Exposure To Wellbeing And The Role Of Coping, Mohammed K. Alsubaie

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (cPTSD) emerged as a theoretical construct reflecting symptoms beyond our current conceptualization of posttraumatic stress. Research examining its validity is still ongoing and cross-cultural research on the matter is emerging. An important risk factor to developing cPTSD is the experience of complex trauma, which constitutes experiences that reflect interpersonal violations of bodily boundary and integrity or betrayal (e.g., sexual assault and emotional abuse). There is still a gap in the literature linking complex trauma exposure to wellbeing or positive functioning in general. Survivors’ style of coping with trauma might influence later adjustment. With a sample of …

How Alzheimer's Disease Is Taking Over (Your Brain), Hoda Aboueich

Honors Projects

As the population continues to age and the burden on our care system grows, it is urgent to understand, treat, and cure Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Despite decades of research, there is currently no known cause for the development of dementia or AD. There are two prominent explanations currently dominant in neuroscience: amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. I will delve into the hypotheses and definitions of each of these pathologies and specifically address how they affect overall neural activity that is proposed to result in the neurodegenerative symptoms of AD. I will also discuss the recent research surrounding biomarkers, age-related neurodegeneration, …

Creating Project Contrast: A Video Game Exploring Consciousness And Qualia, Pierce Papke

Honors Projects

Project Contrast is a video game that explores how the unique traits inherent to video games might engage reflective player responses to qualitative experience. Project Contrast does this through suspension of disbelief, avatar projection, presence, player agency in storytelling, visual perception, functional gameplay, and art. Considering the difficulty in researching qualitative experience due to its subjectivity and circular explanations, I created Project Contrast not to analyze qualia, though that was my original hope. I instead created Project Contrast as an avenue for player self-reflection and learning about qualitative experience. While video games might be just code and art on a …

Sensory Processing Impacts On Sleep Patterns In Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Julianne M. Myers

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 introduced a sudden disruption to the people’s daily routines, including changes to sleep schedules and, thus, sleep quality. Generally, children with developmental disabilities (DD), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), experience higher levels of sleep difficulties compared to typically developing youth. These sleep difficulties have been linked to social and emotional abilities, cognitive development, and adaptive functioning. One component found to impact sleep behaviors is sensory processing differences. Individuals with ASD and other DDs exhibit greater levels of these sensory concerns. The current study sought to understand how the sleep behaviors of ASD and …

Exploring The Intersectionality Between Homelessness And Addiction: A Review, Antonia Miranda

Honors Projects

The homelessness crisis and drug epidemic have been, and continue to, ravage the nation in a manner that is both detrimental to society and humanity. The correlation between substance abuse and homelessness is enormous, though not necessarily causal. The conditions of being homeless coupled with the prevalence of mental illness drastically increases the susceptibility to substance abuse and addiction. On the other hand, addiction and substance abuse can contribute to someone entering homelessness. The intersectionality between the two is frequently ignored, yet critical to address. Informed by research regarding both conditions, the implications for public policy and reform are huge. …

Effects Of Pay Transparency On Application Intentions Through Fairness Perceptions And Organizational Attractiveness: Diversifying The Workforce By Effectively Recruiting Younger Women, Phi Phan-Armaneous

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

In the wake of the Great Resignation, employers are desperate to recruit and attract employees (Fanning, 2021). Women employees tend to enhance organizational performance, and as younger employees make up a substantial portion of the workforce, organizations should position themselves to attract younger women employees (McKinsey & LeanIn, 2021; 2022). I suggest pay transparency (PT) as one strategy to attract and trigger application intentions through increased fairness. In the study, I conducted an experimental study on 301 women of ages 18 to 45 where one company promoted PT, and another did not promote PT to better understand applicant attitudes. Serial …

An Evaluation Of Product Descriptions And Brand Trust As Influencers Of Purchase Intent In A Luxury Second Hand Ecommerce Shopping Environment, Nyiesha Jones

Research Psychology Theses

In a world where fashion is a one-and-done look for an Instagram photo, represents 4% of global waste, and is growing at a rate of 11 times faster than traditional retail, there is a growing interest to reduce the carbon footprint of fashion by offering outlets for consumers to circulate their wardrobe through consignment opposed to throwing it away (Bird, 2018). Research has been done to evaluate the importance of information on e-commerce websites, with little focus on secondhand e-commerce. Previous research on secondhand shopping focuses mostly on shopping motivations, but once a customer has decided to shop secondhand what …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Secondary Victimization And Resiliency Following Sexual Assault, Elena Cantorna

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Many individuals report negative experiences with the court system after experiencing a sexual assault (i.e., secondary victimization) and this leads to a belief that they are unable to cope with future stressors (i.e., resiliency). Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted individual’s lives and their overall well-being. In this dissertation, I examined a model predicting resiliency appraisals from positive experiences with the legal system, mediated by COVID-19 weekly metric case rate and the number of COVID-19 vaccines administered. Participants were 18 years and older, self-identified cis females, and were clients of a local legal advocacy clinic (N = 94) following …

Parental Attachment And Compassion As Predictors Of Distress Disclosure Among Young Adults, Ellie N. Wilde

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Distress disclosure is associated with perceived social support, so it is important to understand what supports our ability to disclose distress. This study examined relationships between distress disclosure, fear of others’ compassion, parental attachment, self-compassion, and perceived social support among young adults. I expected young adults with stronger parental attachment security to report greater capacity for distress disclosure and that this relationship would be mediated by fear of others’ compassion. I expected trait self-compassion to moderate relationships between these variables on all paths of the mediation, such that higher self-compassion would reduce the adverse impact of insecure parental attachment on …

Toddler Characteristics And Attention, Lani A. Taylor

Research Psychology Theses

Abstract

Individual differences have become increasingly relevant when addressing variability across child development. Literature bears evidence that these differences may impact a toddler’s ability to respond to Joint Attention (JA). JA refers to a communicative gaze and pointing between a child and another individual. JA has been recognized as being a critical milestone, to the formation and cultivation of shared awareness and attention of an event or object. JA is a skill that is critical to the development of future language acquisition (Vaughan Van Hecke et al., 2007). The aim of this study is to measure whether child characteristics, such …

Ableist Microaggressions And Well-Being: Investigating The Moderating Effect Of Coping Strategies, Whitney Morean

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Purpose/Objective: In prior research, ableist microaggressions have previously correlated with higher depressive symptoms in samples of members of the disability community. Since well-being is more than merely the absence of distressing mental health symptoms; the present study examines the relationship between ableist microaggressions and well-being and whether different coping strategies moderate the relationship. Research Method/Design: Adults (N = 132) who self-identified as having a disability or chronic health condition that significantly impacts one or more major life activities, were recruited online to complete a survey. Measures of well-being, ableist microaggressions, coping, and depression symptoms were administered via an online …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Telehealth Mindful Parenting Training On Executive Function In Autistic Children And Their Parents, Vanessa Zhou

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This randomized controlled trial study explored the effect of telehealth mindful parenting group intervention on executive function in autistic children and their parents. Participants included 83 caregivers (29-54 years) of autistic children (5-18 years) in the United States who were randomized into either the immediate (n = 40) or waitlist-control group (n = 43). Of the participants randomized, 55 caregivers (immediate = 33; waitlist = 22) followed the protocol and were included in the primary analysis. Caregivers in the sample (mean age of 42.97 years) were mostly white (73%), married (76%), female (80%), biological mothers (67%), from Washington …

Distress And Growth In The Black Community, Devin A. Noel-Harrison

Research Psychology Theses

Racial discrimination is an unfortunate reality that people of color regularly experience. This leaves lasting impacts on the health of individuals and communities. With the increased use of social media, videos depicting violence against black bodies are widely circulated. The consequences of being exposed to these race related traumatic events online (TEO) can be damaging to the mental health of the black community, maybe even more so if one’s racial identity is important and salient to their overall wellbeing. Though witnessing these race related TEO often lead to posttraumatic stress, positive change may also be possible known as posttraumatic growth.

The Space Between Stress And Reaction: A Three-Way Interaction Of Active Coping, Psychological Stress, And Applied Mindfulness In The Prediction Of Sustainable Resilience, Kait M. Rohlfing Phd

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Amid a global pandemic, data was collected to explore the extent to which resilience practices (active coping and applied mindfulness) under varying degrees of stress levels can promote sustainable resilience, defined as the ability to move through challenges in a way that leads to increased positive adaptation to meet present and future challenges. Results did not support the proposed three-way interaction; however, post-hoc analyses indicated that active coping (r = .316) and applied mindfulness (r = .250) were independently predictive of sustained resilience and, when combined, predicted approximately 20 percent (R² = .203) of sustained resilience …

The Sex Difference In Depressive Symptoms Among College Students, Penelope E. Seminario

Research Psychology Theses

The sex difference in depression is a well-established and replicated clinical finding, with previous literature indicating that females report more depression than males. However, recent theory and research suggests the sex gap in depressive symptoms may have declined or been eliminated in recent years. The current study examined depressive symptoms among a current (2017-2021) cohort of 1377 undergraduates (18-29 years; M=19.80, 79% female) using the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). I hypothesized that the current sex difference in depressive symptoms would be small or nonsignificant. Results indicated that although males reported more anhedonia (t = 2.65, …

It's Not You, It's Me: Shame And Misrepresentation In Online Dating, Diedrah Todd

Research Psychology Theses

In the U.S. public opinion about online dating is overall positive with 54% of Americans reporting that relationships that start online through an app or dating site are just as successful as relationships that begin in-person. In dating, success is linked to desirable characteristics such as resources or physical appearance. However, feelings of external shame, which is when a person perceives themselves as existing negatively in the mind of another person is a powerful motivator for avoiding being seen as socially unacceptable. Being seen as socially undesirable as a result of feeling as though oneself is lacking in desirable characteristics …

Simulated Owl Predation During Foraging Differentially Alters Choice And Fear Behavior Between Sex In Rats, Meghan M. Olsen

Research Psychology Theses

Existing research on the predator cue circuit has indicated there are observed differences between sexes of animals either directly or indirectly exposed to a predator stimulus. Exposure increases predator directed attention, and overrides other motivational systems (hunger, pain, reproductive behavior). Little research has explored whether exposure to predation is associated with differential responses to non-predator related decision-making across a variety of tasks. Therefore, understanding the prioritization of motivational states when a predator stressor is present can aid in understanding sex differences in these processes in both adaptative and maladaptive conditions. To determine how repeated exposure to a predator stressor differentially …

Effects Of New Seal Introductions On Conspecific And Visitor Activity, Emily J. Northey

Research Psychology Theses

Modern zoos and aquariums are defined by several primary goals, which include improving the welfare of their animals, public education, and inspiring visitors to develop an interest in conservation. Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) (i.e., the impact of captive animals and visitors on each other) are a primary means to study these goals. The introduction of new animals into two seal exhibits – the harbor and Northern fur seals – at the Seattle Aquarium presented a valuable opportunity to assess the impacts of both introductions and AVIs on visitors and currently exhibited animals. The impacts of animal introductions were measured through direct …

School Related Criminal Acts, Interpersonal Problems, And Classroom Behaviors As A Function Of The Proportion Of Black Students And Black Teachers, Leanne Zaire

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to investigate school-level behavioral outcomes in relation to the proportion of Black teachers and students in U.S. schools. Negative school outcome and academic achievement gaps are well-documented. However, many of these studies utilized small, localized populations; my research used national data and focused on the problem behaviors in school. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, I hypothesized that a greater proportion of Black teachers would reduce school student problems and negative behaviors (e.g., student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms). After receiving a restricted-use license, I utilized data from 25,818 schools from the National Teacher …

Managing One’S Anxiety When Work Narratives Misalign, Shannon Eric Ford, Shannon Ford

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Humans use personal narratives to bring a sense of order and stability to life situations; especially when events are experienced as negative or threatening. As an employee encounters a workplace event that does not align with their understanding of the organization, termed a metaleptic moment, typical emotional reactions can include disengagement, tolerance, or resistance, or a non-emotional response of engagement. Family systems theory proposes that individuals who possess higher levels of differentiation have the ability to better manage the narrative crash. In this study, participants in the experimental group were given a 10-minute differentiation induction that would, when compared with …

Relations Of Eeg And Perceived Response To Methylphenidate Among Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Tara M. Rutter

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Methylphenidate (MPH) is a common stimulant medication that has demonstrated efficacy in treatment among individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as those with co-occurring oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms (Connor et al., 2002, Cortese et al., 2018). However, there are currently no known reliable markers to predict response to MPH (Kim et al., 2015) and current approaches rely on trial-and-error by patients. Electroencephalographic (EEG) methods show promise as one tool to identify and predict MPH response. The current study examined relations between EEG frequencies and perceived response to MPH across both ADHD and ODD symptoms utilizing caregiver …