Digital Commons Network^™

Tired Consultation To Improve And Maintain Teachers’ Behavior Specific Praise, Mariangely Melendez Galan-Torres

Dissertations

Many teachers are ill prepared in behavior management and literature has demonstrated the relationship between poor classroom management and academic outcomes. Common strategies to address teachers’ skill deficits in classroom management include didactic training and school-based consultation. Literature suggests that traditional didactic training can immediately increase knowledge acquisition, and school-based consultation is used to respond to ongoing academic and behavioral outcomes. However, both of these methods commonly fail to result in implementation fidelity and long-term maintenance of skill utilization. Research in the education field has demonstrated large to very large effect sizes for systems such as Response to Intervention (RtI) …

Mechanism For Leadership Development And Effectiveness: The Relationship Between Followership, Leadership, And Psychological Capital, Saurabh Gupta

Dissertations

Research supports the strategic role of a leader in improving individual and organizational performance (Day et al., 2009; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013). Developing leadership and enhancing leadership effectiveness remains at the forefront of organizational strategic plans (Day et al., 2009; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013). However, a majority of leadership development efforts fail in their purpose, which causes a leadership crisis in many organizations (Fernández-Aráoz, Roscoe, & Aramaki, 2017; Gurdjian, Halbeisen, & Lane, 2014; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013; Madanchian, Hussein, Noordin, & Taherdoost, 2017; Pfeffer, 2015; Wakefield, Abbatiello, Agarwal, Pastakia, & van Berkel, 2016). Neglecting the role of followership and using …

Exploring Temperament In Beluga Whale Calves (Delphinapterus Leucas), Beri Brown

Dissertations

Studies of personality and temperament in humans span many disciplines, although animal research is still relatively undeveloped. Research investigating stable individual differences in marine mammals has been limited, and to date there have not been any studies with beluga whales. As an ongoing longitudinal study, seven beluga calves, housed at SeaWorld San Antonio, were videotaped throughout their first two years of life. Four videos were selected from archived video recordings for each calf from the following nine phases: newborn phase (month 1), Q1 (month 2-3), Q2 (month 4-6), Q3 (month 7-9), Q4 (month 10-12), Q5 (month 13-15), Q6 (month 16-18), …

Structural Model Of Child Routines And Self-Regulation In Relation To Parenting And Externalizing Behavior Problems In Young Children, Lovina R. Bater

Dissertations

The relationship between parenting practices and externalizing behavior problems in preschool children is well established; however, the mechanisms that explain this relationship are less understood. It is suggested that the structure and predictability created by child routines allow children the opportunity to become aware of and learn to regulate their behaviors accordingly, yet only a couple of studies have examined this relationship. Therefore, this study examined competing models (i.e., direct, indirect, and serial mediation models) to help determine which model captures the relationship between the variables of interest. It was hypothesized that each model would have good model fit but …

Posttraumatic Stress And Hazardous Alcohol Use In College Students: The Moderating Role Of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies, Hallie R. Jordan

Master's Theses

The present study evaluated the moderating role of alcohol protective behavioral strategy subtypes (Al-PBS; Serious Harm Reduction [SHR], Manner of Drinking [MOD], Stopping/Limiting Drinking [SLD]) and gender on the relationships between traumatic stress symptoms and both hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 915 traditional age (18 to 25 years old) college students from nine universities in the United States who reported drinking in the past. All participants reported their gender and completed measures of traumatic stress symptoms, Al-PBS use, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences through an online survey. Experiencing greater traumatic stress symptoms was associated with both …

Parental Attachment And Adult Attachment: The Moderating Role Of Dispositional Forgiveness And Gratitude, Christian Ammons

Master's Theses

Secure parental attachment, characterized by trust, care, and autonomy granting, is associated with improved psychological functioning and adjustment to college and is often associated with adult attachment relationships. Similarly, adult attachment, a characteristic of adult relationships, has been associated with improved college adjustment. Individual differences such as dispositional forgiveness and gratitude are often associated with secure adult attachment but have not been examined in relation to parent child attachment. The current study examined dispositional forgiveness and gratitude as moderators of the relationship between parental attachment and adult attachment. A sample of 185 college students participated and as expected, parental attachment …

Pathways Of Psychopathic Traits To Aggression Through Affective Correlates, Olivia C. Preston

Master's Theses

This thesis project examines the roles of empathy facets and emotion dysregulation in the relationship between psychopathic personality traits and aggression within an undergraduate sample. The project addresses three gaps in research – how psychopathic personality traits relate to empathy facets from a recently developed measure of empathy (Affective and Cognitive Measure of Empathy [ACME]; Vachon & Lynam, 2016); how psychopathic traits indirectly affect aggression functions (i.e., reactive, proactive) through empathy facets; and how emotion regulation contributes to these relations, above and beyond empathy. The sample was comprised of 368 university students. Findings indicated that largely all psychopathic traits were …

Increasing Teachers' Use Of Behavior Specific Praise Via A Smart Watch, Kristi White

Master's Theses

This study evaluated the effects of a teacher prompting procedure to increase teacher behavior specific praise using a Smart Watch. Participants included three Head Start general education teachers. An ABAB design across participants was used to examine the effects of Smart Watch-based prompts on teachers’ praise rate. The study consisted of four phases: a) baseline, b) teacher praise training and intervention, c) withdrawal from intervention, and d) intervention reinstated. Implementation of the intervention resulted in increases of average behavior specific praise rates and general praise rates for all three participants. Although, averages fail to reach criterion set by the researcher …

The Effect Of Changing Appraisals Of Current Life Success On Memories Of Love Towards Parents, Mario Herrera

Master's Theses

As we experience successes and failures in life, do we bias our memories of childhood? Cognitive appraisal theory would predict that emotions are elicited based on the current appraisal of an event or person. There is some research that these current appraisals can also distort memories of emotions surrounding an event. No past research has investigated whether current appraisal of life success would affect important autobiographical memories. Here, we examine the effects on childhood memory of love felt towards parents. Due to current appraisal theory, we expected memory of love towards parents would be prone to distortion and bias. We …

The Influence Of Socioeconomic Status And Subjective Social Status On The Career Development Of College Students, Dylan Richard

Master's Theses

Social class is often examined across social science disciplines and contains two distinct parts: socioeconomic status (SES) and subjective social status (SSS). Researchers have established that college students from various SES backgrounds experience college differently, however little research has examined how universities and those that work with college students can help aid the career development of students given their SES. Career development is a broad area of research; therefore, the current study examines a number of career development variables that are key in understanding college students’ career development, such as career adaptability, career decision-making difficulty, work values, and vocational interests. …

Psychopathic Personality Traits As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Social Intelligence And Relational Aggression, Savannah Merold

Master's Theses

Social intelligence has been identified as one of many predictors of relational aggression. It is likely that a certain level of social intelligence may be necessary for relationally aggressive behaviors to be effective (e.g., some ability to understand human behavior is necessary to effectively harm others through the manipulation of status, social relationships, or sense of belonging). And yet, social intelligence is unlikely to be sufficient to produce relationally aggressive behavior. Merely because someone has the requisite levels of social intelligence to use relational aggression does not mean that he or she will be motivated to do so. There is …

Political Beliefs, Region Of Residence, And Openness To Firearm Means Safety Measures To Prevent Suicide, Sarah E. Butterworth

Master's Theses

Firearms account for approximately half of all suicides in the US and are highly lethal, widely available, and popular; thus, firearms are an ideal candidate for targeted means safety interventions. However, despite their value as a suicide prevention tool, firearm means safety strategies are not widely utilized, possibly due to factors which impede openness to their use. This study examined the relationship between region, political beliefs, and openness to firearm means safety in a sample of 300 American firearm owners. Overall, firearm owners were more willing to engage in means safety for others than for themselves and to store firearms …

Using Personality Traits To Predict Pectoral Fin Contact Initiation Role In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Riley Paige Macgregor

Master's Theses

Contact with the pectoral fin facilitates formation and maintenance of social relationships between dolphins (Dudzinski & Ribic, 2017). Additionally, several studies have shown that bottlenose dolphins have distinct personalities that are consistent across time and situation (e.g., Highfill & Kuczaj, 2007; Kuczaj, Highfill, & Byerly, 2012), and it has been suggested that these individual differences (i.e., personality) may influence tactile behavior exchanges. The current study therefore aimed to determine if bottlenose dolphin personality traits predict whether and how dolphins initiate contact as a rubber or rubbee during pectoral fin contact exchanges, and to identify whether the effects of personality traits …

Gendered Racism And Risky Sexual Behavior Among African American College Women: A Moderated Mediation Study Of Psychological Distress, Alcohol Use, Safe Sex Practices, And Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies, Danielle P. Cottonham

Dissertations

Investigation of the effects of gender racism (i.e., discrimination based on race and gender) among African American college women is limited, which is concerning considering the impact this specific type of discrimination may have on mental health and coping behaviors among African American college women. African American students who have experienced racial discrimination and college women who have experienced sexual discrimination experience increased levels of psychological distress (i.e., symptoms of depression and anxiety). Further, harmful alcohol use is a common coping strategy for psychological distress among college students and has been linked to increased risky sexual behavior among African American …

Psychopathic Traits, Substance Use, And Motivation To Change: The Effectiveness Of Motivational Interviewing With At-Risk Adolescents, Christopher Thomas Alan Gillen

Dissertations

The current study is the first known study to investigate the effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing (MI) as a motivational enhancement intervention in at-risk adolescents with psychopathic traits and substance use (SU) problems. Further, it examined whether such an intervention can improve problematic behavior (i.e., aggression, delinquency) and treatment responsivity deficits (i.e., motivation to change) associated with psychopathy and SU. The effectiveness of MI was examined using a randomized treatment-control design in which adolescents were assigned to either a three-session group-based MI intervention and a residential treatment or a group receiving only the residential treatment without the MI component. Participants were …

Disability-Related Factors And Perceived Stigma: A Closer Examination Of Suicidality In Individuals With Physical Disabilities, Lauren Khazem

Dissertations

Previous research has indicated an association between physical disability and suicidal ideation. However, the mechanisms contributing to the development of suicidal ideation in this population have remained largely unstudied within an empirically supported theoretical framework. The current study expands upon previous research by examining the relationship between different facets of physical disability and suicidal ideation intensity through the indirect effect of perceived stigmatization and interactions with mental states described within the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, namely perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Furthermore, this research aims to examine these potential relationships in a nonclinical sample of adults with physical disabilities ranging …

Indirect & Displaced Aggression: The Role Of Comparison Based Traits And Cognitive Vulnerabilities, Niki M. Knight

Dissertations

The present study explored the relationships of contingent self-esteem, dispositional envy, and two cognitive vulnerabilities (i.e., anger rumination and fear of negative evaluation) to indirect aggression (IA) and displaced aggression (DA) in a college student sample (N = 346). Despite the theoretical relevance of these personality and cognitive factors to aggression, there is little empirical evidence linking them to the perpetration of IA and DA. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical multiple regression were used to test the utility of these constructs in accounting for unique variance in IA and DA and to assess the potential role of participant gender. Participants …

The Role Of Career Optimism And Perceived Barriers In College Students’ Academic Persistence: A Social Cognitive Career Theory Approach, Ben H. Wu

Dissertations

Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) suggests that one’s self-efficacy beliefs, one’s outcome expectations, and salient contextual influences impact the development of interests, goals, and goal-oriented behaviors. Additionally, initial support has been found in the SCCT literature to indicate that outcome expectations may mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and goals while contextual influences may moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and goals. By examining conditional indirect effects between academic self-efficacy, career optimism (an outcome expectation), perceived carrier barriers (a contextual influence), and intention to persist toward graduation (a goal) in a college student sample, this project aimed to further understand how these …

Using Digital Performance Feedback To Increase Teacher Integrity Of A Repeated Reading Intervention, Heather M. Whipple

Dissertations

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports 64% of 4^th grade students and 66% of 8^th grade students are less than proficient in reading despite the availability of evidence-based interventions in school settings (NAEP, 2015). It is important to implement reading interventions with struggling readers and because the role of the school psychologist has shifted from providing direct intervention services to students to providing consultative services to teachers, it is important to find various methods to promote teachers’ adherence to these interventions. Treatment integrity has been defined as the degree to which an intervention is implemented as planned …

Mechanisms Driving Suicidal Ideation To Action: The Impact Of Rumination And Cardiovascular Reactivity On Momentary Fluctuations In Pain Tolerance And Persistence, Keyne Law

Dissertations

To prevent suicide, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms and processes associated with deaths by suicide. The capability for suicide is a critical factor that enables an individual to endure the physical pain necessary to make a lethal suicide attempt (Joiner, 2005; Klonsky & May, 2015). Few studies have examined whether the ability to tolerate and persist through pain are subject to momentary fluctuations during different emotional contexts. This study sought to directly compare the effects of sadness rumination and anger rumination on pain tolerance and pain persistence. Furthermore, this study aimed to examine the effect of heart rate …

Explicit, Implicit, And Behavioral Stigmatization Of Mental Illness, Jessica S. James

Dissertations

Mental health concern is a public health concern that continues to be stigmatized. While the dual process model has been applied to other areas of social cognition (e.g., racism), this framework has not previously been frequently used to examine the stigmatization of mental illness. The current study sought to examine the stigmatization of mental illness within a dual process model to determine the relationship between explicit and implicit stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors. A total of 104 undergraduate students from the University of Southern Mississippi participated in this study. Participants completed multiple implicit and explicit measures of stigmatizing attitudes and behavioral …

Development Of Semantic Reference For Location Symbols By Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Using A Two-Way Communication Keyboard, Alyssa Taylor

Master's Theses

The ability for humans to communicate with another species has been an aspiration and well documented. One example is through training animals to make associations between a designated cue and conditioned response (Pryor, 1986). Two-way communication, however, in which both species can express wants/needs has been predominantly pursued with apes and dolphins. Studies conducted by Louis Herman demonstrated the capabilities of dolphins to comprehend complex semantic and syntactic commands in an artificial language system (Herman, Richards, & Wolz, 1984). Researchers working with primates have used American Sign Language, a computer keyboard system with discrete lexigrams, and a portable lexigram keyboard …

The Prospective Influence Of Religiousness On Alcohol Use: What Role Do Perceived Norms Play?, Corey Todd Brawner

Dissertations

Alcohol misuse is recognized as one of the most pressing health hazards for college students. Previous research has supported a protective relationship between religiousness and problematic alcohol use, but it is less clear what aspects of religiousness are protective and through what mechanisms its effect is exerted. The current study utilized a prospective design to accomplish three primary goals: (1) Delineate the protective effects of religious motivation and public participation on alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in a sample of undergraduates at a large public university in the southeastern United States, (2) determine whether effects were maintained long-term, and (3) …

Personality In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus) And Harbor Seals (Phoca Vitulina): Methodological Convergence And Species-Specific Emotional Repertoires, Amber De Vere

Dissertations

Despite the wide acceptance of animal personality as a valid area of study, research on marine mammal personality remains remarkably scarce. What literature does exist predominantly focuses on bottlenose dolphins (Frick, 2016; Highfill & Kuczaj, 2007; Kuczaj, Highfill & Byerly, 2012; Lilley, de Vere, Yeatre & Kuczaj, 2018; Moreno, Highfill & Kuczaj, 2017). There is also strong evidence for individual differences in grey seals (Robinson et al., 2015; Twiss & Franklin, 2010; Twiss, Culloch & Pomeroy, 2011; Twiss, Cairns, Culloch, Richards & Pomeroy, 2012), and preliminary research has provided evidence of broad personality factors in pinniped species using behavioral coding …

Characterization Of Swine Production Using Measurements Collected Via Indoor Positioning System, Shaun Perisho

Dissertations

Legislative and market initiatives are requiring that gestating sows move from individual housing to group settings. Little information is known about coping styles of individual sows in these more socially complex environments and thus the impact of different behavioral strategies on sow reproductive success and efficiency was investigated. The movements of 70 sows during periods of reintroduction into large pen gestational housing following insemination was measured with a commercially available system that tracked animal location and accelerations. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to establish composite variables characterizing each animal’s behavioral response to social reintroduction and revealed the presence of …

Systems Of Quantity Judgment In Various Species: A Meta-Analysis, Tiffany A. Woodard Baker

Dissertations

An abundance of behavioral and neuroimaging literature supports the presence of two cognitive systems for quantity judgments (Agrillo & Bisazza, 2014). In particular, small quantities are thought to be guided by the object-file system, a precise system that uses mental files to map onto real world objects, and large quantities by the approximate number system, an imprecise, estimation system (Dehaene, 1997). Evidence supporting both systems exists in a variety of species including nonhuman primates (Boysen & Hallberg, 2000), birds (Garland, Low, & Burns, 2012), amphibians (Uller, Jaeger, Guidry, & Martin, 2003), and fish (Agrillo, Dadda, Serena, Bisazza, 2009), but support …

Identifying The Social Contexts Present For Mouthing Behaviors In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Erin E. Frick

Dissertations

Much of the research on dolphin communication has focused on the acoustic signals produced in a variety of social contexts. Although acoustic signals are undoubtedly an important aspect of dolphin communication systems, dolphin communication is multifaceted and multimodal (e.g., postural, visual and tactile signals, acoustic cues). The present study examined behaviors that involve the mouth (i.e., mouthing behaviors) in a group of captive dolphins using 2,696 minutes of underwater acoustic and video recordings collected from 2010 – 2014. Target behaviors are described as primarily visual (e.g., open-mouth display), both visual and acoustic (e.g., jaw claps), and tactile (e.g., mouthing, biting). …

A Meat Paradox: Media's Role In Mitigating The Omnivore's Dilemma, Karyn Camille Lewis

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to identify and understand media’s role in meat consumption and a disassociation of meat and its animal of origin. This study questions consumer behavior based on media portrayals of meat products as well as how consumers perceive these portrayals, meat consumption patterns based on media and family influence, and the types and levels of satisfaction (ex: self-esteem or masculinity) consumers receive from meat products.

A quantitative research approach was proposed for this study. The primary research method was a survey among students, faculty and staff at The University of Southern Mississippi. A total of …

The Moderating Role Of Pbs In The Relationship Between Positive Expectancies And Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences, Kray Scully

Master's Theses

Hazardous drinking college students have become an increasingly focused upon group within alcohol research, especially considering the extent of negative consequences they experience. Recently, increased positive expectancies has been identified as an influential contributor to increased hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. However, more comprehensive evaluation of the domains of positive expectancies (e.g., sociability, tension reduction, sexual enhancement, liquid courage) is warranted to ascertain which types are more salient in predicting hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Further, research has yet to explore how protective behavioral strategies (PBS) affect the strength of the associations between specific positive expectancies and alcohol-related …

The Conundrum Of Causal Reasoning In Elephants, Beri Brown

Master's Theses

Causal reasoning is marked by the ability to mentally reconstruct the missing part of a sequence in order to reproduce an outcome. While research on causal reasoning has been done with children, the results of the studies have been inconsistent. A standardized paradigm for comparative causal reasoning studies does not exist. Nissani (2006) investigated causal reasoning in a tool-use task with elephants and concluded that elephants were not capable of causal reasoning. The current study, a modified replication, yielded results that were not congruent with Nissani’s (2006) manuscript. Additionally, it was very unlikely that the Nissani (2006) study truly looked …