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The Perpetration Of Adulthood Animal Abuse And Intimate Partner Violence In Men And Women Arrested For Domestic Violence, Jeniimarie Febres

Doctoral Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs at devastatingly high rates in the United States. The current interventions for perpetrators of IPV are limited in their effectiveness. Research regarding characteristics of perpetrators of IPV may provide needed insights about their aggression in order to inform more effective treatments. This cross-sectional study employed the newly developed Interactions with Animals Scale, an original measure of a form of aggression that lacks comprehensive examination despite its demonstrated association with IPV, adulthood animal abuse (AAA). The prevalence, frequency, initiation, motivation, type of animal victimized, and recency of AAA was obtained from a sample of men ( …

The Roles Of Self-Affirmation And Introspection In Correction For Automatic Prejudice, Kevin Lee Zabel

Doctoral Dissertations

Egalitarian-oriented Whites tend to employ the strategy of “liking everyone,” as opposed to correcting for their automatic prejudices, as a means of avoiding prejudiced reactions (Zabel & Olson, 2014). Congruent with motivational theoretical perspectives regarding prejudice (i.e., Aversive Racism; Gaertner & Dovidio), I contend that a lack of introspection into one’s automatic prejudices due to a self-image threat may be driving this tendency. In the experiment I report here, I assessed the automatic racial attitudes of egalitarian- (high Concern) and conflict avoidance-motivated (high Restraint) Whites. Then, participants were randomly assigned to introspect (or not) on their automatic racial biases, as …

Audible Voice In Context, Airlie S. Rose

Doctoral Dissertations

The term audible voice refers to the sound of the text experienced by the reader during silent reading. It was coined by Elbow in his Landmark Essays to help the field of composition wrestle more productively with the concept of voice in writing. In this dissertation, voice is not a metaphor. Drawing on contemporary work in psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and consciousness studies, it examines the phenomenon of audible voice as a form of inner speech[1]. The premise of this study is that the experience of audible voice by the reader is a unique intersection of the individual's inner landscape …

Implementing Universal Social And Emotional Learning Programs: The Development, Validation, And Inferential Findings From The Schoolwide Sel Capacity Assessment, Cheyne A. Levesseur

Doctoral Dissertations

In order to effectively transport universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs into natural settings, it is important to understand implementation barriers that may hinder the likelihood of successful outcomes (Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005). The current study is primarily based on the notion that within the planning phase of implementation, few technically adequate assessment measures targeting both organizational capacity (OC) and provider characteristics (PC) for SEL programming actually exist. The purpose is to extend the SEL implementation assessment literature by developing a new rating scale designed to measure SEL implementation barriers (School SEL Capacity Assessment [SSCA]) and …

Behavioral And Neural Mechanisms Of Impulsive Choice, Jesse Mcclure

Doctoral Dissertations

Impulsive choice is defined as the preference for a small immediate reward over a larger delayed reward. Individual variablity in impulsive choice correlates with many socially relevant behaviors. Although forms of impulsive choice have been studied in both behavioral ecology and psychology, the exchange of knowledge between these fields is just beginning. Drawing from both of these fields will improve our research methods allowing for a more detailed understanding of this complex behavior. Existing tasks to measure impulsive choice conflate the delay and quantity of the reward. To address this, I have drawn from foraging research to establish a method …

Predicting Social Skills And Adaptability In Preschoolers With Behavior Problems, Nastassja Marshall

Doctoral Dissertations

Social skills and adaptability have been associated with a host of positive child outcomes. However, previous research has rarely examined the extent to which child symptomatology and family environment are associated with social skills and adaptability in children. Furthermore, no studies have looked at these associations longitudinally in preschool children with behavior problems, for whom social functioning may be especially important. The current study examined the relationship of five predictors (child oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), marital conflict strategies, parental depression, and parental warmth) with social skills and adaptability measured in preschoolers with behavior problems at …

The Influence Of Expectancy Persuasion Techniques On Socially Anxious Analogue Patients' Treatment Beliefs And Therapeutic Actions, Rebecca M. Ametrano

Doctoral Dissertations

Although patients’ psychotherapy outcome expectations correlate with posttreatment outcome, there is limited research explicating treatment elements that causally influence these expectations. Most relevant studies have focused on varied deliveries of a treatment rationale. Although elements of rationale delivery appear important for altering patients’ expectations, many studies have been marked by methodological shortcomings, such as lack of a control group. In this clinical analogue experiment, I examined the influence of expectancy persuasion methods, delivered in a video-based presentation of a cognitive-behavioral treatment rationale for social anxiety, on analogue patients’ post-rationale treatment beliefs, treatment motivation, social anxiety symptoms, and therapeutic action. One …

Community-Based Memory Screening Intervention And Memory Knowledge In Older Adults, Tessa S. Lundquist

Doctoral Dissertations

As the United States’ population ages, there is a growing need for older adults to screen for age-related memory problems. Four theoretically-derived psychosocial factors are predictive of dementia screening intention: perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, and knowledge about aging memory. The current study preliminarily tested whether these factors could be increased with a community-based, educational memory screening intervention. Educational presentations were offered at community senior centers and data on psychosocial factors and willingness to screen were collected pre- and post-presentation from 32 older adult participants (age M = 78.69, SD = 7.12). Perceived benefits and self-efficacy significantly increased from pre- …

A Longitudinal Study Of Fathers' And Children's Depressive Symptoms, Marianne H. Tichovolsky

Doctoral Dissertations

Depression is a common, chronic condition that affects both adults and children and causes significant impairment across a variety of domains. Having a depressed parent puts children at risk for developing depression themselves. While there is considerable research examining the effects of maternal depression, relatively few studies have focused on paternal depression and its relation to child depressive symptoms. Longitudinal studies of paternal depression are especially scarce, and very few studies have examined both paternal and child depressive symptoms over an extended period of time. The present study examined whether and how paternal and child depressive symptoms covaried over a …

Investigating The Predictive Validity Of Three Measures Of Number Sense, Bethany Politylo

Doctoral Dissertations

Number sense has been identified as an important foundational skill in the development of later mathematics competence. Although number sense has historically been difficult to define in the educational literature, operational definitions of the construct typically consist of a collection of early numeracy skills or “number sense components” such as quantity discrimination, rote counting, and one-to-one correspondence. Consequently, assessments of number sense tend to measure a wide variety of these skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of three measures of number sense: the Test of Early Numeracy (TEN), Number Sense Brief Screener (NSB), and …

Who Do You Think You Are?: Recovering The Self In The Working Class Escape Narrative, Christine M. Maksimowicz

Doctoral Dissertations

This project considers how socioeconomic impoverishment and society's failure to recognize working class women as valued subjects impinge upon a mother's ability to afford recognition to her daughter's selfhood. Situated within the larger North American literary tradition of fiction animated by flight in search of freedom, the texts here explored constitutes a subgenre that I term the “working class escape narrative.” Combining close readings of fiction by Toni Morrison, Alice Munro, and Sigrid Nunez with sociological research and psychoanalytic theory, I explore a relationship between mother and daughter characterized not by mirroring and bonding but rather the absence of intimacy …

Postive Behavioral Interventions And Supports In Out Of School Time: Providing Professional Development Via Consultation And Performance Feedback, Sheera Hefter

Doctoral Dissertations

American youth are in need of supervision after the school day concludes. After School Programs (ASPs) provide students with safe and supportive venues that have the potential for encouraging student growth and development. ASPs across the country struggle to find high quality professionals to staff their programs; adequate training for these professionals is also limited. There is also significant evidence linking strong teacher-student relationships to both academic and social success. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework that has a strong evidence base to support success in promoting a proactive approach to behavior management within school settings. The …

Estrogen-Sensitive Learning Is Not Affected By Combination Ethinyl Estradiol And Levonorgestrel Oral Contraceptive Use, Darlene F. Ficco

Doctoral Dissertations

Two studies were conducted to explore the cognitive effects of combination ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel contraceptive use during late adolescence and young adulthood. Three groups of females, naturally cycling, active pill phase, and hormone-free interval phase, were tested on a battery of estrogen-sensitive, i.e., place learning and word generation, and estrogen-insensitive, i.e., map drawing, mental rotation, digit span, story recall, and object recall, tasks. Study 2 was conducted as a means to replicate the findings observed in Study 1 and to manipulate task difficulty and sensitivity. Two measures of mood were administered, and salivary estradiol levels at time of testing …

Using Social Network Analysis To Investigate The Relationship Between School-Based Team Communication Networks And Implementation Of Positive Behavior Support Systems, Shannon K. Barry

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school-based team communication networks and implementation of school-wide reform efforts and initiatives, namely Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The study employed social network analysis (SNA) to determine if a relationship was present between the structure and properties of the team communication network and the level of implementation of PBIS, the position and properties of the PBIS leadership team and the level of implementation of PBIS implementation, and the quality of internal process for collaboration of the PBIS leadership team and PBIS implementation. It was predicted that schools in …

Promoting Positive Teacher-Child Interactions Through Implementation Of A Social Emotional Learning Curriculum With Performance Feedback, Elizabeth S. Barker

Doctoral Dissertations

Although the nature of teacher-child relationships is a known factor in academic and social success, little research has focused on methods to improve these relationships at the classwide level. Social emotional learning has been proposed as a method to improve child social skills, a significant factor in promoting positive interpersonal relationships. In addition, teacher performance feedback has been shown to increase use of effective behavior management practices. However, no research to date has examined the effects of a comprehensive intervention involving delivery of a social emotional learning curriculum with performance feedback on the proportion of positive and negative teacher-child interactions …

Mindfulness-Based Therapy And Behavioral Activation: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Depressed College Students, Crystal Constance Mcindoo

Doctoral Dissertations

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is found in about 20% of university students, with increasing incidence in the past two decades (American College Health Association, 2010). Depressed college students report significant academic problems, including lower grade point average, inability to concentrate, absenteeism, lower academic productivity, and interpersonal problems. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Behavioral Activation (BA) are two interventions that have significant potential in meeting demands of college counseling clinics insofar as treating depressed college students. This study utilized a randomized controlled design (n = 50) to examine the efficacy of four-sessions of abbreviated MBSR and BA relative to a …

An Examination Of High-Achieving College Students: Career Indecision And Career Thoughts, Justina Anne Farley

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationships among high academic achievement as measured by ACT scores and participation in honors and/or gifted programming, high levels of self-reported interests and skills, and dysfunctional career thoughts. Participants were 143 first and second-year undergraduate students from two southeastern US universities. Along with demographics, data was collected from the Self-Directed Search (SDS) and Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI). Results suggested a positive relationship between high academic achievement and a greater number of career options to consider pursuing. Specifically, those enrolled in gifted and/or honors programs reported significantly more interests and competencies in a number of domains based …

Three Rs: Relationship Orientation, Relational Interdependent Self-Construal, And Relationship Maintenance Strategies, Maria Moana Rowley

Doctoral Dissertations

The polyamory literature has evolved over the years, but very little of the literature is made up of quantitative studies. An even smaller proportion of those are comparative studies, in which researchers investigate the differences and similarities between polyamorous and non-polyamorous relationships. Whereas there is no research on relational interdependent self-construal (RISC) in the polyamorous community, the values expressed by the community are congruent with high RISC traits in the literature. Markus & Kitayama (1991) state that individuals high in interdependent self-construal have a high need for and appreciation of relationships (Cross & Morris, 2003). The desire for multiple close …

An Investigation Of Key Personality Traits Of Managers And Executives, Kanwarjit Pahwa

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study examined the key personality traits of executives and managers, and its relationship with their career satisfaction. Executives and managers consists of the top management and their personality has important implications for the performance and development of an organization. The present study attempted to understand the commonalities and differences between the broad and narrow personality traits of executives and managers. Archival data on personality traits and career satisfaction of executives and managers working in different industries around the United States was extracted from eCareerfit.com. Data was analyzed using Independent t-test, Pearson correlation and Fisher’s Z test. The overall …

The Effects Of Voluntary Versus Cold-Calling Participation On Class Discussion And Exam Performance In Multiple Sections Of An Educational Psychology Undergraduate Course, Brittany Ann Carstens

Doctoral Dissertations

Although class participation has been linked to improved student performance, little research has evaluated the effects of cold-calling versus voluntary participation. This study (N =156) determined the differential effects of voluntary and cold-calling participation practices on participation credit, uncapped magnitude of participation, participation rate, attendance, and adjusted exam scores. These dependent measures were compared between (a) voluntary and cold-calling conditions and (b) high and low participants under baseline (voluntary participation without credit and high-rate and low-rate participants). The use of voluntary and cold-calling procedures was alternated across units. Results were evaluated using mixed designs with repeated-measures across treatment units …

Theories-In-Use And Espoused Theories: An Examination Of Team Decision-Making In The Initial Special Education Eligibility Meeting, Heather Anne Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether education professionals’ theories-in-use were congruent with their espoused theories (Argyris & Schön, 1974) regarding the inclusion of parents as team decision-making partners in the initial special education eligibility meeting of individualized education programming (IEP) teams. Particular attention was given to procedural practices education professionals used to include parents as decision-making partners and their descriptions of this practice.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the inclusion of parents as members of IEP teams, including their right to participate in the special education eligibility decision. Research supports the inclusion of parents …

The Effects Of Trade Competition On Health, And Determinants Of Workplace Behavior, Thomas Clayton Mcmanus

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation consists of three essays related to workplace behavior. In the first paper, we design a controlled laboratory experiment to study image motives in a setting where decisions signal intelligence. The experiment results show that in some settings social scrutiny can discourage individuals from making choices that signal their intelligence, despite evidence that the signal was privately valuable. In the second paper, we study the effect of Chinese import competition on occupational safety and health at US manufacturers. We find that a change in US trade policy and Chinese import shocks significantly increases worker injury and illness rates in …

Assessment And Investigation Of Electronic Aggression In The Romantic Relationships Of Emerging Adults, Teresa Michelle Preddy

Doctoral Dissertations

The current studies develop a psychometric scale capable of measuring electronic aggression and perpetration within emerging adult romantic couples: the Partner Electronic Aggression Questionnaire (PEAQ). The scale is based in the body of literature examining aggression within social relationships, particularly aggression and intimate partner violence (IPV) occurring within established romantic relationships. Moreover, the scale was designed with the rationale that developing a psychometrically sound measure of electronic aggression will allow researchers to examine how electronic aggression may be related to IPV and psychosocial functioning for both victims and perpetrators. The present studies suggested that the PEAQ is an internally consistent …

Mechanisms Of Change In An Organizational Culture And Climate Intervention For Increasing Clinicians’ Evidence-Based Practice Adoption In Mental Health, Nathaniel J. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

Objective: Increasing the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) is a focus of national and international efforts to improve the quality and outcomes of mental health services for youth; however, few studies have examined the multilevel change mechanisms that explain how successful implementation strategies increase EBP adoption. Identifying these mechanisms is necessary to develop more effective and efficient strategies. This study tested the multilevel mechanisms that link an empirically supported organizational implementation strategy called ARC (for Availability, Responsiveness, and Continuity) to increased EBP adoption.

Method: In a randomized controlled trial, 14 outpatient children’s mental health clinics in a large Midwestern city …

The Effects Of Hope, Rumination, Resilience, And Unit Support On Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity In Veterans, Laura Elizabeth Blackburn

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study investigated potential protective resources: hope, rumination, resilience and unit support as they related to PTSD symptom severity among service members who deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and experienced combat (N = 191). We also investigated each variable for possible interactions with combat exposure. Correlational analyses and hierarchical linear regression were used to analyze the data. Hope, resilience and unit support were all negatively correlated with PTSD symptom severity and combat exposure. Deliberate rumination and intrusive rumination were positively correlated with PTSD symptom severity. In the regression, significant predictors were rank, combat exposure, resilience and intrusive rumination, …

Cultural Context's Influence On The Relationships Between Leadership Personality And Subordinate Perceptions, Victoria J. Smoak

Doctoral Dissertations

Fascination with leadership and the pursuit of its understanding have been common across disciplines throughout history (Bass & Stogdill, 1990). Studying leadership in an organization provides value in understanding its relation to outcomes such as employee attitudes (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Bommer, 1996), individual performance (Tierney, Farmer, & Graen, 1999) and organizational performance (Day & Lord, 1988; Sully de Luque, Washburn, Waldman, & House, 2008). Leadership is suggested to be the underlying human factor key to organizational effectiveness (Hogan & Kaiser, 2005). In spite of the vast body of literature, much remains to be understood, especially understanding context (McCall & Hollenbeck, …

The Relationship Between Sleep And Nutrition In Message Framing Among College Students, Abbey G. White

Doctoral Dissertations

The college years are often depicted as a time of immense change, specifically in relation to college students' level of nutrition and sleep quality. However, these health concerns not only impact college students' health but also their academic performance, mood, and as a result their future. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether technologically enhanced health messages are more effective than the traditional text format for creating healthy behavioral changes amongst college students. Secondly, the study provides the opportunity to examine previous research involving message framing, specifically, regulatory focus theory and self-efficacy, in order to provide further …

Bright Or Dark, Or Virtues And Vices? A Reexamination Of The Big Five And Job Performance, Christopher M. Castille

Doctoral Dissertations

Personality research in industrial/organizational psychology has been dominated by the description of personality traits and outcomes as either bright or dark. Unfortunately, research has shown that bright traits have dark outcomes and vice versa, suggesting that a paradox is plaguing the literature. To resolve this paradox, I propose that a different heuristic stemming from positive psychology be utilized: virtues and vices. Virtues refer to exercises of human excellence while vices refer to actions of human failure. Drawing on the virtue ethics concept of the Aristotelian mean, dark traits are viewed as extreme or elevated levels of bright personality traits, allowing …

Objectively Measuring The Effects Of Sleep On Reading Comprehension And Sustained Selective Attention, Jennifer L. Thibodeaux

Doctoral Dissertations

The overall performance of a university is measured by retention rates of students. Because individuals who achieve lower grade point averages are at a higher risk of failing or dropping out of college, the academic performance of undergraduates should be the target of concern to maintain good retention rates. Academic performance, which is associated with attention and reading comprehension abilities, is affected by the sleep behavior of students. In regards to college students and sleep, research has indicated that college students demonstrate habitually poor sleep habits. Poor sleep habits have been linked to impaired attention and concentration abilities, but the …

Crystallized Intelligence And Openness To Experience: Drawing On Intellectual-Investment Theories To Predict Job Performance Longitudinally, Christopher B. Patton

Doctoral Dissertations

Various approaches to conceptualizing and measuring intelligence have been utilized throughout history. Despite the plethora of intelligence theories, the field of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology has been largely dominated by the psychometric tradition of intelligence and Spearman's general factor theory of intelligence (g). Moreover, other approaches to intelligence (e.g., the developmental perspective) have generally been ignored by I-O psychology. This is puzzling given the widespread acceptance among I-O psychologists of intelligence's substantial and increasing importance in the modern workplace.

Supported by a vast amount of research, g has often been recognized as the single best predictor of …