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Examining The Effects Of Mode Of Delivery Of A Reading Fluency Intervention Using A Randomized Experimental Alternative-Treatments Design, Caroline Shackett

Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of reading fluency has been established. Requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act include increased expectations to utilize evidence based interventions and the expectation of accountability for all students and schools to improve. Teachers are facing challenges trying to incorporate researching findings into their classroom practice while meeting the needs of their students and dealing with limited resources. Advances in computer, literacy and communication technology have resulted in the development of new possibilities for intervention. With districts facing these pressures, it is important to explore the relationship between method of delivery of interventions and outcomes so schools …

The Effects Of Predictability On Stereotypic Behavior In Nonclinical Adult Humans (Homo Sapiens) And Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta), Amy Ryan

Doctoral Dissertations

Stereotypies, or repetitive and purposeless behaviors, are observed in both humans and other animals. They have been primarily studied in captive animal and clinical human populations with comparably little research devoted to understanding less severe levels of stereotypies observed in nonclinical populations of adult humans and in most captive animals. As these behaviors are sometimes associated with routine events, I explored the relationship between the predictability of anticipated events and mild stereotypies. I studied this relationship in captive rhesus macaques and a novel comparison group of adult humans from a nonclinical population. I designed two experimental paradigms, a wait paradigm …

Voter Turnout Overreports: Measurement, Modeling And Deception, Ivelisse Cuevas-Molina

Doctoral Dissertations

American politics scholarship has in great measure dedicated itself to the study of democratic participation in elections. Texts that are considered the cannon on electoral participation have extended our knowledge of the factors that increase/decrease turnout, however, this work has relied on self-reports of turnout in surveys. The use of selfreported turnout is problematic because a non-trivial proportion of survey respondents say they went out to vote when they actually did not, meaning they overreport turnout. Overreports of voter turnout are false reports of participation in elections by nonvoters when responding to political surveys. Appropriately, scholars of voting behavior have …

The Role Of Social Class And Construal Level In Social Justice And Fairness Beliefs, Prerana Bharadwaj

Doctoral Dissertations

What predicts support for the redistribution of resources to improve socioeconomic inequality? Social class, or the subjective perception of one’s resources and position in relation to others in a larger society, was examined as one relevant characteristic. Across four experiments, social class as subjective social status was manipulated (two) and measured (all four), and found to have a significant negative effect on support for the moral values of group-based equality (social justice) but not on individual deservingness (fairness) separate from political identity and other demographic characteristics. This effect was seen on stated principles but particularly relevant in approval ratings of …

Close Or Distant Past? The Role Of Temporal Distance In Responses To Intergroup Violence From Victim And Perpetrator Perspectives, Mengyao Li

Doctoral Dissertations

As time distances people from moral transgressions, do affected parties experience a lingering need for addressing the past, or does the need gradually fade away over time? Do people perceive time differently depending on whether the ingroup has committed or suffered the transgression? In two different intergroup contexts, we investigate the role of temporal distance in attitudes toward justice and reconciliation after moral transgressions from the perspectives of both victim and perpetrator groups. In the context of the conflict between Serbs and Bosniaks, Study 1 showed that temporal distance from intergroup transgressions predicted different reactions to the transgression between victim …

Affective Responses To Technology Use: Examining The Dark Side, Exploring The Bright Side, David Agogo

Doctoral Dissertations

The study of individual, affect-related consequences from technology adoption and use is gaining traction in the information systems (IS) discipline. Efforts to explore affective reactions to technology have considered various positive, affective constructs (e.g., enjoyment, computer playfulness, and flow), with a more recent focus on the dark side of technology use and constructs such as technostress, technophobia, and computer anxiety. While some research has examined these negative affective responses to technology, construct definitions and relationships are not well-defined or theoretically grounded. A recent theoretical advance in IS, the Affective Response Model (ARM) categorizes affective responses to technology based on five …

A Randomized Controlled Study Examining The Effectiveness Of A Gratitude Intervention And An Optimism Intervention On Well-Being: Moderating Effects Of Personality Disposition And Social Support, J. Brandon Waits

Doctoral Dissertations

Research suggests that engaging in activities that highlight gratitude and optimism can significantly increase well-being. However, additional research is needed to explore characteristics or conditions that optimize the effectiveness of such interventions. The purpose of the present study was to contribute to research in this area by examining the effectiveness each of a gratitude intervention and an optimism intervention on both subjective well-being and psychological well-being among college students. In addition, the current study examined whether personality disposition (i.e., trait gratitude and trait optimism) and social support moderated the effectiveness of these interventions on wellbeing. Data were collected from 144 …

Understanding The Effects Of Regulatory Focus On Proactive Behavior, Brian P. Waterwall

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past decade, motivation research has focused on what motivates employees to engage in behaviors that fall outside of ones' job/task requirements and bring about meaningful change in the organization's environment, proactive behaviors (Bateman & Crant, 1993; Crant, 2000). Recently, regulatory focus theory has received considerable research attention because of its potential to explain additional variance in behavior beyond other motivational constructs. Regulatory focus theory suggests that during goal striving, people will display behaviors associated with their current motivational state. Drawing from prior research examining motivation and behavior, I propose and test a model that examines the effects of …

Impacting Student Slumber: An Analysis Of Self-Report And Physiological Data Following A Psychoeducational Intervention, Danielle N. Newman

Doctoral Dissertations

Research shows that college students have extensive rates of sleep struggles, with up to 89% of college students reporting that they have moderate to severe difficulties with sleep (Buboltz, Brown, & Soper, 2001). Insufficient sleep has been linked to problems with academics (Kelly, Kelly, & Clanton, 2001; Taylor, Vatthauer, Bramoweth, Ruggero, & Roane, 2013), mental health (Ghumman & Barnes, 2013; Home, 1993; Manber & Chambers, 2009), physical health (Dahl & Lewin, 2002; Gailliot et al., 2007; Lyytikainen, Rahkonen, Lahelma, & Lallukka, 2011; Van Cauter, Leproult, & Plat, 2000), and a variety of other problems. Results pertaining to the suggested and …

Excessive Acquisition: What Is It? What Makes It Happen?, Melanie Doss

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study draws on the philosophical concept of hermeneutics and theories of the self and self-regulation to investigate the underlying meanings expressed and experienced by the self and the other in the behavior of excessive acquisition. In accordance with the methods outlined by the phenomenological and grounded theory traditions, data were collected from 15 persons afflicted with excessive acquisition, defined as the self and 12 persons afflicted by excessive acquisition, defined as the other. The data content collected from in-depth interviews, field notes, observations, and electronic messages formulated the emergent Parent Themes of Emotion, Space, Economics, and Time. …

Infant Locomotor Skill Development In The Context Of Mother-Infant Interactions, Sabrina Lynn Thurman

Doctoral Dissertations

The acquisition of locomotor skills and transitions within them leads to changes in infants’ exploratory abilities and interactive behaviors, which affects several aspects of parent-infant exchanges. Here, we tracked how the onset of crawling and walking affected both infants’ and mothers’ spatial exploration, interactive behaviors, and use of postures in 10-minute free play sessions held in a laboratory setting. Thirteen infants and their mothers were followed longitudinally with biweekly sessions occurring from before crawling onset until infants had two months walking experience. We focused on two 6-session transition periods centered around the onsets of hands-and-knees crawling and walking. Behavioral data …

Parents’ Perceptions And Responses To Infant Emotions, Lauren Renee Bader

Doctoral Dissertations

Parents respond to their infants’ emotions in ways they believe are most appropriate. These reciprocal interactions make up the infants’ social-emotional environment and appear to guide future development and relationship formation; this trajectory is supported mostly from research in Western industrialized contexts. This dissertation consists of three studies and addresses the following over-arching research questions: How have parents’ perceptions of infant emotions been studied? How do Gamo mothers in rural Southern Ethiopia perceive their infants’ emotions and what do they believe are appropriate responses to emotions? Do Gamo mothers vary in their feelings about their infants’ negative emotions and is …

United States Elite Youth Tennis Athletes’ Use Of Psychological Strategies In Competition, Emily Earlynn Lauer

Doctoral Dissertations

Young athletes are routinely faced with stressors and competitive structures that collegiate and adult athletes face. Psychological skills training (PST) can provide young athletes with strategies and skills to cope with these stressors and ultimately influence sport performance (Vealey, 2007). To date, the only study exploring in-competition experiences of young athletes was with participants between 16 and 18 years of age (Van Raalte, Brewer, Rivera, & Petitpas, 1994). The current study is the first investigation on the in-competition experiences of children and adolescents in sport. Twelve elite young tennis athletes (M[subscript]age = 11.83) who trained within a Player Development program …

Exploring Emerging Adults’ Sexual Possible Selves, Development, And Pathways To Sexual Goal Attainment: A Three Part Examination, Kristin Michelle Anders

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent sexuality research has examined internalized sexual expectations and fears for one’s sexuality (i.e., sexual possible selves; Anders, Olmstead, & Johnson, in press) during the developmental period of emerging adulthood (EA). This dissertation extends the possible selves literature by examining the sexual possible selves (SPS) of EAs using three methodological approaches. Study 1 used a large national sample (N = 800) to compare sexual expectations, fears, and associated behavioral strategies between college-attending (n = 400) and non-college attending (n = 400) EAs. We used qualitative content analysis to examine prominent SPS themes across these two groups. Themes …

Dynamics Of Collaborative Navigation And Applying Data Driven Methods To Improve Pedestrian Navigation Instructions At Decision Points For People Of Varying Spatial Aptitudes, Gengen He

Doctoral Dissertations

Cognitive Geography seeks to understand individual decision-making variations based on fundamental cognitive differences between people of varying spatial aptitudes. Understanding fundamental behavioral discrepancies among individuals is an important step to improve navigation algorithms and the overall travel experience. Contemporary navigation aids, although helpful in providing turn-by-turn directions, lack important capabilities to distinguish decision points for their features and importance. Existing systems lack the ability to generate landmark or decision point based instructions using real-time or crowd sourced data. Systems cannot customize personalized instructions for individuals based on inherent spatial ability, travel history, or situations.

This dissertation presents a novel experimental …

The Development And Validation Of An Automatic-Item Generation Measure Of Cognitive Ability, Scott Hines

Doctoral Dissertations

Cognitive ability is perhaps the most studied individual difference available to researchers, being measured quickly and effectively while demonstrating a predictable influence on many life outcomes. Historically, the evolution of the psychometric study of cognitive abilities has pivoted on the development of new and better methodologies allowing for a more complete and efficient capture of intellect. For instance, recent advances in computer and Internet technology have largely replaced traditional pencil-and-paper methods, allowing for innovative item development and presentation. However, concerns regarding the potential adverse impact and test security of online measures of cognitive ability, particularly in unproctored situations, are well …

Intergroup Solidarity In Peace Activism: The Potential For Success Or Backlash, Thomas Christopher O'Brien

Doctoral Dissertations

Integrating theory on distinct modes of social identity (Roccas, Sagiv, Schwartz, & Eidelson, 2008) with group-based emotion in protracted conflict (Halperin & Pilskin, 2015) and exposure to outgroups (Saguy & Halperin, 2014), this dissertation tests how Jewish Israelis respond when ingroup members and outgroup members work together to advocate for peaceful solutions to conflict (i.e., intergroup solidarity), and how glorification of one’s national group moderates these responses. Instructing participants to imagine a peace activist organization, Study 1 shows evidence that glorification of one’s ingroup predicts more anger, less hope, and less support for a political solution reflecting compromise. With a …

Not Just Noise: Individual Differences In Cognitive Ability And Response Bias, Tina Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

Response bias is a component of decision making that can be defined as the general willingness to respond a certain way. For example, in recognition memory, one can have a response bias towards responding that a test item has been previously studied, or in reasoning, one can have a response bias towards responding that a conclusion is logically valid. However, not all individuals have the same response bias. Indeed, there is some evidence that response bias is a stable cognitive trait in memory that differs across individuals (Kantner & Lindsay, 2012, 2014). One predictor of this trait may be cognitive …

Adult Attachment Style And Inter-Parental Discrepancy On Pediatric Behavior Assessment Scales, Laura Beliech Harris

Doctoral Dissertations

The process of diagnosing pediatric psychopathology is an important and sometimes complex endeavor. Diagnoses are useful for facilitating communication among providers, setting therapy goals, and intervention selection. However, beyond their utility, diagnoses potentially can influence client-therapist rapport, therapeutic alliance, and therapy outcomes in a negative manner, as well as leading to stigma and discrimination against the client (child). Best practice for pediatric psychological evaluations includes obtaining data regarding the child's behavior in multiple settings and from multiple respondents. This is most often accomplished through administration of standardized objective pediatric behavior assessment instruments. However, collecting data from multiple respondents in this …

The Mediating Influence Of Career Aspirations And Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy On Self-Differentiation, Vocational Identity, And Career Indecision, Jay Justin Middleton

Doctoral Dissertations

Research indicates that numerous family variables influence the career-development process (Osipow, 1983). Bowen's family systems theory is one model through which to view the development and influence of the family on career development (Bowen, 1972). According to his theory, individuals begin life highly dependent on family members for all forms of support. As people grow into adults, they slowly become independent of their family, or self-differentiated. Adults low in self-differentiation have been found to make decisions in order to appease their families. Further, low levels of self-differentiation have been related to greater mental health problems (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998) and …