Digital Commons Network^™

Changing The Face Of American Culture: A New Perspective On Immigration, Stephanie Ann Quezada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Immigration in the United States is currently a focal political and social issue. The nation's support for restricting immigration stems in part from the cultural threats made salient after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and from the recent influx of immigrants. The present research investigated the implications of perceiving immigration as voluntary or involuntary and permanent or temporary. Experiment 1, a pilot study, showed that U.S. citizens expect voluntary and permanent immigrants to assimilate to mainstream American culture. Experiment 1 also showed that U.S. citizens expressed greater anger toward immigrants who were permanently staying in the U.S., and greater …

The Effect Of Religious Imagery On Following Suggestions For Risk-Taking, Jessica Marie Shenberger Trujillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Events such as "9/11" show that religion can be used to promote negative social behavior. The aim of the current study was to test whether religious imagery leads individuals to follow suggestions for increased risk-taking behaviors. The current study used culturally relevant positive and negative religious imagery primes (i.e., Virgin de Guadalupe and Santa Muerte) as well as positive and negative non- religious imagery primes (i.e., Frida Kahlo and La Malinche) and measured the extent to which individuals followed a confederate's suggestions to engage in risky behaviors on a Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Individuals varied in the number of …

Individual Predictors Of Hindsight Bias: A Longitudinal Study, Sonya M. Stokes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The hindsight bias, a person's tendency to overestimate their ability to predict the outcome of an event after the fact, is a phenomenon present in nearly every area of our lives (Arkes, Faust, Guilmette & Hart, 1988). The bias can be mitigated by factors such as analytical and deep thought regarding an outcome and increased expertise (Gray et al., 2007; Knoll, 2009; Arkes et al., 1988). In this study, we examined the growth of hindsight bias over 4 time points using a within-subjects memory model. For our analysis, we quantified hindsight bias in two ways: the number of "flips" a …

Motivations For A Source To Resist An Interrogation: Consequences To The Self Versus Consequences To An Other, Julia Labianca

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current research investigated the effect of situational and dispositional factors on a source's decision to confess guilty knowledge of another's actions to an interrogator. The extant literature suggests that potential consequences to the self are a major motivator for decisions to confess or resist an interrogation. Previous research also suggests that the potential consequences to the other person may also influence a source's motivations to confess guilty knowledge. Additionally, personality measures related to interdependence versus personal independence (collectivism and individualism) and individual loyalty may also influence a source's motivations to cooperate with or resist an interrogation. However, few experiments …

The Development Of The Rapport Scales For Investigative Interviews And Interrogations, Misty Christina Duke

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop the Rapport Scales for Investigative Interviews and Interrogations (RS3i), a measure of rapport for use in the context of investigative interviews and interrogations. Eighty "source" participants were interviewed by 80 "interview" participants. Each source rated the interview using the Prototype RS3i-Source Version. Observer participants each viewed and rated two interviews. Exploratory analyses were done on 374 observer ratings of 20 interviews to explore the factor structure of the items and develop the final scales. The final version of the RS3i contained 32 items comprising 8 rapport scales and one Commitment to Communication …

Predictors Of Resilience Among Hispanic Adults: Stepwise Analyses From Late Adolescence To Adulthood, Katherine Marie Aguirre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: The focus of this study was factors that affect resilience as a health outcome among Hispanic adults. Some Hispanics and other members of disadvantaged and vulnerable populations have developed remarkable ways of coping with adversity, such as positive reframing (Farley, Galves, Dickinson, & Perez, 2005). Purpose: This research aimed to examine various ways of coping in response to difficult life situations for Hispanic adults and identify those that are associated with resilient outcomes. Methods: The present sub-study focused on difficult life problem narratives from the semi-structured interviews conducted in Dr. Felipe González Castro's Corazón projects (Castro, Kellison, Boyd & …

Guilty By Association: Time-Dependent Memory Consolidation And The Generalization Of Person-Specific Traits To Other Group Members, Luke R. Enge

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following study investigated the extent to which time-dependent memory consolidation facilities the generalization of person-specific traits (individuated targets) to other, familiar social group members (familiar targets) Sixty-Nine (N = 69) participants learned to distinguish between two arbitrary groups, one positive and one negative. Participants learned the negative or positive information about a subset of the group members (individuated targets) and no individuating information about the familiar targets. Participants returned either without a time-delay containing sleep (2-6 hours after learning) or a time-delay with sleep (48 hours after learning). Results demonstrated that only after a time-delay containing sleep, negative information …

Effects Of Positive Distortion Instructions On The Factor Structure Of Socially Desirable Responding Scales, Corina Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Socially desirable responding (SDR) is the manifestation of an individual's desire to represent him or herself in a positive light on a self-report questionnaire. Two distinct types of questionnaire scales are commonly used to identify individuals who have engaged in SDR: Impression Management (IM) and Self-Deceptive Enhancement (SDE) scales. In the present study, 653 undergraduate students completed four IM scales, three SDE scales, and two brief questionnaires measuring the Big Five personality factors. Participants were randomly assigned to either a Control condition, in which they were instructed to complete the questionnaires according to standard instructions, or a Positive Distortion (PD) …

The Effects Of Charismatic Leadership And Religion On Decision Making, Brandt A. Smith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We examined the effects of leadership and religious priming on decision-making in a resource allocation task involving a decision between funding hydro-fracture mining research and/or solar energy research. We found strong main effects for charismatic v. non-charismatic leadership, and for religious priming v. non-religious priming. Further, we found a significant interaction in that the effects of religious priming on economic decision-making in a resource allocation task was stronger in the non-charismatic condition than in the charismatic condition. Implications of this research and recommendations for future studies are discussed.

Strategic Approaches To Lying: Understanding Their Impact On Psychological Processes, Cues To Deception, And Perceptions Of Observers, Stephen Worth Michael

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current research examined the strategies implemented by liars, the relationships between these strategies and psychological processes related to deception, and the implications of these associations on perceptions of deceptive statements. In general, deception research has either ignored or superficially examined the types of strategies that individuals use to construct lies. However, these strategies may have significant impact on characteristics of the lie itself, and in turn, perceptions of the lie.

Study 1 explored the various strategies that liars use and the association of these strategies to psychological processes involved in lying. Results demonstrated that participants used a wide range …

The Antecedents And Consequences Of Trust In Authorities For Protection Against Cartel Violence And Terrorism Threat, Nishad Jabeen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study examined the effects of cartel violence and terrorism threat on people's judgments, emotions and behaviors in response to the threat. It was hypothesized that prior threat experience, perception of threat severity, negative emotions, and attitudes toward authorities would influence trust in federal and local authorities for protection against the threat of cartel violence and terrorism. It was also expected that trust in authorities would increase compliance to authority recommendations to prepare for the threat. The sample consisted of 592 University of Texas at El Paso Introduction to Psychology students and El Paso community members. Participants completed an …

Strengthening Cognitive Development In Minority Populations: A Study Of The Beneficial Effects Of Bilingualism, Marisela Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The long-term goal of this research is to better understand and characterize the "bilingual advantage" so that educational and child care institutions begin to recognize and encourage the active use of two languages to strengthen cognitive development in minority populations. The present study is one of the first one to include a very large sample of well-defined "active bilinguals" who, by objective measures, were determined to be bilingual and determined to engage in language switching on a daily basis. Another goal was to manipulate and activate in the laboratory what might be referred to as the "switching benefit." One hundred …

An Intra-Individual Event-Related Potential-Based Concealed Attitude Test, David R. Herring

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The evaluative oddball is an implicit measure for detecting (concealed) attitudes. In evaluative oddball studies, low occurrence stimuli such as negative pictures are presented among high occurrence context stimuli such as positive pictures. Late positive potentials (LPPs) of the event-related potential (ERP) are larger to evaluatively incongruent stimuli such as negatives compared to congruent stimuli such as positives with the context (e.g., positives). In prior evaluative oddball paradigms, this evaluative congruity effect of the LPP was reduced when participants concealed compared to truthfully reported attitudes. Because prior evaluative oddballs have been focused on the group level analysis, it has been …

The Effect Of Co-Witness Information And Individual Differences In Cognitive Abilities On The Suggestibility Of Pre-School Children, Rachell Leanne Jones

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite nearly 25 years of research, psychologists are still learning new ways in which various demographic, psychological, social, and cognitive factors contribute to child suggestibility. Numerous facets of each area have been studied independently, but as a field, it is becoming apparent that suggestibility is also affected by complex interactions between these various components (Scullin, Kanaya, & Ceci, 2002). The current study investigated several forensic interviewing techniques and psychosocial and cognitive factors that were hypothesized to influence child suggestibility. One hundred children were randomly assigned to five interview conditions after viewing a live event. The supposed statements of a co-witness …

Assessing Naturalistic Decision Making By Experienced And Inexperienced Interrogators In High Stakes Interviews, Amy Bethany Ross

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current thesis aimed to improve the ecological validity of human intelligence interrogation research. Although field practitioners and researchers have worked together to improve the scientific validity and practical execution of interrogation techniques, research has yet to understand how, when and why interrogators implement such techniques. This thesis investigated the active decision making processes of interrogators that occur during high value interrogations. The theory of Naturalistic Decision Making was used to capture the naturalistic characteristics of high value interrogations- ambiguity, time pressure and high stakes. To capture the decision-making processes that are associated with skilled performance, this research conducted in-depth …

Between-Language Repetition Priming In Antonym Generation: Examining Conceptual Encoding And Representation Of Adjectives, Randy Steven Taylor

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous research has shown repetition priming effects between languages, suggesting that a bilingual's two languages share conceptual representation. However these studies have been conducted mainly utilizing concrete nouns as stimuli. In the present study, it was hypothesized that adjectives would produce significant between-language repetition priming. The experiment utilized a 4 (encoding task) X 2 (test language) within-subjects design in which participants (N = 64) encoded words in read only, translation English to Spanish and translation Spanish to English conditions and at test performed an antonym generation task in either Spanish or English. The results revealed that participants were significantly faster …

The Influence Of Case-Specific Expert Testimony On Juror Sensitivity To Confession Evidence, Skye Alani Woestehoff

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research on the effect of expert testimony has resulted in incongruent findings. Expert testimony has been shown to lead to sensitivity, by educating participants about the evidence and facilitating the application of this knowledge, and skepticism, by causing jurors to distrust the evidence regardless of its quality. The current study explored the role of expert testimony in improving participants' evaluation of confession evidence. Data were collected from 352 students and 281 community members. Participants read a trial transcript that included a low-pressure, medium-pressure, or high-pressure interrogation. Participants also read expert testimony that was general, case-specific, or no testimony at all. …

Behavioral Markers Of Chronic Low-Level Lead Exposure In Young Mice, Mayra Gisel Flores Montoya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Behavioral markers of chronic low-level lead exposure in young mice were examined in the present study. Three groups of C57BL/6J mice (N = 35) were exposed from birth to PND 28 to one of three lead acetate levels: 0 ppm (control), 30 ppm (low-dose), or 330 ppm (high-dose). On PND 28, and immediately prior to sacrifice, mice were tested on the novel odor recognition task [(NODR) (memory task)], on the open field task [(OF) (exploratory behavior, habituation, and anxiety behavior task)], and on the nose poke task [(NP) (exploratory behavior task)]. Blood lead levels were analyzed with inductively coupled plasma …

Using Emotion As Inferred From Prosody In Language Modeling, Shreyas Ashok Karkhedkar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research has focused on using prosody as an alternative source of information for language modeling. However, prosody is a surface phenomenon and to develop deeper models of language production, the underlying mental processes need to be considered. There are several cognitive factors, such as dialog-states and formulation, that have been given attention. However, emotion { as a cognitive factor, has been neglected so far. Speakers' emotional state plays an important role in spoken dialog. Participants seem to infer each others emotional state from multiple cues and react accordingly. In particular, these states manifest themselves moment-by-moment in the speakers voice. This …

Mental Health And Medication Adherence As A Function Of Early Life Physical And Sexual Trauma In Hiv+ Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men, Carolina Lara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of the study is to understand sexual risk and medication adherence among Latino HIV+ men who have sex with men (MSM) and who have a history of childhood trauma (CT; which may include unwanted sexual experiences, physical threats, physical harm and /or verbal abuse prior to the age of 16). We sampled 150 Latino adult MSM living with HIV at a clinic in El Paso, Texas that offers comprehensive HIV/AIDS services to those living on the U.S.-Mexico Border. We assessed self-reported histories of childhood abuse and participants' control expectancies not only toward sexual impulsivity, but also more generally. …

A Diathesis-Stress Approach To Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Associated With An Hiv Diagnosis: Implications For Medication Non-Adherence., John Andrew Sauceda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Introduction. We fit a diathesis-stress model with childhood trauma and neuroticism as predictors of depressive and HIV-related PTSD symptomatology in a sample of HIV+ Latino men who have sex with men (MSM). We then examined the impact of depressive and HIV-related PTSD symptomatology on medication adherence. We hypothesized the primary stressor from the diathesis-stress model to be symptoms of dissociation at the time of being diagnosed with HIV.

Method. We sampled 149 Latino adult MSM living with HIV at a local HIV treatment clinic in El Paso, Texas. We administered all surveys in paper-and-pencil form, with viral loads and CD4 …

Eyewitness Memory In Adults, Carlos Manuel Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study encompasses the areas of eyewitness misidentifications and eyewitness suggestibility by developing a Video Suggestibility and Eyewitness Identification Scale for adults. Two hundred one college students were recruited to test this novel psychometric scale following procedures loosely based on the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales. The two main subscales proposed are labeled True, which measures non-leading questions answered correctly, and Yield, which measures questions endorsed based on misinformation; two lineup identification subscales were also analyzed for exploration. Reliability estimates showed acceptable internal consistency of True and Yield subscales after negative feedback was provided; while reliability in Target Present Lineups increased and …