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Math Anxiety And Avoidance Of Mathematics At The College Level: Undergraduate And Their Sense Of Not Belonging In Math Classrooms, Kay C. Lashley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Negative experiences and perceptions of the subject often influence the avoidance of mathematics at the college level. This study explored this issue by investigating the relationship between math anxiety, belongingness in math classes, and help-seeking behaviors among STEM and non-STEM majors. The study involved 41 participants, including 24 STEM majors and 17 non-STEM majors, all undergraduate college students aged 18 to 54. The results revealed that most students (39 out of 41) felt a sense of belonging in their math classes. Correlation analyses showed a significant positive relation between math anxiety and self-reported math competency, “r(41)= .44, p < .01,” and that higher levels of math anxiety were linked to a greater likelihood of avoiding math classes, “r(41)= .35, p = .02”. Students with lower math anxiety were marginally more inclined to seek help from family or friends, “ X2 (12, N = 42) = 20.1, p = .065”. However, there were no significant differences in help-seeking behaviors between STEM and non-STEM majors. Overall, these findings are consistent with previous studies. Nevertheless, more research and interventions are needed to develop supportive math learning environments at the college level, especially for students with higher anxiety.

The Association Between Uncertainty, Reproductive Distress, And Avoidance In Assigned Female At Birth Adolescent And Young Adult (Aya-F) Cancer Survivors, Devon Ann Pons

Doctoral Dissertations

Family building and fertility is a complex component of survivorship for assigned female at birth Adolescent and Young Adult’s (AYA-F’s), often accompanied by a mix of cognitive uncertainty, emotional uncertainty, reproductive distress, and avoidance. These psychological components present in survivorship for AYA-F’s can impact coping, identity development, and individualized care plans throughout survivorship. This novel examination of data from a cross sectional study shed light on the associations between reproductive distress, uncertainty, and avoidance and how they are experienced differently by various subgroups within the sample.

Results demonstrate that reproductive distress fully mediated the association between emotional uncertainty and avoidance, …

The Relationship Between Impulsivity, Avoidance, And Overly Positive Maladaptive Thinking In Adults With Adhd, Morgan Hagner

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience many difficulties in executive functioning and mental health. The literature supports cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as an evidence-based treatment, for many mental health disorders, including the cognitive and behavioral issues associated with adult ADHD. There is evidence that some of the problems associated with adult ADHD are related to cognitive distortions, functional impairment, and deficits in executive functioning. Previous studies have found a preliminary relationship between cognitive distortions and ADHD, but these studies did not assess overly positive cognitions, the latter, also theorized to be related to this disorder. The purpose of the current …

Underlying Mechanisms Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder In An Experimental Fear-Conditioning Paradigm, Melissa Hartnell

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential underlying mechanisms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) including fear generalization, maladaptive avoidance, and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in a sample of adults with GAD, as compared to healthy controls in the context of a lab-based fear conditioning paradigm. The current study utilized data from the University of Minnesota ANGST Laboratory’s Danger Zone – Research Domain Criteria (DZ-RDoC) neuroimaging study. Participants consisted of 40 individuals ranging from ages 18-60, with 19 meeting criteria for GAD (M age = 30.57, SD = 11.70) and 21 healthy controls (M age = …

Aggression, Avoidance, Shame And Narcissism In Fragile Masculinity, Israel Zev Meth

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

The overwhelming representation of males in physically aggressive acts and violent crime suggests that masculinity contributes to the gender discrepancy. Fragile masculinity, a term denoting the cultural mandate and the individual’s perception that manhood is precarious, has been posited as particularly meaningful in understanding the etiology of aggression and relational avoidance in men. Empirical work suggests that there is a link among these constructs (Vandello, 2013), but the literature has not fully explored variables that may inform or impact these connections. Based on psychodynamic theories of narcissism, shame and aggression, this study aimed to empirically test their impact. Mediation and …

The Impact Of Cannabis On Motivational Processes For Smoked Tobacco And Cigarettes, Claire M. Gorey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis and tobacco are very commonly used across the United States. Given the high prevalence of their dual use, an important health consequence of cannabis is its impact on tobacco usage rates. After all, cigarettes are a leading cause of death in the United States. Theoretical models of drug abuse suggest that cannabis cues and intoxication may be responsible for enhanced smoked tobacco/cigarette motivation. Therefore, the present research sought to assess these routes via two studies. In study 1 (validation & cross-drug cue effects), researchers validated a set of realistic cannabis images among a sample of participants residing in the …

Abusive Supervision Within The Military Ranks: A Qualitative Examination Of Positive Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies, Demetrius Mcdew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the researcher examined abusive supervision coping by military members. Based on social exchange theory and the power and influence theory, the researcher investigated whether veterans perceived emotional coping (avoidance, support seeking, and reframing) as strategies that mitigated stress caused by abusive supervision while they were serving in their respective military departments. Past studies have not accounted for junior officers or enlisted members; therefore, the researcher studied this lower ranking tier of personnel and discovered that the hierarchy of the military system affected their reporting of and receiving assistance in dealing with abusive supervision. Therefore, affected service members …

Does Adhd Strengthen The Relationship Between Depression/Anxiety And Avoidance?, Ryan Wigginton

Honors Theses

Objective: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a diagnosis often

comorbid with depression and anxiety-related disorders. Research is also indicative of a relationship between ADHD, depression, anxiety, and avoidance-related behaviors. I hypothesize that the relationship between ADHD and avoidance will be moderated by symptoms of depression and anxiety in neuro-typical college students that have not received a clinical mental health diagnosis. Method: 101 college students at the University of Richmond attended a baseline visit with a research assistant and completed baseline scale measures for symptoms of ADHD, depression, generalized anxiety, and avoidance. I used multiple regression and Hayes’ PROCESS program to analyze …

Measuring Parental Involvement As Parental Actions In Children’S Private Music Lessons In China, Cancan Cui

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anonymity has long been discussed as a source of disinhibition. The myth of the Ring of Gyges illustrates how a person may act immorally solely because they know they will not be caught (Plato, 375/2017). Incorporating perspectives of rational choice and deterrence, anonymity serves as a form of risk reduction within hedonistic calculus (Beccaria, 1764/1963; Bentham, 1781/2000). Analogous to the myth of the Ring of Gyges (Plato, 375/2017), techniques of anonymity “hide” users from others while online. These techniques serve as a form of risk reduction, reducing the certainty of punishment (Becarria 1764/1963). Additionally, there are many ways by which …

Interictal Avoidance Of Sensory Stimuli Among Individuals With Migraine, Daniel Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Migraine is the most debilitating neurological disorder worldwide and is associated with high economic and psychological costs. Common behavioral strategies for coping with migraine include avoidance of stimuli believed to precipitate an attack, though literature suggests that avoidance behaviors may serve to exacerbate migraine-symptoms and increase disability. Although the incorporation of trigger avoidance in modern conceptualizations of headache-related disability represents a more comprehensive understanding of disability occurring outside of migraine attacks (interictally), extant literature has emphasized trigger avoidance to the exclusion of other factors. Learning principles suggest stimuli that exacerbate migraine may take on similar eliciting properties as pain and …

A School-Based Sexual Health Education Program, Tracy L. Kendall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A small rural community has high incidence rates of chlamydia (4,751 per 100,000) and gonorrhea (970 per 100,000) in females 15–24 years old. Data obtained from Texas Health and Human Services showed that incidence rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in females 15–24 years old were higher in Navarro County, Texas, than the state of Texas. Texas schools do not mandate sex health education. There is a gap in school-based sexual health education available to 18- and 19-year-old females residing in this rural community in Texas. The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the impact of school-based sexual health …

Neural Substrates Of Active Avoidance And Its Impact On Fear Extinction, Elizabeth Parisi

Theses and Dissertations

Models of anxiety suggest that avoidance of a conditioned fear stimulus prevents new safety learning, thereby serving to maintain fear. However, there is little empirical data in humans on the impact of avoidance of conditioned fear stimuli on subsequent fear extinction. In the present study I investigated the effect of avoidance of threat on neural activity during avoidance/control and a subsequent extinction phase using ultra high-resolution (7T) fMRI. Results indicated that active avoidance was associated with increased activity in regions involved in reward prediction, but this did not differentiate active avoidance from an active control condition. Neural activation during the …

An Experimental Test Of The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Approach Behavior, Rebecca L. Campbell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emotion regulation and sleep have been identified as mechanisms that may be involved in the development and maintenance of many mental health disorders. However, there has been little research into the relation between sleep and emotion regulation. To address this gap in knowledge, a novel study was conducted. We hypothesized that sleep deprived individuals would demonstrate less approach behavior toward a negatively valenced stimulus, as well as increased self-reported avoidance, compared to a control group. To test this, a randomized controlled experiment using a behavioral measure of approach and a self-report measure of avoidance was conducted. Fifty-two healthy individuals ages …

Sleep, Experiential Avoidance, And Mental Health Symptoms, Anthony Reffi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The explanatory mechanisms by which sleep disturbances promote psychopathology are not well understood. Given that poor sleep promotes a broad range of negative emotions the next day, sleep disturbances may increase the tendency to identify inner experiences as aversive, thereby promoting experiential avoidance (EA). Though temporarily effective, the frequent and rigid use of EA has been shown to worsen mental health. Therefore, using a seven-day ecological momentary assessment design, this study investigated momentary EA as a mechanism linking subjective sleep quality and quantity with subsequent anxiety and depressive symptoms. Undergraduate participants (N = 86, Mage = 19.72) first completed an …

The Effects Of Csr And Female Presence In Corporate Governance On Firm Tax Avoidance, Madeline Karlberg

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Avoidance: Predicting Avoidant Behavior Versus Confrontational Behavior In Response To Interpersonal Conflict, Charlie Heath Wood

Senior Projects Spring 2020

When faced with an interpersonal conflict, people respond with avoidance or confrontation. Past research demonstrates that avoidance generally does more harm than good. The goal of this proposal is to investigate what causes an individual to be avoidant despite the negative consequences associated with avoidance. Supported by the extant literature, this proposal offers an argument for two specific factors that influence how a person responds to conflict, which are: 1) “need for social connection”, which describes the extent to which someone feels socially included or excluded, and 2) “modeled behavior”, which describes a person replicating a behavior they see someone …

Is Endorsement Of Fear Of Happiness Associated With Behavioral Aversion To Reward?, Amanda Collins

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research suggests that some individuals have negative views about happiness and may actively avoid positivity due to associating it with previous negative experiences. The Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) is a paradigm that examines approach and avoidance tendencies. However, the AAT has previously never been used to examine motivational tendencies in individuals who fear happiness. In this study, we used the AAT to examine if individuals who fear happiness respond aversively in the face of prospective positivity. Results revealed that the difference between the duration of pulling the joystick for both stimuli is negatively related to fear of happiness (FHS) such …

The Hierarchical Aversiveness Of Two Simultaneous Pains Within An Operant Approach Avoidance Paradigm, Celina Antionette Salcido

Psychology Dissertations

Pain is a subjective, private, yet universal phenomenon that depends on a unique combination of sensory, affective, and evaluative characteristics. Although preclinical models have been used to understand much of pain physiology, the inability to communicate with animals limits affective and evaluative feedback, failing to adequately represent the entire pain experience. Therefore, this study sought to characterize the affective component of pain within an operant approach-avoidance paradigm (AAP) to determine which type of pain (inflammatory or neuropathic) may be more aversive. To reveal possible differences in pain aversiveness, animals received bilateral inflammatory and neuropathic pain conditions and were be given …

Autonomous Vehicles Operating Collaboratively To Avoid Debris And Obstructions, Toan T. Le, Cole W. Oppenheim, James H. Gildart, Kyle M. Bybee

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the safety and increased fuel efficiency of an automated collision avoidance system in collaborative vehicle platooning. This project was cosponsored by Daimler Trucks North America headquartered in Portland, Oregon, as well as Dr. Birdsong, and Dr. DeBruhl of Cal Poly. The mechanical engineering team consists of Cole Oppenheim, James Gildart, Toan Le, and Kyle Bybee who worked in coordination with a team of computer engineers. Vehicle platooning is a driving technique to increase the fuel efficiency of a group of vehicles by following a lead vehicle closely to reduce the drag experienced …

Evolving Collections, Nathan Thomas Williams

Theses and Dissertations

My art practice begins with the collecting, processing, and organizing of materials. Through experimentation, I have developed processes centered around a commitment of time and devotion to the plainest beauty of these found materials, their inherent properties, and related systems, making the resulting objects of order possible. Through my application of these personal ordering systems, I strive to bring intrigue and focus to the common and discarded. The process of finding and organizing common surplus materials has given me an understanding of myself, seeing things that may never have occurred were it not for these experiences. This practice has taken …

High School Students' Perceptions Of Safety Concerns Predicts School Avoidance, Ann Marie Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School violence is a growing concern and an impending danger for American youth. Students' perceptions of violent school incidents may lead to fear and this fear may lead to school avoidance. Although researchers have found that teenage pregnancy and working to support family are two of the main reasons that students stay home from school, there has been no research conducted on whether students' perceptions of safety concerns, solely focusing on the presence of guns, gangs, student bullying, and fear of victimization, predict their decision to stay home from school. Therefore, based on social disorganization and resilience theories, the purpose …

The Influence Of Obstetrician And Gynecologists' Avoidance Behaviors On Maternal Morbidities, Nakisha Rene'e Boulware

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of maternal morbidities continues to increase in U.S. women of lower socioeconomic status and non-Hispanic Black women despite the efforts of health care practitioners to reduce the disparities. Two decades of research has shown that physicians avoid patients based on insurance and socioeconomic status or their malpractice history. Reducing maternal illness and complications is one of the federal government's top 10 maternal health indicators in the Healthy People 2020 initiative. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of malpractice allegations on patients at high-risk for maternal morbidity. Supported by the theoretical foundation of human factor …

Effects Of Energy Development On Movements, Home Ranges, And Resource Selection Of White-Tailed Deer In The Western Dakotas, Bailey S. Gullikson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oil and natural gas development has increased in recent years and research is needed to assess potential impacts on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations. Our objectives were to document movements, home ranges, and resource selection of female white-tailed deer in response to energy development in the western Dakotas. Our study areas included Dunn County, North Dakota, an area with current oil and gas development, and Grant County, North Dakota, and Perkins County, South Dakota, areas without current oil and gas development. We captured and fitted 150 female deer with Very High Frequency (VHF) collars across study sites, and …

Does Emotional Distress Tolerance Predict Fear Responding In A Heights-Fearful Sample?, Amber Lynn Billingsley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Emotional distress tolerance—or the ability to withstand negative emotional states—is considered a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology. Although it is theorized to play an important role in anxiety, research aiming to delineate the relationship between anxiety and emotional distress tolerance is lacking. The current study tested whether an individual’s self-reported emotional distress tolerance predicted avoidance in the presence of feared stimuli using a heights-fearful sample. Moreover, the study tested whether emotional distress tolerance predicted other relevant in-the-moment fear responses, such as peak anxiety, anxious cognitions, and bodily sensations while in a heights scenario. Participants (N = 85) completed a …

Behavioral Inhibition And Avoidance: Identifying Vulnerabilities To Avoidant Behavior, Daniel Pineau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Avoidance is characterized as the inability of an individual to interact with a stimulus for the purpose of reducing distress. Avoidance increases the likelihood that distress and symptoms related to anxiety will increase. This may lead to further impairment and anxious pathology across the lifespan. Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) describes a temperamental vulnerability that influences approach (Behavioral Approach System; BAS) and avoidance (Behavioral Inhibition System; BIS) behaviors. The purpose of the study was to identify, using observed behavioral approach tasks, whether or not BIS/BAS influenced avoidant behavior above and beyond other avoidance vulnerabilities (anxiety sensitivity and emotion dysregulation). Participants (N=297) …

The Effects Of A Brief Mindfulness Intervention On Interracial Anxiety And Avoidance, Lee Schaefer

Psychology Dissertations

Interracial anxiety, psychological discomfort in the context of interactions with racial outgroup members, is associated with less satisfying interracial interactions and more avoidance of interracial contact. For White Americans, avoidance of interracial contact, especially with Black Americans, is an especially pernicious outcome, as it can perpetuate racial bias and anxiety. Mindfulness, the awareness and acceptance of present-moment experience, has potential as an intervention to reduce avoidance in interracial interactions given its theoretical mechanism of weakening the relationship between anxiety and avoidance behavior, necessarily reducing anxiety. The present study examined the effects of brief mindfulness training on anxiety and avoidance behavior …

Habit Formation In Active Avoidance, Kelsey J. Burke

Theses and Dissertations

Two studies explored feedback value in avoidance learning using rats. We show that limited, but not extended trained rats were sensitive to feedback devaluation via counterconditioning. Identical effects on motivational transfer were obtained. These results suggest that maladaptive avoidance may be established in a similar way to habits of consumption.

Impacts And Implications Of Polytypism On The Evolution Of Aposematic Coloration, Justin Philip Lawrence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aposematic signaling is a comdefensive strategy whereby prey species use conspicuous signals (i.e., bright coloration) to warn predators of the risks of predation due to a secondary defense. Theoretical, lab, and field experiments have demonstrated that individuals who project novel conspicuous signals should experience disproportionately high predation pressure as predators will not associate novel signals with a secondary defense. Thus, aposematic signaling should be subject to strong positive frequency-dependent selection (FDS). Numerous species show considerable intrapopulation variation (polymorphism) in direct conflict with the expectations of FDS. Interpopulation variation (polytypism) can adhere to expectations of FDS, but as its origins likely …

Emotional Experience During Couple Support Interactions: The Role Of Attachment Anxiety And Avoidance, E. Megan Lachmar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Marriage and Family Therapy clinic at Utah State University conducted a study called the Relationship Checkup in which couple data was collected in an initial 2-hour session and feedback was provided for them in a follow-up 1-hour session. This checkup included completing self-report surveys, having an in-person interview, as well as couple interactions. The current study was carried out within the context of this broader relationship checkup, focusing on the couple support interactions, in which partners discussed a personal issue they would like to change about themselves.

Although a substantial amount of attention has been given to the role …

Mechanisms Of Navigation In Fiddler Crabs: An Analysis Of Allocentric And Egocentric Contributions, Stephen G. Volz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Navigation in biological systems is a complex task-set that involves learning processes and may include constructing representations of features of their environment. Across the animal kingdom, different learning mechanisms have evolved to similar spatial problems. The extent to which mechanisms are conserved across taxa are an important research area that can guide our understanding of the cognitive dimensions of navigation. Recent studies of mammals, birds, and arthropods has found that these animals often attend to multiple forms of sensory cues, and to either integrate the solutions generated by these cues, or at times prefer one form of cue over another. …