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The Abstract Language: Symbolic Cogniton And Its Relationship To Embodiment, Steven A. Lenarduzzi Jul 2022

The Abstract Language: Symbolic Cogniton And Its Relationship To Embodiment, Steven A. Lenarduzzi

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Embodied theories presume that concepts are modality specific while symbolic theories suggest that all modalities for a given concept are integrated. Symbolic and embodied theories do fairly well with explaining and describing concrete concepts. Specifically, embodied theories seem well suited to describing the actual content of a concept while symbolic theories provide insight into how concepts operate. Conversely, neither symbolic nor embodied theories have been fully sufficient when attempting to describe and explain abstract concepts. Several pluralistic accounts have been put forth to describe how the semantic/lexical system interacts with the conceptual system. In this respect, they attempt to “embody” …


The Detection Of Malingered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder With The Cap-Q And Traumatic Events Inventory, Samuel D. Rodman Jul 2022

The Detection Of Malingered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder With The Cap-Q And Traumatic Events Inventory, Samuel D. Rodman

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The feigning of psychiatric symptoms is of great concern in both clinical and forensic settings. Therefore, it is crucial to develop reliable and valid measures that are not only diagnostically valid but also allow for the detection of individuals who are attempting to exaggerate illness in order to receive monetary compensation or escape duty or work. The present study was initiated so as to assess the psychometric properties of a new measure for the assessment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the A-PTSD Scale. This 35-item self-report measure relies on the DSM-V criteria and employs indirect questioning as well as reversed …


Feminist Supervision, Supervisor Multicultural Competence, And Supervisee Counseling Outcomes, Rachael N. Dabkowski Jul 2022

Feminist Supervision, Supervisor Multicultural Competence, And Supervisee Counseling Outcomes, Rachael N. Dabkowski

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Supervision in the field of psychology is an essential practice that has significant implications for a supervisee’s success in their academic program, therapist identity and ability to become an independent professional. This study explored the perceptions of supervisees of how multiculturally competent they believed their supervisor to be and how much they believed their supervisor utilized feminist principles in supervision. Limited research has suggested that the modality of supervision and competence of a supervisor can be important factors in determining supervisee outcomes. Important to the current study were supervisee counseling self-efficacy, client empowerment, active commitment, and satisfaction in supervision. Data …


The Role Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Associated Features On Criminality In Emerging Adults, Jessica L. Harangozo Jun 2022

The Role Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Associated Features On Criminality In Emerging Adults, Jessica L. Harangozo

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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including criminal and violent behaviors (Milaniak & Widom, 2015). Prior research indicates that antisocial personality traits such as callousness may play a mediating effect on the relationship between ACEs and criminality (Baglivio et al., 2020). Further, the developmental period in which childhood maltreatment occurs may be related to greater criminality (Thornberry et al., 2010). This research project aims to examine how ACEs relate to criminality in emerging adults, with consideration of antisocial personality traits and the developmental period of experiencing childhood abuse. This study hypothesizes: (A) Both higher …


Emotion Regulation And Coping Motives: An Ema Study Of The Path Between Negative Affect And Craving, Joseph H. Lancaster May 2022

Emotion Regulation And Coping Motives: An Ema Study Of The Path Between Negative Affect And Craving, Joseph H. Lancaster

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Negative affect (NA) is a known precipitant of cravings, and each are robust predictors of lapses, making this pathway an excellent target for lapse prevention in opioid treatment. As emotion dysregulation arises from unmitigated NA, deficits in emotion regulation (ER) contribute to cravings in part by worsening distress, although the form these deficits take remains unclear. Coping motives are relevant in the context of NA and show robust associations with ER difficulties. Further, coping motives have demonstrated a similar role in exacerbating the effect NA has on cravings. This study aimed to explore the conditional indirect effects of ER deficits …


The Effects Of Childhood Trauma And Stressors On Problem Behaviors: Coping As A Moderator, Halle C. Letizio May 2022

The Effects Of Childhood Trauma And Stressors On Problem Behaviors: Coping As A Moderator, Halle C. Letizio

ETD Archive

Childhood trauma and childhood stressors are extremely common, impacting two- thirds of children aged twelve to seventeen [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2019]. Whether these adversities are egregious or subtle, the impact of such adversities can last well beyond childhood and can extend into young adulthood. The current study aimed to determine if young adult substance use and criminal involvement are long-term effects of childhood trauma and childhood stressors. Another goal was to determine whether these effects could be alleviated to some extent with the utilization of positive coping mechanisms. In a diverse sample of young adults …


Using Personality Traits To Predict Boundary Management Strategies, Corey A. Adams Mar 2022

Using Personality Traits To Predict Boundary Management Strategies, Corey A. Adams

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This research attempted to answer the question if it possible to predict an individual’s boundary management strategies by using their personality traits. Participants (N = 99) were recruited on the website LinkedIn to answer a survey that included questions about their personality traits, their workplace culture around boundary management, the type of boundary management strategy they preferred to use, and the strategies they used. The traits Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness were found to be significant personality traits to use when predicting preferred boundary management strategies with a moderately strong relationship to preferring Segmentation boundary management strategies. Contrary to …


Predicting Depression, Anxiety, And Burden: Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, And Coping In Caregivers Of Individuals With Dementia, Claire Grant Jan 2022

Predicting Depression, Anxiety, And Burden: Self-Compassion, Self-Esteem, And Coping In Caregivers Of Individuals With Dementia, Claire Grant

ETD Archive

Caregivers of Individuals with Dementia (IWDs) face unique stressors as a result of their role as caregiver. While the negative outcomes associated with providing care for an IWD are well established, including increased levels of burden and increased symptoms of depression and anxiety, the predictors of these well-being outcomes are not. Based on previous research, in the proposed study, predictors include self-compassion, self-esteem, and coping techniques. It is currently unknown how these variables impact outcomes like depression, anxiety, and burden individually or how they fit together into a larger theoretical model of caregiving. This line of research has three main …


An Examination Of Perceptions Of Intimate Partner Violence Severity Within Same-Sex Compared To Opposite-Sex Couples, Eric K. Frazier Dec 2021

An Examination Of Perceptions Of Intimate Partner Violence Severity Within Same-Sex Compared To Opposite-Sex Couples, Eric K. Frazier

ETD Archive

Background: About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV; CDC, 2019). Although there have been numerous studies on IPV, our knowledge pertains to IPV in heterosexual couples. Although IPV occurs at similar rates in both opposite and same sex couples, studies suggest that individuals are more likely to evaluate IPV in opposite-sex couples as more severe compared to same-sex couples. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine college students’ perceptions of IPV in both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. Procedure: The study included 144 participants who read eight vignettes, four of …


Racial Microaggressions And Mental Health: Internalized Racism As A Mediator And Black Identity And Social Support As Moderators, Steven M. Sanders May 2021

Racial Microaggressions And Mental Health: Internalized Racism As A Mediator And Black Identity And Social Support As Moderators, Steven M. Sanders

ETD Archive

Internalized racism, also referred to as appropriated racial oppression, refers to the phenomenon of people of color adopting negative racist messages about their worth and abilities. The internalization of racism by members of the targeted group results in an experience of self-degradation and self-alienation and the assumption of one’s inferiority, which is directly related to issues of self-esteem, self-confidence, shame, depression, and anxiety. This study used structural regression with moderation and mediation to explore the possibility of internalized racism as a mediating variable and black identity and perceived social support as possible moderators. A sample of 639 participants (MAge = …


Mortality Salience And The Effects Of Autonomy On Death Anxiety, Dylan Earlin Horner Jan 2019

Mortality Salience And The Effects Of Autonomy On Death Anxiety, Dylan Earlin Horner

ETD Archive

The present research built on prior work suggesting that mortality salience (MS) can undermine psychological well-being and explored the previously-untested hypothesis that autonomy can mitigate that effect. Specifically, the study investigated the effects of primed autonomy on measured death anxiety following a reminder of mortality. Participants (n = 119) were randomly assigned to either an MS or control condition and then, following a delay, were primed with the concept of either autonomy or being controlled. Death anxiety was then measured. Results found that MS increased death anxiety among those in the controlled prime condition, but not among those in the …


The Effects Of Mortality Salience And Autonomy Priming On Worldview Defensiveness, Joseph P. Conti Jan 2019

The Effects Of Mortality Salience And Autonomy Priming On Worldview Defensiveness, Joseph P. Conti

ETD Archive

Terror Management Theory posits that people are motivated to defend against death awareness by maintaining cultural beliefs and behaviors that transcend mortality— sometimes motivating hostile, even militaristic, defenses of one’s culture. In contrast, self-determination theory suggests that autonomous regulation (self-determination) serves as a platform for personal growth and well-being. However, the present thesis suggests that, in addition to fueling growth, self-determination may also help buffer against the awareness of mortality, thus mitigating the impact of death awareness on hostile cultural worldview defense. To test this hypothesis, American participants were randomly assigned to be reminded of mortality or a control topic, …


Effects Of Self-Determination On Work/Life Balance, Sarah M. Hawke Jan 2019

Effects Of Self-Determination On Work/Life Balance, Sarah M. Hawke

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In recent years the workforce has experienced many changes, mostly as a result of the proliferation of technology. With the ever changing work environment and the increased blurring of work and home boundaries, more research is imperative in helping organizations hire, retain, and keep the right employees satisfied. The present study aims to examine the interactions and moderating effects of motivation on boundary management preferences and behaviors. Respondents were asked to complete three questionnaires assessing their motivation towards their current work, preferred boundary management styles, and their enactment of boundary management techniques while present in the work and home domains. …


Psychological Abuse In Same-Sex Couples Compared To Heterosexual Couples: Implications For Depression Outcomes, Kristyn Oravec Jan 2019

Psychological Abuse In Same-Sex Couples Compared To Heterosexual Couples: Implications For Depression Outcomes, Kristyn Oravec

ETD Archive

Many studies have documented the mental health repercussions of intimate partner violence (IPV) on heterosexual individuals, with depression being one of the most prevalent outcomes of IPV victimization (Campbell, 2002; Golding, 1999; Mechanic, Weaver, Resick, 2008). There are very few studies that examine the mental health outcomes of IPV within same-sex relationships (Gehring & Vaske, 2017), because much research is rooted in traditional frameworks. In order to bridge gaps in the research, this project will extend work on IPV to focus on LG populations to examine the relationship between recent psychological abuse and mental health outcomes, specifically depression. Participants comprised …


Self-Compassion And Depression Across Culture: Comparisons Of Emerging Adults In China And The United States, Han Na Lee Jan 2019

Self-Compassion And Depression Across Culture: Comparisons Of Emerging Adults In China And The United States, Han Na Lee

ETD Archive

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mood disorders and affects over 300 million individuals across the world in a given year. MDD is marked by sadness, loss of pleasure or interest, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, fatigue or loss of energy, and poor concentration that leads to functional impairment, which can potentially have a debilitating impact on individual’s educational, occupational, social and psychological areas of life. Not only is depression highly prevalent in the U.S., but it is also a global concern, including countries such as China. Estimates of lifetime prevalence …


The Effect Of Self-Compassion In The Experience Of Anxiety And Fear During An Interpersonal Stressor, Arishna Agarwal Jan 2019

The Effect Of Self-Compassion In The Experience Of Anxiety And Fear During An Interpersonal Stressor, Arishna Agarwal

ETD Archive

At its core, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is an intense fear where an individual is afraid of being rejected, humiliated, embarrassed, or negatively judged by others in social situations. Due to these feelings, those affected by SAD avoid interpersonal situations, which maintain and worsen the disorder. SAD affects 15 million adults and impairs daily functioning in countless aspects. Through various research studies, evidence has shown that individuals who suffer from SAD have difficulty managing their emotional states such as fear and anxiety and are less willing to accept and forgive themselves than their healthy peers. Willingness to accept, be kind, …


Do Borderline Personality Disorder Features Predict Emotion Regulation Use And Outcomes In Daily Life? An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study, Kayla Scamaldo Jan 2019

Do Borderline Personality Disorder Features Predict Emotion Regulation Use And Outcomes In Daily Life? An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study, Kayla Scamaldo

ETD Archive

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is associated with emotion dysregulation, reflected by frequent use of maladaptive responses and infrequent use of adaptive responses. However, studies on emotion regulation (ER) use and BPD have primarily employed survey methodology and it’s unclear whether these responses are deployed in daily life. Further, it is unclear if there are differences in the effectiveness of various ER responses among individuals with elevated BPD symptoms. Therefore, this study examined whether BPD symptoms predict increased use of maladaptive strategies, including rumination, suppression, and substance use, and decreased use of adaptive strategies, distraction and problem solving, in daily life. …


Culture Shift: Values Of Generation X And Millennial Employees, Brent A. Stevenor Jan 2019

Culture Shift: Values Of Generation X And Millennial Employees, Brent A. Stevenor

ETD Archive

The current study measured levels of individualism and collectivism among Millennial and Generation X employees. With the Millennial generation being the most scrutinized in history, previous research suggests that Millennial and Generation X employees hold differing cultural values, causing the two generations to clash at work. This study revealed mixed findings in which there were certain instances where Millennial employees were more collectivistic than Generation X employees, and others in which they were more individualistic. In addition to the limitations and implications of the current study, a concluding remark on the current state of generational research is offered.


Arousal Or Relevance? Applying A Discrete Emotion Perspective To Aging And Affect Regulation, Sara E. Lautzenhiser Jan 2019

Arousal Or Relevance? Applying A Discrete Emotion Perspective To Aging And Affect Regulation, Sara E. Lautzenhiser

ETD Archive

While research in the psychology of human aging suggests that older adults are quite adept at managing negative affect, emotion regulation efficacy may depend on the discrete emotion elicited. For instance, prior research suggests older adults are more effective at dealing with emotional states that are more age-relevant/useful and lower in intensity (i.e., sadness) relative to less relevant/useful or more intense (i.e., anger). The goal of the present study was to probe this discrete emotions perspective further by addressing the relevance/intensity distinction within a broader set of negative affective states (i.e., fear and disgust, along with anger and sadness). Results …


Development And Validation Of The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale In A Sample Of Social Media Users, Megan Nicole Mancini Jan 2019

Development And Validation Of The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale In A Sample Of Social Media Users, Megan Nicole Mancini

ETD Archive

This study examined the psychometric worth of a piloted measure, Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale for Social Media Users (STSS-SM). The STSS-SM is a 17-item instrument designed to measure intrusion, avoidance, and arousal symptoms associated with indirect exposure to traumatic events via social media use. Young adult social media users (N = 144) completed a survey containing the STSS-SM and measures of depression, trauma history, social media use, and demographics. A confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model of secondary traumatic stress in social media users. Additionally, evidence for internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity were found. These findings suggest …


A Grounded Theory Investigation Of Supervisors’ Perspectives On Multicultural Strength-Based Supervision, Erica D. Wiley Jan 2019

A Grounded Theory Investigation Of Supervisors’ Perspectives On Multicultural Strength-Based Supervision, Erica D. Wiley

ETD Archive

This study addressed an area of supervision that is important to the identity of Counseling Psychologists: multicultural strength-based clinical supervision. Clinical supervision is instrumental to the development of psychological skills and knowledge and is an essential component of masters and doctoral training in psychology. This research explored the ways that clinical supervisors attempt to incorporate strength-based clinical supervision in conjunction with multicultural supervision strategies and concepts into their work with students, which has not previously been done. This study was a qualitative investigation using grounded theory and adapted consensual qualitative research methodology and analysis. Participants included 14 diverse licensed psychologists …


High School Discipline Policies And The Teacher-Student Relationship, Sara Elizabeth Nardone Jan 2019

High School Discipline Policies And The Teacher-Student Relationship, Sara Elizabeth Nardone

ETD Archive

Relationships play a central role of human development by fostering connection and growth in individuals (Josselson, 1992). Adolescence is a stage of development in which relationships are perhaps most integral because they help youth navigate the changes that come with this developmental phase. Teacher-student relationships are one of the most influential relationships for youth because teacher-student relationships impact students’ academic achievement and educational experience (Ellerbrock et al., 2015; Wilkins, 2014). There are many factors that contribute to positive teacher-student relationships. An area of research that has not gained as much attention regarding teacher-student relationships is discipline in schools. High schools …


Rumination In Borderline Personality Disorder: An Examination Of Interpersonal Contexts In Experimental And Daily Life Settings, Skye C. Napolitano Jan 2018

Rumination In Borderline Personality Disorder: An Examination Of Interpersonal Contexts In Experimental And Daily Life Settings, Skye C. Napolitano

ETD Archive

This study examined whether Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) features predict increased rumination in response to interpersonal contexts, leading to increased negative affect (NA) outcomes across self-report, experimental, and daily life settings. As BPD is characterized by sustained NA, emotion dysregulation, and pervasive difficulties in interpersonal relationships, interpersonal contexts may present a specific liability for individuals with BPD to ruminate, and subsequently, experience enduring NA. Undergraduate participants (N=119) completed measures of BPD features, dispositional rumination, emotion dysregulation, and both 1) a laboratory protocol that measured spontaneous rumination and affective reactivity to non-interpersonal (sad film clip) and interpersonal (Cyberball) stimuli and 2) …


The Effect Of Taboo Words And Reprimands In An Audio-Visual Modified Stroop Task, Rachel B. Fernandes Jan 2018

The Effect Of Taboo Words And Reprimands In An Audio-Visual Modified Stroop Task, Rachel B. Fernandes

ETD Archive

Previous research has found that participants respond less efficiently to taboo words in a modified emotional Stroop task than to neutral words because of the emotional nature of taboo words. Additionally, there is some evidence that the extent to which these words impact performance depends on whether the words appear in a participant’s native language. More specifically, the taboo effect has been found to be more pronounced in a person’s native language. One purpose of the current study was to determine whether previous results in a taboo Stroop task would be replicated. Another purpose of this study was to determine …


The Moderating Role Of Emotion Regulation In The Relationship Between Stress And Inflammatory Bowel Disease Severity Among Diagnosed Individuals, Sarah M. Ghose Jan 2018

The Moderating Role Of Emotion Regulation In The Relationship Between Stress And Inflammatory Bowel Disease Severity Among Diagnosed Individuals, Sarah M. Ghose

ETD Archive

This study examined whether both perceived and objectively rated chronic stress are contributing external factors to altered Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) disease severity among diagnosed individuals. This study further examined whether emotion regulation (ER) acts as an ameliorative factor within this relationship. Of additional interest to this investigation was whether objectively rated stress (acquired via the UCLA Life Stress Interview) provided a unique contribution to this relationship. Recent investigations suggest that higher levels of perceived stress may result in increased IBD severity. Further, ER deficits may be associated with increased IBD disease activity in response to both chronic and perceived …


Investigating The Electrophysiology Of Long-Term Priming In Spoken Word Recognition, Erin K. Bell Jan 2018

Investigating The Electrophysiology Of Long-Term Priming In Spoken Word Recognition, Erin K. Bell

ETD Archive

When participants are listening to the same words spoken by different talkers, two types of priming are possible: repetition priming and talker-specific priming. Repetition priming refers to the exposure of a stimulus improving responses to a subsequent exposure. Talker-specific priming refers to the exposure of words spoken by same talkers improving responses relative to those same words spoken by different talkers. There are conflicting theories regarding whether talker-specific priming should be observed. Abstract representational theories suggest that episodic details (e.g., talker identity) are not stored in the mental lexicon, while episodic theories of the lexicon posit that lexical representations include …


Examining Effects Of Arousal And Valence Across The Adult Lifespan In An Emotional Stroop Task, Samantha E. Tuft Jan 2018

Examining Effects Of Arousal And Valence Across The Adult Lifespan In An Emotional Stroop Task, Samantha E. Tuft

ETD Archive

As age increases, there is evidence that people tend to pay less attention to negative information, pay more attention to positive information, or both. There are many theoretical accounts that attempt to explain this positivity bias. In the current study, I examined positivity effects across the adult lifespan by evaluating competing predictions of two theories: Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, which is based in motivation, and Dynamic Integration Theory, which is based in capacity. Computer mouse tracking was used to examine effects across levels of Valence (negative, neutral, and positive) and Arousal (low, medium, and high) in an emotional Stroop task. Participants …


The Impact Of Traumatic Symptomology And Social Support On The Effective Management Of Death Anxiety, Emily Pauline Courtney Jan 2018

The Impact Of Traumatic Symptomology And Social Support On The Effective Management Of Death Anxiety, Emily Pauline Courtney

ETD Archive

Terror management theory (TMT) posits that people function effectively in the world, in part, by relying on social anxiety-buffer systems to protect against death awareness; however, a new extension called anxiety buffer disruption theory (ABDT), posits that traumatic experiences can overwhelm those buffers, leaving people vulnerable to death anxiety and at increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To test these hypotheses, participants with low and high posttraumatic stress symptoms were identified and recruited using a general population pre-screen, prompted to engage in a relationship threat priming task (vs. control topic), and then asked to complete a standard measure …


Normative Data For The Poreh Naming Test, Grace Ozinga Jan 2018

Normative Data For The Poreh Naming Test, Grace Ozinga

ETD Archive

The present study describes the development of a novel confrontational naming test for the assessment of word finding and language abilities, and also serves as a tool for the assessment of effort. The test is comprised of two portions. The first portion consists of 40 colored drawings of day to day objects and is aimed at assessing verbal abilities, particularly word finding deficits. The second portion also involves the presentation of 40 colored drawings, each drawing comprised of the original object that was previously presented and two distractors, objects that were not previously presented. The present study aims to evaluate …


An Examination Of The Relationships Between Attributional Style, Reappraisal, And Depression Risk In Arab Americans, Khadeja Najjar Jan 2018

An Examination Of The Relationships Between Attributional Style, Reappraisal, And Depression Risk In Arab Americans, Khadeja Najjar

ETD Archive

While depression is a cross-cultural phenomenon, much of the literature that examines risk factors and mechanisms for its occurrence is examined from a Western perspective. As cultural background and level of acculturation to the host culture is known to shape the expression of depressive disorders, as well as their risk factors, this study examined whether cultural factors influence the relationship between two cognitive emotion regulation processes and depression symptoms. Specifically, this study examined whether the relationship between internal, stable, and global causal attributions for negative events (negative attributional style) and depression is mediated by one’s tendency to reframe the meaning …