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The Importance Of Handedness For Females: Solving Visual-Spatial Problems, Elise M. Pforr Sep 2006

The Importance Of Handedness For Females: Solving Visual-Spatial Problems, Elise M. Pforr

Modern Psychological Studies

It is well established that men tend to perform better than women in tests of spatial ability. The magnitude of these gender differences is usually relatively modest; however tasks involving 'mental rotation' generate more substantial effects. Mental rotation tests consistently yield the largest effect sizes, of any cognitive or spatial test specifically, for sex differences in performance. Many studies investigating factors such as sociocultural, biological, ratio scoring and instructional manipulation have been conducted in an attempt to account for this difference. However, very few studies have investigated the role of handedness in visual-spatial tasks, especially, in relation to impossible (mirror …


Marriage Length, Spousal Support, And Marital Satisfaction In Dual-Income Men And Women, Shaday A. Gallimore, Jennifer L. Hughes, Holly A. Geldhauser Sep 2006

Marriage Length, Spousal Support, And Marital Satisfaction In Dual-Income Men And Women, Shaday A. Gallimore, Jennifer L. Hughes, Holly A. Geldhauser

Modern Psychological Studies

The introduction of women into the workforce has led to a steady increase in the number of dual-income couples in the United States. Since dual-income married couples now comprise the majority of couples, they are especially important to study. Approximately half of marriages end in divorce, so an increased knowledge of what makes marriages work is essential. Previous studies indicate that as spousal support increases so does marital satisfaction. This study seeks to confirm the above mentioned relationship for dual-income married couples by studying 143 dual-income couples from varying demographic backgrounds. Also, we will investigate whether couples married for a …


Just Delivering The News Or Something More? How The Mass Media Influence Public Opinion And Public Perception, Tamara D. Marashlian Sep 2006

Just Delivering The News Or Something More? How The Mass Media Influence Public Opinion And Public Perception, Tamara D. Marashlian

Modern Psychological Studies

The media, which include radio, television and newspapers, have become a crucial part of society as it provides the public with a variety of information on a daily basis. As a result, the media can potentially influence public opinion and public perception. This review examines the current research on how the media are influential and, in the process, the degree to which the media are responsible for creating public opinion. Also explained is the third-person effect, defined as the belief that a person considers himself to be less influenced by the media than others. Furthermore, the review focuses on the …


The Effects Of Prolonged Job Insecurity On The Psychological Well-Being Of Workers, Cynthia Rocha, Jennifer Hause Crowell, Andrea K. Mccarter Sep 2006

The Effects Of Prolonged Job Insecurity On The Psychological Well-Being Of Workers, Cynthia Rocha, Jennifer Hause Crowell, Andrea K. Mccarter

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Job insecurity has been increasing since the 1980s. While researchers have found job insecurity to be negatively associated with multiple indicators of well-being for workers and their families in cross sectional studies, less is known about the long term effects of prolonged job insecurity. Specifically, there is a need to collect measures of both insecurity and its consequences at multiple time periods. The current study followed workers for 3 1/2 years to assess the effects of chronic job insecurity on psychological distress. Results indicate that while workers reported increased feelings of security over time, there were longer term negative effects …


Deliberate Self-Harm In Clinical And Non-Clinical Populations, Jeffrey T. Counterman Sep 2006

Deliberate Self-Harm In Clinical And Non-Clinical Populations, Jeffrey T. Counterman

Modern Psychological Studies

Approximately 4% of the general population and 14% of college students have engaged or currently engage in deliberate self-harm. The purpose of the Literature Review is to assess similarities and differences of demographic information, gender, age, frequency, prevalence rates, methods, and reasons of self-harm in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Definitions and alternate names of self-harm were presented, common misconceptions regarding gender were discussed, and frequency and prevalence rates in clinical and non-clinical samples were compared.


Front Matter Sep 2006

Front Matter

Modern Psychological Studies

No abstract provided.


Gender Differences In Memory Recall, April Baer, Nevelyn N. Trumpeter, Bart L. Weathington Sep 2006

Gender Differences In Memory Recall, April Baer, Nevelyn N. Trumpeter, Bart L. Weathington

Modern Psychological Studies

Past research suggests that males and females differ in memory associated with genderstereotyped objects. Specific findings, however, have been inconclusive with regards to the specifics of these differences. The purpose of this study was to extend this literature by evaluating gender differences in memory recall when participants are presented with stereotypically masculine items, stereotypically feminine items, and neutral items. Results found that females recalled more items overall and performed better on recalling gender neutral and female stereotyped items. No differences were found between males and females in recalling male stereotyped items. Additionally, no difference was found between males and females …


Effectiveness Of Treatment Interventions For Adults Suffering From Anger Disorders: A Literature Review, Amy Levitt, Mark J. Sciutto Sep 2006

Effectiveness Of Treatment Interventions For Adults Suffering From Anger Disorders: A Literature Review, Amy Levitt, Mark J. Sciutto

Modern Psychological Studies

No abstract provided.


Computer-Mediated Communication And Group Cohesion, Kirsten M. Barbosa Sep 2006

Computer-Mediated Communication And Group Cohesion, Kirsten M. Barbosa

Modern Psychological Studies

Utilizing the recent gains in technology, many work teams now communicate through computer-mediated communication (e.g., instant-messaging). As the research in this area continues to grow, one variable that has not been considered is group cohesion in "virtual" environments. To address this issue, four-member groups (N=144) completed tasks by communicating through an instant-messaging system or by meeting face-to-face. The study allowed for assessment of cohesiveness as well as group performance on a judgment task. Contrary to hypotheses, differences in group cohesion were not identified between the communication conditions. However, groups communicating through instant messaging took longer to complete the tasks and …


The Influence Of Children On Family Purchase Decisions: A Phenomenological Approach, Usman Majeed, Nadia S. Banoori Jul 2006

The Influence Of Children On Family Purchase Decisions: A Phenomenological Approach, Usman Majeed, Nadia S. Banoori

Business Review

This study was conducted to understand the influence of school-going children between seven to ten years of age on family’s buying decision-making in the area of North Nazimabad. A sample of three children was chosen to be interviewed and were asked a number of questions related to their influence on purchase. Later, their parents were interviewed to counter-check their perceptions about their children’s influence. The results showed that children did exert some influence on decisions, especially in cases where the product was for their own use. Another result was that the level of understanding of the children was high enough …


Faculty Research: Violence And Family In Northern Ireland, Patricia J. Fanning, Ruth Hannon Jun 2006

Faculty Research: Violence And Family In Northern Ireland, Patricia J. Fanning, Ruth Hannon

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.


Media & Self Perception, Shera Kulow, Candice Menne May 2006

Media & Self Perception, Shera Kulow, Candice Menne

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

There has been previous controversial research pertaining to self perception and the media. This study is an investigation which implies the relationship of the amount of television watched on people’s negative self-image. Data was collected from 46 participants (23 men, 23 women) from Lindenwood University, who completed a self-image survey and reported the amount of television hours watched per week. Disproving the presented hypothesis, there was no relation between the amounts of television a subject watched on his/her positive or negative self-image. However, there are many factors that may explain the findings and the need for further research is highlighted.


2005-2006, Full Issue May 2006

2005-2006, Full Issue

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

No abstract provided.


Possible Undue Stress Factors On Graduating Seniors, Steven L. Hahne May 2006

Possible Undue Stress Factors On Graduating Seniors, Steven L. Hahne

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the hypothesis of the experiment is true, which was to find if the student body thinks that a policy to which the graduating seniors must turn in all graded work two weeks before the final exam is fair. It also offers a chance for the student body to voice opinions or suggestions in an open and anonymous questionnaire format. Fifty students chose to partake in a questionnaire that included questions about the university’s policy. They were divided into two groups: one group had twenty-three students [freshman and sophomores] of Human Subject …


Prologue, Michiko Nohara-Leclair May 2006

Prologue, Michiko Nohara-Leclair

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

No abstract provided.


Investigation Into The Perception Of Beauty, Elysa Priester, Heather Kraft May 2006

Investigation Into The Perception Of Beauty, Elysa Priester, Heather Kraft

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The possibility of a connection between the sense of smell and the perception of beauty was investigated. Twenty-two participants were sorted into three different groups: group 1 (no stimulus), group 2 (negative stimulus), and group 3 (positive stimulus). The research procedure consisted of participants filling out a quick survey before and after the experiment to evaluate mood. Each individual was then asked to rate the attractiveness of the ten models. The hypothesis was that smell would have an impact on perception, a negative impact associated with a negative smell, a positive impact associated with a positive smell. No statistical significance …


Moods And Their Effects, Leaha Sharpe May 2006

Moods And Their Effects, Leaha Sharpe

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The purpose of this project is to find out whether positive or negative moods will carry over into an experiment with a simple fill in the blank statement, which states, “When it comes down to it, people are basically _______”. Participants used in this study consisted of 50 undergraduate student volunteers from Lindenwood University. The participant was asked to answer the previous statement and then to fill in a questionnaire regarding the current and normal moods of the individual. Statistically, there was no significant correlation between the statement and the current mood of the participant. It is concluded that participants …


Effects Of Chocolate On A Person’S Immediate Mood, Aaron Tighe, Katherine Hannemann May 2006

Effects Of Chocolate On A Person’S Immediate Mood, Aaron Tighe, Katherine Hannemann

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The following presents a study of chocolate and its effect on a person’s immediate mood. Prior research has suggested that chocolate affects a person biologically through neurotransmitters in the brain which can lead to an elevation in a person’s mood. Our study hopes to take this evidence a step further and discover if chocolate can alter one’s mood immediately, or if the chemicals in chocolate are released gradually, taking longer to affect a person’s mood. The participants were mainly recruited through the Human Subject Pool at Lindenwood University and were administered two surveys: one before a treat was consumed, and …


Effects On Mood By Various Spectrums Of Light From Eyeglasses, Marvin G. Herrod, Ashleigh L. Palmer May 2006

Effects On Mood By Various Spectrums Of Light From Eyeglasses, Marvin G. Herrod, Ashleigh L. Palmer

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

This research paper investigates whether various spectrums of light can have an effect on mood. Eyeglasses of red or blue lenses were used to alter spectrum of light in this study. Participants in this study were male and female students from Lindenwood University ranging in age from 18 to 26. The research procedure consisted of a 10-minute questionnaire, interview and a perception test that will measure visual disability, mood, and bias to colors. The data collected from the three mood perception tests will be quantified and compared with one another to find if red spectrum of light influences a person’s …


Glasses And Facial Recognition, Rebecca Knoelke May 2006

Glasses And Facial Recognition, Rebecca Knoelke

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

This study investigates whether glasses on a face reduce the accuracy with which people recognize that face. Forty-eight Lindenwood University undergraduates with a mean age of 20.25 years participated in this study. Two series of pictures were shown to the participants. The first contained pictures of models with and without glasses, and the second contained only pictures of models without glasses. The participants were asked to identify pictures of models in the second series who had also been in the first. A t-test revealed that participants recognized more pictures of models whom they initially viewed without glasses and fewer pictures …


Memory Task: Gender Differences In Verbal And Spatial Memory Ability, Miranda Richardson, Anna Zeik May 2006

Memory Task: Gender Differences In Verbal And Spatial Memory Ability, Miranda Richardson, Anna Zeik

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Memory can be broken down into two components: verbal and spatial memories. Verbal memory involves reading, writing, vocabulary and comprehension of texts. Spatial memory, on the other hand, involves the ability to read maps, rotate geometric figures in space, and understand diagrams. Women are thought to have better verbal memories than men, whereas men seem to have better spatial abilities than women. We recruited 28 participants from the Human Subject Pool in order to test this hypothesis. We found that this is not true when we gave the participants memory tasks; there are more differences within a certain gender than …


Hours Worked Versus Academic Grades In College Students, Erin Ferguson, Shelly Fuess May 2006

Hours Worked Versus Academic Grades In College Students, Erin Ferguson, Shelly Fuess

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

A students’ grade point average has a huge impact on the life of a student. This study proved that the amount of hours worked is not reflective of the students’ grade point average which proved our hypothesis incorrect. Past studies have shown varied results on grade point average and the amount of hours a student works. Individual differences may be a determining factor in considering how the individual balances work and school. There were sixty participates in this study from Lindenwood University. The results of this study showed a negative correlation of -.043 between the two variables.


The Effects Of Speech Rate On Comprehension, Jamilah Adams, Michelle Weber May 2006

The Effects Of Speech Rate On Comprehension, Jamilah Adams, Michelle Weber

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

There is a perception that the rate of speech affects the level of comprehensibility of a listener. If the rate of a speaker during a speech or lecture does in fact affect the level of comprehension, then the speaker would have to modify his/her rate of speech in order to benefit the ears of all his/her listeners. In the present study, 40 participants listened to four passages, taken from www.testpreview.com all recorded at varying speeds, after which they answered 10 questions that corresponded with the passages. Results found that speech rate had no effect on comprehension. However, findings based on …


Birth Order Effects On Academic Performance, January Boston, Kristal Cook May 2006

Birth Order Effects On Academic Performance, January Boston, Kristal Cook

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

In the experiment, 85 participants were recruited to participate in a questionnaire regarding birth order and academic performance by grade point averages (GPA). The survey was conducted to determine if there was a relationship between an individual's birth order and an individual's academic performance. Both of the experimenters come from relatively large families so we were interested to see if there was a positive or negative relationship between academic performance and birth orders. There was statistical significance between birth order and GPA however; the positive correlation was between the youngest siblings and the highest GPA.


Home Court Advantage And Quality Of Team, Anthony Clarkston May 2006

Home Court Advantage And Quality Of Team, Anthony Clarkston

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Home court advantage was examined using archival data taken from the onset of NCAA Division I basketball record keeping. The effect of team quality on home court advantage was analyzed by examining games where number one ranked teams faced number two ranked teams. The purpose of only examining games between number one and number two ranked teams is an attempt to equalize team quality (team quality in this study is defined by national rank) to better examine home court advantage. My hypothesis is that if team quality is evenly matched then a home court advantage will not play a role …


Disclosure Interviews David Buss. Evolutionary Psychology And Intimacy: The Science Of Violence, Competition, And Sex Apr 2006

Disclosure Interviews David Buss. Evolutionary Psychology And Intimacy: The Science Of Violence, Competition, And Sex

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

No abstract provided.


Adult Attachment As A Risk Factor For Intimate Partner Violence, Christine L. Pearson Apr 2006

Adult Attachment As A Risk Factor For Intimate Partner Violence, Christine L. Pearson

McNair Scholars Research Journal

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence and adult attachment in a sample of 35 community couples. Both partners’ attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were examined simultaneously as predictors of male-perpetrated verbal and physical intimate partner violence. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated high levels of female attachment anxiety predicted high levels of male-perpetrated verbal and physical violence. In contrast, male attachment was not predictive of male-perpetrated violence. These findings suggest for females, fear of abandonment and rejection may be a risk factor for becoming a victim of violence. Alternatively, exposure to violence may contribute to the development …


Adult Attachment And Disordered Eating In Undergraduate Men And Women, Jenna Elgin Apr 2006

Adult Attachment And Disordered Eating In Undergraduate Men And Women, Jenna Elgin

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Eating disorders threaten the physical and mental health of an alarming number of people today. Attachment theory has been identified as having important utility in many areas of psychological functioning and is commonly used as a way to conceptualize emotional, social, and interpersonal problems. Attachment theory, therefore, may have important implications in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Recently, a line of research has demonstrated a link between attachment styles and eating disorders. Nearly all of the research in this area, however, is on women. The purpose of this study is to examine both female and male undergraduate students …


Personality Characteristics As Predictors Of Health Risk Behaviors, Adam A. Torres Apr 2006

Personality Characteristics As Predictors Of Health Risk Behaviors, Adam A. Torres

McNair Scholars Research Journal

This study examines personality characteristics as predictors of risky behavior, utilizing the widely accepted Big Five personality dimensions as indicators. The Big Five dimensions include: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Researchers utilized a 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey that investigates different types of risky behavior and for our purposes we utilized: delinquency, smoking & drinking, disorderly eating, and engagement in risky sexual behavior. Previous research has shown varying relationships between personality dimensions and risky health behavior. In addition, some problem behaviors have been investigated more thoroughly than others. Utilizing anonymous questionnaires, researchers surveyed 272 college undergraduates. For each risky …


Effects Of Transcendental Medication On Blood Pressure, Joanna C. Bovee Jan 2006

Effects Of Transcendental Medication On Blood Pressure, Joanna C. Bovee

Modern Psychological Studies

Many prevention and treatments methods exist for hypertension, but not all are effective or easy to incorporate into one's life. Stress-reduction methods, including Transcendental Meditation (TM), has been suggested as such a method, but have received inconsistent reviews about its effect on blood pressure. This literature review of twelve clinical studies concludes patients who practice TM can significantly reduce blood pressure. The technique was found to be effective for groups at high risk for hypertension, such as African-Americans, as well as low-risk groups. TM also appears to be more effective than progressive muscle relaxation, another popular stress-management technique. TM should …