Educational Psychology Commons^™

Temporal Expectations In Delay Of Gratification, Jeremy M. Haynes, Mariah E. Willis-Moore, D. Perez, Devanio J. Cousins, Amy L. Odum

Psychology Faculty Publications

We examined how temporal expectations influence preference reversals in a delay of gratification task for rats based on a hypothesis of Rachlin (2000), who suggested that preference for a larger-later reward may shift in favor of a smaller-immediate reward as a result of changes in when that larger reward is expected. To explore Rachlin’s hypothesis, we pre-exposed two groups of rats to the delays associated with a larger-later reinforcer from a delay of gratification task. One group experienced the delays as a function of their choices in an intertemporal choice task and the other group experienced delays yoked from the …

“I Just Wanted Support”: Examining How Lds Clergy May Effectively Minister To Sexual And Gender Minority Congregants, Samuel J. Skidmore, G. Tyler Lefevor, Adlyn M. Perez-Figueroa, Kristen A. Gonzalez

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study explored why members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) who identify as sexual or gender minorities (SGM) speak with clergy regarding their SGM identities, as well as what LDS SGMs find helpful and unhelpful in these conversations. A sample of 25 current or former LDS SGMs participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants reported six overarching reasons for talking with clergy, including church procedures, seeking guidance, seeking emotional comfort, seeking repentance, seeking openness, and other people’s initiation. Participants reported several ways clergy were helpful, including empathic listening, openness, and affirmative …

Unpacking The Internalized Homonegativity–Health Relationship: How The Measurement Of Ih And Health Matter And The Contribution Of Religiousness, G. Tyler Lefevor, Eric R. Larsen, Rachel M. Golightly, Maddie Landrum

Psychology Faculty Publications

Internalized homonegativity (IH) is widely recognized to negatively influence the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning (LGBQ +) individuals. It is not clear, however, the role that religiousness may play in the relationship between IH and health or how differing conceptualizations of IH or health may influence this relationship. We conducted a multi-level meta-analysis of 151 effect sizes from 68 studies to examine the relationship between IH and health as well as what may moderate this relationship. Results suggested that IH was consistently and negatively related to health (r = − .28). Analyses suggest that IH was most …

“I Come Out Because I Love You”: Positive Coming Out Experiences Among Latter-Day Saint Sexual And Gender Minorities, Samuel J. Skidmore, G. Tyler Lefevor, Adlyn M. Perez-Figueroa

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background:

Coming out conversations are pivotal and stressful experiences for sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). Coming out can lead to more affirmation, safety, confidence, and improved relationships. However, adverse coming out experiences can lead to damaged relationships and ostracization, which may be more likely in conservative religious contexts.

Purpose:

The purpose of the current study was to explore what leads to positive coming out experiences for SGM members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Method:

A sample of 25 current or former Latter-day Saint (LDS) SGMs participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: …

Does Internalized Stigma Change The Way That Religiousness Relates To Depression For People With Minoritized Sexualities?, G. Tyler Lefevor, Chana Etengoff, Samuel J. Skidmore

Psychology Faculty Publications

Drawing on minority stress and intersectionality theories, we examine whether the relationship between religiousness and depression among people with marginalized sexualities changes as a function of their experience of internalized stigma. Analyses of a sample of 260 people with marginalized sexualities suggested that the relationship between religiousness and depression was moderated by internalized homonegativity. Simple slopes analyses revealed that when people with marginalized sexualities reported higher degrees of internalized homonegativity, the relationship between religiousness and depression was positive. Conversely, when people with marginalized sexualities reported lower degrees of internalized homonegativity, religiousness was negatively related to depression. Dismantling analyses using subscales …

Sexual Complexity: A Comparison Between Men And Women In A Sexual Minority Sample Of Members Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, William S. Bradshaw, John P. Dehlin, Renee V. Galliher

Psychology Faculty Publications

We report here some of the results from an online survey of 1612 LGBTQ members and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CJCLDS, Mormon). The data permitted an exploration of diversity—individual similarities and differences within and between the sexes. Men and women were compared with respect to sexual identity self-labeling and behavior (i.e., identity development, disclosure, activity), orientation change efforts, marital relationships, and psychosocial health—these variables in the context of their religious lives. More women than men self-identified in the bisexual range of the sexual attraction continuum. Both men and women had engaged in extensive …

"He Just Wanted Me To Do What Was Best For Me": Latter-Day Saint Clergy's Counsel To Sexual And Gender Minorities And Its Impact, G. Tyler Lefevor, Adlyn M. Perez-Figueroa, Samuel J. Skidmore, Kirsten A. Gonzalez

Psychology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to understand counsel given to sexual and gender minority individuals by clergy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CJCLDS), the impact of that counsel, and individuals’ perceptions of meetings with clergy. Twenty-five current and former members of the CJCLDS who identify as sexual and gender minorities (SGM) participated in 30–60 min semi-structured interviews focused on their interactions with clergy in the CJCLDS. Participants reported receiving various forms of counsel, including encouragement to adhere to church doctrine, counsel focused on self-acceptance, messages that clergy would support congregants’ agency and self-determination, counsel focused …

Religious Sexual Minorities, Belongingness, And Suicide Risk: Does It Matter Where Belongingness Comes From?, Samuel J. Skidmore, G. Tyler Lefevor, Rachel M. Golightly, Eric R. Larsen

Psychology Faculty Publications

Sexual minorities (SMs) experience a unique set of stressors as a result of their minority status that can lead to adverse mental health outcomes, including increased suicidal ideation (SI). A sense of belongingness—particularly in sexual minority communities—has been shown to buffer these outcomes. It is less clear, however, how belongingness in communities that hold heteronormative values may relate to SI. The present study fills this gap through an analysis of data from 602 SM members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CJCLDS; “Mormon” church). We examine how minority stressors and religiousness are related to SI for SMs …

Testing Delay Of Gratification In Rats Using A Within-Session Increasing-Delay Task, Jeremy M. Haynes, Amy L. Odum

Psychology Faculty Publications

In delay discounting, preference reversals refer to shifts in preference from a larger-later reward to a smaller-sooner reward. Steep hyperbolic discounting predicts a preference reversal when a smaller-sooner and larger-later reward both become temporally proximal; prior research is consistent with this prediction. Hyperbolic discounting does not predict a preference reversal, however, after an individual chooses a larger-later reward over a smaller-immediate reward; prior research is inconsistent with this prediction. We sought to replicate and extend these findings using a delay of gratification task in rats. The task included a defection response which allowed rats to reverse their preference after choosing …

Reinforced Behavioral Variability In The Valproate Rat Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ann Galizio, Amy L. Odum

Psychology Faculty Publications

Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to display restricted, repetitive behaviors and deficits in social interaction. Rats exposed to valproate (VPA) in utero have been shown to model symptoms of ASD. In previous research, VPA rats engaged in less social interaction and more repetitive responding than controls. The purpose of the present study was to further investigate behavioral variability in the VPA rat model of ASD by testing VPA and control rats in a reinforced-behavioral-variability operant task. In this procedure, rats emitted sequences of lever presses, some of which produced food. During baseline, food was delivered probabilistically, and …

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder In A Brazilian Context: Treatment Of Three Cases, Luana D. Laurito, Carla Pereira Loureiro, Livi Faro, Rafaela Venâncio Dias, Bianca Torres, Maria Eduarda Moreira-De-Oliveira, Samara Dos Santos-Ribeiro, Gabriela B. De Menezes, Leonardo F. Fontenelle, Carter H. Davis, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Previous research indicates that a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, there are no studies to date of ACT for OCD in Latin American populations. Because socio-cultural context influences OCD symptomatology, it is worth adapting and testing ACT for OCD in such cultures. Three patients seeking treatment for OCD at a public health center in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil were treated with 16 sessions of ACT and ERP. All participants showed decreased OCD scores from baseline to post-treatment that remained lower at follow-up, suggesting …

The “How” Of Exposures: Examining The Relationship Between Exposure Parameters And Outcomes In Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Clarissa W. Ong, Julie M. Peterson, Carina L. Terry, Jennifer Krafft, Jennifer L. Barney, Jonathan S. Abramowitz, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the most empirically supported treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, details on how to effectively conduct ERP are lacking. The current study aimed to identify exposure parameters associated with better subsequent outcomes in ERP for OCD. We analyzed data from 271 therapy sessions across 46 participants in a randomized controlled trial comparing traditional ERP and ERP conducted from an acceptance and commitment therapy framework (ACT + ERP). Multilevel model results indicated that experiential delivery of acceptance/tolerance practice was associated with higher exposure homework adherence, lower psychological inflexibility, and less OCD symptom severity (except contamination) …

Experiential Avoidance In Depression, Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Related, And Posttraumatic Stress Disorders: A Comprehensive Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Mehdi Akbari, Mohammad Seydavi, Zahra S. Hosseini, Jennifer Krafft, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although numerous studies on experiential avoidance and its relationship to psychopathology have been conducted, systematic summaries of this research are lacking. The current systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the transdiagnostic role of experiential avoidance across depression, anxiety and related disorders (obsessive-compulsive and related disorders [OCRDs] and post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) as well as potential moderators of these relations. A total of 441 eligible studies including 135,347 participants (66.16% female, mean age = 31.53) and 899 effect-sizes were summarized. Results indicated a moderate-to-large association of experiential avoidance with anxiety (r = .506) and depressive symptoms (r = .562), major …

Enabling Resilient Educational Support Network During Covid-19 Pandemic For Undergraduate And Second Career Seeking Students, Phillip Dillulio, Oleksandr Kravchenko, Konstantin Cigularov

Psychology Faculty Publications

During times of local and national quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities had to close campuses and expediently convert operations and services from face-to-face to virtual learning environments, including virtual classrooms, learning communities, offices, and meeting/advising rooms. Many engineering faculty and students experienced personal, technical, and psychosocial challenges associated with this dramatically altered reality, which may have significant and unprecedented effects on their personal and academic lives. The current study presents results from a needs assessment survey examining the perceptions of 157 engineering students majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering about the strengths and challenges exhibited by their professors/instructors …

An Open Trial Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy With Exposure And Response Prevention In An Intensive Outpatient Setting For Adults With Ocd, L. K. Capel, P. Zurita-Ona, C. Muller, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment settings for adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are common, but data on their effectiveness is limited. The effectiveness of IOP treatment for adults with OCD using combined Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) was studied with eight adults. The intervention was 15 hours per week for three weeks. Measures were collected at pre-treatment, one-week, two-weeks, post-treatment, and at one-month follow-up. At the end of treatment, all participants were in the mild range of OCD symptom severity with a mean symptom decrease of 58%. Psychological inflexibility, depression, anxiety and stress significantly decreased …

Online Process-Based Training For Perfectionism: A Randomized Trial, Clarissa W. Ong, Eric B. Lee, Michael E. Levin, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Process-based therapy (PBT) is model of psychotherapy designed to improve people’s ability to use a variety of skills from evidence-based treatments to match environmental needs and personal goals in the moment. This randomized trial tested the effect of an online self-help intervention modeled after PBT principles for participants with perfectionism (N = 77). The intervention comprised two four-session trainings teaching skills from different evidence-based treatments (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy) and targeting cognitive and motivational processes: (1) cognitive training and (2) motivational training respectively. Participants completed 17 assessments throughout the intervention and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. …

Intervention Research To Increase Pediatric Hearing Device Use: A Scoping Review, Karen F. Munoz, Diana Ortiz, Cameron Bolinger, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study is a scoping review examining interventions to increase hearing device use for children.

Method: Online databases were used to identify peer-reviewed journal articles published prior to November 1, 2021, yielding 1,288 after duplications were removed. Four articles met the inclusion criteria after articles were screened by title name and abstract and subsequent full-text screening of six articles. A qualitative analysis was conducted to identify features of the intervention studies related to the participants, design, intervention, key findings, and limitations.

Results: The included studies were published between 1982 and 2021, and in all four studies, the children used …