Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Punishing My Parents: Juveniles’ Perspectives On Parental Responsibility, Eve M. Brank, Jodi Lane

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Interviews of 147 juveniles in postadjudication residential facilities revealed that the juveniles generally did not believe their parents were responsible for the illegal activities of the juvenile. A vast majority of juveniles said that their parents were not responsible at all and also said that if they had known that their parents would also be punished for their crimes, they would have been less likely to commit the crimes. No patterns emerged for these questions based on the demographic or social characteristics of the juveniles. Implications of the juveniles’ perspective are considered, focusing particularly on the juveniles’ lack of willingness …

Hugo Who? G. F. Arnold’S Alternative Early Approach To Psychology And Law, Brian H. Bornstein, Steven D. Penrod

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Hugo Münsterberg is widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of psychology and law, and the publication of his book On the Witness Stand (1908) is considered the signal event in its founding. However, numerous other researchers were conducting and publishing research on psycholegal topics in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and at least one other book on psychology and law— G. F. Arnold’s Psychology Applied to Legal Evidence and Other Constructions of Law (1906)—appeared prior to the publication of Münsterberg’s work. The present paper contrasts these two seminal publications, focusing on their relevance to the “basic-versus-applied” debate …

Distinguishing Civil And Criminal Institutional Deprivations Of Liberty: An Analysis Of Expressive Functions, Marc W. Pearce

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A basic function of the criminal justice system is to impose legal punishment through deprivations of liberty. Because deprivations of liberty that flow from civil institutions are not punitive, the distinction between civil and criminal institutional deprivations of liberty arguably hinges on the concept of punishment. Punishment, in turn, may be distinguished from non-punitive sanctions based on its unique expressive function; that is, punishment is defined in part by the special feelings of resentment and judgments of disapproval that it expresses. These feelings and judgments have been labeled “condemnation.” This dissertation explores whether condemnation can be translated into an empirical …

Temperament, Parenting, And Prosocial Behaviors: Applying A New Interactive Theory Of Prosocial Development, Meredith Mcginley

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The primary purpose of the current study was to examine whether theoretically based interactions between dimensions of children’s temperament and maternal socialization predicted children’s and early adolescents’ prosocial (i.e, helping) behaviors. A new theory was derived by examining how an existing interactive model of early moral development, Kochanska’s (1993) theory of early conscience internalization, would apply to the prediction of prosocial behaviors. Aspects of child temperament and maternal socialization were thought to operate in a different manner from Kochanska’s theory. Unlike early conscience internalization, fearful temperament and parental punishment do not appear to promote prosocial behavior. Moreover, it was thought …

Anxiety And Emotion Dysregulation In Daily Life: An Experience-Sampling Comparison Of Social Phobia And Generalized Anxiety Disorder Analogue Groups, Nathan Alan Miller

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recent research suggests the presence of both common and disorder-specific emotion regulation deficits across the anxiety disorders (Turk et al., 2005), including those that may be uniquely characteristic of social phobia (SP; Kashdan & Breen, 2008; Kashdan & Steger, 2006; Turk et al., 2005). The purpose of the present study was to replicate and expand upon this growing literature in important directions. The initial portion of this study involved administration of relevant self-report symptom, emotion, and emotion regulation survey measures to a large undergraduate sample (N = 784). Scores on several symptom measures were used to create a SP analogue …

Supracutaneous Vibrotactile Perception Threshold At Various Non-Glabrous Body Loci, Miriam Bikah, M. Susan Hallbeck, John H. Flowers

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are currently designing a wearable/portable neutron detector. As an alerting mechanism, the device will transmit vibration to the wearer’s skin in the presence of hazardous levels of neutron radiation. The present study was designed to help in the ergonomically correct body placement of the neutron detection device while providing numerical values for vibratory thresholds at the surface of various non-glabrous body loci. The aim of the study was to investigate the underlying effects of locus stimulated, amount of subcutaneous fat around a specific body site and gender on low frequency vibration thresholds. Thirty-six participants, …

Clozapine And Olanzapine Exhibit An Intrinsic Anxiolytic Property In Two Conditioned Fear Paradigms: Contrast With Haloperidol And Chlordiazepoxide, Alexa Mead, Ming Li, Shitij Kapur

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Psychotic fear and anxiety disturbances are seen at a relatively high frequency in patients with schizophrenia. Atypical anti-psychotics are believed to show superior efficacy in reducing these symptoms. However, clinical and preclinical evidence regarding their anxiolytic efficacy has been mixed. In this study, we evaluated the possible anxiolytic property of two atypicals, clozapine and olanzapine, and compared them with typical haloperidol and chlordiazepoxide (a prototype of sedative-anxiolytic drug) in two preclinical models of fear. In Experiment 1, we used a fear-induced passive avoidance and conditioned place aversion paradigm and examined the effects of clozapine (20 mg/kg, sc), haloperidol (0.05 mg/kg, …

An Experimental Juvenile Probation Program: Effects On Parent And Peer Relationships, Eve M. Brank, Jodi Lane, Susan Turner, Terry Fain, Amber Sehgal

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

In an effort to provide a wider range of services to youth and their families than is traditionally available in routine probation, the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP) employed a team approach to service delivery of an intensive probation program. The researchers interviewed juveniles who were randomly assigned to either the SOCP experimental condition or the control condition of a routine probation program. The intensive probation program, among other goals, focused on improving parent-child relationships and teaching youth how to choose better peers. At 1 year post random assignment, experimental and control youth were not significantly different on key family …

Exposure To Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analysis Of Child And Adolescent Outcomes, Corrie A. Davies, Sarah E. Evans, David K. Dilillo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study used meta-analysis to examine the relationship between childhood exposure to domestic violence and children’s internalizing, externalizing, and trauma symptoms. Results from 60 reviewed studies revealed mean weighted effect size d­values of .48 and .47 for the relationship between exposure to domestic violence and childhood internalizing and externalizing symptoms, respectively, indicating moderate effects. A larger mean weighted effect size d-value of 1.54 was obtained for the relationship between exposure to domestic violence and childhood trauma symptoms, though this figure was based on only six studies. Moderator analyses for gender showed that the relationship between exposure to domestic …

Does Gender Moderate Associations Among Impulsivity And Health-Risk Behaviors?, Scott F. Stoltenberg, Brian D. Batien, Denis G. Birgenheir

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study explores the relations among gender, impulsivity and three health-risk behaviors relevant to young adults (tobacco use, alcohol problems and gambling problems) in a sample of 197 college-age individuals. We sought to determine whether impulsivity is associated with health-risk behaviors in the same ways for men and women. For tobacco use and gambling problems, men were at higher risk than women, and impulsivity was not significantly associated with higher risk. Higher levels of motor impulsivity in men accounted for a significant amount of the gender difference in risk for alcohol problems. That is, impulsivity as measured by the …

Role Of Affective Associations In The Planning And Habit Systems Of Decision-Making Related To Addiction, Marc T. Kiviniemi, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The model proposed by Redish et al. considers vulnerabilities within decision systems based on expectancy-value assumptions. Further understanding of processes leading to addiction can be gained by considering other inputs to decision-making, particularly affective associations with behaviors. This consideration suggests additional decision-making vulnerabilities that might explain addictive behaviors.

Parenting Styles And Youth Well-Being Across Immigrant Generations, Anne Driscoll, Stephen Russell, Lisa J. Crockett

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examines generational patterns of parenting styles, the relationships between parenting styles and adolescent well-being among youth of Mexican origin, and the role of generational parenting style patterns in explaining generational patterns in youth behavior (delinquency and alcohol problems) and psychological well-being (depression and self-esteem). This study uses two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The proportion of teens with permissive parents increased with generation; other parenting styles declined. The rate of youth with behavioral problems increased with generation. Self-esteem improved with generation; depression scores did not. Bivariate generational patterns of behavioral …

Juries And Eyewitnesses, Cindy Laub, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The role of an eyewitness can be extremely important in the legal system, as eyewitness testimony and eyewitness identifications play a major role in the prosecution of a criminal defendant. Often the courts are left to rely solely on an eyewitness because there is no other physical evidence. This leaves the jury to rely on a witness’s testimony. Jurors are asked to determine the credibility of an eyewitness at trial when rendering a verdict, and jurors have been found to place more emphasis on eyewitness testimony than on any other kind of evidence. However, there are numerous documented cases of …

Intravenous Nicotine Conditions A Place Preference In Rats Using An Unbiased Design, Jamie L. Wilkinson, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The rewarding effects of nicotine contribute to the chronic use of tobacco products. The place conditioning task, a widely used pre-clinical model to study drug reward, has lead to mixed results in rats when nicotine was administered subcutaneously or intraperitoneally; intravenously administered nicotine has not been examined. Further, much of the research demonstrating a nicotine-conditioned place preference in rats has used a biased design making these results susceptible to nonreward interpretations. The present study assessed whether intravenous (IV) nicotine would condition a place preference in an unbiased design and evaluated important behavioral parameters: nicotine dose, number of conditioning trials, and …

Competition Between The Conditioned Rewarding Effects Of Cocaine And Novelty, Carmela M. Reichel, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Access to novelty might provide an alternative learning history that competes with conditioned drug reward. We tested this suggestion in rats using a place conditioning procedure with cocaine and novelty. In Experiment 1, rats were conditioned with cocaine to prefer one side of an apparatus. In a subsequent phase, cocaine exposure continued; however, on the unpaired side, separate group of rats had access to novel objects, cocaine injections, or saline with no objects. Pairings with novel objects or cocaine shifted a preference away from the cocaine-paired environment during drug-free and drug-challenge tests. Experiment 2 tested novelty’s impact when cocaine exposure …

Basic And Applied Issues In Eyewitness Research: A Münsterberg Centennial Retrospective, Brian H. Bornstein, Christian Meissner

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Whether memory research should emphasize fundamental psychological theory in well-controlled laboratory settings (i.e. “basic” research) or practical questions in naturalistic settings (i.e. “applied” research) is a recurrent question in the field. The debate became especially prominent with the advent of the “everyday memory movement” in the 1980s (e.g. Banaji & Crowder, 1989; Neisser, 1978, 1991), but it dates back to the origins of experimental psychology itself (i.e. the basic approach espoused by Wundt and Titchener vs. the more applied perspective taken by Külpe, Ebbinghaus, Binet, James and others). The debate is particularly relevant to the subarea of eyewitness memory, which …

Signs For The Future Of Civil Justice Research, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The chapters in the present volume [Civil Juries and Civil Justice (New York: Springer, 2008)] provide a number of signs for the future of civil justice research. Many of the signs are favorable and point to continued fruitful collaborations between legal and psychological researchers on pressing topics in the justice arena with important policy implications; yet the contributions also highlight several gaps in the literature, data limitations, and false steps. In other words, some of the signs are not-so-favorable, and there is still much work to be done. In this concluding commentary, I identify the major portents for the …

Crisis, What Crisis? Perception And Reality In Civil Justice, Brian H. Bornstein, Timothy R. Robicheaux

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

"Excessive litigation has created a crisis in America," according to an article on the Alexandria, Virginia-based Center for Individual Freedom’s website (Marcus, 2004).
This article was the first of 63,100 links retrieved in a February 16, 2007, Google.com search for the words ‘‘litigation crisis,’’ and a search for the word ‘‘tort reform’’ on the same day returned over a million results. Not every linked article was as bold about the current ‘‘litigation crisis’’ in the United States, and not every linked article promoted a need for tort reform, but the search demonstrates the current salience of these issues in the …

Cue-Elicited Negative Affect In Impulsive Smokers, Neal Doran, Jessica Werth Cook, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Mark G. Myers, Bonnie Spring

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Impulsivity is associated with cigarette smoking, but the nature of this relationship and the mechanisms that maintain it are relatively unknown. The relationship has often been thought to reflect appetitive processes, but research suggests that an affective pathway exists as well. The present study tested the effect of impulsivity on affective responses to an environmental smoking cue. Adult smokers (N = 62) were exposed to a neutral cue and a smoking cue in separate experimental sessions in a repeated measures design. Mixed-effects regression analyses showed that larger postexposure increases in negative affect were associated with high scores on 2 facets …

Procedural Justice In Family Conflict Resolution And Deviant Peer Group Involvement Among Adolescents: The Mediating Influence Of Peer Conflict, Jennifer Stuart, Mark Fondarco, Scott A. Miller, Veda Brown, Eve M. Brank

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The involvement of adolescents with deviant peer groups is one of the strongest proximal correlates to juvenile delinquency and stems from a variety of causes. Past research has linked ineffective parenting with peer variables, including deviant peer group involvement and peer conflict during adolescence. In this study, adolescents’ appraisals of procedural justice within the family (adolescents’ appraisals of how fairly they are treated by parents in the process of resolving family conflict) were examined as one aspect of effective parenting that may relate to deviant peer group involvement in early adolescence. Data from 1660 middle school students (ages 11-14, mean …

Trauma Exposure Influences Cue Elicited Affective Responses Among Smokers With And Without A History Of Major Depression, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Alicia K. Klanecky, Kate Walsh, David Dilillo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The current study tested the emotional reactivity of smokers with and without histories of major depression (MDD Hx) and trauma exposure (TE). Four counterbalanced conditions nested negative (e.g., dysphoric) or neutral mood inductions with in vivo versus control smoking paraphernalia cues (Neutral+Control; Neutral+Cigarette; Neg+Control; Neg+Cigarette). Mixed model analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tested between and within subjects differences in negative affective symptoms pre- to post-exposure across four groups (TE+MDD Hx; TE only; MDD Hx only; no history). Results produced two notable effects. First, TE only individuals endorsed the greatest increase in depressive symptoms across both negative mood induction conditions (regardless of …

Assessing Risk Of Reoffending In Adolescents Who Have Committed A Sexual Offense: The Accuracy Of Clinical Judgments After Completion Of Risk Assessment Instruments, Natasha Elkovitch, Jodi L. Viljoen, Mario J. Scalora, Daniel Ullman

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

As courts often rely on clinicians when differentiating between sexually abusive youth at a low versus high risk of reoffense, understanding factors that contribute to accuracy in assessment of risk is imperative. The present study built on existing research by examining (1) the accuracy of clinical judgments of risk made after completing risk assessment instruments, (2) whether instrument- informed clinical judgments made with a high degree of confidence are associated with greater accuracy, and (3) the risk assessment instruments and subscales most predictive of clinical judgments. Raters assessed each youth’s (n = 166) risk of reoffending after completing the SAVRY …

Stress And Eyewitness Memory, Ani A. Aharonian, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Stress exerts complex effects on eyewitness memory. On the whole, it has a negative effect, but this can be quite variable depending on the level of stress and the aspect of the witnessed event that one is trying to remember. Stress operates similarly in affecting person recognition (i.e., lineup performance) and recall of event details.

Predictors Of Goggle Use Among Racquetball Players, Carmen P. Mclean, David K. Dilillo, Brian H. Bornstein, R. V. Bevini

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Racquetball is a popular, high-intensity competitive sport that requires quick reflexes and keen spatial awareness. Players may be vulnerable to eye injuries, which could be prevented through use of proper protective eyewear (Feigelman, Sugar, Jednock, Read, & Johnson, 1983). Given the low rates of goggle use among squash players (Eime, Owen, & Finch, 2004), the use of goggles among racquetball players is suspected to be low. However, to date there have been no studies investigating predictors of goggle use in racquetball players. Understanding the rates and predictors of goggle use among racquetball players is an important prerequisite to developing effective …

Self-Harm, Substance Abuse And Age: Relatedness To Sexually Abusive Behaviors Toward Others By Juveniles, Tara K. Cossel

Department of Psychology: Presentations

The present study analyzes three factors as they relate to functioning: selfharm, substance abuse and age. Research has shown girls highest in mid-adolescent selfharm are those who engage in high levels of bullying (Barker, Arseneault, Brendgen, Fontaine, & Maughan, 2008). Little research has been done to analyze specific behaviors toward others among adolescents who self-harm. Dembo, la Voie, Schmeidler, & Washburn (1987) found a positive correlation between antisocial orientation and illicit drug use. Further research was done to understand the nature of behaviors and functioning of juveniles who abuse substances. Johnson (1988) found a history of substance abuse in the …

Forgetting The Once-Seen Face: Estimating The Strength Of An Eyewitness’S Memory Representation, Kenneth A. Deffenbacher, Brian H. Bornstein, E. Kiernan Mcgorty, Steven D. Penrod

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The fidelity of an eyewitness’s memory representation is an issue of paramount forensic concern. Psychological science has been un¬able to offer more than vague generalities concerning the relation of retention interval to memory trace strength for the once-seen face. A meta-analysis of 53 facial memory studies produced a highly reliable association (r = .18, d = 0.37) between longer retention intervals and positive forgetting of once-seen faces, an effect equally strong for both face recognition and eyewitness identification studies. W. A. Wick¬elgren’s (1974, 1975, 1977) theory of recognition memory provided statistically satisfactory fits to 11 different empirical forgetting func¬tions. Applied …

Amphetamine Selectively Enhances Avoidance Responding To A Less Salient Stimulus In Rats, Ming Li, Wei He, Rebecca Munro

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This preclinical study examined the psychological processes affected by amphetamine that contribute to human psychosis. Using a novel avoidance conditioning paradigm involving two conditioned stimuli (CS) with varied salience, we found that acute amphetamine (1.5 mg/ kg, i.p.) selectively enhanced avoidance responding to a less salient stimulus, but not to a salient one. These findings suggest that elevated dopaminergic activity selectively enhances the attributions of motivational salience to a less salient stimulus, a process that may bear relevance to the development of human delusional thoughts.

A Longitudinal Examination Of The Bidirectional Links Between Academic Achievement And Parent-Adolescent Conflict, Aryn M. Dotterer, Lesa Hoffman, Ann C, Crouter, Susan M. Mchale

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

We examined reciprocal associations between parent-adolescent conflict and academic achievement over a 2-year period. Participants were mothers, fathers, and adolescents from predominantly White, working and middle class families (N = 168). After accounting for previous academic achievement, parent-adolescent conflict predicted relative declines in academic achievement 2 years later. After controlling for relationship quality at Time 1, lower math grades predicted relative increases in parent-adolescent conflict 2 years later among families with less education.

Patience, Jeffrey R. Stevens, David W. Stephens

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

What is patience? Humans and other animals often make decisions that trade off present and future benefits. Should a monkey eat an unripe fruit or wait for it to ripen? Should I purchase the iPhone at its debut or wait for the price to drop in a few months? In these dilemmas, large gains often require long waits, so decision makers must choose between a smaller, sooner reward and a larger, later reward.

It sometimes makes sense to choose the smaller, sooner alternative, for example in a very rich environment, but in many natural situations, waiting for the larger, later …

Individual Decision Making And The Evolutionary Roots Of Institutions, Richard Mcelreath, Robert Boyd, Gerd Gigerenzer, Andreas Glöckner, Peter Hammerstein, Robert Kurzban, Stefan Magen, Peter J. Richerson, Arthur Robson, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Just as many aspects of individual decisions are sometimes called "unconscious" or "automatic," we know that some institutions have evolved through "unconscious," nondeliberative mechanisms. Their function can also be largely nondeliberative, as in the case of some institutions that may structure behavior without requiring any reflection on the part of the participants. On the other hand, political institutions exist for the purpose of bringing deliberative mechanisms to bear on institutions in the hope of changing them for the better. The immense project of building an integrated explanation of institutions from individual brains to nations-has only barely begun. In this chapter, …