Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Exploration Of Men's Attitudes Regarding Depression And Help-Seeking, Brian Paul Cole

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite significantly higher risk of suicide and co-morbid substance abuse, college age men are far less likely than college age women to seek help when depressed (ACHA, 2010). This “gender gap” has led researchers to suggest that college men are experiencing a mental health crisis (Davies, Shen-Miller, & Isacco, 2010). Several theories have been suggested for this gender gap including: (a) barriers caused by male gender socialization, (b) inaccurate diagnostic criteria, and (c) men experience different symptoms when depressed (Cochran, 2005; Levin & Sanacora, 2007). Additionally, the current researcher hypotheses that fear of femininity is a core aspect of the …

Sex Ratios And Gender Role Perceptions, Elizabeth A. Boger

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research investigated whether altering perceived sex ratios, defined as the number of men per 100 women, influenced gender role perceptions among college students. The specific area of interest within sex ratios was the effect of high versus low sex ratios. Existing work on the topic of sex ratios focused on demographic data.

The focus of these studies was the impact of changing sex ratios on the individual, specifically participants’ perceptions of romance, dating and women’s gender roles. I hypothesized that for high sex ratios, participants would endorse statements of traditional dating and romance schemes, traditional women’s roles, and socially …

Shared Leadership In Dangerous Environments: Testing A Model For Military Teams Using Mixed Methods Research, Alex J. Ramthun

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

In a field study, the dissertation examined the influence of shared leadership on team performance for 51 military combat teams in a simulated dangerous environment. To simulate the dangerous context, the study employed amilitary tactical urban fighting complex, paintball weapons, role players, and a dynamic combat scenario. Using social network analysis techniques and after controlling for team diversity and combat experience, the study found the density measure of shared leadership to be positively and significantly related to team performance, accounting for 40% of the variance in team performance. This research also found both the centralization measure and density/centralization interaction effect …

Predictors Of Preschool Children's Peer Interactions: Temperament And Prosocial Behavior, Ibrahim H. Acar

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study was a correlational study that examined children’s temperament (inhibitory control and shyness) and prosocial behavior as predictors of preschool-aged children’s peer interactions. The current study also examined the moderating effects of inhibitory control and shyness on relation between children’s prosocial behavior and peer interactions. Participants were 40 children (19 boys) aged from three to five enrolled in eight different preschools in a Midwestern city. It was hypothesized that children’s prosocial behavior and temperament (inhibitory control and shyness) would be correlated with preschool children’s peer interactions, operationalized as sociability, communication, assertiveness, conflict, and a composite peer interactions domain. …

Using Self-Regulated Strategy Development With At-Risk Writers With Asperger Syndrome, Lindsay Booker, Lindsay M. Campbell A.K.A.

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of implementing the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of instruction (Graham & Harris, 2005; Harris & Graham, 1996) with a population of middle school students with Asperger syndrome (AS). A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to examine the effectiveness of the SRSD instructional intervention on writing skills and self-regulation, attitudes, self-efficacy, and social validity. Each participant was taught SRSD story writing strategies, and wrote stories in response to story prompts during the baseline, instruction, post-instruction, and maintenance phases. Stories were assessed for writing quantity (TWW), writing quality (%CWS), and …

Do Students Understand What Researchers Mean By Bullying?, Kristin E. Bieber

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The definition of bullying most often used by researchers incorporates three key elements: repetition, intent to harm, and a power imbalance (Olweus, 2010). Past studies have found that students may not understand how this definition of bullying is different from general peer aggression, and that they may report their involvement in instances of aggression that occur only once, or happen among individuals of equal power, when they are asked about their involvement in bullying (Monks & Smith, 2006).

This dissertation examined: a) grade differences in students’ abilities to accurately apply the definition of bullying when determining if a behavior is …

Emotional, Social, And Cognitive Correlates Of Stalking And Intrusive Harassment., Allissa Marquez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although stalking has been recognized as social problem for the last twenty years, few studies have examined the treatment needs or effectiveness with these persistent offenders. The dearth of information on appropriate intervention is in part related to the difficulty of operationalizing stalking behavior in empirical studies. Accordingly, the present study sought to examine clinically relevant indicators of functioning using both categorical and continuous definitions of stalking behavior. Two hundred and fifty male prisoners were surveyed about their engagement in intrusive and aggressive behaviors during a significant conflict, as well as their social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Results indicated quantitative …

Eurasian Jays Predict The Food Preferences Of Their Mates, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

The cognitive abilities of animals continue to fascinate both scientists and nonscientists. Although the abilities of the primates, our closest living relatives, generally attract most interest, several different lines of research have demonstrated high levels of intellectual capacity in birds, particularly corvids. The members of this family are known for their large brains and have performed well in many cognitive tasks using different paradigms (1–3). This finding has led to substantial revision of thinking about avian intelligence, including the suggestion of convergence in the evolution of cognitive abilities between corvids and primates (4). In PNAS, Ostojić et al. (5) add …

Heterocentric Language In Commonly Used Measures Of Social Anxiety: Recommended Alternate Wording, Brandon J. Weiss, Debra A. Hope, Michelle C. Capozzoli

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A number of self-report measures of social anxiety contain language that appears to assume heterosexuality. It is unclear how such items should be answered by individuals who are not exclusively heterosexual, which may lead to inaccurate measurement of symptoms, perpetuation of stigma, and alienation of respondents. More specific wording could improve measurement accuracy for sexual minorities as well as heterosexual respondents. Gender-neutral wording was developed for items containing the phrase “opposite sex” in commonly used self-report measures of social anxiety (Interaction Anxiousness Scale [Leary, 1983], Social Avoidance and Distress Scale [Watson & Friend, 1969], Social Interaction Anxiety Scale [Mattick & …

Is Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor A Possible Mechanism Underlying Risperidone Sensitization In Adolescent Rats?, Qing Shu, Gang Hu, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Risperidone is one of the most widely used atypical antipsychotic drugs and is approved for the treatment of mental disorders (eg. schizophrenia, autism) in children and adolescents. The present study investigated the repeated treatment effect of risperidone and associated neurotropic mechanism in the phencyclidine (PCP)-induced hyperlocomotion model in adolescent rats. We examined whether repeated risperidone treatment would cause a sensitized inhibition of PCP-induced hyperlocomotion in adolescent rats, and whether such a sensitization effect was mediated by risperidone-induced alterations in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), an important biomarker which plays a role in neuropathology of schizophrenia and action of antipsychotic medications. Male …

Using The Scientific Method To Guide Learning: An Integrated Approach To Early Childhood Curriculum, Hope K. Gerde, Rachel E. Schachter, Barbara A. Wasik

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in how early childhood programs prepare young children for science. Due to a number of factors, including educators’ low self-efficacy for teaching science and lack of educational resources, many early childhood classrooms do not offer high-quality science experiences for young children. However, high-quality science education has the potential to lay an important foundation for children’s knowledge and interest in science as well as reinforcing and integrating critical language, literacy, and math readiness skills. This paper examines the current research on science in preschool classrooms and provides suggestions on how to teach science that …

Changing Room Cues Reduces The Effects Of Proactive Interference In Clark’S Nutcrackers, Nucifraga Columbiana, Jody L. Lewis, Alan C. Kamil, Kate E. Webbink

Avian Cognition Papers

To determine what factors are important for minimizing interference effects in spatial memory, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana were tested for their spatial memory for two serial lists of locations per day. In this experiment two unique landmark sets were either different between List 1 and List 2 or the same. We found that Nutcrackers were most susceptible to interference when the landmark sets were the same. This study suggests that repeatedly testing animal memory in the same room, with the same cues, can hamper recall due to interference.

Fostering Climate Change Education In The Central Great Plains: A Public Engagement Approach, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Timothy Steffensmeier, Amber Campbell Hibbs, Ben Champion, Eric Hunt, John A. Harrington, Jr., Jacqueline D. Spears, Natalie Umphlett, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Roger Bruning, Daniel Kahl

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Despite its increasing importance for sustainability, building widespread competency in the basic principles of climate literacy among the United States general public is a great challenge. This article describes the methods and results of a public engagement approach to planning climate change education in the Central Great Plains of the United States. Our approach incorporated contextual and lay expertise approaches to public engagement with a focus on supporting the self-determination of the specific stakeholder groups–rural producers, educators, and community members. An integration of results from the focus groups reveal that our approach was received positively and elicited a number of …

Achieving Integration In Mixed Methods Designs—Principles And Practices, Michael D. Fetters, Leslie A. Curry, John W. Creswell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Mixed methods research offers powerful tools for investigating complex processes and systems in health and health care. This article describes integration principles and practices at three levels in mixed methods research and provides illustrative examples. Integration at the study design level occurs through three basic mixed method designs—exploratory sequential, explanatory sequential, and convergent—and through four advanced frameworks—multistage, intervention, case study, and participatory. Integration at the methods level occurs through four approaches. In connecting, one database links to the other through sampling. With building, one database informs the data collection approach of the other. When merging, the two databases are brought …

Trust And Intention To Comply With A Water Allocation Decision: The Moderating Roles Of Knowledge And Consistency, Joseph A. Hamm, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Mitch Herian, Alan Tomkins, Hannah Dietrich, Sarah Michaels

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Regulating water resources is a critically important yet increasingly complex component of the interaction between ecology and society. Many argue that effective water regulation relies heavily upon the compliance of water users. The relevant literature suggests that, rather than relying on external motivators for individual compliance, e.g., punishments and rewards, it is preferable to focus on internal motivators, including trust in others. Although prior scholarship has resulted in contemporary institutional efforts to increase public trust, these efforts are hindered by a lack of evidence regarding the specific situations in which trust, in its various forms, most effectively increases compliance. We …

Fathers, Divorce, And Child Custody, Matthew M. Stevenson, Sanford L. Braver, Ira M. Ellman, Ashley M. Votruba

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A great many fathers will have their fathering eliminated, disrupted, or vastly changed because they become divorced from the child’s mother. In fact, between 40% and 50% of marriages end in divorce (Cherlin, 2010). Although the divorce rate (measured as divorces per 1,000 people) is high by the standards prior to the late 1960s, it has actually fallen more than 30% since its peak in 1980. The decline in divorce rates in recent years has, however, been concentrated among the college-educated portion of the population; divorce rates among the less well educated may have even increased (Cherlin, 2010). But for …

Environmental And Behavioral Controls Of The Expression Of Clozapine Tolerance: Evidence From A Novel Across-Model Transfer Paradigm, Min Feng, Nan Sui, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Repeated administration of antipsychotic drugs induces a sensitization-like or tolerance-like effect in many behavioral tasks, including the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) and the phencyclidine (PCP)-induced hyperlocomotion, two rodent models with high predictive validity for antipsychotic activity. This study investigated the impacts of contextual and behavioral variables on the expression of clozapine tolerance using a recently validated across-model transfer paradigm (Zhang and Li, 2012). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were first repeatedly treated with clozapine (2.5–10.0 mg/kg, sc) in the CAR model or PCP (1.6 mg/kg, sc)-induced hyperlocomotion model for five consecutive days. They were then tested for the expression of clozapine tolerance …

Sex Differences In Adult Cognitive Deficits After Adolescent Nicotine Exposure In Rats, Laura R.G. Pickens, James D. Rowan, Rick A. Bevins, Stephen B. Fountain

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study was designed to determine whether deficits in adult serial pattern learning caused by adolescent nicotine exposure persist as impairments in asymptotic performance, whether adolescent nicotine exposure differentially retards learning about pattern elements that are inconsistent with “perfect” pattern structure, and whether there are sex differences in rats’ response to adolescent nicotine exposure as assessed by a serial multiple choice task. The current study replicated the results of our initial report (Fountain, Rowan, Kelley, Willey, & Nolley, 2008) using this task by showing that adolescent nicotine exposure (1.0 mg/kg/day nicotine for 35 days) produced a specific cognitive impairment in …

The Mediating Effect Of Hostility Toward Women On The Relationship Between Childhood Emotional Abuse And Sexual Violence Perpetration, Alania M. Vivolo-Kantor, Sarah Degue, David Dilillo, Lorraine E. Cuadra

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Some evidence suggests that childhood emotional abuse (CEA) may serve as a risk factor for sexual violence (SV) perpetration; however, little is known about the mechanisms by which CEA may influence SV. This study examined the relationship between CEA and SV by assessing the mediating role of hostility toward women (HTW) in a sample of adjudicated adult males (N = 360). Approximately 1 in 5 participants was classified as sexually violent based on self-reported behavior and/or criminal records. Results indicated that CEA significantly predicted HTW and SV, and HTW significantly predicted SV. As hypothesized, the relationship between CEA and SV …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Accwic Training Curriculum, Atlantic Coast Child Welfare Implementation Center

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Purpose The International Federation of Coaches (ICF) defines coaching as: “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” “Coaching is highly focused on individuals designing their future – and that of their organization – and achieving excellence through setting personally and professionally challenging goals and committing to taking the actions necessary to achieve them” (Byrne, 2007). In the field of child welfare, coaching is being utilized in work situations, at all levels of the system, to focus on specific skills and abilities to reach specific outcomes, enhance performance and …

Reducing Courts’ Failure-To-Appear Rate By Written Reminders, Brian H. Bornstein, Alan Tomkins, Elizabeth Neeley, Mitchel Herian, Joseph A. Hamm

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article examines the effectiveness of using different kinds of written reminders to reduce misdemeanor defendants’ failure- to-appear (FTA) rates. A subset of defendants was surveyed after their scheduled court date to assess their perceptions of procedural justice and trust and confidence in the courts. Reminders reduced FTA overall, and more substantive reminders (e.g., with information on the negative consequences of FTA) were more effective than a simple reminder. FTA varied depending on several offense and offender characteristics, such as geographic location (urban vs. rural), type of offense, and number of offenses. The reminders were somewhat more effective for Whites …

Differences In Relative Hippocampus Volume And Number Of Hippocampus Neurons Among Five Corvid Species, Kristy L. Gould, Karl E. Gilbertson, Andrew J. Hrvol, Joseph C. Nelson, Abigail L. Seyfer, Rose M. Brantner, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

The relative size of the avian hippocampus (Hp) has been shown to be related to spatial memory and food storing in two avian families, the parids and corvids. Basil et al. [Brain Behav Evol 1996;47: 156-164] examined North American food-storing birds in the corvid family and found that Clark’s nutcrackers had a larger relative Hp than pinyon jays and Western scrub jays. These results correlated with the nutcracker’s better performance on most spatial memory tasks and their strong reliance on stored food in the wild. However, Pravosudov and de Kort [Brain Behav Evol 67 (2006), 1-9] raised questions …

Perceptions Of Campus Climate By Sexual Minorities, Patricia A. Tetreault, Ryan Fette, Peter C. Meidlinger, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Previous research has indicated that students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) often have negative experiences on university campuses due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Direct and indirect experiences contribute to an overall perception of the campus climate. This study used an online survey to assess students’ perceptions of campus climate, their experiences confronting bias, support of family members and friends, and whether they had considered leaving campus. Multiple regression analysis indicated that perceptions of poorer campus climate were predicted by greater unfair treatment by instructors, more impact from anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer …

Will The Real Reasonable Person Please Stand Up? Using Psychology To Better Understand And Apply The Reasonable Person Standard, Ashley M. Votruba

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article will consist of four main parts. Part I will review the historical and current Reasonable Person Standard. More specifically, it will discuss a brief history of the common law negligence standard leading to the current commonly used Reasonable Person Standard, review the current American Law Institute ("ALI") language of the Reasonable Person Standard, and briefly outline the three most common legal theorist conceptualizations of the negligence standard in order to provide a review of the current understanding of the negligence standard. Part II will then examine the importance of the jury and the limited instruction they are provided …

Brain Mechanisms Underlying The Impact Of Attachment-Related Stress On Social Cognition, Tobias Nolte, Danielle Z. Bolling, Caitlin M. Hudac, Peter Fonagy, Linda Mayes, Kevin A. Pelphrey

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Mentalizing, in particular the successful attribution of complex mental states to others, is crucial for navigating social interactions. This ability is highly influenced by external factors within one’s daily life, such as stress. We investigated the impact of stress on the brain basis of mentalization in adults. Using a novel modification of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET-R) we compared the differential effects of two personalized stress induction procedures: a general stress induction (GSI) and an attachment-related stress induction (ASI). Participants performed the RMET-R at baseline and after each of the two inductions. Baseline results replicated and …

Gone Fishing: I–O Psychologists’ Missed Opportunities To Understand Marginalized Employees’ Experiences With Discrimination, Enrica N. Ruggs, Michelle R. Hebl, Cody B. Cox, Mark V. Roehling, Richard L. Weiner, Laura Barron

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article focuses attention on research examining workplace discrimination against employees from marginalized groups.We particularly consider the experiences of seven different groups of marginalized individuals, some of which have legal protection and some of which do not but all of whom we feel have been overlooked by the field of industrial–organizational (I–O) psychology. We briefly describe the importance of studying each group and then delineate the brief amount of research that has been conducted. Finally, we make recommendations for I–O psychologists in terms of research and advocacy. Overall, we argue that I–O psychologists are missing an opportunity to be at …

Impulsiveness Mediates The Association Between Gabra2 Snps And Lifetime Alcohol Problems, S. Villafuerte, V. Strumba, S. F. Stoltenberg, R. A. Zucker, M. Burmeister

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Genetic variants in GABRA2 have previously been shown to be associated with alcohol measures, electroencephalography (EEG) β waves and impulsiveness-related traits. Impulsiveness is a behavioral risk factor for alcohol and other substance abuse. Here, we tested association between 11 variants in GABRA2 with NEO-impulsiveness and problem drinking. Our sample of 295 unrelated adult subjects was from a community of families with at least one male with DSM-IV alcohol use diagnosis, and from a socioeconomically comparable control group. Ten GABRA2 SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) were associated with the NEO-impulsiveness (P < 0.03). The alleles associated with higher impulsiveness correspond to the minor alleles identified in previous alcohol dependence studies. All ten SNPs are in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with each other and represent one effect on impulsiveness. Four SNPs and the corresponding haplotype from intron 3 to intron 4 were also associated with Lifetime Alcohol Problems Score (LAPS, P < 0.03) (not corrected for multiple testing). Impulsiveness partially mediates (22.6% average) this relation between GABRA2 and LAPS. Our results suggest that GABRA2 variation in …

The Relationship Of Personal, Family, And Abuse-Specific Factors To Children’S Clinical Presentation Following Childhood Sexual Abuse, C. Thresa Yancey, Karen Z. Naufel, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Past literature has proposed potential variables (e.g., age, gender, attributional style) that may relate to clinical presentation following childhood sexual abuse (CSA). However, few studies have tested these relationships. The current study examined multiple factors related to clinical presentation following CSA in 101 children and adolescents presenting for treatment at Project SAFE, a parallel group treatment for children/teens and their nonoffending parents. Using clusters developed in a previous study, relationships between proposed variables and pretreatment clinical presentation were examined. Results indicated that attributions about the abuse, parental mental health, and severity of abuse related to the differentiated clinical presentation. These …

The Role Of Pubertal Timing And Temperamental Vulnerability In Adolescents’ Internalizing Symptoms, Lisa J. Crockett, Gustavo Carlo, Jennifer M. Wolff, Meredith O. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This longitudinal study examined the joint role of pubertal timing and temperament variables (emotional reactivity and self-regulation) in predicting adolescents’ internalizing symptoms. The multiethnic sample included 1,025 adolescent girls and boys followed fromage 11 to age 15 (Mage¼11.03 years at Time 1). In structural equation models, age 11 measures of pubertal timing, emotional reactivity, and self-regulation and their interactions were used to predict adolescents’ internalizing behavior concurrently and at age 15. Results indicated that, among girls, early pubertal timing, higher emotional reactivity, and lower self-regulation predicted increased internalizing behavior. In addition, self-regulation moderated the effect of pubertal timing such that …

Child Maltreatment Severity And Adult Trauma Symptoms: Does Perceived Social Support Play A Buffering Role?, Sarah E. Evans, Anne L. Steel, David Dilillo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: The current study investigates the moderating effect of perceived social support on asso-ciations between child maltreatment severity and adult trauma symptoms. We extend the existing literature by examining the roles of severity of multiple maltreatment types (i.e., sexual, physical, and emotional abuse; physical and emotional neglect) and gender in this process. Methods: The sam-ple included 372 newlywed individuals recruited from marriage license records. Participants com-pleted a number of self-report questionnaires measuring the nature and severity of child maltreat-ment history, perceived social support from friends and family, and trauma-related symptoms. These questionnaires were part of a larger study that investigated …