Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Latent Difference Score Mediation Analysis In Developmental Research: A Monte Carlo Study And Application, Melissa Simone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Developmental and prevention researchers aim to determine how unhealthy behaviors emerge. Mediation analysis offers a statistical tool that allows researchers to describe the processes underlying early risk and later health outcomes. Among existing longitudinal mediation models, latent difference score mediation stands out due to its unique ability to capture variations in changes both within and across individuals, as well as its ability to examine non-linear change over time. However, the literature currently lacks sample size guidelines for latent difference mediation models, which has proven to make the use of these models difficult. The current project addresses this limitation by offering …

Lifetime Estrogen Exposure And Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor: Implications For Cognitive Decline In Late Life, Joshua M. Matyi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Cache County Study on Memory in Aging (CCSMA) is a longitudinal population-based study which took place in Cache County, Utah. The study followed 5092 older-adult residents (aged 65+) for approximately 12 years to examine risk and protective factors for dementia. Participants completed dementia screening and follow-up assessments across four triennial visits. Additionally, researchers gathered information regarding demographics, reproductive history (e.g. age of menopause; hormone replacement therapy [HRT]) and other health-related factors, such as physical activity. Genotyping of DNA was completed for a genetic variation of genes for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein found in the brain associated with …

Crowdsourcing Consciousness: You Think, Therefore I Am, Justin M. Campbell

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The challenge to understand consciousness is a centuries-old interdisciplinary research program. The search entails fundamental questions about our nature - the desire to understand who we are has been around for nearly as long as experience itself. It is also one of the most important questions we can ask; meaning itself is predicated on having some sort of conscious experiencer for whom something can matter. Given the magnitude and intractability of explaining the paradox of how consciousness can be at once the most obvious thing in the universe, and also the most inaccessible, the endeavor is a tremendous undertaking. Until …

Young Women's Sexist Beliefs And Internalized Misogyny: Links With Psychosocial And Relational Functioning And Sociopolitical Behavior, Audrianna Dehlin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Past literature has examined the impacts of sexism and its correlates. In this study, religious fundamentalism and relationship quality were identified as important factors related to sexist attitudes and internalize d misogyny. Two hundred ten women, ages 18-25, completed a survey including the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale, Attitudes Toward Women Scale, Internalized Misogyny Scale, and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Higher religious fundamentalism was associated with lower relationship quality, mediated by internalized misogyny, traditional gender roles, and hostile sexism. While mental health outcomes were also collected, associations proved to be insignificant. The intersection of sexist attitudes and internalized …

Modeling Change Trajectories For Mental Health Symptoms And Functioning During Psychotherapy, Elizabeth Wynn

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Psychological symptoms are routinely measured in clinic settings using self-report surveys to help researchers understand the nature of client progress. Past studies have generally used metrics that compare client scores at two time points (beginning and end of treatment) to classify progress by whether there has been significant improvement or deterioration in their symptom levels. However, contemporary practice often uses more frequent (e.g., weekly) assessment. Thus, methodologies incorporating data from every assessment, such as multilevel modeling, are used to provide more nuanced information about change trajectories. Though there is research on the uses of both methodological frameworks, little research has …

Why Do You Go To College? Shaping Student Beliefs And Success. A Dissertation Summary., Mitchell Colver

Publications

Students enter the realm of higher education with a wide variety of beliefs about the purposes of attending university, which often relate to or reveal their various motivations for pursuing a post-secondary education. Research demonstrates that some student motivations align more fully with intrinsic factors, such as the love of learning or quest for excellence, while other student motivations align with extrinsic factors, such as vocational preparedness and monetary incentives (Vallerand et al., 1989). Using a Bourdieusienne lens, this study sought to place these student motivations in the larger sociocultural context and argue for greater opportunities for democratic equity in …

Assessing Psychological Inflexibility In University Students: Development And Validation Of The Acceptance And Action Questionnaire For University Students (Aaq-Us), Michael E. Levin, Jennifer Krafft, Jacqueline Pistorello, John R. Seeley

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study sought to develop and validate a domain-specific measure of psychological inflexibility for university students, the acceptance and action questionnaire for university students (AAQ-US). Generic versions of the AAQ tend to not be as sensitive to changes in campus-specific functioning —a key outcome of interest in this population. An online survey was conducted with 425 undergraduate students. Psychometric analyses led to the refinement of a 12-item, single factor scale with strong internal consistency. Evidence for convergent validity was found with moderate to large correlations between the AAQ-US and measures of academic outcomes, mental health, and psychological inflexibility. The AAQ-US …

Opportunities For Audiologists’ To Use Patient-Centered Communication During Hearing Device Monitoring Encounters, Corinne K. Coleman, Karen F. Muñoz, Clarissa W. Ong, Grayson M. Butcher, Lauri Nelson, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Patient-centered care incorporates patient's priorities, values, and goals. Audiologists can increase patient engagement when they use patient-centered principles during communication. Recent research, however, has revealed counseling gaps in audiology that could be detrimental to the intervention process. The present study sought to understand the extent patient-centered communication strategies were used during hearing device monitoring visits by analyzing audio recordings. Counseling portions of the appointments were transcribed using conversation analysis. Missed opportunities were observed, including not validating patients' emotional concerns, providing technical responses to emotional concerns, providing information without determining patient desire for the information, and not engaging the patient in …

The Impact Of Chronic Stress, Traumatic Experiences And Genes On Behavior, Colten Brown

Research on Capitol Hill

Chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) alters neurotransmission and remodels neural circuits involved in learning, attention and decision making.

Glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is essential for the function of neurons. Regulation of GDNF during stress is linked to resiliency while the inability to regulate it causes behavioral alterations.

We investigated the effects of CUS on latent inhibition (LI), a measure of selective attention expressed in this model as freezing behavior.

The Role Of Experiential Avoidance In Problematic Pornography Viewing, Michael E. Levin, Eric B. Lee, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research suggests that online pornography use can have harmful consequences for some individuals, but the psychological processes that contribute to problematic viewing are unclear. This study sought to evaluate the role of experiential avoidance in the negative consequences of online pornography viewing in a small cross sectional survey sample of 91 male college students who reported viewing. Results indicated that viewing pornography for experientially avoidant motivations was related to more frequent viewing and predicted self-reported negative consequences of viewing over and above other motivations (e.g., sexual pleasure, curiosity, excitement seeking). Although more frequent viewing was related to more self-reported negative …

How Internalized Sexism Impacts Young Adult Women And Their Sociopolitical Behavior, Audrianna Dehlin

Research on Capitol Hill

Sexism: A belief, practice, or system that supports the idea that the male sex is intrinsically superior to the female sex.

• The two major types of sexism are hostile and benevolent.
• In addition to external experiences of sexism, these beliefs can be internalized by women and are linked to negative outcomes.
• The overall climate surrounding women's issues is becoming more contentious.
• Because of this, research and conversation surrounding gender equality are in the mainstream consciousness.
• This study used a correlational design to examine the relationship between internalized sexism, psychological health, relationship satisfaction, political affiliation, voting patterns, religious fundamentalism, social desirability, …

The Effects Of Nicotine On Maladaptive Alcohol Drinking, Isabella Stuart

Research on Capitol Hill

• Impulsivity is defined as choosing a smaller-sooner choice over a more rational larger-later choice.
• Most delay discounting studies only investigate magnitude differences in the same reward.
• Cross-commodity discounting consists of providing the opportunity for subjects to choose between a low quality reward that is available almost immediately and a higher quality reward that is available at a time delay. We will model this in an animal model with rats who have a choice between a relatively small amount of alcohol immediately and a relatively large amount of food at a delay.

The Role Of Multiple Internal Timekeepers And Sources Of Feedback On Interval Timing, Breanna E. Studenka, Daisha L. Cummins, Megan A. Pope

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

The aim of this experiment was to document the role of multiple internal clock mechanisms and external sources of temporal feedback on reducing timing variability when two fingers tap instead of one (a phenomenon known as the bimanual advantage). Previous research documents a reduction in timed interval variability when two effectors time instead of one. In addition, interval variability decreases with multiple sources of feedback. To date, however, no research has explored the separate roles of feedback and internal timing on the bimanual advantage. We evaluated the bimanual advantage in a task that does not utilise an internal clock (circle …

Performance Feedback To Increase Use Of Counseling Skills, Jalin K. Finai, Karen F. Muñoz, Clarissa W. Ong, Grayson M. Butcher, Lauri Nelson, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Counseling is a critical component of audiological care and when implemented purposefully can yield multiple benefits for patients. Professional guidelines indicate that counseling is within the scope of practice for audiologists, yet research has shown that audiologists feel unprepared and are not comfortable providing adjustment counseling. This may be due to inadequate counseling training in audiology graduate programs. To identify ways to address this counseling training gap, this study examined the use of performance feedback to increase counseling skills among audiology graduate students. In this study, participants (n = 5) were recorded during clinical session encounters, and recordings were …

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For A Case Of Scrupulosity-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Eric B. Lee, Clarissa W. Ong, Woolee An, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a modern form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) with growing support for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We present a case wherein a client presented with scrupulosity-related OCD. We briefly review scrupulosity, explain the theory behind ACT, and present a case, the treatment process, and desired outcomes. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is described from an ACT perspective and discussed as an option for people with OCD who may be reluctant to engage in more traditional forms of ERP.

Tailoring Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Skill Coaching In-The-Moment Through Smartphones: Results From A Randomized Controlled Trial, Michael E. Levin, Jack Haegar, Rick A. Cruz

Psychology Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence for the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions delivered through smartphones, but research has not yet focused on how to optimize such interventions. One benefit of mobile interventions is the ability to adapt content based on in-the-moment variables. The current randomized controlled trial evaluated whether an ACT app that tailored skill coaching based on in-the-moment ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) would be more efficacious than the same app where skill coaching was random or an EMA-only condition. A sample of 69 adults interested in using a self-help app were randomized to one of three app …

Persistence And Relapse Of Reinforced Behavioral Variability, Ann Galizio, Charles C. J. Frye, Jeremy M. Haynes, Jonathan E. Friedel, Brooke M. Smith, Amy L. Odum

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study examined persistence and relapse of reinforced behavioral variability in pigeons. Pigeons emitted four‐response sequences across two keys. Sequences produced food according to a lag schedule, in which a response sequence was followed by food if it differed from a certain number of previous sequences. In Experiment 1, food was delivered for sequences that satisfied a lag schedule in both components of a multiple schedule. When reinforcement was removed for one component (i.e., extinction), levels of behavioral variability decreased for only that component. In Experiment 2, food was delivered for sequences satisfying a lag schedule in one component …

Scaling Out Evidence-Based Interventions Outside The U.S. Mainland: Social Justice Or Trojan Horse?, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez, Ana A. L. Baumann, Alejandro L. Vázquez, Nancy G. Amador-Buenabad, Natalie Franceschi Rivera, Nydia Ortiz-Pons, J. Rubén Parra-Cardona

Psychology Faculty Publications

Global health disparities continue to widen as professional standards for effectiveness of mental health services provision become more precise and difficult to achieve across varied economic and social contexts. Within the U.S., health disparities are evident in Latinx populations. Globally, the health disparities are also evident in Latin America as compared to the U.S. and other economically affluent nations. The diversification of psychology in content and persons has led to a unique opportunity to build bridges that can help reduce disparities in- and outside of the U.S. mainland. Collaborations can be of great use in addressing health disparities internationally but …