Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Perception Of Children As Reliable Eyewitnesses, Shelby Mcdonald

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Eyewitness accounts have been integral to the criminal justice system. However, given that not every criminal case has forensic evidence that is available or admissible, the reliance on eyewitness accounts conjures questions about believability. This is an important area of research because the over-belief of witnesses may lead to wrongful convictions, yet under-belief may leave the victim without justice. The current study investigated how child-witness age, race, role as a witness (bystander versus victim), and the gender of the juror influenced the perception of child eyewitnesses through the lens of the Witness Credibility Model. Participants were presented with the testimony …

The Perception Of Children As Reliable Eyewitnesses, Shelby Mcdonald

Psychology Student Papers and Posters

Eyewitness accounts have been integral to the criminal justice system. However, given that not every criminal case has forensic evidence that is available or admissible, the reliance on eyewitness accounts conjures questions about believability. This is an important area of research because the over-belief of witnesses may lead to wrongful convictions, yet under-belief may leave the victim without justice. The current study investigated how child-witness age, race, role as a witness (bystander versus victim), and the gender of the juror influenced the perception of child eyewitnesses through the lens of the Witness Credibility Model. Participants were presented with the testimony …

An Ewas Of Dementia Biomarkers And Their Associations With Age, African Ancestry, And Ptsd, Mark W. Miller, Erika J. Wolf, Xiang Zhao, Mark W. Logue, Sage E. Hawn

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background

Large-scale cohort and epidemiological studies suggest that PTSD confers risk for dementia in later life but the biological mechanisms underlying this association remain unknown. This study examined this question by assessing the influences of PTSD, APOE ε4 genotypes, DNA methylation, and other variables on the age- and dementia-associated biomarkers Aβ40, Aβ42, GFAP, NfL, and pTau-181 measured in plasma. Our primary hypothesis was that PTSD would be associated with elevated levels of these markers.

Methods

Analyses were based on data from a PTSD-enriched cohort of 849 individuals. We began by performing factor analyses of the biomarkers, the results of which …

Where I Am From Matters: Factors Influencing Behavioral And Emotional Changes In Autistic Individuals During Covid-19 In Latin America, María Cecilia Montenegro, Ana C. Ramírez, Juventino Hernandez Rodriguez, Bianca T. Villalobos, Gabriela Garrido, Cecilia Amigo, Daniel Valdez, Natalia Barrios, Sebastián Cukier, Cecilia Montiel-Nava

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought an increased incidence of disease and mortality in the world at large, making it a particularly salient and stressful life event. For those individuals residing in Latin America, the pandemic was met with fragmented healthcare systems, economic downturn, and sociopolitical crisis which puts autistic individuals at risk for more detrimental outcomes. Behavioral and emotional challenges experienced by autistic individuals at the beginning of the pandemic could later develop into more severe symptomatology as the pandemic progresses. The present study aimed to explore changes in dysregulated (overt and internalizing) behaviors and preoccupation with getting sick during …

Does Watching Television Correlate With Self-Esteem In College Students, Lauren Cervenak

Student Conference Abstracts

The correlation between self-esteem and television in college students was studied. It was hypothesized that younger students would report lower self-esteem than older students (hypothesis 1); students who report higher levels of television viewing will report lower self-esteem (hypothesis 2); and students who see themselves represented more often in television will report higher levels of self-esteem and students who see themselves less represented in television and tv shows would report lower levels of self-esteem (hypothesis 3). Participants consisted of 104 people between the ages of 18 and 65. Many participants were undergraduate students from Dominican University of California. Participants filled …

Burnout In Virginia's Community College Adjuncts With Relation To Gender, Age, And Number Of Jobs Held, Justin Barrett Stowe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Burnout is a psychological condition that affects individuals in high stress careers. Higher education faculty are prone to burnout, with studies showing women experienced burnout at different ages than their male counterparts. Few studies have been conducted to test if age and gender could predict a high level of burnout amongst adjunct faculty in community colleges. In addition, community college adjunct faculty are known to work more than one job to meet economic needs, and the research demonstrates such a condition creates anxiety, but little discussion is present on whether the variables of age, gender, and additional jobs held may …

The Effect Of Creative Art Therapy On Trauma Victims Suffering From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Sophia Swiatek

Senior Honors Theses

When confronted with a traumatic situation, individuals’ brains often face difficulty in storing and/or processing such experiences. Unfortunately, this presents challenges for accessing those memories later in life, especially if the individuals are solely using speech-based techniques to do so. This fact has spurred research on whether various other therapeutic techniques, such as Creative Art Therapy (CAT), can produce better results in improving the mental health of a trauma victim suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This study attempts to uncover whether age, gender, and/or type of therapy play a significant role in the improvement of CAT clients’ mental health …

Demographic Predictors Of Body Image Satisfaction: The Us Body Project I, David A. Frederick, Canice E. Crerand, Tiffany A. Brown, Marisol Perez, Cassidy R. Best, Catherine P. Cook-Cottone, Emilio J. Compte, Lexie Convertino, Allegra R. Gordon, Vanessa L. Malcarne, Jason M. Nagata, Michael C. Parent, Jamie-Lee Pennesi, Eva Pila, Rachel F. Rodgers, Lauren M. Schaefer, J. Kevin Thompson, Tracy L. Tylka, Stuart B. Murray

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

We examined how gender, body mass, race, age, and sexual orientation were linked to appearance evaluation, overweight preoccupation, and body image-related quality of life among 11,620 adults recruited via Mechanical Turk. Men were less likely than women to report low appearance evaluation, high overweight preoccupation, negative effects of body image on their quality of life, being on a weight-loss diet, and trying to lose weight with crash diets/fasting. Racial differences were generally small, but greater appearance evaluation was reported by Black men versus other groups and Black women versus White women. Across all measures, gay and bisexual men reported poorer …

Age-Related Changes In Diffuse Optical Tomography Sensitivity Profiles In Infancy, Xiaoxue Fu, John E. Richards

Faculty Publications

Diffuse optical tomography uses near-infrared light spectroscopy to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Anatomical interpretations of the location that generates the hemodynamic signal requires accurate descriptions of diffuse optical tomography sensitivity to the underlying cortical structures. Such information is limited for pediatric populations because they undergo rapid head and brain development. The present study used photon propagation simulation methods to examine diffuse optical tomography sensitivity profiles in realistic head models among infants ranging from 2 weeks to 24 months with narrow age bins, children (4 and 12 years) and adults (20 to 24 years). The sensitivity profiles changed systematically …

The Negativity Bias, Revisited: Evidence From Neuroscience Measures And An Individual Differences Approach, Catherine Norris

Psychology Faculty Works

Past research has provided support for the existence of a negativity bias, the tendency for negativity to have a stronger impact than positivity. Theoretically, the negativity bias provides an evolutionary advantage, as it is more critical for survival to avoid a harmful stimulus than to pursue a potentially helpful one. The current paper reviews the theoretical grounding of the negativity bias in the Evaluative Space Model, and presents recent findings using a multilevel approach that further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the negativity bias and underscore the importance of the negativity bias for human functioning.

Age, Gender, And Socioeconomic Status Differences In Explicit And Implicit Beliefs About Effortlessly Perfect Self-Presentation, Kathy R. Berenson, Tess M. Anderson, Jill Glazer, Melissa P. Menna, Huilin Xu

Psychology Faculty Publications

Feeling pressure to project an image of effortless perfection -- always appearing to perform with self-confidence and ease --- has been portrayed in the media as an increasingly common mental health vulnerability with potentially serious implications for college women. Despite this, almost no empirical research exists on effortlessly perfect self–presentation (EPSP) or demographic differences in it.

• Some recent research suggests that perfectionism is on the rise among young people (Curran & Hill, 2017), and that it is more associated with mental health problems among students with high rather than low socioeconomic status (Lyman & Luthar, 2014). However, these studies …

Makeup Changes The Apparent Size Of Facial Features, Alex L. Jones, Aurélie Porcheron, Richard Russell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Makeup is a prominent example of the universal human practice of personal decoration. Many studies have shown that makeup makes the face appear more beautiful, but the visual cues mediating this effect are not well understood. A widespread belief holds that makeup makes the facial features appear larger. We tested this hypothesis using a novel reference comparison paradigm, in which carefully controlled photographs of faces with and without makeup were compared with an average reference face. Participants compared the relative size of specific features (eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth) of the reference face and individual faces with or without makeup. Across …

Age Differences In The Desirability Of Narcissism, Kathy R. Berenson, William D. Ellison, Rachel L. Clasing

Psychology Faculty Publications

Young adult narcissism has been the focus of much discussion in the personality literature and popular press. Yet no previous studies have addressed whether there are age differences in the relative desirability of narcissistic and non-narcissistic self-descriptions, such as those presented as answer choices on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Hall, 1979). In Study 1, younger age was associated with less negative evaluations of narcissistic (vs. non-narcissistic) statements in general, and more positive evaluations of narcissistic statements conveying leadership/authority. In Study 2, age was unrelated to perceiving a fictional target person as narcissistic, but younger age was associated …

Facial Contrast Is A Cross-Cultural Cue For Perceiving Age, Aurélie Porcheron, Emmanuelle Mauger, Frédérique Soppelsa, Yuli Liu, Liezhong Ge, Olivier Pascalis, Richard Russell, Frédérique Morizot

Psychology Faculty Publications

Age is a fundamental social dimension and a youthful appearance is of importance for many individuals, perhaps because it is a relevant predictor of aspects of health, facial attractiveness and general well-being. We recently showed that facial contrast—the color and luminance difference between facial features and the surrounding skin—is age-related and a cue to age perception of Caucasian women. Specifically, aspects of facial contrast decrease with age in Caucasian women, and Caucasian female faces with higher contrast look younger (Porcheron et al., 2013). Here we investigated faces of other ethnic groups and raters of other cultures to see …

Relationships Between Social Media Exposure & Levels Of Body Dissatisfaction, Helen Nguyen, Andrea L. Paiva

Senior Honors Projects

The digital age has resulted in major technological inventions leading to great advances; however there are also clear costs. Television allows identical picture images to be broadcasted into millions of homes, the internet is a gateway to seemingly limitless information, and the cell phone is the ultimate connection device. Each of these communication modalities have spread the thinness ideal that is prevalent in Western societies, with the Internet being ridden with pro-eating disorder websites, cell phones providing handheld excess to peer- comparison, and all mediums presenting images of the thin body as ideal. The prevalence of eating disorders is still …

Alexithymia Impairs The Cognitive Control Of Negative Material While Facilitating The Recall Of Neutral Material In Both Younger And Older Adults, Déborah Dressaire, Charles B. Stone, Kristy A. Nielson, Estelle Guerdoux, Denis Brouillet, Olivier Luminet

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

We investigated the moderating impact of the personality construct alexithymia on the ability of younger and older adults to control the recall of negative and neutral material. We conducted two experiments using the directed forgetting paradigm with younger and older adults. Participants studied negative (Experiment 1) or neutral (Experiment 2) words. Participants were instructed to forget the first half and remember the second half of an entire list of words. Overall, we found that alexithymia impairs the ability of both younger and older adults to cognitively control negative material (through both recall and inhibition). The “externally oriented thinking” factor of …

Motor Variability During Sustained Contractions Increases With Cognitive Demand In Older Adults, Marnie Lynn Vanden Noven, Hugo M. Pereira, Tejin Yoon, Alyssa A. Stevens, Kristy A. Nielson, Sandra K. Hunter

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

To expose cortical involvement in age-related changes in motor performance, we compared steadiness (force fluctuations) and fatigability of submaximal isometric contractions with the ankle dorsiflexor muscles in older and young adults and with varying levels of cognitive demand imposed. Sixteen young (20.4 ± 2.1 year: 8 men, 9 women) and 17 older adults (68.8 ± 4.4 years: 9 men, 8 women) attended three sessions and performed a 40 s isometric contraction at 5% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force followed by an isometric contraction at 30% MVC until task failure. The cognitive demand required during the submaximal contractions in each session …

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 …

Aspects Of Facial Contrast Decrease With Age And Are Cues For Age Perception, Aurelie Porcheron, Emmanuelle Mauger, Richard Russell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Age is a primary social dimension. We behave differently toward people as a function of how old we perceive them to be. Age perception relies on cues that are correlated with age, such as wrinkles. Here we report that aspects of facial contrast–the contrast between facial features and the surrounding skin–decreased with age in a large sample of adult Caucasian females. These same aspects of facial contrast were also significantly correlated with the perceived age of the faces. Individual faces were perceived as younger when these aspects of facial contrast were artificially increased, but older when these aspects of facial …

Attention To Explicit And Implicit Contrast In Verb Learning, Jane B. Childers, Amy Hirshkowitz, Kristin Benavides

Psychology Faculty Research

Contrast information could be useful for verb learning, but few studies have examined children's ability to use this type of information. Contrast may be useful when children are told explicitly that different verbs apply, or when they hear two different verbs in a single context. Three studies examine children's attention to different types of contrast as they learn new verbs. Study 1 shows that 3 ½-year-olds can use both implicit contrast (“I'm meeking it. I'm koobing it.”) and explicit contrast (“I'm meeking it. I'm not meeking it.”) when learning a new verb, while a control group's responses did not differ …

The Effect Of Age And Expression Of Affect On Jurors’ Perceptions Of Child Witnesses, Carly W. Hanks

Psychology Theses

A child witness’s testimony may be an invaluable piece of evidence; therefore, it is essential to study the circumstances under which jurors perceive children as credible witnesses. The current study examined affect while testifying on perceptions of the child’s credibility, the amount of blame attributed to the witness, and case verdict decisions. A case scenario about an aggravated robbery of a girl who was either 6- or 13-years-old and who either cried or remained calm while testifying was read by 186 undergraduate participants. No age effects were found, possibly due to the non-sexual nature of the case. No effects for …

Are Older Adults Less Or More Physiologically Reactive? A Meta-Analysis Of Age-Related Differences In Cardiovascular Reactivity To Laboratory Tasks, Wendy C. Birmingham, Bert N. Uchino, Cynthia A. Berg

Faculty Publications

In this meta-analytic review of 31 laboratory studies, we examined if relatively older adults showed lower or higher cardiovascular reactivity compared with relatively younger adults. Results revealed that age was associated with lower heart rate reactivity but higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity during emotionally evocative tasks. Consistent with the predictions of dynamic integration theory, the result for SBP was moderated by the degree of task activation. These data are discussed in light of existing self-regulatory models and important future research directions.

Arterial Pulse Wave Velocity And Cognition With Advancing Age, Merrill F. Elias, Michael A. Robbins, Marc M. Budge, Walter P. Abhayaratna, Gregory A. Dore, Penelope K. Elias

Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Papers

We hypothesized that carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, interacts with age such that the magnitude of associations between PWV and cognitive performance are greater with increasing age and that this interaction is observed despite adjustments for demographic variables, mean arterial pressure, and cardiovascular risk factors. PWV was estimated using applanation tonometry in 409 dementia- and stroke-free participants of the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (24 to 92 years of age; 62.3% women). Using linear regression analyses in a cross-sectional design, associations between PWV and age and the interaction of PWV and age were examined in relation to …

Age Differences In Behavior And Pet Activation Reveal Differences In Interference Resolution In Verbal Working Memory, Alan Hartley, John Jonides, Christina Marshuetz, Edward E. Smith, Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz, Robert A. Koeppe

Scripps Faculty Publications and Research

Older adults were tested on a verbal working memory task that used the item-recognition paradigm. On some trials of this task, response-conflict was created by presenting test-items that were familiar but were not members of a current set of items stored in memory. These items required a negative response, but their familiarity biased subjects toward a positive response. Younger subjects show an interference effect on such trials, and this interference is accompanied by activation of a region of left lateral prefrontal cortex. However, there has been no evidence that the activation in this region is causally related to the interference …

Age Differences In The Frontal Lateralization Of Verbal And Spatial Working Memory Revealed By Pet, Alan Hartley, Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz, John Jonides, Edward E. Smith, Andrea Miller, Christina Marshuetz, Robert A. Koeppe

Scripps Faculty Publications and Research

Age-related decline in working memory figures prominently in theories of cognitive aging. However, the effects of aging on the neural substrate of working memory are largely unknown. Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate verbal and spatial short-term storage (3 sec) in older and younger adults. Previous investigations with younger subjects performing these same tasks have revealed asymmetries in the lateral organization of verbal and spatial working memory. Using volume of interest (VOI) analyses that specifically compared activation at sites identified with working memory to their homologous twin in the opposite hemisphere, we show pronounced age differences in this …

Age Differences In The Maintenance And Restructuring Of Movement Preparation, Paul Amrhein, George Stelmach, Noreen Goggin

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In 2 experiments, 56 elderly (aged 65–78 yrs) and young Ss (aged 20–28 yrs) performed simple reaction time (RT), choice RT, and movement plan restructuring tasks, using a stimulus precuing paradigm. In Exp 1, the precue display (200 ms) and preparation interval (250, 500, 750, or 1,000 ms) were experimentally determined. In Exp 2, the precue display interval was S determined. For the restructuring task, the precue specified the response on 75% of the trials, enabling movement plan preparation with respect to movement parameters of arm and direction. On remaining trials, the precue incorrectly specified the response, requiring movement plan …