Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Associative And Non-Associative Learning In The Monodelphis Domestica, Ana C. Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

Learning encompasses multiple important processes that vary within organisms and that are affected by different factors. Two of the most important types of learning are associative and non-associative learning. Even though past research has studied animal learning in multiple species, there is limited research on learning in the Monodelphis domestica. It is imperative to further the knowledge on this species since multiple fields use it as an animal model for research. The current study examined both non-associative and associative learning in the Monodelphis. Non-associative learning was explored by using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm, while associative learning was examined using the …

Diurnally Active Rodents For Laboratory Research, Roberto Refinetti, G. J. Kenagy

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although inbred domesticated strains of rats and mice serve as traditional mammalian animal models in biomedical research, the nocturnal habits of these rodents make them inappropriate for research that requires a model with human-like diurnal activity rhythms. We conducted a literature review and recorded locomotor activity data from four rodent species that are generally considered to be diurnally active, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), the degu (Octodon degus), the African (Nile) grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), and the antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus). Our data collected under 12L:12D light-dark cycles confirmed and expanded …

Nonverbal Synchrony And Pronoun Use In Romantic Dyads, John A. Moran

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Bubble Stream Production By Belugas (Delphinapterus Leucas), Megan Slack

Theses

Bubble stream production in belugas has been poorly characterized and its function is not well understood. I examined behavioral states when producing bubble streams (“bubbling”), and when bubbling calls, to determine whether bubbling was significantly associated with a particular call category or behavioral state. Using 19 hours of video and audio recordings collected over a two-day period, I quantified bubble streams of a 4-month old calf and an unrelated adult female housed together. Based on the overall activity budgets and pool of vocalizations for both animals, I calculated the expected counts of bubble streams with and without vocalizations, assuming that …

The Effects Of Gateway Width On Driver Yielding To Pedestrians: A Systematic And Parametric Analysis, Jonathan M. Hochmuth

Masters Theses

The gateway in-street sign treatment has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective method for increasing driver yielding behavior at crosswalks. In the present study, wide and narrow gateway widths were compared at two sites to determine if there was a differential effect on driver yielding behavior. Then, the relationship between width and yielding was refined with a parametric analysis at one of these sites. Gateway width was varied in two-foot intervals from 12ft to 18ft. The results indicated an inverse relationship between gateway width and driver yielding behavior. There are likely two variables related to this effect. First, because drivers …

An Analysis Of Innovate Training With Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Raymond John Van Steyn

Theses and Dissertations

The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland conducted a training program in 2014 to develop a gestural command for their dolphins called “innovate”. This training paradigm was developed to resemble the seminal research by Pryor, Haag and O’Reilly (1969), as well as more recent efforts of Braslau-Schneck (1993) and Kuczaj and Eskelinen (2014) of training dolphins to offer “creative” behaviors not developed through conventional methods of behavioral modification, such as shaping. The goal of the present study was to observe records taken during the National Aquarium’s training procedure as well as data collected ~3 years after said training in order to …

Applied Behavior Analysis Function Based Procedures Contribute To Parent Child Interaction Therapy Child Outcomes, Melissa Grant

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Developmental disabilities affect nearly one in six children in the United States; up to 30 % of these individuals have problem behaviors causing stressors in both the child and their caregiver’s lives. These problem behaviors have various topographical and functional forms, such as property destruction, aggression, tantrums, self-injurious behavior, and many others. If these behaviors are not nipped in the bud during younger years they have the capability to bring about academic failure, alienation from typical peers and other adults, and in the longer term, substance abuse issues, and a decrease in functioning skills within their communities. Evidence-based practices are …

Personality In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus) And Harbor Seals (Phoca Vitulina): Methodological Convergence And Species-Specific Emotional Repertoires, Amber De Vere

Dissertations

Despite the wide acceptance of animal personality as a valid area of study, research on marine mammal personality remains remarkably scarce. What literature does exist predominantly focuses on bottlenose dolphins (Frick, 2016; Highfill & Kuczaj, 2007; Kuczaj, Highfill & Byerly, 2012; Lilley, de Vere, Yeatre & Kuczaj, 2018; Moreno, Highfill & Kuczaj, 2017). There is also strong evidence for individual differences in grey seals (Robinson et al., 2015; Twiss & Franklin, 2010; Twiss, Culloch & Pomeroy, 2011; Twiss, Cairns, Culloch, Richards & Pomeroy, 2012), and preliminary research has provided evidence of broad personality factors in pinniped species using behavioral coding …

Borderline Personality And Risk-Taking: Examining The Role Of Impulsivity Across Domains, Colten Karnedy

Masters Theses

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and high levels of BPD traits have demonstrated greater rates of engagement in risky, self-destructive behaviors compared to healthy controls. Specifically, impulsivity has been theorized to underlie many of these risky behaviors. Although existing self-report literature suggests that individuals with BPD are more impulsive than controls, evidence from behavioral measures remains inconclusive. Likewise, there is scant research examining specific domains of impulsivity associated with risky behaviors in BPD, which is problematic given that impulsivity is a diagnostic criterion for BPD. Thus, the proposed research aims to bridge this gap in the literature by examining …

Motivational Valence Alters Memory Formation Without Altering Exploration Of A Real-Life Spatial Environment, Kimberly S. Chiew, Jordan Hashemi, Lee K. Gans, Laura Lerebours, Nathaniel J. Clement, Mai-Anh T. Vu, Guillermo Sapiro, Nicole E. Heller, R. Alison Adcock

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Volitional exploration and learning are key to adaptive behavior, yet their characterization remains a complex problem for cognitive science. Exploration has been posited as a mechanism by which motivation promotes memory, but this relationship is not well-understood, in part because novel stimuli that motivate exploration also reliably elicit changes in neuromodulatory brain systems that directly alter memory formation, via effects on neural plasticity. To deconfound interrelationships between motivation, exploration, and memory formation we manipulated motivational state prior to entering a spatial context, measured exploratory responses to the context and novel stimuli within it, and then examined motivation and exploration as …

Using Restorative Practices To Create A School District That Cares, Louis L. Fletcher Phd, Kim Boyd Psyd

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Zero-tolerance became the rule in many school districts due to an increase in school-based violence, which served to silence student voices and led to the overrepresentation of minority students in discipline situations. Schools could adopt restorative approaches, but change cannot be sustained without fair processes at the district level. Thus, district policies should be aligned to restorative practices to increase the probability of district-wide success.

A Review Of Survey Data Collected On The Use Of Applied Behavior Analytic (Aba) Based Instructional Strategies By Educators In Pennsylvania Schools, Eric J. Bieniek, Mike Monfore, Matthew Erickson, Ashlea Rineer-Hershey, Richael Barger-Anderson

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This survey was initiated to explore the perceptions and daily practices of Applied behavior Analytic ABA) by educators supporting exceptional learners in public and private school settings in Pennsylvania. This survey explores the degree to which educators are trained, feel confident in and actually carry out a range evidenced based practices following an ABA approach. Results are also presented in regards to barriers that educators feel limit the delivery of ABA based approaches and undermine the fidelity of interventions once introduced in their professional settings.

Examining An Asynchronous Group Discussion Board Adaptation Of A Parent-Mediated Behavior Intervention For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Alexis D. Rodgers

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communication deficits, as well as restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped behaviors, interests, and activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although important relationships have been shown and described among the issues of challenging behavior, parent stress, and parenting sense of competence for families of children with ASD, there is a shortage of intervention programs appropriately suited for families which target these issues. Some programs have been developed and tested, but none is directly applicable for the target population. This is notable because of the connections drawn in the literature between families …

The Relationship Between Exposure To Lead And Criminal Behavior, Margaret Meyer, Christine Rogers

2017-2018: Scott County, Iowa Health Department

In recent years it has been made apparent that exposure to lead is a significant problem for many individuals and families. Lead exposure–whether through the air, water, or by ingestion–has been linked to numerous physical, cognitive, and social problems (Chandramouli, 2009; Nevin, 2007). Furthermore, urban, poor and immigrant populations are at a higher risk for lead exposure (Bakhireva, et al., 2013). And increasingly a connection between lead exposure and criminal behavior has been identified through both correlation studies and experiments. The high cost of exposure to lead is apparent when looking at the effects of lead over a lifetime, and …

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.

Sexualized Music's Effect On Adolescent And Emerging Adult Behavior: A Meta-Analysis, Brittany M. Scholl

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Reports on sexual activity among U.S. adolescents have shown a rise in their seriousness (Martino, Collins, Elliott, Strachman, Kanouse, & Berry, 2006). Such young sexual initiation is seen as a predictor of overall riskier sexual behavior such as having a multitude of sexual partners, not using any protective birth control and taking part in unwanted sex (Brown, L'Engle, Pardun, Guo, Kenneavy, & Jackson, 2006; Martino et at., 2006; Parkes, Wight, Hunt, Henderson, & Sargent, 2013; Price & Hyde, 2009; Primack, Douglas, Fine, & Dalton, 2009; Steinberg & Monahan, 2010). It is apparent that such riskier sexual behaviors result in higher …

School Personnel’S Knowledge And Perception Of School Refusal Behavior, Joshua M. Foy

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined the knowledge of school personnel regarding risk and protective factors, the four-function model, assessment, and treatment of school refusal behavior. This study also explored the perceptions of school personnel regarding the understanding of school refusal behavior as an emotional condition versus its being delinquent behavior and the climate of understanding at their work setting. Two hundred, ninety-six mental health and non-mental professionals who currently work in school settings across the United States participated in this study by completing an online survey pertaining to this topic. Results indicate that mental health professionals demonstrated a higher level of knowledge …

Neurochemistry, Physiology, And Behavior In A Model Of Gulf War Illness, Victoria A. Macht

Theses and Dissertations

Upon returning from the first Gulf War, soldiers cited a plethora of unexplained physical and cognitive deficits which have since been termed Gulf War Illness (GWI). Presentation of GWI is positively correlated with pyridostigmine bromide (PB) use, which was prophylactically administered to soldiers in response to threats of chemical warfare. To test the overarching hypothesis that PB interacted with stress of deployment to alter neural, endocrine, and immune systems, the following studies used a 2×2 rodent model with 14 days of drug treatment (vehicle; PB) and 10 days of repeated restraint stress (stressed) or non-stressed-control conditions. Results indicate that PB …

Alcohol-Induced Impairment Of Simulated Driving Performance And Behavioral Impulsivity In Dui Offenders, Nicholas A. Van Dyke

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Licensed drivers arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol have increased rates of vehicle crashes, moving violations, traffic tickets, and contribute to an estimated 120 million occurrences of impaired driving per year (Evans, 2004; Jewett et al., 2015). Survey research on DUI offenders indicates traits of impulsivity (e.g., sensation seeking). Together, these pieces of evidence suggest that DUI offenders display patterns of impulsive action and risk-taking while driving. However, to-date DUI offenders are rarely studied in a laboratory setting, and not much is known about how they respond to a dose of alcohol. The present study examined the …

Predictors Of Independence For Adults With Intellectual Disability, Kristina Beall

Honors Theses

As the life expectancy for adults has increased, the number of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) entering adulthood has increased, which brings up the question of how to evaluate and provide the care needed for these individuals. An important aspect of adulthood in individuals with ID is independence. Research links independence (specifically living environment and employment) and self-determination to a higher QOL. The purpose of the current study was to examine predictors of independent living and employment for adults with ID. Client records were obtained from an organization for adults with ID. Data retrieved included demographic information, IQ score, living …