Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Renewal In The Cognitive And Emotional Domains: Comparing Novelty-Facilitated Extinction With Counterconditioning And Extinction, Jérémie Jozefowiez, James E. Witnauer, Yaroslav Moshchenko, Cameron M. Mccrea, Kristina A. Stenstrom, Ralph Miller

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The main file is the ReadMe file, with a dataset and python files added in the additional file section.

Renewal In The Cognitive And Emotional Domains: Comparing Novelty-Facilitated Extinction With Counterconditioning And Extinction, Jérémie Jozefowiez, James E. Witnauer, Yaroslav Moshchenko, Cameron M. Mccrea, Kristina A. Stenstrom, Ralph Miller

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The primary file is a ReadMe file and additional file is the dataset.

Jozefowiez & Miller, C Over T Raw Data, Ralph Miller, Jérémie Jozefowiez

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The data set is the main file for download and the ReadMe file is attached below as an additional file.

Common Reasons For Divorce, Suany A. Canales

Human Development Faculty Scholarship

Marriage, a commitment between two individuals who share feelings and believe their connection to be long-term--- is common to terminate in the form of divorce. Justifications for such an act have been previously studied and found to be due to a plethora of reasons. In this essay, the five common reasons of unappreciation, jealousy, sexual rejection, infidelity, and abuse were highlighted. Additionally, experiences and memories of one can majorly affect behavior and point of view towards their partner. Through the analysis of this research, I have concluded that the success of marriage all boils down to the act of reciprocating …

Predictors Of Social Distancing And Mask-Wearing Behavior: Panel Survey In Seven U.S. States, Plamen Nikolov, Andreas Pape, Ozlem Tonguc, Charlotte Williams

Economics Faculty Scholarship

This paper presents preliminary summary results from a longitudinal study of participants in seven U.S. states during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to standard socio-economic characteristics, we collect data on various economic preference parameters: time, risk, and social preferences, and risk perception biases. We pay special attention to predictors that are both important drivers of social distancing and are potentially malleable and susceptible to policy levers. We note three important findings: (1) demographic characteristics exert the largest influence on social distancing measures and mask-wearing, (2) we show that individual risk perception and cognitive biases exert a critical role in influencing …

Do Private Household Transfers To The Elderly Respond To Public Pension Benefits? Evidence From Rural China, Plamen Nikolov, Alan Adelman

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Aging populations in developing countries have spurred the introduction of public pension programs to preserve the standard of living for the elderly. The often-overlooked mechanism of intergenerational transfers, however, can dampen these intended policy effects, as adult children who make income contributions to their parents could adjust their behavior in response to changes in their parents’ income. Exploiting a unique policy intervention in China, we examine using a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) approach how a new pension program impacts inter vivos transfers. We show that pension benefits lower the propensity of adult children to transfer income to elderly parents in the context …

One Step At A Time: Does Gradualism Build Coordination?, Maoliang Ye, Jie Zheng, Plamen Nikolov, Sam Asher

Economics Faculty Scholarship

This study investigates a potential mechanism to promote coordination. With theoretical guidance using a belief-based learning model, we conduct a multi-period, binary-choice, and weakest-link laboratory coordination experiment to study the effect of gradualism – increasing the required levels (stakes) of contributions slowly over time rather than requiring a high level of contribution immediately – on group coordination performance. We randomly assign subjects to three treatments: starting and continuing at a high stake, starting at a low stake but jumping to a high stake after a few periods, and starting at a low stake while gradually increasing the stakes over time …

Visual Gender Cues Guide Crossmodal Selective Attending To A Gender-Congruent Voice During Dichotic Listening: Supplemental Materials, Ralph R. Miller, Cody W. Polack, Zekiel Z. Factor

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

These are the supplementary materials for Factor, Polack, & Miller, Visual gender cues guide crossmodal selective attending to a gender-congruent voice during dichotic listening. They include raw data as well as materials and procedures.

What Factors Drive Individual Misperceptions Of The Returns To Schooling In Tanzania? Some Lessons For Education Policy, Plamen Nikolov, Nursat Jimi

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Evidence on educational returns and the factors that determine the demand for schooling in developing countries is extremely scarce. Building on previous studies that show individuals underestimating the returns to schooling, we use two surveys from Tanzania to estimate both the actual and perceived schooling returns and subsequently examine what factors drive individual misperceptions regarding actual returns. Using ordinary least squares and instrumental variable methods, we find that each additional year of schooling in Tanzania increases earnings, on average, by 9 to 11 percent. We find that on average individuals underestimate returns to schooling by 74 to 79 percent and …

Time Delay And Investment Decisions: Evidence From An Experiment In Tanzania, Plamen Nikolov

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Attitudes toward risk underlie virtually every important economic decision an individual makes. In this experimental study, I examine how introducing a time delay into the execution of an investment plan influences individuals’ risk preferences. The field experiment proceeded in three stages: a decision stage, an execution stage and a payout stage. At the outset, in the Decision Stage (Stage 1), each subject was asked to make an investment plan by splitting a monetary investment amount between a risky asset and a safe asset. Subjects were informed that the investment plans they made in the Decision Stage are binding and will …

Chronic Drinking During Adolescence Predisposes The Adult Rat For Continued Heavy Drinking: Neurotrophin And Behavioral Adaptation After Long-Term, Continuous Ethanol Exposure, Gina M. Fernandez, William N. Stewart, Lisa M. Savage

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Previous research has found that adolescent ethanol (EtOH) exposure alters drug seeking behaviors, cognition and neuroplasticity. Using male Sprague Dawley rats, differences in spatial working memory, non-spatial discrimination learning and behavioral flexibility were explored as a function of age at the onset (mid-adolescent vs. adult) of chronic EtOH exposure (CET). Concentrations of mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (mBDNF) and betanerve growth factor (beta-NGF) in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were also assessed at different time-points: during CET, following acute abstinence (48-hrs), and after protracted abstinence (6-8 wks). Our results revealed that an adolescent onset of CET leads to increased EtOH consumption …

Consequences Of Repeated Ethanol Exposure During Early Or Late Adolescence On Conditioned Taste Aversions In Rats, Jessica Saalfield, Linda Spear

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Alcohol use is prevalent during adolescence, yet little is known about possible long-lasting consequences. Recent evidence suggests that adolescents are less sensitive than adults to ethanol's aversive effects, an insensitivity that may be retained into adulthood after repeated adolescent ethanol exposure. This study assessed whether intermittent ethanol exposure during early or late adolescence (early-AIE or late-AIE, respectively) would affect ethanol conditioned taste aversions 2 days (CTA1) and >3 weeks (CTA2) post-exposure using supersaccharin and saline as conditioning stimuli (CS), respectively. Pair-housed male Sprague-Dawley rats received 4 g/kg i.g. ethanol (25%) or water every 48 h from postnatal day (P) 25-45 …

Fifty Psychological And Psychiatric Terms To Avoid: A List Of Inaccurate, Misleading, Misused, Ambiguous, And Logically Confused Words And Phrases, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Katheryn C. Sauvigne, Steven J. Lynn, Robin L. Cautin, Robert D. Latzman, Irwin D. Waldman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The goal of this article is to promote clear thinking and clear writing among students and teachers of psychological science by curbing terminological misinformation and confusion. To this end, we present a provisional list of 50 commonly used terms in psychology, psychiatry, and allied fields that should be avoided, or at most used sparingly and with explicit caveats. We provide corrective information for students, instructors, and researchers regarding these terms, which we organize for expository purposes into five categories: inaccurate or misleading terms, frequently misused terms, ambiguous terms, oxymorons, and pleonasms. For each term, we (a) explain why it is …

Do Semantic Contextual Cues Facilitate Transfer Learning From Video In Toddlers?, Laura Zimmermann, Alecia Moser, Amanda Grenell, Kelly Dickerson, Qianwen Yao, Peter Gerhardstein, Rachel Barr

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Young children typically demonstrate a transfer deficit, learning less from video than live presentations. Semantically meaningful context has been demonstrated to enhance learning in young children. We examined the effect of a semantically meaningful context on toddlers' imitation performance. Two- and 2.5-year-olds participated in a puzzle imitation task to examine learning from either a live or televised model. The model demonstrated how to assemble a three-piece puzzle to make a fish or a boat, with the puzzle demonstration occurring against a semantically meaningful background context (ocean) or a yellow background (no context). Participants in the video condition performed significantly worse …

Imagining The Impossible Before Breakfast: The Relation Between Creativity, Dissociation, And Sleep, Dalena Van Heugten-Van Der Kloet, Jan Cosgrave, Harald Merckelbach, Ross Haines, Stuart Golodetz, Steven J. Lynn

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Dissociative symptoms have been related to higher rapid eye movement sleep density, a sleep phase during which hyperassociativity may occur. This may enhance artistic creativity during the day. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a creative photo contest to explore the relation between dissociation, sleep, and creativity. During the contest, participants (N = 72) took one photo per day for five consecutive days, based on specific daily themes (consisting of single words) and the instruction to take as creative a photo as possible each day. Furthermore, they completed daily measures of state dissociation and a short sleep diary The photos …

Sleeve Gastrectomy And Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass Alter The Gut-Brain Communication, Lindsey Ballsmider, Alexandra Vaughn, Michelle David, Andras Hajnal, Patricia Di Lorenzo, Krzysztof Czaja

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

This study investigated the anatomical integrity of vagal innervation of the gastrointestinal tract following vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) operations. The retrograde tracer fast blue (FB) was injected into the stomach to label vagal neurons originating from nodose ganglion (NG) and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). Microglia activation was determined by quantifying changes in the fluorescent staining of hindbrain sections against an ionizing calcium adapter binding molecule 1 (Iba1). Reorganization of vagal afferents in the hindbrain was studied by fluorescent staining against isolectin 4 (IB4). The density of Iba1-and IB4-immunoreactivity was analyzed using Nikon …

Adolescent, But Not Adult, Binge Ethanol Exposure Leads To Persistent Global Reductions Of Choline Acetyltransferase Expressing Neurons In Brain, Ryan P. Vetreno, Margaret Broadwater, Wen Liu, Linda Spear, Fulton T. Crews

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

During the adolescent transition from childhood to adulthood, notable maturational changes occur in brain neurotransmitter systems. The cholinergic system is composed of several distinct nuclei that exert neuromodulatory control over cognition, arousal, and reward. Binge drinking and alcohol abuse are common during this stage, which might alter the developmental trajectory of this system leading to long-term changes in adult neurobiology. In Experiment 1, adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE; 5.0 g/kg, i.g., 2-day on/2-day off from postnatal day [P] 25 to P55) treatment led to persistent, global reductions of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) expression. Administration of the Toll-like receptor 4 agonist lipopolysaccharide to …

The Development Of Contour Processing: Evidence From Physiology And Psychophysics, Gemma Taylor, Daniel Hipp, Alecia Moser, Kelly Dickerson, Peter Gerhardstein

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Object perception and pattern vision depend fundamentally upon the extraction of contours from the visual environment. In adulthood, contour or edge-level processing is supported by the Gestalt heuristics of proximity, collinearity, and closure. Less is known, however, about the developmental trajectory of contour detection and contour integration. Within the physiology of the visual system, long-range horizontal connections in V1 and V2 are the likely candidates for implementing these heuristics. While post-mortem anatomical studies of human infants suggest that horizontal interconnections reach maturity by the second year of life, psychophysical research with infants and children suggests a considerably more protracted development. …

Brief Prenatal Ethanol Exposure Alters Behavioral Sensitivity To The Kappa Opioid Receptor Agonist (U62,066e) And Antagonist (Nor-Bni) And Reduces Kappa Opioid Receptor Expression, Michael E. Nizhnikov, Ricardo M. Pautassi, Jenna M. Carter, Justine Landin, Elena Varlinskaya, Kelly Bordner, David F. Werner, Norman E. Spear

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Approximately 10 to 15% of women consume alcohol (ethanol [EtOH]) during pregnancy in the United States. Even low amounts of EtOH consumption during pregnancy can elicit long-term consequences. Prenatal experience with as few as 3 drinks has been associated with increase problem drinking in adulthood. Such effects are corroborated in rodents; however, the underlying neural adaptations contributing to this effect are not clear. In the current set of experiments, we investigated whether changes in EtOH responding following prenatal EtOH exposure involved kappa opioid receptor activation and expression.Methods
Sprague–Dawley rats were prenatally exposed to low levels of alcohol (1.0 g/kg) during …

Course Syllabus (Sp14) Coli 211 Literature & Psychology: "The Sublime, The Uncanny, And The Imagination", Christopher Southward

Comparative Literature Faculty Scholarship

Course Description:

In a world in which what counts as knowledge is predominantly restricted to the measurable and the calculable, those elements of human experience which elude and exceed these parameters are often ignored and discounted. In this course, we will examine questions of the sublime, the uncanny, and the speculative as treated in literature, psychoanalysis, and philosophy in order to think and write critically about them. Here, we will consider the possible extent to which an openness to such experiences can enrich our lives.

Overexpression Of The Steroidogenic Enzyme Cytochrome P450 Side Chain Cleavage In The Ventral Tegmental Area Increases 3 ,5 -Thp And Reduces Long-Term Operant Ethanol Self-Administration, Jason B. Cook, David F. Werner, Antoniette Maldonado-Devincci, Maggie N. Leonard, Kristen R. Fisher, Todd K. O'Buckley, Patrizia Porcu, Thomas J. Mccown, Joyce Besheer, Clyde Hodge, A.Leslie Morrow

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Neuroactive steroids are endogenous neuromodulators capable of altering neuronal activity and behavior. In rodents, systemic administration of endogenous or synthetic neuroactive steroids reduces ethanol self-administration. We hypothesized this effect arises from actions within mesolimbic brain regions that we targeted by viral gene delivery. Cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage (P450scc) converts cholesterol to pregnenolone, the rate-limiting enzymatic reaction in neurosteroidogenesis. Therefore, we constructed a recombinant adeno-associated serotype 2 viral vector (rAAV2), which drives P450scc expression and neuroactive steroid synthesis. The P450scc-expressing vector (rAAV2-P450scc) or control GFP-expressing vector (rAAV2-GFP) were injected bilaterally into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) or nucleus accumbens (NAc) …

Course Syllabus (Fa13) Coli 211 Literature & Psychology: "Power, The Subject, And Technological Rationality", Christopher Southward

Comparative Literature Faculty Scholarship

Course Description and Objectives:

In this course, we will examine mechanisms of power and the processes by which these produce categories of subjectivity. Theoretically speaking, we will begin by considering these processes at the level of society and then dwell on their human experience at the level of the psyche. Here, we will aim to discover processes by which the subject reproduces conditions of domination by power at the level of psychic experience. Power-practices assume their condition of possibility by positing, on the one hand, that the category of the subject is a priori existent and, on the other, that …

Olfactory Preference For Ethanol Following Social Interaction With An Intoxicated Peer In Adolescent Rats Exposed To Ethanol In-Utero, Samanta M. March, Ricardo M. Pautassi, Michael Nizhnikov, Juan Fernandez-Vidal, Norman E. Spear, Juan C. Molina

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Background: Prenatal exposure to ethanol and later socially mediated exposure predicts ethanol intake in human adolescents. Animal rat models indicate that brief interactions with an ethanol-intoxicated peer result in heightened preference for ethanol odor and ethanol intake. Methods: This study assessed preference for ethanol odor in adolescent male rats (observers) following social interaction with an ethanol intoxicated peer (demonstrators) as a function of prenatal ethanol exposure (gestational days 17-20, 1.0 g/kg, intragastric). Social behavior and locomotion during social interaction was also measured. Results: Social investigation was greater in observers that interacted with an intoxicated demonstrator in comparison to those that …

Effects Of Craving And Drd4 Vntr Genotype On The Relative Value Of Alcohol: An Initial Human Laboratory Study, James Mackillop, David P. Menges, John E. Mcgeary, Stephen A. Lisman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Background Craving for alcohol is a highly controversial subjective construct and may be clarified by Loewenstein's visceral theory, which emphasizes craving's behavioral effects on the relative value of alcohol. Based on the visceral theory, this studyexamined the effects of a craving induction on the relative value of alcohol as measured by a behavioral choice task. In addition, based on previous evidence of its role in the expression of craving, the influence of DRD4 VNTR genotype (DRD4-L vs. DRD4-S) was also examined. Methods Thirty-five heavy drinkers (54% male; 31% DRD4-L) were randomly assigned to receive either a cravinginduction (exposure to personally …

Workshop To Identify Critical Windows Of Exposure For Children's Health: Neurobehavioral Work Group Summary, Jane Adams, Stan Barone Jr., Anthony Lamantia, Rossanne Philen, D. C. Rice, Linda Spear, Ezra Susser

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Summarizes the deliberations of a work group charged with addressing specific questions relevant to risk estimation in developmental neurotoxicology. Importance of multiple factors addressing critical windows of exposure on neurological function; Role that compensatory mechanisms play in the manifestation of the effects of developmental exposures.