Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining Differences In Self-Concept And Language Between Monolingual And Bilingual Undergraduate Students, Marilyn Vega-Wagner

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The literature is lacking in studies that examine self-concept and language status among individuals older than adolescence. The purpose of this study is to conduct a quantitative nonexperimental comparative design to examine differences in self-concept and language status (monolingual or bilingual) between male and female undergraduate students in California. A total of 97 participants were examined in the study. The researcher conducted descriptive statistics on the demographics as well as a MANOVA and an ANOVA to answer the proposed research question. Based on the findings presented, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis of research question 1: There is …

An Evaluation Of Prompting To Teach Children To Ask For Help In A Virtual Classroom, Katherine Griffith Brock

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have been forced to learn online. However, more information is needed about effective strategies for promoting active engagement in the online classroom, particularly the impact of peer modeling. This study investigated peer modeling and behavioral skills training to increase hand raising and question asking/answering behavior in six elementary school students. The study employed a multiple baseline across participants design, with data collected live during Zoom sessions by three research assistants, one acting as the teacher and two acting as peer models. Latency to speech was also coded subsequently to the live session …

Social Media: Are You Addicted? Examining The Role Of Social Media Platforms On Life Satisfaction, Personality And Generation, Alexzander Ponce

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The rise of social media has led to an increase in social media use and social media addiction. Research has found that social media addiction is influenced by various factors, and this study looks to examine the relation between social media addiction and users' life satisfaction, personality type and age group; and whether the type of social media platform moderates this relationship. This study dispersed survey questionnaires and conducted an ANCOVA to analyze the results. Results found that life satisfaction and social media addiction are negatively related, but the negative relation is larger for Twitter users. Results also found a …

All Along The Ivory Tower: Black American Identity As Voiced By Poetic Youths, Jeremy D. Greene

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to help amplify and analyze Black American elementary student voice in a post-2020 world. Discussions and writings were conducted at the students’ charter school in spaces where students voiced what it meant to be a Black American youth through both verbal and written means. The current qualitative study focused on using discussions and creative writing to help participants make sense of their identity in their school, community, and the United States. This research provided students’ counternarratives regarding stereotypes associated with being Black American students and focused on how such spaces can positively impact …

Popularity And Internalizing Symptoms: The Possible Mediational Role Of Friendship Quality, Jocelyn Camargo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is an important developmental period where friendships become important for social emotional adjustment. Given the importance of friendships in adolescence, the current study explored the relation between popularity and internalizing problems and whether friendship qualities mediated this relation. The present study aimed to answer the following research question: What is the mediating role of friendship qualities in the relationship between perceived popularity and internalizing symptoms? Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Development – Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were analyzed. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that adolescents who rated …

Evaluating A Nondirective Health Coaching Package And A Directive Coaching Package For Increasing Physical Activity, Hailey E. Donohue

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity is a worldwide public health problem. Applied behavior analysis has demonstrated success in this area; interventions such as goal setting, self-monitoring, and feedback have produced increases in physical activity of adults. Nevertheless, strategies with a more nondirective approach, such as health coaching, are gaining traction in practice independent of behavior analytic approaches. We do not know about the relative effects of nondirective approaches and the established, directive interventions in applied behavior analysis, or about client preference for nondirective and directive approaches. The present study employed a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate a largely nondirective, client-centered health …

Effects Of Peer Relationships On The Relationship Between Avoidant Attachment And Romantic Intimacy Among Adolescents, Selina Johnson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a time when interacting with the opposite sex tends to increase and become more serious, and romantic relationships start to form. However, for some adolescents, specifically adolescents who have an avoidant state of mind in regards to attachment, romantic relationships and particularly intimacy is an experience they may find challenging. Given the importance of intimacy in an adolescent’s life, this study proposes to investigate whether the quality of peer relationships can influence romantic intimacy among adolescents with an avoidant attachment. Friendship quality was chosen as a mediating variable in the present study to examine if the quality of …

Evaluating The Effects Of Client-Set Versus Coach-Set Goals In The Context Of A Health-Coaching Intervention For Physical Activity, J. Logan Gibson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Health coaching is a relatively new integrated health role in which practitioners use a combination of behavioral interventions to evoke health-related behavior changes; however, there is a lack of valid evidence to support health-based claims. We investigated the effect of an approximation of a health coaching intervention on three college students' number of steps per day. We provided participants with weekly telehealth coaching sessions focused on goal-setting and feedback and used Fitbits to track the results. We used a multiple baseline across participants design to compare daily steps across four phases; self-monitoring, self-monitoring with experimenter-set goals and feedback, self-monitoring with …

A Cultural Perspective Of The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System With Latino Youth, Erika J. Leacox

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the usefulness of administering the Adult Attachment Projective Picture system (AAP) through a cultural lens with two Latino youth receiving mental health treatment. The AAP is a measure developed from the Bowlby-Ainsworth developmental attachment theory that is used to assess an attachment state of mind for individuals. These case studies facilitated an understanding of how the attachment perspective may be combined with knowledge of cultural themes represented in the AAP results to inform mental health treatment. Each of the participants of this single-subject study design are youth who have experienced symptoms of trauma. We observe from this …

The Mediating Effect Of Parental Involvement On Peer Influence And Belongingness On Adolescent Educational Aspirations, Thavy Van Garst

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement has been found to be a significant influence in determining whether adolescents are more likely to succeed academically (Georgiou & Tourva, 2007). Amongst other influences, parental involvement has been shown to impact the ability to resist negative peer influence. Additionally, having a sense of belongingness influences the probability that an adolescent will aspire to achieve higher educational aspirations (Bouchard & Berg, 2017). However, researchers have yet to examine the combination of the importance of belongingness and the impact of positive peer influence on adolescents' educational aspirations. The present study aimed to investigate whether parental involvement had a significant …

An Examination Of The Social Emotional Skills Necessary To Promote College And Career Readiness For A Rural California High School, Anna Austin Whitesides

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics suggest that as academic standards continue to rise, students' mental health continues to decline (Carr, 2022). Public schools today have a unique opportunity to support the ongoing learning of students, while also encouraging the development of social and emotional skills that will benefit students’ academic performance, as well as their general wellbeing. While schools today follow rigorous state standards and support academic learning, many students attending rural high schools are graduating without the skills necessary to be successful in college or career (Farrington et al., 2012).

This mixed-methods case study examines the …

Memory Strategy Instruction With Goal-Setting And Positive Feedback: Impact On Memory, Strategy Use, And Task Commitment, Mercedes E. Ball

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Strategy instruction can improve memory performance, but some training programs are more effective than others. Some scholars propose that a key element to boosting the benefits from training programs is enhancing or emphasizing self-regulatory factors, such as knowledge about memory, beliefs about ability, or motivational factors. Research supporting this claim evidence adds that programs that enhance trainees’ confidence in their abilities improve memory performance and that multifactorial programs are more effective than strategy-training-only programs. Setting performance goals and receiving feedback are two self-regulatory factors known to relate to memory performance that may sometimes be included in some training programs. However, …

Speak Up: An Evaluation Of Teaching Engagement To Children In An Academic Setting, Delaney R. Callan

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Shyness is characterized by anxious and reluctant behaviors that may put children at risk for underperforming academically. Previous research has observed that active behavioral engagement in the classroom improves academic performance, however, shy children show deficits in this type of engagement. The current study examined whether behavior skills training (i.e., instruction, modeling, rehearsal and feedback) improved active engaged behavior in pre-K and kindergarten-age children using a multiple baseline across participants design. Four children between 3 to 5 years of age with varying shy behaviors as reported by their parents were asked to complete a series of math worksheets prior to …

A Review Of The Use Of Advance Notice As An Intervention For Transition Related Problem Behavior: Implications For Practice And Future Research, Matthew Boliard

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Tolerating transitions between activities and locations is an essential daily-living skill, as transitions are inevitable in most typical settings. However, for some individuals, requests to transition may occasion problem behavior which can interfere with daily routines and result in a more restrictive lifestyle. The unpredictability of transitions is often assumed to be aversive and functionally related to transition-related problem behavior. As a result, advance notice procedures are often recommended to reduce problem behavior during transitions. However, Brewer et al. (2014) found mixed results for the use of advance notice highlighting some studies where advance notice procedures reduced problem behavior and …

The Effect Of Depression On Adolescent Deviant Behavior And The Mediating Effect Of Autonomy, Theresa Lee

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the relations among the adolescent need for autonomy in decision making process, depression, and tendencies for deviant or risk-taking behaviors as adolescents. Background variables such as socio-economic status, sex, race, previous academic achievement, parent warmth and support, resistance to peer pressure were controlled for. Using the NICHD database set, multiple regression analyses revealed that adolescent autonomy was not correlated with adolescent depression, and earlier depression at sixth grade was not a significant mediator of the effect of earlier deviant behaviors at sixth grade on later adolescent deviant behaviors. More importantly, however, the …

Teaching Study Skills To College Students Using Checklist Training, Sarah T. Kong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Deficits in the study skills of college students can lead to lower academic performance and disqualification. Although behavior analytic research has evaluated methods for teaching, structuring in-class notes, increasing attendance, and improving participation, no studies have evaluated methods for improving independent studying outside of the classroom using a single-case design. We evaluated the effects of a study skills training package using a multiple probe design across skills with college students. Sessions took place in a room arranged to emulate the typical study space found in a dorm or library. During sessions, participants were given a 3–6 page reading from a …

The Effects Of Adding Motivational Interviewing To A Behavioral Coaching Intervention To Increase Physical Activity, Ryley Acrea

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Most people do not meet the physical activity guidelines set forth by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO). Sufficient physical activity plays an important role in preventing chronic illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes, which are a burden on the health care system. Health coaching (a client-centered approach to improve health outcomes) holds promise as a preventive strategy to change health behavior and limit office visits, thereby reducing the burden of illnesses caused by physical inactivity. One component of health coaching that warrants more research is motivational interviewing. The current study used a multiple baseline …

A Comparison Of Traditional Aggregated Data To A Comprehensive Second-By-Second Data Depiction In Functional Analysis Graphs, Erin Mackelvie

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Functional analyses (FAs) are an important component of treatment and the data gathered from FAs are often graphed in an aggregate or summary format, such as mean rate per session. Given the prevalence of undifferentiated analyses, it may be that this common method of data depiction is incomplete. In this paper, we compare the traditional aggregate method to a comprehensive second-by-second demonstration of the data including all appropriate and inappropriate responses emitted, as well as programmed and accidental antecedent and consequent variables, which may help further clarify the results of a functional analysis. We compared the functional analysis results of …

Evaluation Of A Division I Mid-Major University’S Student-Athlete Mental Health Program, Heather M. Swanson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The following executive summary provides high level findings of a student-athlete mental health program (SAMHP) at a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I mid-major university. Various elements of the SAMHP were evaluated to create a well-rounded understanding of the program to determine sustainability, goals, and stakeholder expectations. Findings from this study provided insight on stakeholder needs, program successes, and implications for program improvements.

The Feasibility Of Assessing Infants’ Social Evaluations Using Within-Subject Repeated Measures In A Virtual Format, Samantha Crooks

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Foundational research on infant social evaluations (e.g., Hamlin et al., 2007; Hamlin et al., 2011; Hamlin & Wynn, 2011) has been cited over 2,500 times and infant researchers suggest these data show infants have an unlearned preference for prosocial others. However, several failed replications have been published, which might be attributable to the type of research methods used to investigate this question. A single measure of the dependent variable is ubiquitous among these studies; within-subject repeated measures are rarely used. In the current study, we adapted methods used by Hamlin and Wynn (2011) to a video-only format, due to COVID-19 …

A Praise-Based Intervention Does Not Increase The Honest Reports Of Children, Adam David Moline

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Although lying is a major concern for many caregivers (Alwin, 1989; Gervais et al., 2000), there is little behavior analytic research on effective, practical interventions. Studies have shown that a moral story, instruction, or rule implying praise for honesty produced statistically significant improvements in children admitting a transgression (Lee et al., 2014; Talwar et al., 2015; Talwar et al., 2016). Although praise has been shown to function as a reinforcer (Dozier et al., 2012; Hall et al., 1968; Polick et al., 2012), it is unknown if an intervention package including praise for telling the truth would compete with reinforcement contingencies …

Listener Responses Can Influence The Presentation Of Restricted Interest Topics To Individuals With Asd, Sadaf Fakharzadeh

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The behavior of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can influence caregiver responses that lead to countertherapeutic outcomes. However, there are few experimental evaluations of variables that can cause potentially undesirable interactions between those with ASD and their caregivers. Specifically, little is known about the effects of listener interest on the restricted topics presented by caregivers. We evaluated the influence of listener responses exhibited by a confederate acting as a person with ASD on the topics presented by three undergraduate students who were interested in working with individuals diagnosed with ASD. Each session consisted of a 5-min conversation, during …

Relationships Between Religious Involvement, Stress, Depression, And Academic Performance Of Graduate Students In Education, Jai Thao

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Religion plays an important role in many cultures. Prior studies have demonstrated that religious involvement is associated with greater psychological well-being for college students. Prior research suggests that religiously involved college students have lower levels of depression, stress, and anxiety, as well as higher academic performance. The primary purpose of this study was to examine potential direct and indirect effects of religious involvement on depression and academic performance of graduate students in education, by testing models involving stress and depression as potential mediators. Multiple regression statistical analyses examined relationships between the level of religious involvement and the psychological status of …

Further Comparison Of Preference For Intervention With And Without Restricted Topics, Meg Patel

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may dwell on restricted topics of interest during conversations (Mercier et al., 2000; Smerbeck, 2019). Stocco et al. (in press) found that individuals may prefer a conversational-skill intervention that includes access to restricted topics over an intervention that only provides high-quality attention for speech about experimenter-led topics. We replicated and extended Stocco et al. in two ways. First, we evaluated if speech about restricted topics (a) occurred at high levels and (b) was sensitive to interested responses from a listener. Second, we experimentally evaluated the additive effects of …

Teaching College Students How To Answer Interview Questions: Content, Fluency, And Social Validity, Jennifer Wahonick

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Poor interview performance may be one factor contributing to the unemployment and underemployment of recent college graduates, and content and fluency of interview answers seem to be especially important. Although decades of research have shown improvements in interview skills using instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback, researchers have noted that the duration of training could limit the practicality of using these procedures in college classrooms or career centers. Additional time could be saved if teaching one skill led to collateral changes in another. Although previous research reported collateral changes in speech disfluencies after targeting elements of answer content (Hollandsworth et al., …

Innovation Within Regulations: Gaining Insight On Cultivating Employee-Led Innovation In California Public-Sector Organizations, Rebecca N. Franklin

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The inquiry concerned gaining insights into environmental elements needed within California public-sector organizations to increase employees’ willingness to share innovative ideas. Although research exists regarding the need for service innovation and employees as fruitful sources of innovative ideas, there have been limited studies concerning public-sector organizations and the best method to solicit employee ideas. The data collection for this qualitative research study consisted of a series of interviews with front-line, non-supervisory civil servants. The results provide insights and information on how public-sector organizations may foster a culture that promotes and encourages employee-led innovation. The themes that emerged were (a) transparency …

Evaluation Of Behavioral Skills Training (Bst) To Teach College Students To Pour A Standard Serving Of Alcohol: Skill Acquisition And Generality Across Cups And Time, Margaret Brock

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Binge drinking is prevalent among college students and is associated with a number of serious consequences. However, research suggests college students who count drinks and set drink limits are less likely to engage in binge drinking. In order to successfully use these tactics, college students must identify and pour standard servings of alcohol. Unfortunately, college students typically cannot identify or pour standard servings of alcohol. Behavioral Skills Training (BST), comprised of instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback (Miltenberger, 2008), can be used to teach college students to pour standard servings of alcohol (Hankla et al., 2017). If effective, universities might consider …

Workplace Dynamics: Exploring Views, Impressions, And Preferences Of Colleagues With Diverse Backgrounds And Attributes, Emily Harris Broadhurst

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The general purpose of this study is to better understand stigmatized views of mental health conditions in the current social climate. In order to assess changes in current stigma levels, valid measurement tools are needed to make more accurate assessments. Many existing tools used to assess stigma levels present validity issues due to reporting bias, specifically social desirability bias. Researchers suggest that purposefully omitting diagnostic labeling helps to eliminate biased answers. In order to measure stigmatizing beliefs while minimizing the threat of social desirability, this study utilized an experimental design that compared mental health conditions with medical conditions. The Adjusted …

Effects Of A Group-Deposit Prize Draw On The Step Counts Of Adults, Alex J. Mccurdy

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2016) reports that 3.2 million deaths per year are attributable to physical inactivity, making it the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Physical inactivity is also a key risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes (WHO, 2018). Globally, 1 in 4 adults is not active enough and, therefore, foregoes a myriad of health benefits associated with Physical Activity (PA; WHO, 2018). In the United States, only about 1 in 5 (21%) adults meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2018). …

An Evaluation Of Individual And Group Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Members Of Greek Letter Organizations To Free-Pour Standards Of Alcohol, Meagan Anne Strickland

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

College students engage in high levels of excessive drinking and certain subpopulations of college students, such as members of Greek Letter Organizations (GLOs) report higher levels of excessive alcohol consumptions. Those who report less excessive drinking also report counting their drinks and setting drink limits. However, the effectiveness of these strategies may be improved by the ability to accurately identify and pour standard servings of alcohol, an area in which college students’ knowledge is generally quite poor. Although individual behavioral skills training (BST) has been used to teach college students to accurately pour beer (Hankla et al., 2017), little is …