Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Creating A Community: Stories Of Resilience At Providence College, Patrick Fuller, Nicholas Crenshaw

Psychology Student Scholarship

Patrick Fuller ’21
Major: Psychology

Nicholas Crenshaw ’20
Major: History

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mary O’Keeffe, Psychology

Creating a Community: Stories of Resilience is inspired by both the work of MIT Professor Daniel Jackson, in Portraits of Resilience, and the concept of StoryCorps, an audio catalogue of “humanity’s stories.” We recorded tales of resilience from students, faculty, and staff at Providence College using the video chat program Zoom and the audio recording platform Zencastr. In doing so, we emphasized the “ordinary” nature of resilience and how basic protections like a healthy brain, close relationships, committed families, and effective communities have all …

College Students’ Attachments To Mothers And Fathers: Comparing Social And Developmental Questionnaires, Elise W. Rogers, Brooke D. Vitulli, Samantha R. Leavey, Angelina M. Decapua

Psychology Student Scholarship

Angelina M. DeCapua ’20
Major: Psychology and Mathematics

Samantha R. Leavey ’22
Major: Psychology

Brooke D. Vitulli ’22
Major: Psychology

Elise W. Rogers ’20
Major: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Kelly A. Warmuth, Psychology

This study explored the relationship between social and developmental measures of attachment, which tend to tap distinct but correlated dimensions of attachment (Crowell, Shaver, & Fraley, 2008). Participants (N = 161) completed the ECR-RS and the IPPA through Qualtrics. Results showed significant negative correlations between attachment-related avoidance and anxiety to attachment security, degree of mutual trust, and quality of communication, and significant positive correlations between attachment-related avoidance and …

Undergraduates’ Interparental Conflict Mediation Based On Conflict Valence, Intensity, And Resolution, Angelina M. Decapua, Samantha R. Leavey, Brooke D. Vitulli, Elise W. Rogers

Psychology Student Scholarship

Angelina M. DeCapua ’20
Major: Psychology and Mathematics

Samantha R. Leavey ’22
Major: Psychology

Brooke D. Vitulli ’22
Major: Psychology Elise W. Rogers ’20 Major: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Kelly A. Warmuth, Psychology

Undergraduates may be more likely to mediate interparental conflict when perceived as destructive, rather than constructive. Participants were 161 undergraduates who listened to six audio clips of disagreements and reported their perceptions as if those disagreements occurred in their families. Key findings suggest that undergraduates were more likely to mediate conflicts as perceived intensity and negativity increased, but not as resolution decreased. These findings emphasize the effects of …

Mothers’ Social Contact As A Coping Strategy For Post-Disagreement Anger And Sadness, Abigail M. Fielding, Elizabeth R. Perrone

Psychology Student Scholarship

Elizabeth Perrone ’20
Major: Psychology, Neuroscience Certificate Program

Abigail Fielding ’20
Major: Psychology and Biology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kelly A. Warmuth, Psychology

The purpose of this study was to observe social contact as a coping mechanism for parents’ post-disagreement anger and sadness. Twenty-seven mother–father pairs completed a laboratory discussion followed by a short questionnaire. Consistent with the pattern of seeking emotional support, mothers who expressed higher levels of anger and sadness were more likely to use social contact as a coping strategy, while the same relationship was not found for fathers.

Creating Permanent And Temporary Inactivations In The Rat Posterior Parietal Cortex, Robert Vera, Carina Alessandro, Colin Call

Psychology Student Scholarship

Robert Vera ’20
Major: Psychology

Carina Alessandro ’21
Major: Biology and Psychology

Colin Call ’22
Major: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Victoria Templer, Psychology

Previous studies have examined the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) as a multimodal hub using permanent lesioning techniques. However, when attempting to lesion the PPC as a whole, researchers have generally only managed to lesion the dorsal portion of the PPC (dPPC) without lesioning the caudal portion (cPPC). This study aimed to refine and improve the methods for successful targeting and lesioning the entire PPC. In two pilot lesions, we successfully created permanent excitotoxic lesions to the entire …

Perceptions Of Disability, Alexandria Powers

Psychology Student Scholarship

Alexandria Powers ’20
Major: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mary O’Keeffe, Psychology

Negative perceptions, discrimination, and bias contribute to compromised self-esteem among disabled individuals. Evidence suggests that those who reject ableism have higher self-esteem. The purpose of this research is to determine if exposure to individuals who reject ableism positively influences disability perceptions. We hypothesize that participants will have more positive perceptions of disability after viewing an individual who embraced theirs. To test this, Two Ted Talk videos and two short story depicting cognitive and physical disability are presented at random. Congruent disability portrayals (being exposed to both a cognitive impairment …

Young Children And Parents Do Not Prefer Magical Solutions To Magical Problems, Julia Culhane

Psychology Student Scholarship

Julia Culhane ’20
Major: Psychology, Neuroscience Certificate

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Van Reet, Psychology

There are many anecdotal reports of both children and parents using magical solutions to solve everyday magical problems (e. g., make monster repellent to keep monsters from living under the bed). But, how accurate is this? Using experimental and survey methods, this study found that both preschoolers and parents actually choose real solutions to both real and magical problems.

Examining The Relationship Between Child Temperament, Parental Acceptance/Rejection, And Divergent Thinking In Toddlers And Preschool-Age Children, Elise W. Rogers

Psychology Student Scholarship

Major: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kelly A Warmuth, Psychology

Research on divergent thinking, the ability to use many different solutions to solve a problem, has shown significant relationships with child temperament and parenting behaviors; however, few studies have examined the existence of these relationships in the toddler and preschool-age years. The current, on-going, study aims to explore the relationship between child temperament, maternal acceptance/rejection, and divergent thinking in children 19 months to 6 years of age. Mothers will be asked to complete the CBQ-VSF and PARQ to assess child temperament and accepting/rejecting parenting behaviors, respectively, while children are asked to …