Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Does Type Of Stimulus Influence Task-Irrelevant Evaluative Categorization Processes?, Guadalupe Corral

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The effect of stimulus type on task-irrelevant evaluative categorization was examined in two separate studies by using the P3 component from event-related brain potentials. The first study presented idiosyncratic stimuli consisting of individuals that were rated by participants as either positive or negative within sequences of pictorial and verbal stimuli. The second study presented sequences of novel and familiar stimuli consisting of previously normed unattractive and neutral individuals. It was hypothesized that pictures would elicit task-irrelevant evaluative categorization processes and so would novel stimuli (relative to words and familiar stimuli, respectively). Task-irrelevance was examined by assessing P3 peak amplitude to …

"Should I Just Confess?": The Influence Of Perceived Consequences Associated With Confessing On The Likelihood Of True Vs. False Confessions, Allyson Judith Horgan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The growing awareness of the problem of false confessions has lead social science researchers to investigate the factors that influence true vs. false confessions. Previous research suggested that minimization and maximization techniques may be interpreted by a suspect as the equivalent of an offer of leniency and a threat of harsher punishment, respectively. The current studies seek to further this literature by distinguishing between minimization and maximization techniques that may or may not influence a suspect's perceptions of the consequences associated with confessing. Results indicate that techniques that manipulate the perceived consequences of confessing increase false confession rates while those …

The Distinctiveness Effect In Fingerprint Identification: How The Role Of Distinctiveness, Information Loss, And Informational Bias Influence Fingerprint Identification, Jessica L. Marcon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Fingerprint misidentification has become a concern for legal professionals, especially after the high profile misidentification of Brandon Mayfield as the Madrid train bomber and the first fingerprint related DNA exoneration of Stephen Cowans. The current studies examined how humans perceive the distinctiveness of fingerprints, whether distinctiveness effects found in face perception research are evident in fingerprint identification, and whether there are conditions under which the distinctiveness effect can be eliminated. Experiment 1 examined the distinctiveness effect and information loss, while Experiment 2 investigated the distinctiveness effect and its interaction with information loss and informational bias. In Experiment 1, results showed …

Characterization Of The Behavioral And Neurochemical Effects Of Nicotine Withdrawal In Adolescent And Adult Rats., Luis Alberto Natividad

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous studies have demonstrated that the behavioral effects of nicotine withdrawal are lower in adolescent versus adult rats. However, the neurochemical mechanisms that mediate these developmental differences are presently unclear. Much work has shown that nicotine reward is mediated via enhanced dopamine neurotransmission in the mesolimbic pathway which originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and terminates in several forebrain structures including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). More recently, studies have shown that nicotine withdrawal produces a decrease in NAcc dopamine transmission, an effect that is believed to serve as a neurochemical marker of withdrawal in adult rodents. The goal of …

Youth Movements In Latin America: 20th Century Stories Of Age, Struggle, And Socio-Political Independence, Amaris Delcarmen Guzman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, the very nature and everyday functions of Latin American governments under dictatorship, authoritarian-like governments, and military regimes were questioned and challenged by many of its citizens, especially its young citizenry. Literary journals and books suggest that many young people in the late 1950's to early 1980's were very aware of their government's practices, did not agree with such practices of the government, and therefore created youth movements in countries as the case in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Brazil to bring about change. This topic was brought about as an interest to …

Percy Grainger And Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Comparative Study Of English Folk-Song Settings For Wind Band, Shawna Meggan Holtz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis provides a comparison and study of English folk music collected by composers Percy Grainger and Ralph Vaughan Williams in the early twentieth century. Individuals who played a key role in beginning the folk music collecting movement are discussed, as well as the Folk Song Society's position in regulating and organizing folk-song collecting. A brief biography on Grainger is provided, along with his methods of collecting and setting folk-songs, and his ideas and processes on "free music." Chapters on Ralph Vaughan Williams follow, exploring his folk-song collecting and settings for the church. Grainger and Vaughan Williams' most well-known band …

Geography Of Pestecide Exposure In The Lower Valley (El Paso County, Texas), Critina Solis Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous studies using GIS have been used to understand the demographics of particular areas of a city and the risks associated with living there. In the Lower Valley (Socorro, Clint, and San Elizario) area of El Paso County (TX), there has been a rapid growth in population. This increase in growth has led to this project about the types of pesticides used in farms and if they are creating possible health risks for people living in this area and which populations are most at risk. To determine population risk, I use existing GIS information, specifically a USDA aerial photograph taken …

Education, Infrastructure, And Regional Income Performance In Arkansas, Phuntsho Wangmo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Attention Allocation And The Variability Of The Stereotype Priming Effect, Katherine R. White

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The stereotype priming effect is assumed to be a rather uniform and robust effect. However, a closer look at the existing literature suggests that the `standard' stereotype priming effect may be more susceptible to variability than originally believed. In the present study, we sought to demonstrate that the stereotype priming effect displays significant variability in strength depending upon the level of attention allocated to the stereotype feature of interest. Participants were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: a lexical decision task (LDT) condition, a pre-primed LDT condition, and a gender categorization condition. It was predicted that the stereotype priming effect …

Machiavellian Heroes Through The Prism Of Aristotle, Robert Acosta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis examines the relationship between the political philosophies of Machiavelli and Aristotle. It hypothesizes that Machiavelli incorporates three fundamental premises of Aristotle's political philosophy: 1. Politics is the master science 2. Man is a political animal 3. Aristotle's conception of human nature. In order to test the hypoThesis the Thesis utilizes case studies in the form of Machiavelli's four excellent men (Theseus, Romulus, Cyrus, and Moses) that are named explicitly in Chapter VI of The Prince . It is concluded that there is an element of Aristotle's fundamental political philosophy that is incorporated by Machiavelli. This relationship is often …

Getting To Know You: The Effects Of Familiarity And Time On Social Perception, Clarissa Arms Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A new direction in social perception research is developed. The present research explored the impact of familiarity and time on social perception processes based on cognitive neuroscience models, social categorization models, and memory consolidation constructs. Familiarity was manipulated within an exposure task and time was manipulated by testing participants both 2-6 hr and 48 hr after the exposure task. Experiment 1 investigated the influence of familiarity and time on the argument of the automaticity of social categorization and associated stereotypes by testing the argument with two separate tasks. Experiment 1a tested the influence of familiarity and time on associated stereotypes …

International Students' Communication Effectiveness With U.S. Faculty Members: A Further Exploration Of Anxiety/Uncertainty Management (Aum) Theory, Yixin Chen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study established a theoretical model based on anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory with English proficiency and knowledge of U.S. culture as indirect factors. A total of 180 international students at a mid-sized Southwestern university participated in surveys regarding the communication process with U.S. faculty. The results revealed that uncertainty and anxiety are positively related, and anxiety negatively predicts communication effectiveness while uncertainty does not. English proficiency is a negative predictor of both uncertainty and anxiety, while knowledge of U.S. culture is not a predictor of either uncertainty or anxiety. The results also indicated that English proficiency and knowledge of U.S. …

South Park And Absurd Culture War Ideologies, The Art Of Stealthy Conservatism, Drew W. Dungan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

South Park serves as an example of satire and parody lampooning culture war issues in the popular media. Since it targets culture war issues, it is relevant to analyze its political and social stance on the issues as presented within. Both extremes in political and social ideology are targeted. Although the program notes an ideological absurdity in extremist points-of-view, the presentation of the issues attempts to create a sense of moderate ideology criticizing both the far left and far right, when in fact, closer analysis provides evidence that South Park serves a stealthy conservative perspective. Stealthy conservatism presents itself as …

The Effects Of Psychopathy And Machiavellianism On Cognitive Dissonance, Ashley Anne Murray

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Psychopathic traits include a lack of guilt, a lack of remorse, callousness and antisocial behaviors such as impulsivity and aggression. The current study examined the effects of psychopathic traits as measured by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory - Revised: Short Form (PPI-R: SF; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) and the Levenson Primary and Secondary Psychopathy Scales (LPSP; Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995), and of Machiavellianism (MACH), as measured by the MACH-IV (Christie & Geis, 1970), on cognitive dissonance in a sample of 164 participants. The induced compliance paradigm of cognitive dissonance was implemented by instructing each participant to complete a boring task …

Pre-Existing Attitudes About The Legal System: The Thirteenth Juror?, Larissa Angelique Schmersal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The idealized role of the jury is that of a neutral decision maker; however, the degree to which individual verdict preferences represent jurors' pre-existing beliefs about the legal system, theories about issues important to the case at hand, and prior understanding of legal terms remains inadequately explained. The purpose of the current study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of pre-existing attitudes about the legal system upon verdict preferences. Participants were 463 undergraduate students from the University of Texas at El Paso. Consistent with the hypotheses, pre-existing attitudes about the legal system played a role in individual verdicts, …

A Tobacco Consumption Diary To Assess The Factors Associated With Smoking In A Light Smoking College Population, Thom J. Taylor

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Limited information exists about the proximal predictors of light smoking fewer than 10 cigarettes per day (cpd). Furthermore, light smokers are not highly motivated to quit smoking. This study examined predictors of light smoking and motivational change toward quitting smoking in 118 light smoking college students. Participants completed a 7 day Tobacco Consumption Diary (TCD) by recording for each cigarette: time and day, location, number of people present, number of smokers present, mood, and whether alcohol was consumed. Carbon Monoxide (CO) feedback was also provided to a random half of the participants at the outset of the study. CO feedback …

Understanding Deviant Behaviors Through Coercion And Social Support Theory, Maria Nicte-Ha Uribe

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mark Colvin, Francis T. Cullen and Thomas Vander Ven (2002) developed an integrated theory of crime called "coercion, social support, and crime" which hypothesizes that coercion and social support are inversely related and that these variables have direct effects on criminal and deviant behavior as well as a combined effect. Specifically if an imbalance between coercion and social support exists, crime is more likely to occur because coercion induces weak social bonds and low self control thereby increasing crime. On the other hand, social support prevents criminal involvement through organized networks of human relations that assist people in meeting their …

Deterring Bonds: Why She Can't Leave., Yolanda Cora Seidler

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Is it always true that the marriage bonds nurture love?

Domestic violence knows np boundaries it happens everywhere it touches everyone, regardless of age, income, level of education, occupation, race/ethnicity, and religious belief. For this study, because of its unique characteristics, the military community was selected. Some of its differences with the civil community as well as its response to victims, protection, rights, and the offenders accountability are discussed.

Is Alexithymia A Predictor Of College Student Alcohol Abuse?, Diane Arms

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Alexithymia, as defined by Sifneos (1973), literally means "no words for emotions." It is characterized by the following three domains: 1) the incapacity to identify feelings, 2) inability to describe feelings and 3) the tendency to think in externally oriented ways (Salminen, Saarijarvi, & Aarela, 1995; Sifneos, 2000). Although alexithymia is not a diagnosable disorder, it has been shown to be related to a wide variety of other constructs (e.g. alcohol use, depression and parenting styles). This study examined the interrelationships between alexithymia and student alcohol use, while controlling for sex, perceived parental alcohol use, perceived parenting styles and student …

Reanalysis Of Some Effects Of The Mutual Exclusivity Constraint And Their Operation In Bilingual Children, Marina Kalashnikova

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the operation of the Mutual Exclusivity constraint in two groups of three-year-old children: monolingual Spanish speakers and bilingual Spanish-English speakers. Previous research has yielded controversial findings regarding the differences in the intra-lingual level operation of the constraint in monolingual and bilingual children. This investigation sheds light on the conflicting outcomes of previous studies by proposing that non-linguistic cognitive and processing abilities may account for the effects attributed to the constraint and that there may be observable differences in monolingual and bilingual children in the development of some--but not all--of these abilities. Although, this study yielded no significant …

Development Of The Video Suggestibility Scale For Children: Spanish-Language Version, Claudia Ornelas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Video Suggestibility Scale (VSSC). A cross-cultural validation with a sample of 3-5 year old Spanish speaking children was performed to evaluate its psychometric properties (N = 79). The development of the VSSC Spanish language version (VSSC-S) is described. The new version was created using the translation-back-translation process to increase the instrument‟s equivalence. Internal consistencies were satisfactory. Construct validity was assessed by using factor analysis and the Varimax procedure. As expected, the VSSC-S items loaded on two separate factors. Overall, results suggest that the VSSC-S taps into similar constructs …

Finite Element Modeling Of Nondestructive Test Methods Used For Detection Of Delamination In Hot Mix Asphalt Pavements, Dante Mejia Munoz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For the simulation of detection of delamination this study focus on three NDT methods: Impact Echo, Impulse Response and Ultrasonic Surface Waves. The was evaluated and then a parametric study was elaborated.

The Ethics Of The Other, Luis Ruben Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

I consider that our society is going through a globalization process where different vantages are being forced to face other cultures. This process revealed the weakness of our traditional moral systems where conflicts could be solved through a belief system that was accepted by the majority of the individuals of a given society. Since a global society needs to incorporate different beliefs systems in its moral considerations, and this implies that there will undoubtedly be a clash between the different moral codes, we need to find a way where individuals relate to the other in an ethical way. In my …

Effects Of Concurrent Task Performance On Object Processing, Gabriela Durán

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Most research on visual object identification focus on the bottom-up processes of the visual what? and where? pathways. However, such research has not been able to fully account for many visual abilities (e.g., identifying an object among many other objects and across changing conditions). Neurological evidence has shown that feedback from high-level areas (i.e., top-down processing) makes object processing more efficient. However, there are no behavioral studies that have tested this. Thus, four experiments used a concurrent n-back task to occupy higher-level areas and tested its effects on visual object processing relative to a number-repetition control task.

Experiment 1 examined …

Core Conditions In Student-Centered Learning, Margaret Ann Hartford

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study explored core conditions in student centered educational settings by utilizing an ethnomethodological design to examine the experiences of self-selected educators throughout the United States. Through surveys and follow up interviews, educators reported their professional experiences regarding the core conditions in student centered learning as outlined by Carl Rogers and the impact these conditions played in the quality of educational experiences for the educators and their students in diverse settings. This study was also concerned with educators' self reports regarding their training and education regarding core conditions in student centered learning environments. This paper shares with readers a literary …

Taste Of Dirt, Brianna Lynn Heisey

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Taste of Dirt is a novel about a young female wildland fire fighter and her travels across the western U.S with her fire crew. The forest, the open road, the animals, and the men and women she meets along the way help her overcome her fears and re-discover her place in nature. This Thesis is approximately 240 pages and includes a dedication, acknowledgements, a table of contents, a 25 page introduction, 16 complete chapters and a curriculeam vita. Enjoy.

Production Of Future Forms By L2 English Learners, Sabrina Mossman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines forms of future expression used by L2 English learners, which can be different from those used by native English speakers. Three types of data were collected for this study--language produced daily by L2 English learners in an ESL classroom, language produced in response to open questions in an interview, and language produced in a Discourse Completion Task (DCT). Twenty-six ESL learners from multiple language backgrounds participated in the interview and DCT portions of the study. Of these twenty-six, five also participated in the classroom production portion. Twenty-seven native speakers acted as a control group. The results of …

The Effect Of Facial Resemblance On Alibi Credibility And Final Verdicts, Claudia Ochoa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine an extra-legal variable that may affect the credibility of a defendant and the alibi corroborator's testimonies. In this study, the facial appearance of the alibi corroborator was manipulated to resemble the defendant or the trial judge to different degrees using facial morphing software. Participants serving as mock jurors provided verdicts for a trial summary and rated the credibility of an alibi corroborator. It was hypothesized that as the facial resemblance shared between an alibi corroborator and a defendant increased, the less credible the alibi corroborator's testimony would be perceived, resulting in an …

A Comparative Analysis Of Attitudes Toward And Responses To Email And Postal Direct Mail Advertising, Caroline Staub Staub Garland

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over the past decade, we have seen significant increases in Internet activity and the adoption of new digital technology for sending and receiving communications. According to numerous reports, email now accounts for over 70% of Internet activity. As Internet usage has increased, Internet advertising, and in particular email advertising, has evolved from simple-text, untargeted mass mailings to visually sophisticated highly-targeted interactive communication.

This study sought to compare and examine attitudes toward and responses to two forms of permission-based direct advertising - online direct mail campaigns to traditional, postal direct mail

campaigns to determine what are the qualities peculiar to email …

The Journey Of An Image: The Western Perception Of Tibet, Diana Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper is about how Western travelers perceived Tibetans from 1900 until 1950. It explores the travelogues of Westerners from various national and professional backgrounds to examine how their view of Tibetans had changed.