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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Drama Therapy As An Intervention For Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Potential Benefits For Youth And Adulthood, Ella S. De Castro Jan 2023

Drama Therapy As An Intervention For Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Potential Benefits For Youth And Adulthood, Ella S. De Castro

Scripps Senior Theses

There are many interventions commonly used for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, one that has not been researched as often is drama therapy. Though there are not many studies on drama therapy and ASD, the ones that do exist seem to indicate positive results. The goal of this proposed study is to assess whether drama therapy could be a good intervention for ASD and if it could potentially be a better option compared to applied behavioral analysis (ABA). The proposed study is broken into two smaller studies. The first study explores the potential benefits of drama therapy for …


Masochistic Drive & Horror, Anne Farley Jan 2022

Masochistic Drive & Horror, Anne Farley

CMC Senior Theses

Human nature is inherently masochistic, meaning we self gratify through the means of some type of self-harm. The term masochism usually refers to sexual tendencies, but in this paper, it will be used as a reference to some sort of self-infliction of pain whether it be mental or physical. It is rare that we, as individuals, do not partake in masochism on a daily basis. When we engage in an activity or task that inflicts a type of pain, or stress on our bodies and mind, we are rewarded with gratification. This can be observed in gym-goers, individuals who thrive …


The Internet-Extended Mind: The Psychological Ramifications And Philosophical Implications Of Cognitive Offloading, Gloria Choi Jan 2021

The Internet-Extended Mind: The Psychological Ramifications And Philosophical Implications Of Cognitive Offloading, Gloria Choi

Scripps Senior Theses

In this thesis, I explore the internet-extended mind through both philosophical and psychological lenses in order to investigate the questions “To what extent is the mind extended onto the internet and, more generally, outside our bodies?” and “How will an increasingly internet-extended brain change the ways in which humans communicate, remember, and behave?”. First, I introduce the idea of a mind that extends out into the world, instead of lying solely in the brain. Then, I outline existing research that introduces the challenges and implications of an internet-extended mind in an ever-changing internet landscape. Next, I discuss how the internet …


Viability Of Physiologically Timed Relaxation Interventions In Children With Asd, Nicholas Mendez Jan 2021

Viability Of Physiologically Timed Relaxation Interventions In Children With Asd, Nicholas Mendez

CMC Senior Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an increasingly common developmental disorder that changes how people experience the world and affects individuals’ social interactions and often leads to many adverse behaviors. Current literature dictates that a primary contributor to these adverse behaviors is that those with ASD have difficulty determining their own emotional states and determining the physiological signals that their body sends them. A study by Dr. Sarabadani et al. determined that it was possible to monitor the physiology of an individual with ASD and correlate certain signals to emotions, such as stress. These findings indicate the feasibility of establishing a …


Sibling Mediated Play Intervention Of Joint Engagement And Symbolic Play In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Catherine Callaci Jan 2020

Sibling Mediated Play Intervention Of Joint Engagement And Symbolic Play In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Catherine Callaci

CMC Senior Theses

The study will utilize a multiple baseline design to assess a sibling mediated play intervention using Behavior Skills Training (BST) to increase joint engagement (JE) and symbolic play (SP) behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). JE will be operationalized as turn-taking, imitation, or following through on verbal commands to play. SP will be operationalized as play actions with objects for imaginative uses, without the actual objects present, or labeling abstract properties of the object. Six siblings of children with ASD will be taught BST during playtime. JE and SP occurrences will be scored via a 15 second partial …


Can Instagram Do #Good? The Effect Of Instagram Advertising On Positive Body Image, Dhara Singh Jan 2020

Can Instagram Do #Good? The Effect Of Instagram Advertising On Positive Body Image, Dhara Singh

CMC Senior Theses

Research on the effects of social media and advertising on body image has predominantly focused on the negative impacts, with limited studies exploring the effects on positive body image. This study investigated whether body positive Instagram advertising images, which aim to promote body acceptance, increase positive body image compared to ideal or neutral (landscape) images. One hundred and thirty participants (66.2% female) were randomly assigned to an image condition and shown a series of neutral, ideal, or body positive Instagram images. Participants’ positive body image was then measured using the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) and Functional Appreciation Scale (FAS). A …


Teaching The Leisure Skill Of Photography To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alicia Tsai Jan 2019

Teaching The Leisure Skill Of Photography To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alicia Tsai

CMC Senior Theses

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often do not use their leisure time appropriately. Previous studies have shown that children with ASD tend to engage in inappropriate actions and maladaptive behaviors (such as engaging in stereotypy and tantrums) that decrease their quality of life. Establishing age-appropriate leisure skills is important for these children as these skills have been recognized as fulfilling habilitative needs, and can increase the quality of life and social acceptance and decrease the amount of stress for these individuals. The present study used a multiple baseline across-participants design to investigate whether children with ASD can learn and …


Circadian Variations And Risky Decision Making, Sana Sra Jan 2019

Circadian Variations And Risky Decision Making, Sana Sra

Scripps Senior Theses

Over the past decades, decision making under risk has garnered a great amount of attention both in the field of economics and psychology. Although state-dependent variabilities of risk taking are well-documented, little is known about the effects of a person’s preferred time of day, or chronotype, in risky decision making. Under circumstances of circadian mismatch (e.g., when an “early bird” makes decisions in the evening), research suggests that decision making may reflect a greater reliance on heuristics, such as using stereotypes in social judgments. However, the effects of circadian mismatch on heuristics in risky decision making are relatively unexplored. This …


Relations Among Maternal And Paternal Behavior And Children's Stress Biology, S.K. Jiaming Lin, Stacey N. Doan, John Milton Jan 2019

Relations Among Maternal And Paternal Behavior And Children's Stress Biology, S.K. Jiaming Lin, Stacey N. Doan, John Milton

Scripps Senior Theses

Parenting behavior has been shown to have a wide range of effects, influencing children’s psychological and biological stress outcomes. Most research focuses on maternal parenting behaviors, with few studies observing the effects of paternal behaviors or the influence of both parents on their children. In this study, the relationship between maternal and paternal parenting behaviors was examined in its association to predict children’s cortisol levels. Cultural differences in parenting styles was also observed. American (N=86) and Chinese (N=97) families participated in the study, with parents reporting their behaviors. Children’s cortisol was collected during a stressor task and correlational analysis was …


Effects Of Learned Exercises On Gross Motor Coordination In Children With Asd, Garrett Myers Jan 2018

Effects Of Learned Exercises On Gross Motor Coordination In Children With Asd, Garrett Myers

CMC Senior Theses

The effectiveness of a teaching progression to teach three “Olympic” exercises and improve gross motor coordination was evaluated with four children (3 boys, 1 girl) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multiple baseline design across children and within children across activities was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching progression used to teach the physical exercise program, which consisted of three “Olympic” events (long jump, 50 foot dash, and a relay race). Results showed all four participants learned the three “Olympic” exercises, with all four participants mastering at least one of the three exercises. Two participants mastered all …


Generalization Of Ipad®-Learned Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Claire Klein Jan 2018

Generalization Of Ipad®-Learned Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Claire Klein

CMC Senior Theses

The present study investigated the effects of learning from an iPad® to real-world skills for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research has demonstrated that for some children with ASD, electronic media such as an iPad® is highly motivating, highly preferred, and increasing in popularity in homes and in classrooms (Chen & Bernard-Opitz, 1993; Rideout, 2017; Shane & Albert, 2008). Because academic skills are often difficult for children with ASD due to problems with motivation, the current study used the motivating features of iPad® apps to teach real-world academic skills to children with ASD, with the hypothesis that skills would …


Applying Psychological Theories Of Personality, Identity, And Intergroup Conflict To Radical Violence: A Case Study Of Extremist Behavior, Sydney Flynn Jan 2018

Applying Psychological Theories Of Personality, Identity, And Intergroup Conflict To Radical Violence: A Case Study Of Extremist Behavior, Sydney Flynn

CMC Senior Theses

This paper aims to address possible psychoanalytical explanations for the heinous acts in which terrorists, particularly ISIS, engage. It focuses on Harold D. Lasswell’s principles of the id, ego, and superego as well as Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory. Within the framework of these two theories, relevant psychological and social psychological theories are discussed in order to explore a possible connection between the psyche of violent perpetrators and their actions. By exploring these connections, I find that there may be more nuanced psychological explanations for these violent acts, which could lead to new methods of weakening perceived biases, intergroup …


The Effects Of A Text Message Intervention On Conversational Speech Between Dyads Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Julia Blanco Jan 2017

The Effects Of A Text Message Intervention On Conversational Speech Between Dyads Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Julia Blanco

CMC Senior Theses

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) per DSM-5 criteria are characteristically limited in their ability to interact socially due to conversational speech delays. Typically, children with ASD experience a more constrained number of appropriate initiations and responses in conversations with peers. Previous research has shown the benefits of using scripted language to increase verbalizations in these children. However, limited research has been conducted on the use of technology to increase social interactions between children with ASD. This study will be based on hypotheses and results from the dissertation, “Teaching Conversational Speech to Children with Autism Using a Text Message …


Acting Is Repetition, Job Barnett Nov 2016

Acting Is Repetition, Job Barnett

The STEAM Journal

A short discussion of repetition in acting.


The Effect Of Stress Coping Techniques In Sports, Lestter Yeh Jan 2016

The Effect Of Stress Coping Techniques In Sports, Lestter Yeh

CMC Senior Theses

The first part of this literature review goes over the biological and psychological aspects of stress. The cause of stress can be linked back to a primitive instinct known as “fight or flight.” The “fight or flight” instinct is triggered by several chemical reactions in the body starting from a signal from the amygdala to the sympathetic nervous system. Stress can also be categorized into internal and external stress. Further research links stress to sports. Many studies show that stress coping techniques such as meditation, self-talk, rituals, etc. are beneficial to athletes during competition. Suggested avenues of further research are …


A Unified Framework Of The Shared Aesthetic Experience, Huakai Liao Jan 2016

A Unified Framework Of The Shared Aesthetic Experience, Huakai Liao

CMC Senior Theses

Aesthetic expressions have been seen as the manifest of human culture. The psychology of aesthetics have proposed various models, describing the various phenomena related to aesthetic experience, such as sensory pleasure derived from aesthetic stimuli, emotional response toward aesthetic depiction, cognitive mastering over aesthetic emotion, etc. However, further examination reveals current models have theoretical limits for the explanation of society-wide aesthetic preference due to limited scope of focus. Thus, the current project proposes a new theoretical framework to describe the process through which the society comes to converge on aesthetic preference. Examination of related theories and experimental evidence shows that …


Self-Expansion And Romantic Partner Request For Friendship Termination, Emily C. Wages Jan 2016

Self-Expansion And Romantic Partner Request For Friendship Termination, Emily C. Wages

Scripps Senior Theses

According to self-expansion theory, there is an innate drive to gain new resources, identities, and perspectives, which causes people to seek and maintain interpersonal relationships. However, an individual’s relationship partners may come into conflict with each other. In the current research, 656 adults in established monogamous romantic relationships completed an online questionnaire about romantic partners asking them to give up a friendship. The researcher explored the prevalence of this friendship interference phenomenon and its relationship to sources of self-expansion. The amount of self-expansion provided by a friendship was manipulated through vignettes. Additional measures assessed the relationship between amount of self-expansion …


From Rainman To Rainmaker: A Presentation Of Jim’S Journey And Rapidly Advancing Technologies: Integrating Proven Behavioral Therapies With Emergent Measurement And Testing Advances Will Result In Transformational Progress In Autistic Individuals, Richard Zajac Jan 2016

From Rainman To Rainmaker: A Presentation Of Jim’S Journey And Rapidly Advancing Technologies: Integrating Proven Behavioral Therapies With Emergent Measurement And Testing Advances Will Result In Transformational Progress In Autistic Individuals, Richard Zajac

CMC Senior Theses

The autism treatment status quo was reviewed and accompanied by a narrative contextualizing past and present progress with my younger brother Jim’s journey with the condition, sharing proposed next steps for bettering the current state of affairs in the space. The impetus for this piece was to share in the lessons of Jim’s life thus far and the revelations of those who have supported him, as well as to determine ways to create more impactful, lasting change in the limited window of early intervention therapy whilst empowering individuals on the spectrum to optimize for their skills and talents rather than …


A Psychological Analysis Of Behavioral Consumerism: Advertising, Decision-Making, And Its Implications For Retailers, Grace V. Coburn Jan 2015

A Psychological Analysis Of Behavioral Consumerism: Advertising, Decision-Making, And Its Implications For Retailers, Grace V. Coburn

CMC Senior Theses

Advertising is a ubiquitous and substantial influence in consumerism, prompting psychological decision-making processes and behavioral consumerism. Selective marketing, advertising, and merchandising can only be successful when the processes within populations are identified and modified to fit the consumer. This paper examines psychological concepts surrounding the complex variables of decision-making. It will discuss relevant literature and empirical evidence that are imperative to further studies of behavioral consumerism. Such concepts that will be examined include: the elaboration likelihood model, regulatory focus theory, paradox of choice, as well as consumer variables such as influences of personality and maximizers versus satisficers. It then addresses …


Situational Context, Philosophical Belief, And Moral Constructs: The Multifaceted Nature Of Moral Judgment, Jessie Huang Jan 2014

Situational Context, Philosophical Belief, And Moral Constructs: The Multifaceted Nature Of Moral Judgment, Jessie Huang

CMC Senior Theses

Recent studies have shown that different free will beliefs affect moral behavior. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether different free will beliefs also influence moral judgment. College students (N = 56) were randomly assigned to one of three framing manipulations: free will, determinism, or neutral. They then read three morally questionable scenarios that differed by situational context. Following each scenario, participants completed a moral judgment questionnaire that measured four moral constructs: moral evaluation, moral responsibility, justification, and punishment. Finally, participants completed a Free Will & Determinism Questionnaire (FWD-Q) that measured their lay beliefs in free …


An Anti-Bullying Intervention For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Catherine Rex Jan 2014

An Anti-Bullying Intervention For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Catherine Rex

CMC Senior Theses

The effects of a video modeling intervention, given to six children with ASD, were evaluated through a multiple-baseline and multiple-probe design across children. The research targeted teaching children with ASD to assertively respond to physical bullying, verbal bullying, and social exclusion, as well as telling one’s mother. In baseline, the participants demonstrated inconsistent to no skills for responding to the bullying in the vignette movies (SAAS) and the generalization probe skits. During intervention the participants watched a video of a person assertively responding to bullying, and were assessed through VM questions and SAAS. Post-intervention the children participated in generalization probe …


Rewarding Careers Applying Positive Psychological Science To Improve Quality Of Work Life And Organizational Effectiveness, Stewart I. Donaldson, Michelle C. Bligh Jan 2006

Rewarding Careers Applying Positive Psychological Science To Improve Quality Of Work Life And Organizational Effectiveness, Stewart I. Donaldson, Michelle C. Bligh

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

A hallmark of modern societies is the centrality of work and work-related activities (e.g., preparation for work and careers). Most adults are expected to spend the majority of their waking hours engaged in work- or career-focused endeavors into the foreseeable future (Donaldson, Gooler, & Weiss, 1998). A large body of research now suggests that work and careers are of primary importance, both socially and personally, for individuals across the globe. For example, the nature of one's work often imposes a schedule and structure on one's life, establishes patterns of social interaction, dictates economic status and well-being, provides others with a …