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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Language Abilities As A Function Of Lateralization Of Language-Specific Brain Networks, Jacey Anderson Dec 2020

Language Abilities As A Function Of Lateralization Of Language-Specific Brain Networks, Jacey Anderson

Honors Scholar Theses

The strength of hemispheric lateralization appears to be a good predictor of language abilities in children with developmental language impairments. Studies of healthy adults, in contrast, have generally failed to identify any association between degree of lateralization and language abilities, perhaps due to limited sensitivity to individual differences in standardized language assessments. This study used fMRI to measure the lateralization of functional task-engaged language networks in 25 healthy right-handed adults. Linear regressions examined lateralization indices (LI) of language activation in inferior temporal, superior temporal, and frontal brain networks, as a function of syntactic complexity (via story retelling), a grammaticality judgment …


Exploring The Relationship Between Children’S Vocabulary And Their Understanding Of Cardinality: A Methodological Approach, Justin Slifer, Emily Carrigan, Kristin Walker, Marie Coppola Aug 2020

Exploring The Relationship Between Children’S Vocabulary And Their Understanding Of Cardinality: A Methodological Approach, Justin Slifer, Emily Carrigan, Kristin Walker, Marie Coppola

Honors Scholar Theses

Is there a relationship between vocabulary and children’s understanding of cardinality? Does the way in which we classify cardinality data as tested by the Give-a-Number task affect finding such a relationship? This thesis explored these questions using a methodological approach, by testing the relationship between children’s receptive vocabulary scores and Give-a-Number scores classified in two different ways, the traditional knower-level assessment, as well as by calculating the proportion of trials answered correctly. A significant correlation was found between participants’ receptive vocabulary scores and Give-a-Number scores using both manners of classification, independent of the children’s ages. The results were compared with …


Referential Transparency In Young Children’S Picture Books: A Pilot Study, Brianna Kinnie May 2020

Referential Transparency In Young Children’S Picture Books: A Pilot Study, Brianna Kinnie

Honors Scholar Theses

A wealth of research has shown that reading picture books supports several aspects of young children’s learning and development. In this thesis, we explore the hypothesis that the power of picture books is in part due to their referentially transparent nature. To test this possibility, we designed a picture-book version of the Human Simulation Paradigm (HSP), an experimental paradigm previously used to quantify the referential transparency of child-directed speech in parent-child interactions. Adult participants (N = 18) were presented with pages from children’s picture books (with text blocked out) and asked to identify either the nouns or the verbs …


Comparing Behavioral And Parent-Report Measures Of Executive Functioning In Deaf And Typically Hearing Children, Abeer Mohamed May 2020

Comparing Behavioral And Parent-Report Measures Of Executive Functioning In Deaf And Typically Hearing Children, Abeer Mohamed

Honors Scholar Theses

Executive functioning (EF) is a multidimensional aspect of development that encompasses various mental skills. Children’s utilization of inhibition, in particular, has proven to be one of the most important determinants of academic success. How deafness in children impacts their EF abilities is a question that remains divisive within deaf studies. Some suggest that auditory deprivation is a direct cause of poor EF, while others posit reduced or insufficient language experience that deaf children live with harms their EF development. We sought to explore this question further with a participant sample from our larger SLaM (Study of Language and Math) project. …


Math Anxiety In Deaf, Hard Of Hearing, And Hearing Students: Antecedents And Outcomes, Akriti Mishra May 2020

Math Anxiety In Deaf, Hard Of Hearing, And Hearing Students: Antecedents And Outcomes, Akriti Mishra

Honors Scholar Theses

Math anxiety, or the feeling of apprehension in the face of math, impedes success in the subject. A global problem affecting all age groups, math anxiety can cause short-term distress and long-term avoidance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. Math anxiety may be an underlying reason that deaf and hard of hearing individuals are significantly underrepresented in the STEM workforce. This study aims to understand the development and consequences of math anxiety in deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing university students via an online questionnaire. One hundred thirty-six deaf and hard of hearing students and 162 hearing students …


The Value Of Supportive Touch And Maternal Attention In Measures Of Maternal Sensitivity, Jamila Douglas May 2020

The Value Of Supportive Touch And Maternal Attention In Measures Of Maternal Sensitivity, Jamila Douglas

Honors Scholar Theses

This project aimed to examine the mother-child dyad during the second year (toddlerhood) in regards to sensitive parenting, with valuable insight into the naturalistic setting of the home (as opposed to a laboratory). With a subset of participants from the National Institute of Health sponsored study, The Play and Learning Across a Year Project (The PLAY Project), I evaluated mother-child dyads and the contact between them, in regards to supportive vs. restrictive touch; as well as attention paid to the child by the mother. Hour-long videos taken in the home environment were analyzed with Datavyu coding software to catch instances …


Amygdala And Neocortical Structural Volume Analysis In The Shank3b Mutant Mouse Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Preet Sawhney May 2020

Amygdala And Neocortical Structural Volume Analysis In The Shank3b Mutant Mouse Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Preet Sawhney

Honors Scholar Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by abnormal social behavior, deficits in communication, and motor stereotypy. The SHANK3 gene, responsible for the generation of a scaffolding protein that is integral for the development of synapses, has been identified as one of the primary candidate genes implicated in the disorder. Shank3B is the rodent homolog for this gene. Research has shown that when this gene is disrupted in rodent models (e.g., via knock-out (KO)), ASD-like behaviors result. These include deficits in social interaction, increased anxiety, and repetitive self-grooming. The current study aimed to identify a physiological …