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Articles 1 - 30 of 144
Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Exploring Resilience Factors And Positive Development In Single-Parent Households, Valerie Gomez
Exploring Resilience Factors And Positive Development In Single-Parent Households, Valerie Gomez
Undergraduate Papers
Single-parent households are often viewed as a risky family context associated with children’s negative outcomes such as social difficulties, psychopathology, and lower academic performance. While single-parent households are becoming more common, particularly in the United States, not all children who grow up in single-parent households go on to develop negative outcomes. Prior studies have not clearly outlined whether there are child or family-level factors that are associated with positive outcomes in the context of single-parent households. This honors thesis explored whether chores, which may support children’s persistence and autonomy, are more common in single-parent households and whether they predict positive …
Local Field Potentials In The Male Rat Nucleus Accumbens During Effort-Based Behavior, Celine Aliko, John Salamone, Alev Ecevitoglu
Local Field Potentials In The Male Rat Nucleus Accumbens During Effort-Based Behavior, Celine Aliko, John Salamone, Alev Ecevitoglu
Honors Scholar Theses
Major depression is a devastating disorder that consists of multiple symptoms such as low mood and motivational dysfunction. It has been shown that motivational dysfunction can be studied in animal models by using effort-based choice paradigms, which vary in their response requirements. It has been reported that dopamine depletion in the nucleus accumbens decreases ratio-scheduled lever-pressing in a manner related to the size of the ratio requirement. One dopamine depleting agent is tetrabenazine (TBZ), which has been shown to decrease lever-pressing and induce low-effort bias. The current study aims to investigate behavioral and electrophysiological changes that occur with animals performing …
The Contribution Of Self-Compassion To Anxiety And Mood In Daily Life, Yamini Pant
The Contribution Of Self-Compassion To Anxiety And Mood In Daily Life, Yamini Pant
Honors Scholar Theses
Self-compassion, the act of being kind and understanding towards oneself, has been shown to have positive impacts on mental health. Depression and anxiety are both common mental health disorders that can interfere with an individual’s ability to function in daily life. Several studies have shown that self-compassion correlates with depression and anxiety at a cross-sectional level and across longer periods of time (e.g., several months). In the present study, we examined the fluctuations and the directionality of self-compassion, depression, and anxiety on a day-to-day basis over the span of a week. We also examined the ways that worry and rumination …
The Relationship Between Reading Anxiety And General Anxiety In 7-10-Year-Old Children With Reading Difficulties, Bo Dehm Wicklund
The Relationship Between Reading Anxiety And General Anxiety In 7-10-Year-Old Children With Reading Difficulties, Bo Dehm Wicklund
Honors Scholar Theses
Although it is established that children with learning disabilities tend to experience Reading Anxiety, less is known about this population’s extension to Generalized Anxiety. The current study presents findings from two cohorts of elementary-age children (N=51) over the course of two years during the summer BRAINCamp on the Storrs campus of the University of Connecticut. The current study explores if children with reading and math disabilities, who tend to have anxiety in reading performance, extend Reading Anxiety to the broader domain of Generalized Anxiety. The sample consisted of second to fourth-grade students who met the criteria for learning difficulties and …
Assessment Of The Triple Reuptake Inhibitor Diclofensine: Effort-Based Decision-Making In A Rodent Model Of Motivational Dysfunction, Sofia Papanikolaou
Assessment Of The Triple Reuptake Inhibitor Diclofensine: Effort-Based Decision-Making In A Rodent Model Of Motivational Dysfunction, Sofia Papanikolaou
Holster Scholar Projects
Serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications. Despite their popularity, they remain relatively ineffective at treating effort-related motivational symptoms of depression such as fatigue and anergia. Increasing research on triple reuptake inhibitors (TRIs) that target three neurotransmitters—dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine—has suggested that TRIs could have efficacy in targeting motivational dysfunction due to their dopaminergic effects. Previous research has shown that the dopamine depleting agent tetrabenazine can reliably induce motivational deficits in rats, as evidenced by a shift towards low-effort behavior in effort-based choice tasks, and provide a validated approach to creating a model of motivational dysfunction. …
The Influence Of Tetrabenazine On Operant Behavior And Binge-Like Eating Model In Rats, Reileigh Fleeher
The Influence Of Tetrabenazine On Operant Behavior And Binge-Like Eating Model In Rats, Reileigh Fleeher
Honors Scholar Theses
Tetrabenazine (TBZ), a vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT-2) inhibitor that preferentially depletes dopamine (DA), produces depressive symptoms including motivational symptoms in humans. In rodents, it reduces selection of high-effort effort alternatives in effort-based choice tasks, but does not affect food intake or preference (Nunes et al. 2013; Yang et al. 2020). However, no studies have focused on the effects of TBZ on binge-like eating to determine if it would influence “hedonic eating”. The current study used both binge-like eating and effort-based operant tasks in rats. To assess effects on binge-like eating, non-food restricted rats (n=8) were exposed to chocolate over 12 …
The Importance Of Health Anxiety And Emotional Reasoning To Understand Vaccine Hesitancy And Safety Behaviors: Implications For Public Health Campaigns In A Covid_19 Era, Samantha Ballas, Kimberli Treadwell
The Importance Of Health Anxiety And Emotional Reasoning To Understand Vaccine Hesitancy And Safety Behaviors: Implications For Public Health Campaigns In A Covid_19 Era, Samantha Ballas, Kimberli Treadwell
Honors Scholar Theses
This study examined the impact of health anxiety and emotional reasoning on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and preventative behaviors, hypothesizing that high anxiety and emotional reasoning would predict lower vaccine hesitancy and higher COVID-19 preventative health behavior after controlling for demographic variables. A large international non-probability convenience sample of 532 individuals consented to an online survey in a cross-sectional period from March through August 2021 (one month following availability of vaccinations in the USA). Participants completed questionnaires online. Health anxiety and general anxiety were significantly correlated with COVID-19 preventative behaviors, including mask wearing and social distancing, and emotional reasoning. General anxiety …
Associations Between Trauma History And Dimensions Of Self-Concept In College Students, Francisco Carrillo-Alvarez
Associations Between Trauma History And Dimensions Of Self-Concept In College Students, Francisco Carrillo-Alvarez
Honors Scholar Theses
Past research in the literature of the self has considered the influence of potentially traumatic or adverse events. In this study, we aim to explore this relationship among undergraduate students utilizing various measures of self-concept including global self-worth, self-concept clarity and domain specific measures of self-perception. Various measures were administered to 308 participants that aimed to determine the instances of potentially traumatic events experienced and the subjective level of distress, in addition to the self-concept measures of global self-worth, self-concept clarity and the domain specific measures of self-perception including self-fulfillment, autonomy, and emotional self-adjustment. The results reveal that global self-worth …
Case Study: Effects Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations On Rat Behavior And Place Cell Remapping In The Hippocampus, Qingli Hu
Honors Scholar Theses
Spatial information is known to be encoded in the hippocampus, and small changes in the environment can alter the way that it is represented by our hippocampal place cells in a process called remapping. Hearing is an important sense that can be used to orient ourselves and react to the environment accordingly. In this case study, a rat model is used to test the effects of emotional auditory stimuli, behaviorally significant ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) (50 kHz, emitted during play; 22 kHz, emitted during danger), on rat behavior on a linear track and place cell remapping in the hippocampus. Behaviorally, it …
Divining Structural Factors Related To Intervention Success Or Failure: Cultural Sexism Versus Other Macro-Level Factors, Blair T. Johnson, Christine M. Curley
Divining Structural Factors Related To Intervention Success Or Failure: Cultural Sexism Versus Other Macro-Level Factors, Blair T. Johnson, Christine M. Curley
CHIP Documents
This article provides commentary on a spatial meta-analysis published by Price and colleagues (2021); it provides valuable preliminary evidence that a dimension of cultural sexism can countervail efforts for psychotherapy to succeed in samples that focus on girls aged four to 18. Our own study reveals cultural sexism to be markedly associated with at least three macro-level factors: cultural tightness, historical slaveholding (and by implication racism), and sex education inclusiveness. The fact that cultural sexism can be so well predicted by these factors is additional evidence that cultural sexism is real, yet it also suggests caution in interpreting these effects …
Effects Of Hippocampal Inactivation With Dreadds On Water Maze Performance, Julia Levin
Effects Of Hippocampal Inactivation With Dreadds On Water Maze Performance, Julia Levin
Honors Scholar Theses
The hippocampus is an elongated brain structure related to processing episodic memory and spatial navigation. The dorsal hippocampus plays an important role in spatial tasks (Lee & Kesner, 2003), while the ventral hippocampus is known to be involved with emotion (Fanselow & Dong, 2010). Previous work in our lab has shown that the dorsal and ventral sections within the same hemisphere work together during navigation (Lee et al., 2019). The lab is currently determining how activity in the dorsal hippocampus impacts place cell firing in the ventral hippocampus. To accomplish this the dorsal hippocampus will be inactivated using Designer Receptors …
Exploring Emotion Regulation As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Benefit-Finding And Measures Of Stress In Cancer Survivors, Sarah W. Chen
Exploring Emotion Regulation As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Benefit-Finding And Measures Of Stress In Cancer Survivors, Sarah W. Chen
Honors Scholar Theses
Chronic stressors due to cancer can cause a considerable amount of distress for individuals throughout their treatment process and even months to years after their cancer experience. The psychological health of this population post-treatment can therefore be measured by the presence or absence of distress or negative psychological responses as well as the presence or absence of positive psychological responses. Positive psychological responses include coping efforts that promote resilience and well-being. One such factor is benefit-finding, which could include “positive change in relationships, a greater appreciation of life and a change in life priorities” (Mols, 2009). Identifying positive coping strategies …
The Effect Of Social Comparison And Fear Of Missing Out On Anxiety Symptoms In Late Adolescents, Olivia Adams
The Effect Of Social Comparison And Fear Of Missing Out On Anxiety Symptoms In Late Adolescents, Olivia Adams
Honors Scholar Theses
Social comparisons between peers are generally adaptive in that they facilitate social learning. However, certain forms of social comparison, especially upward comparison in the form of fear of missing out (FoMO), are posited to relate to both depression and anxiety. Empirical evidence supports that increased FoMO is associated with increased depression in adolescents, both in terms of trait-like aspects as well as in daily fluctuations. However, scant evidence exists for ties to anxiety. This study examined social comparison in the form of FoMO and anxiety in late adolescents to examine potential daily relationships between the two constructs across time. Ninety …
The Development And Evaluation Of Novel Da Transport Inhibitors And Their Effects On Effort-Related Motivation: A Review, Mukund Desibhatla
The Development And Evaluation Of Novel Da Transport Inhibitors And Their Effects On Effort-Related Motivation: A Review, Mukund Desibhatla
Honors Scholar Theses
Depression is a debilitating disorder that can cause motivational deficits such as psychomotor retardation, anergia, apathy, and fatigue. Recent research indicates that these motivational deficits, and potential pathways of therapeutic intervention, can be studied in animal models involving rats and mice. Treatments with the VMAT-2 inhibitor tetrabenazine (TBZ) and cytokine interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) can create a low-effort bias and impair effort-related motivation (Nunes et al. 2013, 2014). A number of high-affinity DA transport inhibitors such as d-amphetamine, methylphenidate, and cocaine can restore extracellular DA, albeit with the cost of undesirable effects such as high abuse liability. These observations have led researchers …
Does Anodal Tdcs Over The Left Prefrontal Cortex Using The F3-Rso Montage Improve Cognitive Control?, Sydney Darling
Does Anodal Tdcs Over The Left Prefrontal Cortex Using The F3-Rso Montage Improve Cognitive Control?, Sydney Darling
Honors Scholar Theses
Cognitive control is the ability to focus on relevant stimuli while disregarding irrelevant stimuli and is thought to be supported by the prefrontal cortex (see Miller & Cohen, 2001). Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that modulates the activity of underlying cortex regions through an electric current provided by two or more electrodes on the scalp. This study looks to determine whether anodal tDCS over the left prefrontal cortex can be used to increase cognitive control in healthy participants. Using an F3-RSO montage in a mixed between and within subjects design (with sham vs. anodal …
Assessing Rat Behavioral Response To Novelty, Neha Mathew
Assessing Rat Behavioral Response To Novelty, Neha Mathew
Honors Scholar Theses
The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is involved in memory and navigation. Neurons in the hippocampus, known as place cells, fire in specific locations within this region of the brain as the subject navigates through their environment. As these cells fire, they create a map-like representation of this environment. However if the environment is altered in any way, the place cell firing pattern is adjusted to incorporate this new information. This adjustment will inevitably cause subjects to take more time to complete their task. The goal of our testing was to assess how various manipulations, both spatial …
Language Abilities As A Function Of Lateralization Of Language-Specific Brain Networks, Jacey Anderson
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
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
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 …
Remapping Of Place Cells In The Dorsal And Ventral Hippocampus In Response To Environmental Change, Aditi Anam
Remapping Of Place Cells In The Dorsal And Ventral Hippocampus In Response To Environmental Change, Aditi Anam
Honors Scholar Theses
The hippocampus is an important brain structure involved in memory and navigation of both rats and humans. Neurons in the hippocampus can be “spatially” tuned, meaning they fire in specific physical locations. These spatially tuned cells are referred to as place cells. Collectively, they are thought to provide a map-like representation of the environment around us. If the environment is changed, some place cells can adjust by “remapping”, or altering their firing patterns. There are multiple sub-regions within the hippocampus. During experiments, cells were recorded simultaneously from the dorsal and ventral hippocampus of rats running on a track for food …
Campus Activism: Understanding Engagement, Inspiration, And Burnout In Student Experiences, Jessica Gagnon
Campus Activism: Understanding Engagement, Inspiration, And Burnout In Student Experiences, Jessica Gagnon
Honors Scholar Theses
Around the world, countries are seeing a rise in youth activism, and the United States is no exception. Universities are a hot spot for activism, but student activism is not yet fully understood. Student activists face unique challenges and often experience burnout. In this qualitative study, student activists were interviewed to elucidate both the pathways that led them to activism and burnout that they face. I reveal important implications for individual activists, organizations, and universities for helping student activists protect themselves from burnout and heal when they do experience it.
Comparing Behavioral And Parent-Report Measures Of Executive Functioning In Deaf And Typically Hearing Children, Abeer Mohamed
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
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
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 …
The Effects Of The Atypical Dopamine Uptake Inhibitor Ce-158 On Extracellular Dopamine In The Nucleus Accumbens, Julia Neri
Honors Scholar Theses
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is characterized by symptoms such as cognitive dysfunctions, inflammatory changes, and motivational symptoms such as amotivation, fatigue, and anergia. While depressed people are commonly treated by traditional antidepressants such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), previous studies have reported that SSRI medications do not treat fatigue and anergia symptoms well, and in some cases, can even worsen those symptoms. Subjects treated with dopamine (DA) uptake inhibitors, on the other hand, have been less likely to report symptoms of anergia and fatigue compared to those treated with SSRIs. Common DA uptake inhibitors such as methylphenidate and amphetamines, however, …
Amygdala And Neocortical Structural Volume Analysis In The Shank3b Mutant Mouse Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Preet Sawhney
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 …
The Impact Of Location On Healthcare Access For Individuals With Disabilities, Addison Kimber
The Impact Of Location On Healthcare Access For Individuals With Disabilities, Addison Kimber
Honors Scholar Theses
This paper analyzes healthcare access for individuals with disabilities living in rural areas. In current political discussion, we typically think of insurance coverage as the metric to analyze healthcare access. However, as demonstrated by studies of healthcare in the United Kingdom, people with disabilities continue to face barriers to health care even with universal healthcare systems. In particular, individuals in rural areas have less healthcare access than urban residents. This is due to factors including socioeconomic status, insurance coverage, access to competent care, and transportation. This study aims to understand if disability status exacerbates the issue of access in rural …
The Links Between Locus Of Control, Trauma History, And Death Anxiety In Cancer Patients, Joanna Mallary
The Links Between Locus Of Control, Trauma History, And Death Anxiety In Cancer Patients, Joanna Mallary
Honors Scholar Theses
This thesis project used cross-sectional survey data from a larger longitudinal study of cancer patients' psychological adjustment to analyze correlations between a history of traumatic life experiences, personal control beliefs, and death anxiety in cancer patients who had been diagnosed between 1 and 3 years prior. Contrary to hypotheses, lifetime trauma history was not found to predict an external locus of control in patients but, in fact, was related to greater feelings of control over the course of their illness. However, results did confirm the hypothesis that control beliefs would be related in specific ways to anxiety about cancer-related death. …
Promoting Resilience In Self-Management (Prism): Adverse Childhood Experiences And Impacts On Emotion Regulation, Kasey Ann Macedo
Promoting Resilience In Self-Management (Prism): Adverse Childhood Experiences And Impacts On Emotion Regulation, Kasey Ann Macedo
Honors Scholar Theses
PRISM (Promoting Resilience in Self-Management) is a mindfulness-based intervention that aims to strengthen emotion regulation skills among individuals by employing cognitive behavioral therapy components. The purpose of the current study is to identify the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depression, as well as to examine the changes in emotion regulation strategies of participants by comparing pre and post test data. The participants were voluntarily recruited from the Cornerstone Foundation, a homeless shelter, food pantry, and community center in Vernon, CT. The 13 participants completed PRISM through four weeks of two-hour workshop sessions in a small-group format. Results indicate …
The Alchemical Vessel, River Soma
The Alchemical Vessel, River Soma
MFA Statements
My work comes from a place of deep feeling on a bodily level. Amidst the decorative play, there is a sense of the primitive and primordial, and also a certain humanity and clumsiness through struggle. Through the hermetic tradition I relate the alchemical vessel and its symbolic process of interior development to my artistic practice. Focusing in mixed media sculpture, I discovered a concentrated accumulation of symbolism specific to my practice, but also the full recognition of my practice as a ritualized psychological undertaking.