Psychology Commons^™

Students On The Edge: Evaluating An Academic Support Group, Benjamin P. Heinisch, Nicole M. Smith

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

This qualitative case study evaluated the effectiveness of the Academic Skills Discussion Group, a new retention intervention targeting undergraduate students on academic probation. This intervention utilized a support group structure to provide social and academic supports to academically-poor students. These supports incorporated didactic educational presentations and interpersonal discussions relating to life change and college expectations. The case comprised one pilot administration of the intervention for three student group members. Data was collected from pre/post-intervention resiliency surveys, grade point average comparisons, journal-entry analysis and semi-structured exit interviews. The researcher conducted inductive data analysis by coding participant statements for meaning, calculating and …

Parental Autonomy Granting And School Functioning Among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Role Of Adolescents’ Cultural Values, Cixin Wang, Kieu Anh Do, Leiping Bao, Yan Ruth Xia, Chaorong Wu

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

School adjustment and achievement are important indicators of adolescents’ wellbeing; however, few studies have examined the risk and protective factors predicting students’ school adjustment and achievement at the individual, familial, and cultural level. The present study examined the influences of individual and familial factors and cultural values on Chinese adolescents’ school functioning (e.g., school adjustment and grades). It also tested whether cultural values moderated the relationship between parenting and adolescents’ school functioning. Self-report data were collected from a stratified random sample of 2,864 adolescents (51.5% female, mean age = 15.52 years, grade 6th–12th) from 55 classrooms, in 13 schools in …

Parent-Teacher Communication About Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Examination Of Collaborative Problem Solving, Gazi F. Azad, Mina Kim, Steven C. Marcus, David S. Mandell, Susan M. Sheridan Dr.

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Effective parent-teacher communication involves problem-solving concerns about students. Few studies have examined problem solving interactions between parents and teachers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a particular focus on identifying communication barriers and strategies for improving them. This study examined the problem-solving behaviors of parents and teachers of children with ASD. Participants included 18 teachers and 39 parents of children with ASD. Parent-teacher dyads were prompted to discuss and provide a solution for a problem that a student experienced at home and at school. Parents and teachers also reported on their problem-solving behaviors. Results showed that parents and …

Preliminary Evidence For The Impact Of Combat Experiences On Gray Matter Volume Of The Posterior Insula, Ashley N. Clausen, Sandra A. Billinger, Jason-Flor V. Sisante, Hideo Suzuki, Robin L. Aupperle

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Combat-exposed veteran populations are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula have been implicated in both autonomic arousal to emotional stressors and homeostatic processes, which may contribute to cardiovascular dysfunction in combat veteran populations. The aim of the present study was to explore the intersecting relationships of combat experiences, rostral ACC and posterior insula volume, and cardiovascular health in a sample of combat veterans.

Method: Twenty-four male combat veterans completed clinical assessment of combat experiences and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Subjects completed a magnetic resonance imaging scan and autosegmentation using FreeSurfer was …

Prompting Deliberation About Nanotechnology: Information, Instruction, And Discussion Effects On Individual Engagement And Knowledge, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Myiah J. Hutchens, Peter Muhlberger, Alan Tomkins

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Deliberative (and educational) theories typically predict knowledge gains will be enhanced by information structure and discussion. In two studies, we experimentally manipulated key features of deliberative public engagement (information, instructions, and discussion) and measured impacts on cognitive-affective engagement and knowledge about nanotechnology. We also examined the direct and moderating impacts of individual differences in need for cognition and gender. Findings indicated little impact of information (organized by topic or by pro-con relevance). Instructions (prompts to think critically) decreased engagement in Study 1, and increased it in Study 2, but did not impact postknowledge. Group discussion had strong positive benefits for …

Behavioral, Pharmacological And Neuroanatomical Analysis Of Serotonin 2c Receptor Agonism On Maternal Behavior In Rats, Ruiyong Wu, Jun Gao, Shinnyi Chou, Collin Davis, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

As a highly motivated social behavior, maternal behavior in rats has been routinely used to study psychoactive drugs for clinical, neuroscience and pharmacological purposes. Recent evidence indicates that acute activation of serotonin 2C (5-HT2C) receptors causes a disruption of rat maternal behavior. The present study was designed to elucidate the behavioral, pharmacological mechanisms and neuroanatomical basis of this 5-HT2C effect. First, we replicated the finding that acute MK212 injection (2.0 mg/kg, a highly selective 5-HT2C agonist) disrupts maternal behavior, especially on pup retrieval. Interestingly, this disruption was significantly attenuated by 4-h pup separation (a procedure putatively increased maternal motivation). MK212 …

Let’S Know! Proximal Impacts On Prekindergarten Through Grade 3 Students’ Comprehension Related Skills, Hui Jiang, Dawn Davis

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Let’s Know! is a language-focused curriculum supplement developed through the Institute of Education Sciences’ Reading for Understanding initiative aimed at supporting prekindergarten through grade 3 students’ listening and reading comprehension. The current study reports results concerning the impacts of 2 instantiations of Let’s Know! on students’ comprehension-related skills (comprehension monitoring; understanding narrative and expository text, as supported by inference making and knowledge of text structure; and vocabulary) as proximal measures of efficacy. Results from the first cohort of a large, field-based, randomized controlled trial (Np766 students across grades) indicate large, consistent, and statistically significant effects on curriculum aligned comprehension monitoring …

Workforce Well-Being: Personal And Workplace Contributions To Early Educators' Depression Across Settings, Amy M. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Alexandra Daro, Iheoma Iruka, Susan Sarver

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Building on research demonstrating the importance of teachers' well-being, this study examined personal and contextual factors related to early childhood educators' (n =1640) depressive symptoms across licensed child care homes, centers, and schools. Aspects of teachers' beliefs, economic status, and work-related stress were explored, and components of each emerged as significant in an OLS regression. After controlling for demographics and setting, teachers with more adult-centered beliefs, lower wages, multiple jobs, no health insurance, more workplace demands, and fewer work-related resources, had more depressive symptoms. Adult-centered beliefs were more closely associated with depression for teachers working in home-based settings compared …

Is Cooperative Memory Special? The Role Of Costly Errors, Context, And Social Network Size When Remembering Cooperative Actions, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Tim Winke

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Theoretical studies of cooperative behavior have focused on decision strategies, such as tit-for-tat, that depend on remembering a partner’s last choices. Yet, an empirical study by Stevens et al. (2011) demonstrated that human memory may not meet the requirements that needed to use these strategies. When asked to recall the previous behavior of simulated partners in a cooperative memory task, participants performed poorly, making errors in 10–24% of the trials. However, we do not know the extent to which this task taps specialized cognition for cooperation. It may be possible to engage participants in more cooperative, strategic thinking, which may …

Using Free Speech To Stifle Free Speech, David Moshman

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

People often use their freedom of speech to disrupt the speech of others, especially on college campuses in recent years. Of course people have a right to protest, provided they are sufficiently quiet, brief, or distant so as not to prevent the speaker from being heard. On August 25, University of Nebraska–Lincoln sophomore Kaitlyn Mullen set up a literature table outside the student union to promote Turning Point USA, a libertarian/conservative campus-based organization. TPUSA proclaims its support for free speech but maintains Professor Watchlist, a blacklist of professors who have expressed leftist ideas, in or out of class. Before long, …

Giving Students The Finger, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Does academic freedom protect giving students the finger? On August 25, University of Nebraska-Lincoln sophomore Kaitlyn Mullen set up a table on campus outside the student union to promote Turning Point USA, a campus-based libertarian/conservative organization. TPUSA is known for its Professor Watchlist, which seeks to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.” Before long, there were people demonstrating against her. Ultimately, Mullen was harassed and intimidated by several individuals employed to teach at UNL, with the apparent intent of suppressing her intellectual freedom. One of them labeled her a …

His, Hers, Or Theirs? Coparenting After The Birth Of A Second Child, Patty X. Kuo, Brenda L. Volling, Richard Gonzalez

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examined changes in coparenting after the birth of a second child. Mothers and fathers from 241 two-parent families reported on their spouse’s coparenting cooperation and conflict with their firstborn child before (prenatal) and four months after the birth of a second child. Parents completed questionnaires (prenatal) on gender role attitudes, marital satisfaction, and firstborn children’s temperamental characteristics. Parents also reported on the secondborn infant’s temperament at 1 month following the birth of the second child. Coparenting conflict increased across the transition, whereas cooperation decreased. Couples in which fathers reported greater marital satisfaction were more cooperative 4 months after …

Vii. Developmental Trajectories Of Children’S Emotional Reactivity After The Birth Of A Sibling, Patty X. Kuo, Brenda L. Volling, Richard Gonzalez, Wonjung Oh, Tianyi Yu

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Emotional reactivity in this chapter refers to children’s moodiness, worrying, emotional instability, and their inability to emotionally cope with new situations (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) rather than a temperamental characteristic. Emotionally reactive children often have difficulties adapting to change and are described as moody and anxious. Because the birth of a sibling is considered a significant change within the family, emotionally reactive children may become increasingly emotionally labile after the birth. During the transition to siblinghood, Stewart (1990) reported that children experienced an increase in emotional intensity, a decrease in the range of mood expressions, and an increased tendency to …

Fitting The Fractional Polynomial Model To Non-Gaussian Longitudinal Data, Ji Hoon Ryoo, Jeffrey D. Long, Greg W. Welch, Arthur Reynolds, Susan M. Swearer

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

As in cross sectional studies, longitudinal studies involve non-Gaussian data such as binomial, Poisson, gamma, and inverse-Gaussian distributions, and multivariate exponential families. A number of statistical tools have thus been developed to deal with non-Gaussian longitudinal data, including analytic techniques to estimate parameters in both fixed and random effects models. However, as yet growth modeling with non-Gaussian data is somewhat limited when considering the transformed expectation of the response via a linear predictor as a functional form of explanatory variables. In this study, we introduce a fractional polynomial model (FPM) that can be applied to model non-linear growth with non-Gaussian …

Secondary Students’ Writing Achievement Goals: Assessing The Mediating Effects Of Mastery And Performance Goals On Writing Self-Efficacy, Affect, And Writing Achievement, Meryem Yilmaz Soylu, Mary G. Zeleny, Ruomeng Zhao, Roger H. Bruning, Michael S. Dempsey, Douglas F. Kauffman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The two studies reported here explored the factor structure of the newly constructed Writing Achievement Goal Scale (WAGS), and examined relationships among secondary students’ writing achievement goals, writing self-efficacy, affect for writing, and writing achievement. In the first study, 697 middle school students completed the WAGS. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fit for this data with a three-factor model that corresponds with mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance goals. The results of Study 1 were an indication for the researchers to move forward with Study 2, which included 563 high school students. The secondary students completed theWAGS, as …

Enduring Chronic Kidney Disease: An Investigation Of Psychosocial Factors And Life Satisfaction In Older Adults Receiving Dialysis Treatment, Bailee Sobotka

Honors Theses

Chronic kidney disease is a condition during which the kidneys begin to shut down and no longer filter blood efficiently. Once the disease has progressed far enough, dialysis treatments are mandatory to sustain life. To further understand how older adults receiving dialysis treatments cope with their disease, psychosocial factors were evaluated to investigate possible correlations with life satisfaction using a Life Satisfaction Index Z (LSI-Z). Expected correlations with life satisfaction were sociability, financial satisfaction, importance of spirituality, and activities of daily living scores. Interviews were conducted with 30 dialysis patients and results were analyzed using various statistical measures. Significant correlations …

Depressive Symptoms In Mexican-Origin Adolescents: Interrelations Between School And Family Contexts, Prerna G. Arora, Lorey Wheeler

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study, as guided by cultural-ecological frameworks, examined multiple contextual stressors, including subjective economic hardship, acculturation, discrimination, and negative perceptions of school safety, as simultaneously linked to adolescents’ depressive symptoms, as well as the role of gender, familism values, family cohesion, and school connectedness on these associations. Data come from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (Portes and Rumbaut 2012) that included second-generation 8th- and 9th-grade children of foreign-born parents from the Mexican-origin subsample (n = 755; 52% male; time 1 M age = 14.20 years). Adolescents were either born in (60%) or immigrated prior to age 5 to …

The Impact Of Working Memory On Response Order Effects And Question Order Effects In Telephone And Web Surveys, Beth Cochran

Survey Research and Methodology (SRAM) Program: Dissertations and Theses

It has been theorized that working memory plays a role in survey methodology contributing to response order and question order effects; however, there is little empirical evidence linking working memory and survey context effects. This dissertation examines whether respondents’ working memory influences response order and question order effects through incorporating working memory measures into the survey questionnaire. The subjects were randomly assigned to complete the survey via telephone or web, and respondents completed a series of working memory measures and attitudinal questions.

It was hypothesized that as working memory capacity improved there would be a decrease in the likelihood of …

Providers Perspectives On Self-Regulation Impact Their Use Of Responsive Feeding Practices In Child Care, Dipti A. Dev, Katherine E. Speirs, Natalie A. Williams, Samantha Ramsay, Brent A. Mcbride, Holly Hatton-Bowers

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Supporting children's self-regulation in eating through caregivers' practice of responsive feeding is paramount to obesity prevention, and while much attention has been given to supporting children's selfregulation in eating through parents' responsive feeding practices in the home setting, little attention has been given to this issue in childcare settings. This qualitative study examines childcare providers' perspectives on using responsive feeding practices with young children (2–5 years). Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with providers until saturation was reached. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The final sample included 18 providers who were employed full-time in Head Start or state-licensed center-based childcare …

Data Sets For “Pubh-D-17-00335r2 Effects Of Selected Socio-Demographic Characteristics On Nutrition Knowledge And Eating Behavior Of Elementary Students In Two Provinces In China”, Ling Qian, Fan Zhang, Ian Newman, Duane F. Shell, Weijing Du

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The 2 attached digital files are placed in UNL Digital Commons for access by readers of open access journal BMC Public Health < https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/ >. The data set supports the analysis reported in the study “PUBH-D-17-00335R2 Effects of Selected Socio-demographic Characteristics on Nutrition Knowledge and Eating Behavior of Elementary Students in Two Provinces in China” by Ling Qian, MD PhD; Fan Zhang, MD PhD; Ian M. Newman, PhD; Duane F. Shell, PhD; Weijing Du, MD PhD.

The paper has been accepted by BMC Public Health. It is the journal’s policy that the data on which the conclusions are based are …

Behavioral And Pharmacological Validation Of An Integrated Fear-Potentiated Startle And Prepulse Inhibition Paradigm, Mengjiao Zhang, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Fear-potentiated startle (FPS) and prepulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle are two widely used paradigms specifically designed to capture the impact of negative emotion (e.g. fear) and preattentive function on startle response. Currently, there is no single paradigm that incorporates both FPS and PPI, making it impossible to examine the potential interactions between fear and attention in the regulation of startle response. In this study, we developed an integrated FPS and PPI test protocol and validated it with psychoactive drugs. In Experiment 1, male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of five groups, receiving either Light -Shock conditioning trials, …

Weapon-Involved Violence And Mental Illness: An Empirical Examination Of The Policy Assumptions For Firearm And Other Dangerous Weapon Prohibitions, Heath J. Hodges

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High-profile incidents of weapon-involved violence have galvanized public outrage, legislative proposals, and executive orders concerning individuals with mental illness and weapon access, particularly firearms. A review of public surveys and policy polls reveals multiple assumptions about the relationship between mental illness and violence, which have informed firearm prohibitions aimed at the mentally ill. However, few of these assumptions have been empirically investigated. With community (n = 154) and forensic psychiatric samples (n = 80), this study utilized a series of questionnaires to assess policy opinions, psychopathic traits, experiences with firearms, and perpetration rates for weapon-involved violence. Mental health …

Teachers’ Perspectives On The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment In Year 2: Easier To Administer But What Role Can It Play In Instruction?, Rachel E. Schachter, Tara M. Strang, Shayne B. Piasta

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

In this white paper, we present the results of a survey completed by teachers from across Ohio concerning their perceptions of Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). We examined teachers’ perceptions during year 2 of KRA implementation and compared those results to findings from a similar survey completed in year 1 of the assessment implementation. Over 3,000 Ohio public school kindergarten teachers were invited to complete the survey; of which 841 responded. In year 2, teachers reported that administering the KRA was easier, compared to year 1. However, they expressed concerns that the assessment took too long to administer, distracted from …

What They Don't Teach You In Library School: Using Emotional Intelligence To Succeed As Academic Librarians Of Color, Kiyomi D. Deards, Leo S. Lo

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Conference Presentations and Speeches

Librarians of color enter the workforce prepared to fulfill technical, interpersonal, service, or scholarship duties but are often blindsided by institutional, systemic, or social factors surrounding race, color, religion, or ethnicity. Experienced academic librarians of color will share personal anecdotes and use the frameworks of emotional intelligence and career capital to help participants learn strategies to succeed in their jobs, craft actionable plans to achieve their career goals, and connect with their peers.

Meeting Type: Program.

Content Area: Career Development

Interests: Career Advice, Equity Diversity & Inclusion, Librarianship, Networking.

Type of Library: Academic, Association, Community College, Library School, Research Library, …

N400, P600, And Late Sustained Frontal Positivity Event-Related Brain Potentials Reflect Distinct Psycholinguistic Processes During The Comprehension Of Contextually Ambiguous Narrative Discourses: Implications For The Neural Organization Of The Language Processing System, Patrick S. Ledwidge

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Two studies were performed to investigate the temporal structure and organization of the language processing system during the comprehension of coherent contextually ambiguous narrative discourses. In Study 1, participants read short discourses that were contextually ambiguous if read without a descriptive title (Untitled group) or unambiguous with the title (Titled group). Participants identified the title of the discourses after reading 1-3 sentences. Given the unfinished next sentence, they performed a cloze procedure on the sentence-final word. For the Titled Group, cloze probability was greater to the last word of sentence 3 (Critical Word 3) than sentences 2 (Critical Word 2) …

How Social Reactions To Alcohol-Related Facial Flushing Are Affected By Gender, Relationship, And Drinking Purposes: Implications For Education To Reduce Aerodigestive Cancer Risks, Ian Newman, Lanyan Ding, Duane F. Shell, Lida Lin

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Alcohol-related facial flushing is a sign of compromised alcohol metabolism and increased risk of certain cancers. This project examined how facial flushing might be used to reduce alcohol use to lower cancer risks. Interviews with Chinese university students identified gender, friendship, and drinking purpose as important variables related to whether someone would encourage a person who flushes when drinking alcohol to stop or reduce their drinking. A questionnaire was developed that incorporated these variables into 24 drinking scenarios in which someone flushed while drinking. Students responded whether they would (a) encourage the flusher to stop or drink less; (b) do …

An Evaluation And Revision Of The Children’S Behavior Questionnaire Effortful Control Scales, Scott R. Frohn

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ; Rothbart, Ahadi, Hershey, & Fisher, 2001) is a popular parent report measure of children’s temperament. Effortful control, which refers to processes involved in regulating reactivity to internal and external stimuli, is one factor of temperament measured by the CBQ using five scales tapping multiple dimensions. Numerous studies examining the psychometric properties of the CBQ have shown some problems with the scales, including inconsistent factor structures and measurement noninvariance. Furthermore, the way effortful control is typically defined in the literature, and even according to the CBQ’s authors, is inconsistent with how it is actually measured with …

Interaction Of The Phencyclidine Model Of Schizophrenia And Nicotine On Total And Categorized Ultrasonic Vocalizations In Rats, Natashia Swalve, Michele M Mulholland, Tiffany D. Schulz, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Patients with schizophrenia smoke cigarettes at a higher rate than the general population. We hypothesized that a factor in this comorbidity is sensitivity to the reinforcing and reinforcement- enhancement effects of nicotine.

Phencyclidine (PCP) was used to model behavioral changes resembling negative symptoms of schizophrenia in rats. USVs in rats have been used to measure emotional states, with 50 kHz USVs indicating positive states and 22 kHz indicating negative. Total and categorized numbers of 22 and 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and USVs during a visual stimulus (e.g. a potential measure of reinforcement-enhancement) were examined in rats following .injection ofh …

Effects Of Peritraumatic Alcohol Intoxication On Intrusive Memories Following Exposure To An Analog Trauma, Anna E. Jaffe

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Intrusive memories and associated symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represent a significant public health problem, often leading to persistent physical and psychological difficulties experienced by victims long after the traumatic event, contributing to healthcare costs and loss of productivity. Research examining etiological factors that contribute to PTSD is needed in order to expand basic knowledge and to inform the development of prevention and intervention strategies. Although acute alcohol intoxication has the potential to impact established risk factors for the development of intrusive memories (e.g., via stress response, cognitive processing), and trauma—particularly sexual assault—often occurs under the influence of alcohol, …

Identifying Domain-General And Domain-Specific Predictors Of Low Mathematics Performance: A Classification And Regression Tree Analysis, David J. Purpura, Elizabeth Day, Amy R. Napoli, Sara A. Hart

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Many children struggle to successfully acquire early mathematics skills. Theoretical and empirical evidence has pointed to deficits in domain-specific skills (e.g., non-symbolic mathematics skills) or domain-general skills (e.g., executive functioning and language) as underlying low mathematical performance. In the current study, we assessed a sample of 113 three- to five-year old preschool children on a battery of domain-specific and domain-general factors in the fall and spring of their preschool year to identify Time 1 (fall) factors associated with low performance in mathematics knowledge at Time 2 (spring). We used the exploratory approach of classification and regression tree analyses, a strategy …