Psychology Commons^™

An Analysis Of Child Valence Bias Trajectories As A Result Of Parental Factors: A Longitudinal Perspective, Kaylee Brooke Donner

Honors Theses

Valence bias is an important part of how individuals perceive the world around them, and this is especially influential in terms of children’s development. This study used data from longitudinal data collection surveys consisting of 197 participants, ages 6-17, to investigate correlations between valence bias, puberty, parental conflict, emotion regulation, temperament, interpersonal regulation, trait anxiety, and personality. This research provides much sought-after knowledge in terms of how parental factors impact children’s development, specifically children's valence bias development. Previous research has shown that emotion regulation in parents, along with different parenting styles with equal levels of discipline and loving support largely …

Equality In Times Of Uncertainty: Economic Downturn And Body Image Messaging Toward Women, Ritsa Giannakas

Honors Theses

A vast body of literature indicates that the economy and the status of women are interlinked, with higher levels of economic well-being tending to correspond with advancements in women’s rights. However, little of this research has investigated the changes in the wellbeing of women as it pertains to their physical and mental health, especially as it pertains to exploring the impacts of economics on eating disorder rates and societal messaging toward women. This thesis investigates a novel theory linking economic uncertainty and downturn to the spread of pro-eating disorder content online, positing that economic uncertainty may coincide with a “conservative …

Psychological Effects Of Immigration: A Comprehensive Review Exploring Social Identity, Acculturation And The Effects Of Cultural Attitudes And Systemic Factors On The Well-Being Of Immigrants, Huda Abu Nasab

Honors Theses

Immigration is a life-altering experience that can greatly affect an individual's identity, sense of belongingness, and well-being. The United States is known as a nation of immigrants; however, many immigrants have faced challenges related to assimilation and the development of their social identities in a new society. For example, immigration challenges often include adapting to a new culture, learning a different language, and navigating unfamiliar healthcare and educational systems. There are many factors that influence how immigrants adjust in their host country, such as acculturation challenges, cultural attitudes towards immigrants, and the availability of essential resources. This literature review aims …

Constitutional Tension: The Role Of Framing, Regulatory Focus, And Anticipated Emotion When Establishment And Free Exercise Norms Collide, Katherine Kimble

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The conflict between establishment and free exercise norms regularly litters the media, particularly when religion is involved in areas of public life, such as schools, meetings, and displays on public property. Although the conflict is inherently psychological, no psychological research has yet delved into the issue. This dissertation reports on four studies that apply prospect theory, regulatory focus theory, and affective forecasting to explore the ways in which lay people perceive the establishment–free exercise tension. Prospect theory and regulatory focus theory offer competing hypotheses regarding the consideration of gains and losses related to each right and affective forecasting theory qualifies …

The Impact Of Sexual Violence On Women's Dating Lives: Understanding Enjoyment Of Sexualization Among Sexual Violence Survivors, Jaela Hardin

Honors Theses

This project seeks to understand the relationship between women’s former experiences of sexual violence and their present relationship with sex. Specifically, this study seeks to identify whether women with a history of sexual violence victimization now experience enjoyment of sexualization by others – most often men - in their daily life, as well as whether these same women also engage in self-objectification. Data from a community sample of single women aged 21-30 was collected online to record women’s responses on a variety of measures related to their sex and dating life. This project also explores whether women’s responses regarding enjoyment …

Mental Health Advocacy For Kids: A Social Media Campaign, B Rangel

Honors Theses

Abstract

Mental health in children has important, life-long effects on the child (Ghandour et al., 2018; Underwood & Washington, 2016). Because it is not always easy for parents to access important mental health resources and information (CDC, 2022b), I wanted to investigate whether social media is a viable way for parents to learn more about their child’s mental health. I created and distributed ads aimed at parents on three common mental illnesses diagnosed in children: anxiety, depression, and ADHD. My ads had high levels of engagement, thus allowing the possibility that social media could be important avenue for reaching parents.

“Don’T Confuse Patriotism With Nationalism”: A Literature Review And An Analysis Of Two Domains Of Post-Wwii Nationalism In Germany, Ashton Krueger

Honors Theses

This thesis includes a literature review that is an examination of nationalism and patriotism as psychological constructs as well as an analysis of two post-World War II domains of nationalism in Germany. In the psychological literature, there is a very important distinction to be made between the concepts of nationalism and patriotism. As nationalism and patriotism remain relevant areas of study by scholars due to more global citizens than ever before, it is vital to understand the distinction between the two. The goal of the literature review is to demonstrate how nationalism and patriotism differ substantially, how patriotism also takes …

Bibliometric Assessment Of Extrinsic Motivation Research Trends Of The Last Six Decades, Sumra Haleem Shaikh, Shabir Hussain Khahro, Tauha Hussain Ali, Haseeb Haleem Shaikh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Two forms of motivating hypotheses have been posited by psychologists. Motivation is broken into two forms by dualistic theories: inherent and extrinsic. The attainment of an instrumental purpose relates to Extrinsic Motivation. It has been observed that Extrinsic motivation has been a topic of research interest of the researchers due to the significance of the term. Therefore, this paper evaluates the research output on extrinsic motivation since 1960 in different fields using the Scopus database. The data were collected from the Scopus database and were analyzed using Microsoft Excel to analyze the research trends on extrinsic motivation. It is concluded …

Eeg Reinvestigations Of Visual Statistical Learning For Faces, Scenes, And Objects, Mei Grace Behrendt, P. Cheng Lim, Aaron T. Halvorsen, Karl Kuntzelman, Matthew R. Johnson

UCARE Research Products

The objective of this ongoing, replication study is to understand temporal and spatial patterns in our environment by using the technique of electroencephalography (EEG). Visual statistical learning (VSL) helps us to understand conditional probabilities from our environments. This concept is why we know that chairs are located under tables, not above. The goal of this study is to understand whether participants can unconsciously associate pairs of items (faces, scenes, and objects) from their short-term memory. Strong pairs become more similar to each other, as compared to weak pairs, which become less similar. In the main task, participants saw items appear …

Symptom Presentation Of Sexually Abused Youth At A Child Advocacy Center: An Examination Of Parental Factors, Erika Boohar, Chelsey Wisehart, Kelsey Mccoy, David J. Hansen

UCARE Research Products

Parental involvement and support are crucial factors in child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors’ outcomes (Kilroy et al., 2014); however, non-offending parents often report increased psychosocial distress or traumatization following CSA disclosure (Plummer, 2006). The present study explored the relationship between parental factors and child symptomology following CSA. It was hypothesized that parents who report greater difficulties in their parental role will report greater internalizing and externalizing problems for sexually abused youth presenting to a treatment program at a Child Advocacy Center. Participants were 273 parents of sexually abused youth presenting to Project SAFE (Sexual Abuse Family Education) and were 23-72 …

A Case Study Of Barriers To Dental Care In Nebraska, Kaitlin Buhler

Honors Theses

An important aspect of overall health is access to dental care, which is, unfortunately, oftentimes difficult to obtain. This study used data collected from a case study of three registered dentists in Nebraska to investigate the barriers to dental care, and identified the lack of dental insurance, limited access to free or reduced-price dental care, and dental anxiety as perceived barriers to dental care. Factors that did not seem to have an impact were language or ethnicity differences between patients and workers, distance to travel, comfortability with receiving free or reduced-price dental care, knowledge of how often to visit the …

Husker To Husker Nightline: A Peer-Run Warm Line Texting Service Development At University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Audrey Wilhelm

Honors Theses

A desire to develop a service where students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) could reach out to their fellow students in search of improving their mental health and well-being laid the groundwork for this project. After reviewing various ideas, a peer-run warm line service best matched the goals of the project. After completing preliminary research, costs and benefits of warm lines were compared to determine the operations and best practices for warm line services. Obtaining funding for the development of this service was another main focus because funding is required for this idea to become a reality. Consequently, this …

Understanding The Relationship Between Child Internalizing Problems And Familial Cohesion Following Child Sexual Abuse: The Moderating Role Of Caregiver Abuse History, Erika Boohar

Honors Theses

Due to the heterogeneous nature of symptoms in survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA), extensive research is needed to understand the complexity and further improve intervention practices. This study examined the relationship between risk and outcome factors, specifically caregiver history of emotional abuse and youths’ internalizing problems, and their influence on familial cohesion following CSA. Using a moderation model, it was hypothesized increased child internalizing problems would be related to decreased family cohesion when caregivers have an extensive history of emotional abuse. Participants were 215 non-offending caregivers of sexually abused children attending Project SAFE (Sexual Abuse Family Education), a 12-week …

“My Name Is My Identity”: Understanding Conceptualizations Of Gender Identity To Improve Measurement, Sage Volk

Honors Theses

Existing measures of gender identity have some inconsistencies that lead to researchers missing out on the comprehensive image of an individual’s gender. The purpose of the present study was to assess how individuals who do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth conceptualize their gender identity. To understand which aspects are important to an individual’s gender identity, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four undergraduate students who identified as non-cisgender (e.g., transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, etc.). Results of the qualitative analysis identified two themes within conceptualizations of gender identity: (1) personal and (2) social. The importance of these …

Population Demographics: Predictors Of The Relationship Between Alcohol Use Disorder And Major Depression, Mei Grace Behrendt

Honors Theses

This thesis examines both biological and social explanations of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and major depression (MD) through a thorough review of current literature. Using multiple logistic regression analyses exploring the sociodemographic and alcohol use factors that contribute to reporting of major depression symptoms with data from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this thesis demonstrates how there are health disparities that exist among different demographic populations. Specifically, certain demographic characteristics such as racial or ethnic identity, gender, and socioeconomic status may contribute to increased risk of developing and reporting episodes of lifetime and past year major …

The Effects Of Biased Literature On Self- And Social-Perceptions Of Lgbtq Individuals, Marielle Crisler

Honors Theses

Though media portrayal of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals has increased significantly in recent years, the representation has brought and cemented harmful stereotypes along with it. People who are discovering their identity as sexual minorities might consume media that portrays LGBTQ individuals negatively, or even kills them in many cases, and believe that they are doomed to the same outcome. Literature is no exception to this influx of negative stereotypes. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of stereotypes in LGBTQ literature on those who identify with the characters presented in the text to the same extent …

Changes In Hemodynamic Response To Faces, Scenes, And Objects In A Visual Statistical Learning Task: An Fmri Analysis, Aaron T. Halvorsen

Honors Theses

Learning causes changes in brain activity and neural connections. Statistical learning is an implicit learning process that involves extracting regularities from the environment and finding patterns in stimuli based on their transitional probabilities. The following study describes an attempt to elucidate temporal changes in hemodynamic activity for three category-specific brain areas using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Blood oxygen-level dependent signal (BOLD) responses were collected while subjects viewed faces, scenes, and objects with high and low transitional probabilities in an fMRI scanner. We expected brain activity to show a temporal shift in timing of activation when comparing BOLD signal responses …

An Exception In Risk-Taking Behavior: Religiosity As A Situation-Specific Predictor Of Sexual Risk-Taking, Trenton Buhr

Honors Theses

The relationship between religiosity and sexual risk-taking has been widely studied but conclusive consensus on the influence has not been established. Part of this stems from how religiosity is measured. The current study analyzes how religious fundamentalism, one way of measuring religiosity, and risk-taking propensity predict sexual risk-taking. We used a wide range of risk-taking propensity measures to better understand their role and the unique role of religious fundamentalism in this risk-taking area. The current study aims to assess whether religious fundamentalism has potential to be a situation-specific predictor of sexual risk-taking. To test this, 17 participants completed risk-taking propensity …

Understanding Fear And Self-Blame Symptoms For Child Sexual Abuse Victims In Treatment: An Interaction Of Youth Age, Perpetrator Type, And Treatment Time Period, Amanda Nelson

Honors Theses

Child Sexual Abuse victims have been known to experience a wide array of emotional and behavioral symptomology following abuse. These symptoms can have a negative impact on victims in the future if proper intervention and treatment is not provided. This study focuses specifically on the symptomology of fear and self-blame in victims and what factors influence the efficacy of treatment due to these symptoms’ continuous and impartial characteristics. Participants were 333 sexually abused youth attending Project SAFE (Sexual Abuse Family Education), a cognitive-behavioral treatment program through a local Child Advocacy Center. Children were 6 to 18 years old, 79.9% female, …

Sleep-Wake Problems And Daytime Sleepiness As Predictors Of Emotion Regulation Strategies: A Longitudinal Study In Early Adolescence, Megan Toney

Honors Theses

Objective: Research has analyzed the association between poor sleep and emotion regulation abilities, yet most studies have focused on adult samples which may not generalize to youth. The present study examines how sleep problems and daytime sleepiness in early adolescence were associated with specific forms of emotion regulation later in adolescence.

Methods: A group of 109 children from a larger longitudinal study on cognitive development completed questionnaires at two separate timepoints. Cognitive tasks and survey-based measures were completed at the first point of data collection (M_age = 11.90, SD = .91, range = 10-14). Approximately 10 months later, …

An Evaluation Of Police Interviewing Methods: A Psychological Perspective, Cassandra Neal

Honors Theses

This paper discusses false confessions and memory’s fallibility and how they can decrease the reliability of an investigative interview. In an effort to remedy this issue, the three most popular interview techniques utilized by police officers during an investigation were examined to decipher which one elicits the most reliable testimony. In order to determine which of the three methods out of the Reid Technique, Cognitive Interview, and PEACE Method is the most reliable, literature on the different techniques was examined to see which method resulted in the most accurate information, free from false statements. As a result of this evaluation, …

Mental Health And Teammates, Carly O'Dell

Honors Theses

Mental health is an aspect so essential throughout the human experience, yet an aspect overlooked by many. Specifically, mental health in youth is an area hardly touched by different initiatives, programs, and organizations that are put in place in order to bring assistance and guidance to youth. This is despite overwhelming statistics regarding youth and mental health. After analyzing the TeamMates Mentoring Program and finding inadequate measures in place regarding mental health, different initiatives were created in order to increase the program’s use of advocacy, awareness, and actions regarding mental health in youth.

Enjoyment Of Sexualization Is Associated With Alcohol Use, Self-Objectification Is Not, Christine Tack, Scott F. Stoltenberg

Honors Theses

The main purpose of this study was to determine how the enjoyment of sexualization impacts the relationship between self-objectification and alcohol use. Alcohol use is prevalent within college communities and may lead to damaging experiences. Participants were 892 undergraduate women who completed an online questionnaire including measurements of self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, as well as an alcohol survey. A general linear model was used to analyze these relationships and interactions. Data analysis showed that while enjoyment of sexualization was associated positively with alcohol use, self-objectification was not, and there was no significant interaction between the two variables. This provides evidence …

Addicted To Cellphones: Exploring The Psychometric Properties Between The Nomophobia Questionnaire And Obsessiveness In College Students, Seungyeon Lee, Minsung Kim, Jessica S. Mendoza, Ian M. Mcdonough

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A potential new clinical disorder is arising due to the addiction to cellphones called nomophobiador feelings of discomfort or anxiety experienced by individuals when they are unable to use their mobile phones or utilize the conveniences these devices provide. However, before being able to officially classify this disorder as clinically relevant, more research needs to be conducted to determine how nomophobia relates to existing disorders. In a sample of 397 undergraduate students, the present study examined the relationship between the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) and the Obsessiveness Content Scale (OBS) of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (the MMPI-2). Confirmatory factor analysis …

Psychological Ways Of Expressing Appreciations, Experiences, Thanks And Blessings In The Society, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

ABSTRACT: Research has shown that one of the avenues to make aware of once experiences, appreciations and blessings is through writing a gratitude journal or memoir. By journalizing our thought by hands or electronically, it may help us focus them, according to psychologist Robert Emmons, who says that he does this routinely to remind himself; it makes apple of time to understand the meaning and importance of people and events. It has been found that one should go for a depth in writing rather than breadth, because this will help one to enjoy what one appreciates, and what to keep …

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 …

Nature As A Buffer: The Physiological Effects Of Exposure To Nature On Stress, Tyler J. Stading, Jeffrey R. Stevens

UCARE Research Products

Exposure to images of nature following a stressful event can reduce physiological measures associated with stress. The objectives of this study was to determine whether exposure to nature before the stressor can buffer the stress response. We varied whether nature or urban images were viewed before or after a stressor and measured galvanic skin response in our participants. We describe how order of presenting the stressor influences nature’s calming effect on physiology.

Shame And Resilience Among Mental Health Trainees: A Scale Construction Study, Claire T. Hauser

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

Contemporary research has revitalized interest in the construct of shame, and the pervasive nature with which it impacts psychological functioning. It has been argued that mental health professionals encounter shame regularly in the therapeutic milieu and must be equipped to assist clients in developing shame resilience. The process of learning to provide shame attendant therapy begins during graduate training, as mental health trainees (MHTs) gain first hand experience with feeling shame through the evaluative nature of the training process. Although shame in the MHT role has been discussed in prior literature, it is difficult to study due to lacking instrumentation. …

Avoidance As An Explanatory Mechanism For Poor Outcomes In Treatment For Substance Use Disorders, Andrew Oakland

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent and lead to significant impairments in people's lives in a variety of ways. One area which has gained attention is that of SUDs and their high comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders. Many theories exist as to why these conditions often occur together, and the self-medication hypothesis is one that has perhaps the most research and general support behind it. The self-medication hypothesis states that individuals use substances to reduce negative affect which creates a feedback loop of negative reinforcement. Individuals then develop problematic substance use in addition to emotional dysregulation. One recent theory …

Self-Monitoring Personality At Work Revisited: A Comparative Meta-Analysis, Michael P. Wilmot

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The validity of self-monitoring personality in work and organizational settings was reexamined. Comparative meta-analyses using both random-effects and fixed-effects models were conducted (349 total samples; N = 75,811) to test the relationship between self-monitoring personality and work-related and demographic correlates, as well as the reliability of the self-monitoring measures. Contributions were made to the literatures of self-monitoring and meta-analysis. Self-monitoring: Results indicated that self-monitoring related to a number of relevant organizational outcomes, including job effectiveness and success, leadership, and ingratiation. Some results ran contrary to the prior meta-analysis (Day, Shleicher, Unckless, & Hiller, 2002). Meaningful differences were found between the …