Psychology Commons^™

Evidence Of Embodied Social Competence During Conversation In High Functioning Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Veronica Romero, Paula Fitzpatrick, Stephanie Roulier, Amie Duncan, Michael J. Richardson, R. C. Schmidt

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Even high functioning children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit impairments that affect their ability to carry out and maintain effective social interactions in multiple contexts. One aspect of subtle nonverbal communication that might play a role in this impairment is the whole-body motor coordination that naturally arises between people during conversation. The current study aimed to measure the time-dependent, coordinated whole-body movements between children with ASD and a clinician during a conversational exchange using tools of nonlinear dynamics. Given the influence that subtle interpersonal coordination has on social interaction feelings, we expected there to be important associations between the …

The Impact Of Community Service In The Classroom Setting: A Research Study, Julie Dunn

Honors Theses

Community service has been linked to different psychological benefits. The field of positive psychology is growing and the purpose of the present study was to expand this research by examining other psychological benefits to those who participate in community service. We examined this relationship when community service is a requirement for the class. We compared Community Service Learning (CSL) participants with non-CSL participants of the same course. Participants completed questionnaires that assessed flourishing, self-esteem, serenity, gratitude, and their views about community service at the beginning (before completing community service) and at the end the semester. Contrary to our hypothesis, there …

School Violence Prevention: Teachers Establishing Relationships With Students Using Counseling Strategies, Adam M. Volungis, Katie Goodman

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Although youth violence rates continue to decrease in the United States, it remains the second leading cause of death for adolescents. Furthermore, school violence remains a sociocultural concern, especially due to increasing media attention. Research consistently indicates that preventing school violence involves measures that go beyond formal protocols. One factor that has emerged from this research is that the quality of relationships between students and teachers, commonly referred to as school connectedness, may have a significant role in preventing school violence. However, there is very little literature that addresses how mental health professionals, such as school counselors, can assist teachers …

The Effect Of Testing Can Increase Or Decrease Misinformation Susceptibility Depending On The Retention Interval, Ayanna K. Thomas, Leamarie T. Gordon, Paul M. Cernasov, John B. Bulevich

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Research has consistently demonstrated that testing prior to the presentation of misleading post-event information, within the context of a standard eyewitness misinformation paradigm, results in an increase in the misinformation effect. The present study investigated whether changes in misinformation susceptibility in the context of interim testing are affected by retention interval differences between misinformation presentation and final testing. Further, this study tested possible divergences in original and post-event learning between conditions where elaboration in processing of critical details was encouraged either indirectly, via interim testing, or directly, by visually emphasizing critical details. In two experiments, we compared three groups of …

Clickers Can Promote Fact Retention But Impede Conceptual Understanding: The Effect Of The Interaction Between Clicker Use And Pedagogy On Learning, Amy M. Shapiro, Judith Sims-Knight, Grant V. O'Rielly, Paul Capaldo, Teal Pedlow, Leamarie Gordon, Kristina Monteiro

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Highlights

• Two experiments explored the role of clickers on factual and conceptual learning.
• One course emphasized fact retention and the other emphasized conceptual understanding.
• Factual and conceptual clicker questions enhanced only fact learning in the didactic course.
• Factual questions impaired conceptual learning in the problem-oriented course.
• Clicker effects are mediated by pedagogy, learning strategy, and prior knowledge.

Bridging The Gap Across The Transition To Coparenthood: Triadic Interactions And Coparenting Representations From Pregnancy Through 12 Months Postpartum, Regina Kuersten-Hogan

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Most family researchers agree that the coparenting relationship emerges some time during the transition to parenthood, though it is unclear whether it originates in pregnancy. Previous studies demonstrated that couples' positive representations of their future coparenting relationship and harmonious coparenting behaviors observed during prenatal triadic interactions predicted better postpartum functioning. However, previous studies did not simultaneously assess prenatal coparenting behaviors and representations as predictors of postpartum coparenting. If the coparenting relationship originates during pregnancy, these behavioral and cognitive aspects of prenatal coparenting should show associations with their postpartum counterparts. Based on family systems-, attachment-, and social-learning theory, the first aim …

A Microgenetic Study Of Postpartum Depression And Infant Development, Anna S. Docurral

Honors Theses

Approximately 15% of mothers and 3-5% of fathers experience postpartum depression (DelRosario, 2013). Current literature suggests a negative association between maternal depression and infant development, but little is known about paternal contributions. Field (2010) found that mothers with depressive symptoms at 4 and 8 weeks postpartum reported frequent infant nighttime awakenings and less sleep during the night. Depressed mothers also reported more eating difficulties and lower infant weight gain than nondepressed mothers did (Gress-Smith, 2012). Moreover, infants of depressed mothers expected maternal unavailability and made less effort to engage the mother during the still face experiment (Field, 2002). In this …

A Return To The Authentic: The Changing Book Industry & Millennial Detachment, Kathryn Bauer

Honors Theses

Similar to many other industries in the twenty-first century, the book industry is beginning to turn in the technological direction. The emergence of eBooks, among other factors, has started to change the face of the industry as we know it. However, these changes may be a result of something bigger: the lifestyle choices of the trailblazing millennial generation. Millennial lifestyles differ significantly from those of past generations, especially in terms of social and emotional detachment. How do these seemingly different, yet defining, aspects of today’s world relate? And is it possible to use ideas from thinkers of the past such …

Does Mindful Meditation Enhance Eyewitness Memory And Prevent The Misinformation Effect?, Lauren Price

Honors Theses

Engaging in a brief mindful meditation task prior to witnessing an event may enhance event encoding and reduce susceptibility to post-event misinformation. Participants in this study completed either a 3-minute mindful meditation exercise or an unrelated filler task (Sudoku). Half of the participants in each group were first told their task was beneficial to memory, while the other half were told nothing. After completing the task, all participants viewed a video of a fictitious crime. After viewing the video, they listened to a narrative that introduced misleading information about the video. Finally, they took a memory test on the video. …

The Role Of Couples' Birth Experiences In Coparenting Dynamics During The Transition To Parenthood, Deanna Marie Cecilia Tortora

Honors Theses

Past research uncovered different antecedents, which influence the coparenting relationship including environmental supports and stressors, individual parent and child characteristics, and the couple relationship, though no prior study to date has investigated the impact of birth narratives on coparenting. The main purpose in the present study was to explore links between partners’ conjointly constructed birth narratives and coparenting dynamics preceding and following the birth of couples’ first child. Fifty-five couples’ coparenting interactions were observed during their last trimester of pregnancy (Prenatal Lausanne Trilogue Play) and at 3- (Postnatal Lausanne Trilogue play) and 12- months postpartum (Triadic play and mealtime interactions). …

The Influence Of Social Context On Communication And Restricted And Repetitive Behaviors In Autism, Shannon Campbell

Honors Theses

Two of the most salient features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are impairments in communication and engagement in restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). The goal of this study was to identify the effects of social context on both the occurrence of RRBs and social language performance in children with ASD. In this study, we defined the social context of a situation based on the primary focus (object or conversation) and the initiator of the interaction (child or experimenter). We performed a frequency count of RRBs as well as a mean length of utterance (MLU) analysis for play tasks with variations …

School Size And Youth Violence: The Mediating Role Of School Connectedness, Adam M. Volungis

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Youth violence continues to be considered a public health concern in the United States. This study utilized longitudinal data to test the possible mediating and moderating effects of school connectedness between school size and youth violence. The participants were obtained from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative ongoing survey of 7th through 12th grade students in the United States. A series of multilevel models using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM6) procedures were compared. Results did not support school connectedness as a moderator; however, results did support school connectedness as a …

Impairments Of Social Motor Synchrony Evident In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Paula Fitzpatrick, Jean A. Frazier, David M. Cochran, Teresa Mitchell, Caitlin Coleman, R. C. Schmidt

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Social interactions typically involve movements of the body that become synchronized over time and both intentional and spontaneous interactional synchrony have been found to be an essential part of successful human interaction. However, our understanding of the importance of temporal dimensions of social motor synchrony in social dysfunction is limited. Here, we used a pendulum coordination paradigm to assess dynamic, process-oriented measures of social motor synchrony in adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our data indicate that adolescents with ASD demonstrate less synchronization in both spontaneous and intentional interpersonal coordination. Coupled oscillator modeling suggests that ASD participants assembled …

The Benefits Of Lunch Breaks, Joseph Dipilato Iv

Honors Theses

The question as to whether or not taking breaks from work is beneficial for improving employee productivity has not been thoroughly examined, as it is still a fairly new topic of discussion. This thesis project sought to compile evidence to support the claim that breaks are indeed useful for this purpose. A review of the literature found not only information that directly supports this assertion, but also information that shows the numerous negative side-effects of not taking breaks from work. Certain workplace factors that influence break-taking behaviors were also discussed. For the purpose of providing modern-day companies several means by …

Conquering Invisible Elephants: The Effects Of Family Involvement On Adolescent Recovery From Mental Illness, Christina Ditolla

Honors Theses

This paper explored the extent to which current treatments for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN), conduct disorder (CD), and depression have involved families in therapy. Various past and present therapies for all three adolescent disorders were reviewed and effective treatment components of family therapy were identified and compared across the treatment approaches. A review of the literature indicated that family therapy was more effective and beneficial for the adolescent patient than individual treatments not involving families. While individualized treatments helped to improve adolescent symptomatology, family therapy provided a more comprehensive approach as it focused not only on symptom reduction but …

Lost Or Fond? Effects Of Nostalgia On Sad Mood Recovery Vary By Attachment Insecurity, Sarah R. Cavanagh, Ryan J. Glode, Philipp C. Opitz

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Nostalgia involves a fond recollection of people and events lost to time. Growing evidence indicates that nostalgia may ameliorate negative affective states such as loneliness and boredom. However, the effect of nostalgia on sadness is unknown, and there is little research on how social connectedness might impact nostalgia's effects. Grounded in a theoretical framework whereby people with lower levels of attachment insecurity benefit more from nostalgia, we exposed participants to a mortality-related sad mood and then randomly assigned them to reflect on a nostalgic or an ordinary event memory. We examined changes in mood and electrodermal activity (EDA) and found …

Dynamical Methods For Evaluating The Time-Dependent Unfolding Of Social Coordination In Children With Autism, Paula Fitzpatrick, Rachel Diorio, Michael J. Richardson, R. C. Schmidt

Psychology Department Faculty Works

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) suffer from numerous impairments in social interaction that affect both their mental and bodily coordination with others. We explored here whether interpersonal motor coordination may be an important key for understanding the profound social problems of children with ASD. We employed a set of experimental techniques to evaluate not only traditional cognitive measures of social competence but also the dynamical structure of social coordination by using dynamical measures of social motor coordination and analyzing the time series records of behavior. Preliminary findings suggest that children with ASD were equivalent to typically developing children on …