Psychology Commons^™

Predicting Law Enforcement Officer Turnover And Use Of Force From Variables Measured By The 2013 Law Enforcement Management And Administrative Statistics (Lemas) Survey, Ryan Lee Radmall

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Law enforcement requires comprehensive hiring and training practices in order to curb misconduct and turnover. Some of the available data suggests a shift in the dynamics of law enforcement toward a more objective approach that favors education, cognitive ability testing, a community policing orientation, and technological advances, such as body cameras, that hold enforcers of the law and the American public, accountable for misconduct and violations of the law. The utilization of various technological advances requires assessment and dynamic, comprehensive analysis. The present study examined the influence of education and the professionalization of policing hiring requirements, cognitive ability tests and …

The Role Of Health Belief Model Constructs In Condom Use Among Early Young Adults, Christina Rose Vieux

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are ailments that have a social and political impact in the U.S. Since their discovery more than three decades ago, there has been an intense focus on eradicating these deadly diseases. Although there has been a lot of progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS, there are communities still disproportionately affected by it. Based on data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one such community is young adults age 20 to 24 (CDC, 2016a). These young adults are at the focal center of the HIV/AIDS epidemic for …

Effects Of Nicotine Exposure On Methamphetamine Oral Self-Administration, Extinction, And Reinstatement In Adolescent Rats, Zachary Robert Harmony

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Adolescence is a vulnerable developmental period in regards to drug initiation and use. The gateway hypothesis suggests that adolescent cigarette smoking may result in a heightened risk for methamphetamine use. However, little is understood about the role of nicotine on adolescent methamphetamine addiction. The aim of the present study was to determine whether early, late, or continuous adolescent nicotine exposure would alter oral methamphetamine self-administration, extinction, or reinstatement. A total of 164 male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with saline or nicotine (0.16, or 0.64 mg/kg, sc) beginning on postnatal day (PD) 25 for 10 consecutive days. On PD …

Parental Influence On Risk Factors For Obesity In African American School Aged Children, Brittney Joy Parish

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The growing childhood obesity epidemic and its association with adverse health outcomes have prompted increasing research in the recent past. Researchers have examined numerous aspects of the obesity epidemic. For example, the impact of parent behavior on child behavior has been considered. Likewise, researchers have examined the connection between parent perceptions of obesity and concern regarding a child’s weight status. Still other research has focused on the influence of a child’s behavior on weight status.

Existing research has reported that within the African American community there is an apparent inaccuracy in perceptions regarding weight. Children who would be classified as …

Building Blocks: A Multi-Theoretical Preventative Model To Promote Post-Traumatic Growth, Jared S. Becknell

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

The following is an exploratory model to understand the factors that promote growth after traumatic events, also known as post-traumatic growth (PTG). Additionally, the hope is to inspire further research and create quantitative data regarding the effectiveness of these factors, add additional interventions and integrate into crisis/trauma paradigms during recovery. Therefore, clients would be more equipped to handle the possibility of another event. When PTG occurs, victims of trauma experience increased positive well-being, life satisfaction and regain a new compassion for meaning or purpose in their life. By utilizing the following interventions, victims of past traumatic events can live a …

Losing Control: The Consequences Of Individual- And Group-Based Social Exclusion On Latina Women’S Self-Regulation Of Unhealthy Eating, Dorris Kamiya Stewart

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Social exclusion is a psychologically stressful experience that impairs people’s ability to control specific behaviors or events. In the current study, I attempted to reconcile competing predictions regarding whether exclusion is especially harmful to control, or self-regulate, when it is attributed to individual- or group-based characteristics of a person. Per the self-evaluation maintenance (SEM) model, social exclusion should be most detrimental to self-regulation when it is directed at a person’s unique traits, or individual self. In contrast, social identity theory (SIT) predicts that exclusion is especially damaging when it is directed at a person’s group membership. I examined whether …

A Parent Education Curriculum For Decreasing Stress In Families Raising A Child With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Hannah L. Wohlk

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Research has consistently shown that parents raising a child with autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, have higher levels of stress than parents of typically-developing children or children with other disabilities. These parents’ higher levels of stress are attributed to a number of different factors, including early atypical development, getting the diagnosis, lack of awareness of resources, lack of support from their communities, unmet resource and schooling needs for their ASD child, financial strain, strain on the couple relationship, managing maladaptive behaviors, regulatory problems of the ASD child may experience, communication problems between ASD child and parent, parents’ perception of their …

Women Who Perpetrate Partner Violence: The Role Of Attachment Insecurity And Emotion Regulation, Diana Adele Robinson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent and destructive social problem affecting millions of people around the world. Although partner violence has been widely examined among women, few studies have focused on women in the role of perpetrator. The purpose of this investigation was to identify the underlying mechanisms of IPV perpetration among college women. Specifically, we investigated the relationship among attachment insecurity (i.e., anxious and avoidant), emotion regulation (ER) strategies (i.e., expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal), and IPV among a sample of college women. Participants (N = 177) were recruited from a Southern California university and completed measures …

Radio Dispatch Cognitive Abilities And Working Memory, David A. Buitron

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Public safety radio dispatchers incontrovertibly have to manage multiple tasks at any given time, from relaying lifesaving information to field units, to simultaneously overseeing several monitors and keeping up with the radio transmissions in a timely manner. Interestingly, however, the underlying cognitive abilities necessitated for performing such tasks have not been thoroughly investigated. To begin understanding the cognitive faculties that underlie dispatching tasks, we gauged cognitive ability measures relevant to dispatcher duties and introduced Working Memory Capacity (WMC) as underlying the differentiation on performance. The four general dispatcher cognitive factors identified by Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) literature, were …

Is The Relationship Between Trait Mindfulness And Psychological Distress Indirect?, Sailesh Maharjan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mindfulness, purposeful attention without judgment or acceptance, and related practices are increasingly popular with a large number of people and have been incorporated into many western psychotherapies (e.g., Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy). There is considerable debate over whether mindfulness is best studied as a state, trait or procedure. Although many studies have found that trait mindfulness is related to physical and mental health outcomes, less is known about the mechanism(s) through which mindfulness enhances clinical outcomes. The current study explored the role of potential mediators of the relationship between …

Impact Of Job Characteristics And Resources On Person-Job Fit, Andrew Ross Montgomery

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Certain job characteristics have been shown to be important for improving employee job fit. In particular, the degree of autonomy and feedback employees are afforded could allow them to more effectively manage job stressors, and acquire and/or uphold the requisite skills to maintain satisfactory work performance. These job characteristics may also lead to greater job satisfaction by supporting employees’ need for continuous growth, desire for social connectedness, and fulfillment of basic psychological needs. Accordingly, a model was proposed wherein the facets of person-job fit (demands-abilities fit and needs-supplies fit) are expected to mediate the relationship between both autonomy and feedback …

The Development Of A Comprehensive Model Of Social Anxiety And Anticipatory Social Appraisals, Lance Johns

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In anticipation of a future social interaction, socially anxious individuals (SAIs) may imagine themselves appearing stupid or foolish and predict and exaggerate the probability and costs of conveying these undesirable social images both on oneself (e.g., “I will feel stupid”) and on others impressions of oneself (e.g., “Others will think I’m stupid”). However, there is a paucity of research examining the latter bias; moreover, research regarding SAIs estimates of the probability and costs of conveying a positive impression (e.g., “I will feel smart”) has typically been neglected. Thus, the a novel questionnaire was created in order to develop a more …

The Effect Of Mode Of Education And Degree Level On Employer Perceptions Of Applicants' Hireability, Benjamin Safara

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Online education is becoming more prominent, but it has been found that employers are biased against hiring job applicants with online education. The influence of mode of education and degree level on employer perceptions of applicants’ hireability was investigated. It was hypothesized that employer perceptions would decrease as the education of an applicant moved to a category consisting of more online education. It was hypothesized that employers would be less likely to move forward with applicants in the hiring process (viability) as applicants’ education moved to a category consisting of more online education. It was hypothesized that degree level would …

An Investigation Of Feedback Seeking Behaviors, Source Credibility, And Impression Management As A Function Of Goal Orientation, Christopher Erich Morin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Goal Orientation (GO), the behavioral tendencies for the goals individuals will adopt in a variety of situations has been thoroughly utilized to understand feedback seeking behaviors. While previous and ongoing research has answered many questions within this area, there remains theoretical inconsistencies involving these relationships. For example, the relationship between prove performance goal orientation (PPGO) and feedback seeking has largely been inconsistent. There are also relationships yet to be tested such as how the GO dimensions are related to different sources of feedback within the workplace. Because of this, the purpose of the present research was to examine the relationships …

Sexual Victimization Among College Females: Severity And Substance Use, Krystal A. Zielen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Numerous consequences of sexual assault have been identified, including psychological consequences such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and health-risk behaviors such as substance misuse. Previous research has indicated that survivors of sexual assault may engage in substance misuse (i.e. alcohol and other illicit and prescription drug use) in attempt to suppress negative thoughts, memories, and flashbacks of the assault. The present study seeks to expand on and examine health-risk behaviors among undergraduate college women after the experience of sexual assault. Although many researchers have focused on the use of alcohol following sexual assault, less have studied non-medical use of prescription …

The Role Of Broaden-And-Build Schema And Employee Motivation In The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Subordinate Outcomes, Colby J. Hilken

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was twofold in that it explored the relationships in which transformational and transactional leadership impact particular subordinate outcomes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Secondly, once transformational leadership was tested and shown to be a better predictor of both job satisfaction and organizational commitment when compared to transactional leadership, employee motivation and one’s broaden-and-build schema, building off of concepts from the Broaden-and-Build theory, were proposed as mediators of the relationship between transformational leaders and their subordinate’s outcomes in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Transformational leadership is a strong predictor of many subordinate …

Pride And Prejudice: The Effects Of The Proud To Be Public Service Announcement On Attitudes Toward The Redskins Logo, Nina Danielle Acosta

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The United States has a long-standing history of appropriating Indigenous representations for the use of mascots in athletics. Despite protest by Indigenous groups against this practice, professional athletics teams continue to appropriate Indigenous representations as mascots. The National Congress of American Indians produced a public service announcement (PSA), Proud to Be (PTB), to elicit support from the general public for changing the name/mascot Redskins. The purpose of the proposed research is to experimentally examine the effects that PTB has on support among Non-Indigenous participants, as function of political alignment. We considered two competing outcomes: The Counterproductive Hypothesis predicts …

A Descriptive Study Of The Elderly In California Substance Abuse Treatment Programs, David Berenschot

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As gerontologists may know, there are a great deal of studies and a variety of academic literature on the misuse of alcohol and prescription medication amongst the elderly population. While there is a plethora of information on alcohol and prescription misuse, there is little reported data about the prevalence of other substance misuse experienced by this population. This study aims to help to fill that gap in the data by using quantitative methods to describe the scope of substance abuse of individuals 55-years or older. This study utilizes data from the Treatment Data Set Admission (TEDS-A). The TEDS-A is a …

Student Censorship In The Social Work Classrooms, Lisa Kozlowski

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Through the evolution of the field of social work, a divide in its ideologies has emerged and certain political and ideological groups such as the religious and conservatives have become underrepresented. As a result, over the years the liberal philosophies have emerged as the dominant group. This has led to a decrease in diversity within the field. Recognition of biases in the field of social work is difficult. Through a qualitative analysis method, this study was meant to explore if social work students feel they are free to share openly in the classroom, and if they are accepting of all …

The Impact Of Incarceration And Societal Reintegration On Mental Health, Veronica Wicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine ex-offender’s beliefs on the impact of incarceration and societal reintegration on mental health. The study is a qualitative design using interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed for analysis. The study sought to address the relationship between perceptions of mental health and experiences of incarceration and reintegration among formerly incarcerated individuals. The following themes emerged from participant responses: incarceration challenges, mental health stigma, and rehabilitation service accessibility. The findings of this study may contribute to social work practice by providing awareness to the factors impacting ex-offenders’ mental health and interventions needed. The …

Clinical Social Workers’ Perspectives On Illicit Drug Use And The Development Of Psychotic Disorders, Asma Naseer

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to explore social workers’ perspectives of drug-induced psychosis. More specifically, it sought to determine how knowledgeable clinical social workers are on the impact illicit drug use on the development of psychotic disorders. The study also aimed to discover clinical social workers’ perspectives regarding the influence of illicit drug use on the development of psychotic illnesses. This study used mixed methods approach in attempt to solve the research question. The quantitative portion of the research, an anonymous survey, allowed for the assessment of social workers’ knowledge of drug-induced psychosis. The qualitative portion of the research, …

College Students' Attitudes Toward Older Workers, Rachel Bravo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As college students are preparing to enter the workforce as professionals, it is important that we examine their explicit and implicit attitudes toward older workers to investigate what organizations can do on behalf of older workers. For instance, organizations may have policies that are giving preferential treatment toward older workers and reinforcing younger workers’ negative attitudes. For the present study, I used a scenario based-procedure in which participants read about an older worker who has been promoted based on an employment policy that favors older workers or the most competent workers. I examined students’ pre- and post explicit and implicit …

The Influence Of Self-Efficacy In The Relationship Between Variants Of Self-Blame And Psychological Distress, Andrea Barrera

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Sexual assault has consistently been found to be associated with depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Research shows that self-blaming attributions are directly linked to distress (Walsh, & Foshee, 1998; Walsh & Bruce, 2011). More specifically, the type of self-blame (i.e., behavioral and characterological) an individual associates with their experienced sexual assault, may influence their perceptions of avoidability of future assault and post-assault recovery. However, the role of self-efficacy in the relationship between behavioral and characterological self-blame in PTSD sexual assault survivors has been unexamined. The purpose of the proposed study is to assess the influence of self-efficacy in …

Adults’ Knowledge Of Child Development And Child Guidance, Daniela Perez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Decades of research studies suggest that the quality of parenting skills and parenting knowledge about children’s development have profound effects on children’s development. Studies to date show that most adults lack knowledge of child development and developmentally-appropriate child guidance. These studies, however have focused on white, middle-class, well-educated women and are limited in the range of issues addressed. The purpose of this study was to gain a more accurate understanding about adults’ knowledge of child development and child guidance by assessing female and male adults using an ethnically diverse population. Data from 705 adult participants showed that adults knew more …

Enhancing Student Altruism Using Secure Attachment Messages (Sam) In Lecture, Kelly Campbell, Stephany Ramos

Psychology Faculty Publications

In this brief report, we examine whether students’ (N=230) willingness to help individuals in distress (altruism) would be augmented after viewing Secure Attachment Messages (SAM) during lecture in a college racism course. Students were presented with SAM in alternating weeks as part of the PowerPoint presentation slides. In each of the weeks, their likelihood of engaging in altruistic behaviors was assessed using hypothetical scenarios and a student response system, Top Hat Monocle. We predicted that the SAM would prompt students to think of their attachment figures and enhance their feelings of security, which would increase their willingness to engage in …