Psychology Commons^™

Confirmation Bias Susceptibility: Social Domains, Metacognitive Self, And Gender, Emily N. Roush

Student Publications

Confirmation bias is a daily and commonly under-recognized cognitive bias, one in which requires more research. More specifically, confirmation bias is when individuals seek out information to confirm beliefs and reject opposing views. This phenomenon is readily studied in economics and psychology to name a few. However, confirmation bias is often neglected in an empirical setting. Thus, with a gap in the literature, this study tested the susceptibility of confirmation bias in college students, and utilized social domains, Metacognitive Self Score (MCS), and gender to predict the level of confirmation bias. Using a between-subjects design, participants were randomly assigned to …

Individual Differences In Social Play Behaviour Predict Alcohol Intake And Control Over Alcohol Seeking In Rats, Heidi M. B. Lesscher, E. J. Marijke Achterberg, Stephen M. Siviy, Louk J. M. J. Vanderschuren

Psychology Faculty Publications

Rationale

Social play behaviour is a rewarding social activity displayed by young mammals, thought to be important for the development of brain and behaviour. Indeed, disruptions of social play behaviour in rodents have been associated with cognitive deficits and augmented sensitivity to self-administration of substances of abuse, including alcohol, later in life. However, the relation between social development and loss of control over substance use, a key characteristic of substance use disorders including alcohol use disorder (AUD), has not been investigated. Moreover, it remains unknown how inherent differences in playfulness relate to differences in the sensitivity to substance use and …

What Shall We Call God? An Exploration Of Metaphors Coded From Descriptions Of God From A Large U.S. Undergraduate Sample, Adam K. Fetterman, Nicholas D. Evans, Julie J. Exline, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

People use numerous metaphors to describe God. God is seen as a bearded man, light, and love. Based on metaphor theories, the metaphors people use to refer to God reflect how people think about God and could, in turn, reflect their worldview. However, little work has explored the common metaphors for God. This was the purpose of the current investigation. Four trained raters coded open-ended responses from predominantly Christian U.S. undergraduates (N = 2,923) describing God for the presence or absence of numerous metaphoric categories. We then assessed the frequency of each of the metaphor categories. We identified 16 metaphor …

The History And Development Of The Hopelessness Depression Theory, Harrison Combs

Student Publications

The hopelessness theory of depression, mainly contributed by Martin Seligman, theorizes that the cause of depression is due to a belief that one has no control over the outcomes of their life, leaving them hopeless. “Learned helplessness” or “hopelessness” is a key phenomenon that helped Martin Seligman develop the theory of hopelessness depression. The current literature review traces the history of learned helplessness, from the first findings of evidence of the phenomenon to the development of the hopelessness depression theory.

A Study Of Groupthink And Multiple Advocacy In Presidential Foreign Policy Fiascos, Ethan S. Wilt

Student Publications

As “the sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations,” Presidents have almost exclusively presided over foreign policy. Modern Presidents, spanning from Eisenhower, Kennedy, Ford, Carter, and Reagan, have readily encountered foreign policy crises, with varying degrees of success. Why do some President fail while others triumph? It comes down to an assortment of factors: organizational structure, multiple advocacy, and groupthink. Organizational structure affects how information is disseminated and decisions are made. Multiple advocacy brings out all important interests during deliberations. Groupthink paralyzes deliberations by causing conformity, cohesion, and replaces critical thinking with irrationality. These frameworks …

International Travel And Its Impacts On Black/African American Identity Construction, Jordan K. Knox

Student Publications

How does going abroad impact Black/African Americans’ conceptualization of self? To assess the answer to this question I analyzed and reflected on mine and the international experiences of my participants, conducted thirteen interviews, and had participants answer survey questions. I argue that identity has two parts: your external and internal parts. The external identity I attributed to international experiences. My findings showed there are three impacts international travel has on Black/ African American identity constructions: the reinforcement, creation of something new, and added new dimension. There is little scholarship that studies the impact of international travel as it pertains to …

The Dark Triad: Pathological Personality Traits, Brett S. Burton

Student Publications

People tend to view personality as a light-hearted, positive facet of psychology. However, the fact is that there are many unpleasant and dark aspects to personality. Psychologists have identified a grouping of three dark personality traits in subclinical individuals, which is termed the “Dark Triad”. The Dark Triad includes narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism, which have their own unique twists but all have the basis of callous behavior and manipulation of others. This term was coined by researchers Paulhus and Williams (2002) when they measured these constructs and concluded that they were overlapping, but distinct concepts. The origin of these traits …