Psychology Commons^™

Conceptions Of Heroic Leadership In Civil Society, Theresa A. Thorkildsen

Heroism Science

While nations face multiple disruptions to civil society, individuals in late adolescence and early adulthood are overlooked for heroic leadership opportunities in some cultures. An underestimation of individuals’ abilities is sometimes fostered by biological definitions of human development that align competence with physical changes in the brain (Blakemore, 2012). Prolonged exposure to such disregard can encourage individuals to restrict the information they notice, fostering distortion in the intentions that support leadership readiness (Pratkanis, 2007). Studies of individuals’ conceptions of how the world operates can improve leadership readiness if such evidence is used to verify that individuals notice essential information. Using …

College Students’ Loneliness, Feelings About Social Media, And Depressive Symptoms During Covid-19: Between And Within-Person Temporal Associations, Karen Kochel, Catherine L. Bagwell, Samara Rosen

Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies

During COVID-19, many institutions of higher education implemented health protocols that reduced college students’ in-person interactions and prompted an uptick in their social media use. Although social media has often been implicated in the development of psychosocial difficulties, we tested an alternate hypothesis – that, during the pandemic, students’ feelings about social media for interpersonal connection (i.e., FSMIC), would contribute to reductions in loneliness and depressive symptoms. To investigate temporal associations between loneliness, FSMIC, and depression, we estimated random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM), permitting the disaggregation of between- and within-person effects. Participants (N = 517 undergraduates, M_age = …

The Big Five And Dark Triad: The Role Of Personality In The Development Of Passion, Hannah Behar

Honors Theses

The present work explored the connection between personality and the Dualistic Model of Passion (DMP) and weather psychological safety moderated this relationship. The first study comprised 109 Introduction to Psychology students at the University of Richmond, and the second study measured 128 MTurk participants. The web-based survey administered to both samples consisted of measures assessing Harmonious Passion (HP), Obsessive Passion (OP), the Big Five traits, the Dark Triad traits, and Psychological Safety (PS). Due to reliability concerns, only OP and the Dark Triad traits could be used to assess the MTurk sample. Results from regression analysis showed that among MTurk …

Maladaptive Social Cognitions And Peer Victimization In Elementary-Aged Students, Katelyn Szarko

Honors Theses

Among elementary-aged students, peer victimization is common and is associated with psychological maladjustment and poor academic achievement. Students with maladaptive social cognitions, like low social competence and low perceived control, are more likely to be victimized, but having a supportive teacher and/or a positive classroom climate might help to mitigate this association. This study aimed to answer the question of whether teacher support and classroom climate protect against peer victimization for students with maladaptive social cognitions. It was hypothesized that teacher support and classroom climate will separately moderate the link between social competence/perceived control and subsequent peer victimization such that …

Perceiving The Poster: How Suspicion Of Motives May Impact Perceptions Of Potential Allies Engaging In Online Activism, Kathrina Z. Durante

Honors Theses

Social media posts signaling support for various social and racial justice movements have emerged as an important aspect of social media use. However, little research has investigated how these posts and the social media users behind them are perceived by members of disadvantaged groups﹘those the messages are presumably intended to “help.” Though the post’s content and poster’s identity are likely important, the primary aim of this study is to investigate an individual difference variable in the perceiver, specifically disadvantaged group members’ Suspicion of Motives Index (SOMI) scores, which measure a general tendency to perceive White individuals’ attempts at non-prejudice to …

The Project That Claire, Uh I Mean The Student Completed: Relative Clauses And Repair Disfluencies, Claire O’Shaughnessy

Honors Theses

Several areas of psycholinguistics focus on the role of memory in language processing. Two of these areas are repair disfluencies and complex syntactic structures; however, these two topics have traditionally been investigated completely separately from one another. The current experiment combines these two topics by presenting listeners with spoken sentences containing subject-extracted relative clauses (SRCs) and object-extracted relative clauses (ORCs) in which the semantic similarity between the critical noun phrases (NPs) was manipulated. In addition, the sentences could be spoken fluently, or there could be a repair disfluency in which the reparandum contained information that would be potentially helpful in …

Generative Beauty: How Engaging With Beauty Sparks Transformation, Rebecca Byrd Musser

Honors Theses

“Be the change you wish to see in the world,” declared Mahatma Gandhi. There is a profound awareness of the need for change as individuals reflect on the impact of global and system challenges as well as community challenges. People cannot just “be the change” until they themselves are first changed. Beauty is a powerful catalyst for change that begins with the individual, expanding to the community. To solve community problems, program designers must find a way to unleash untapped creativity. This study explores the impact of engaging beauty via the arts (paintings, Mary Oliver poetry, and The Lark …

Does Adhd Strengthen The Relationship Between Depression/Anxiety And Avoidance?, Ryan Wigginton

Honors Theses

Objective: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a diagnosis often

comorbid with depression and anxiety-related disorders. Research is also indicative of a relationship between ADHD, depression, anxiety, and avoidance-related behaviors. I hypothesize that the relationship between ADHD and avoidance will be moderated by symptoms of depression and anxiety in neuro-typical college students that have not received a clinical mental health diagnosis. Method: 101 college students at the University of Richmond attended a baseline visit with a research assistant and completed baseline scale measures for symptoms of ADHD, depression, generalized anxiety, and avoidance. I used multiple regression and Hayes’ PROCESS program to analyze …

Investigating The Relationship Between Classroom Sense Of Belonging, Friendship Quality, And Peer Victimization., Addi Mansini

Honors Theses

Research examining the predictors of peer victimization, the experience of being aggressed upon by one’s peers, is important because studies have shown that peer victimization can have negative mental health and academic outcomes. This research aimed to examine classroom sense of belonging, the degree to which children feel that they are a valuable part of their class, as a predictor of peer victimization, with the hypothesis that high classroom belonging would be predictive of lower peer victimization among third through fifth grade students (N = 233; 119 female; Mage at recruitment = 9.48, SD = .68). A second objective was …

What Does “Avoidance Mode” Feel Like? The Association Between Avoidance Awareness And Negative Affect In The Moment, Mamie Ziegler

Honors Theses

For students in an academic setting, task avoidance is a common behavioral strategy used to cope with the unpleasant emotions associated with schoolwork and completing assignments. However, when this form of behavioral avoidance becomes a pattern, it has the potential to lead to negative long-term consequences–such as worse academic outcomes and increased stress. To counteract maladaptive behaviors such as task avoidance, a certain level of self-awareness of such behaviors may be necessary–even if this awareness leads to more negative emotions at first. To analyze the relationship between student task avoidance and emotions, the following study utilizes ecological momentary assessment (EMA) …

Harnessing Growth Mindsets To Help Individuals Flourish, Jeni L. Brunette, Crystal L. Hoyt, Joseph Billingsley

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Psychologists are uniquely positioned to help with our collective obligation to advance scientific knowledge in ways that help individuals to flourish. Growth mindsets may offer one such tool for improving lives, yet some research questions the potential to replicate key findings. The aims in the current work are to help explain mixed results and outline ways to improve intervention impact. To reach these goals, we first offer a brief overview of the links between growth mindsets and psychological flourishing. Second, we outline key theories of causal mechanisms and summarize sources of meaningful heterogeneity in growth mindset interventions, with a focus …

Well-Being In The Time Of Covid-19: Do Metaphors And Mindsets Matter?, Jeni L. Burnette, Crystal L. Hoyt, Nicholas Buttrick, Lisa A. Auster-Gussman

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Communications about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) often employ metaphors, which can help people understand complex issues. For example, public health messages may focus on “fighting” the disease, attempting to rouse people to action by instilling a sense of urgency. In contrast, change-focused metaphors may foster growth mindsets and self-efficacy—cornerstones of well-being and action. We randomly assigned participants to read one of two articles—either an article about coronavirus that focused on fighting the war or an article that highlighted the possibility of change. In Study 1 (N = 426), participants who read the war, relative to the change, message …

Reviewing The Heroic Experience: A Humanistic And Existential Counselling Perspective, Peter Bray, Peter James

Heroism Science

Taking a humanistic and existential counselling stance, this brief review of heroism and the heroic experience begins by discussing the utility and structure of Joseph Campbell’s (1949) monomythic narrative of the hero’s journey, whilst considering the Jungian conceptualisation of the archetype and the collective unconscious. With their shared assumptions about transformation and growth, modern psychology and the therapeutic practice of counselling and psychotherapy are reviewed in terms of their utilisation of the hero-journey as a developmental metaphor for clients, particularly in trauma recovery. It is also suggested that, as a metaphor for transformation, Campbell’s hero-narrative may also have the potential …

What’S The Secret To Longevity?, Hannah Wolfe, Chris Selwood, Sara Cloonan

SSIR Presentations 2017

Capstone presentation for the University of Richmond SSIR (Sophomore Scholars in Residence) Program.

The Lives And Lessons Of Richmond Nonagerians And Centenarians, Jieyi Ding, Grace Holzer, Caitlin Livesey, Haley Neuenfeldt

SSIR Presentations 2017

Capstone presentation for the University of Richmond SSIR (Sophomore Scholars in Residence) Program.

The Lives And Lessons Of Nova Scotian Nonagerians And Centenarians, Susie Shepardson, Ayaka Hasegawa, Chris Cushman, Maryann Adesoba

SSIR Presentations 2017

Capstone presentation for the University of Richmond SSIR (Sophomore Scholars in Residence) Program.

Stop Blaming Video Games For America's Gun Violence, Kristin M.S. Bezio

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Recently, America's attention has been understandably focused on the potential causes of increased violence - especially gun violence - particularly among children and youth, and how to stop it. Alongside gun-control proposals, some of which President Obama is likely to highlight in his State of the Union address tonight, much of that attention has looked at the potential of violent video games to cause or exacerbate the tendencies of youth to engage in real, harmful violence.

Psychosocial Treatment For Adult Adhd, Laura E. Knouse, Steven A. Safren

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many adults with ADHD are likely to benefit from psychosocial interventions that teach compensatory skills to manage symptoms and address functional impairment. Based on the research literature and the authors’ experience developing and implementing interventions, this chapter provides a practice-friendly overview of skills-based treatment selection and implementation, emphasizing cognitive-behavioral techniques. Principles are illustrated using case examples and adjunctive treatment options are discussed.

Special Support For University Students With Adhd And Ld In The United States, Laura E. Knouse, J Kanazawa

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Laura E. Knouse, Steven A. Safren

Psychology Faculty Publications

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults is a valid and impairing disorder for which psychopharmacological and psychosocial treatments are recommended. Self-report ratings scales for adult ADHD can serve several functions in clinical work with this population including screening, providing information, in a comprehensive assessment, and tracking treatment-related change. The use of two symptom-based ratings scales for screening and tracking treatment progress- the Current Symptoms Scale (CSS) [5] and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) [6] - is outlined for the practicing clinician. Key issues in the assessment of adult ADHD are briefly discussed, highlighting the role of rating scales within …

Self-Efficacy And Adult Development, Daniel Cervone, Daniele Artistico, Jane M. Berry

Psychology Faculty Publications

A major theme in the contemporary study of human development across the life span is that people have the capacity for personal agency. Innumerable writers emphasize that individuals can exert intentional influence over their experiences and actions, the circumstances they encounter, the skills they acquire, and thus ultimately the course of their development.

Memory Self-Efficacy In Its Social Cognitive Context, Jane M. Berry

Psychology Faculty Publications

This chapter takes a primarily cognitive construct - memory self-efficacy (MSE) - and returns it to its roots - social cognition (Bandura, 1986). This is a natural and obvious move. MSE has evolved since the mid-1980s (Berry, West, & Powlishta, 1986; Hertzog, Dixon, Schulenberg, & Hultsch, 1987) to its present identity and status in the cognitive aging and adult developmental research literature. If it is to avoid becoming a hypothesis in search of data (Light, 1991) or worse, an epiphenomenon to more robust explanations of cognitive aging (e.g., speed) (Salthouse, 1993), its potential and limits must be scrutinized and subjected …

Memory Development And Aging, Jane M. Berry

Psychology Faculty Publications

And so, over a century ago, William James (1890) anticipated much of what has captured the attention of memory researchers in the ensuing years, particularly those working from the information processing perspective. I use this quote to open my Introduction to Psychological Science lecture on memory development across the lifespan because it alludes to different memory systems and stores, as well as individual and developmental differences in memory processing. In that lecture, questions of which memory processes and stores are most age sensitive are addressed, with the assumption that developmental changes in memory are not necessarily due to chronological age …

Age Declines In Memory Self-Efficacy: General Or Limited To Particular Tasks And Measure?, Robin Lea West, Jane M. Berry

Psychology Faculty Publications

The potential for lifelong learning has been demonstrated clearly in research on problem solving, prose recall, and other measures of mental skill (Reese & Puckett, 1993; Sinnott, 1989). However, there are factors that may serve as barriers to lifelong learning for older adults (see Arenberg, chapter 23 in this volume). Among others, these factors include age changes in attentional or memory capacity (e.g., Salthouse, 1991), declines in memory self-confidence or change in memory beliefs (e.g., Berry, West & Dennehy, 1989), and reduced opportunities for education and training (e.g., Rebok & Offermann, 1983). This chapter focuses on self-report or subjective beliefs …