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Masters Theses

2022

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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Childhood Food Insecurity In Rural America: Raising Awareness And Inspiring Action Through Art And Design, Julie Hansen Olson Dec 2022

Childhood Food Insecurity In Rural America: Raising Awareness And Inspiring Action Through Art And Design, Julie Hansen Olson

Masters Theses

Children go hungry in America every day, particularly in rural communities, where statistics show food insecurity to be as high as 17%. This means one in six children in rural communities lacks nutritionally adequate food or the ability to acquire it on a daily basis. In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, this appalling statistic is unacceptable. But how do we mitigate food insecurity for children and its resulting effects on a child’s physical, mental, and social development? This project proposes to educate, raise awareness, and inspire and/or enable action by all stakeholders to reduce food insecurity, specifically …


Disclosure Of Sexual Trauma To Romantic Partners: Examining Ptsd Clusters, Partner Reactions, Perceived Partner Responsiveness, And Relationship Satisfaction, Lynsey Hinnenkamp Dec 2022

Disclosure Of Sexual Trauma To Romantic Partners: Examining Ptsd Clusters, Partner Reactions, Perceived Partner Responsiveness, And Relationship Satisfaction, Lynsey Hinnenkamp

Masters Theses

The present study examined romantic relational outcomes among individuals who have experienced unwanted or forced sexual contact. Specifically, we explored the relationship between disclosure of sexual trauma to a romantic partner and relationship satisfaction among a sample (N = 214) of community participants, and examined whether PTSD clusters, partner reactions, and perceived partner responsiveness mediated that relationship. Individuals were recruited via announcements and flyers from community organizations and advertisements on social media. Participants completed a number of measures that assessed level of disclosure, PTSD symptoms, partner reactions to disclosure, perceived partner responsiveness, and relationship satisfaction in regards to the romantic …


Psychological Flexibility, Music Performance Anxiety, And Perceived Performance Quality: A Correlational Study With University Music Students, Tracy Lianne Viator Dec 2022

Psychological Flexibility, Music Performance Anxiety, And Perceived Performance Quality: A Correlational Study With University Music Students, Tracy Lianne Viator

Masters Theses

Despite the pervasiveness of music performance anxiety (MPA) among musicians, the scientific literature on effective psychological interventions is relatively limited. While some MPA researchers regard cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as the best suited psychotherapeutic option, others position acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as both a promising treatment for MPA and means of performance enhancement. A third-wave behavioral therapy, ACT stands apart from traditional CBT in that the treatment does not attempt to reduce symptoms, but rather aims to increase psychological flexibility: the ability to contact the present moment with full awareness and engage in values-congruent action, even if doing so elicits …


Borderline Personality Disorder And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Unique Patterns Of Emotion Reactivity And Regulation, Clara Defontes Oct 2022

Borderline Personality Disorder And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Unique Patterns Of Emotion Reactivity And Regulation, Clara Defontes

Masters Theses

Both borderline personality disorder (BPD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with emotion dysfunction and often co-occur. Emotional reactivity is also evident in some studies in BPD and PTSD. Despite the frequent co-occurrence of these diagnoses, only a few studies have examined the independent and joint effects of BPD and PTSD on emotional functioning. Some data suggest that co-occurring PTSD may drive discordance between domains of emotional reactivity in BPD, dampening physiological reactivity but increasing subjective reactivity. Low reliance on acceptance-based emotion regulation may also account for this divergence. The current study examined the independent and interactive effects of …


Youth-Perceived Variability In Harsh Parenting From 8-14 Years As A Predictor Of Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms At 15 Years, Ann E. Folker Oct 2022

Youth-Perceived Variability In Harsh Parenting From 8-14 Years As A Predictor Of Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms At 15 Years, Ann E. Folker

Masters Theses

Harsh parenting behaviors have been shown to predict internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children. These symptoms of psychopathology can persist into adolescence, which can negatively impact social, academic, and emotional functioning. Most studies, however, focus on between-person differences in average harsh parenting, rather than within-person changes in harsh parenting over time. This variability in harsh parenting has a potentially unique impact on the development of adolescent psychopathology. The present study aims to understand if child/adolescent-perceived variability in harsh parenting over time (intraindividual variability; IIV) predicts higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in mid-adolescence, while controlling for average levels of …


Changing Criteria: What Decision Processes Reveal About Confidence In Memory, Johanny N. Castillo Oct 2022

Changing Criteria: What Decision Processes Reveal About Confidence In Memory, Johanny N. Castillo

Masters Theses

Source memory is our ability to relate central information (the “item”) to the context (the “source”) in which it was learned or experienced. People are often highly confident in their source judgements even when this information is incorrectly recalled. Past work has aimed to explain why source errors made with high confidence occur with a framework called the Converging Criteria (CC) account. The CC account posits that item memory can interact with source memory by altering decision criteria as item confidence increases, increasing the probability of a high confidence source judgement. This prediction differs from alternate models, like the Fixed …


Borderline Personality Disorder And Learning: The Influences Of Emotional State And Social Versus Nonsocial Feedback, Elinor E. Waite Oct 2022

Borderline Personality Disorder And Learning: The Influences Of Emotional State And Social Versus Nonsocial Feedback, Elinor E. Waite

Masters Theses

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been linked to impulsive behaviors, interpersonal difficulties, and emotional reactivity. Although these impairments imply underlying deficits in decision-making, theory suggests that such deficits may be context dependent. Both emotional state and social context may influence learning in BPD. Reinforcement learning models offer an avenue to parse types of impairments in learning. The current study used reinforcement learning models to examine whether the type of feedback (social vs. nonsocial) moderates the association between BPD and learning under conditions of distress. Adults with BPD (N = 37), subthreshold BPD (N = 29), and without BPD …


The Role Of Autobiographical Memory Recall In Reappraisal Efficacy And Effort Across Age, Irina Orlovsky Oct 2022

The Role Of Autobiographical Memory Recall In Reappraisal Efficacy And Effort Across Age, Irina Orlovsky

Masters Theses

Socioemotional theories posit that the experience of overcoming unique life challenges over a lifetime enhances self-efficacy and emotional resilience among older adults. Older adults demonstrate greater emotional well-being and motivation to regulate emotions than younger adults, but specific regulatory mechanisms supporting late-life emotional resilience remain unclear. Cognitive reappraisal is an effective but cognitively demanding emotion regulation strategy and shows mixed efficacy in later-life. While a growing repertoire of autobiographical memories may be a resource with age, the role of autobiographical recall in momentary reappraisal has never been tested empirically. In this online study, older and younger adults were trained to …


The Impact Of A Realistic Job Preview Experience On Training Fluency, Learner Reactions, And Job Performance, Jessica Rocheleau Aug 2022

The Impact Of A Realistic Job Preview Experience On Training Fluency, Learner Reactions, And Job Performance, Jessica Rocheleau

Masters Theses

Although the training and development literature has delineated which instructional approaches are most effective, training approaches are often selected based on entertainment value rather than empirical evidence of efficacy (Karthik et al., 2019). One reason for this trend may be learners’ positive reactions to entertaining instruction and negative reactions to effective instruction. Researchers may begin validating a means for addressing this problem by investigating methods for promoting job satisfaction within a training context. The proposed study compared the effects of two training orientation approaches on learner fluency, reactions, and job performance. A total of 175 participants were randomly assigned to …


Effects Of Expressive Writing On Reducing Anxiety About Attending Intergroup Dialogue On Race And Racism, Cemal Arda Aksoy Aug 2022

Effects Of Expressive Writing On Reducing Anxiety About Attending Intergroup Dialogue On Race And Racism, Cemal Arda Aksoy

Masters Theses

This experimental study examined the effects of expressive writing (EW) on the level of anxiety that White college students experience for their anticipated participation in a dialogue about race and racism with a racially diverse group of people. Ninety-one undergraduate college students, aged 18 to 25 years, living in the United States and identifying their race as White/European American were randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition for this online study. In both conditions, participants were informed that they would be participating in an online dialogue about race and racism with a racially diverse group of people after they …


A Qualitative Exploration Of Upsr, Shelby Miller Aug 2022

A Qualitative Exploration Of Upsr, Shelby Miller

Masters Theses

Person-Centered Theory (PCT, Rogers, 1959) provides the understanding of how growth-promoting relationships facilitate holistic well-being through the provision of unconditional positive regard (UPR), genuiness, and empathy. Through coaches’ provision of UPR, athletes have reported experiencing an increase of motivation, enhanced performances, and greater trust in their coach (McHenry et al., 2022). Most intriguingly, athletes created a relationship with themselves (i.e., self-regard) that mirrored their coaches’ treatment of them (McHenry et al., 2021). While UPR has just recently been studied in the coach-athlete relationship, little to no attention has been given to the relationship an athlete has with themselves (i.e., self-regard). …


In-Between Spaces: Atmospheres, Movement And New Narratives For The City, Paul Alexander Stoicheff Jun 2022

In-Between Spaces: Atmospheres, Movement And New Narratives For The City, Paul Alexander Stoicheff

Masters Theses

We often think of architecture as distinct buildings, yet as we move through the city we continuously pass through a built environment that is a collage of buildings. These spaces between buildings are underestimated as influences on our experience of everyday life in the city. Considering architecture as linked existential experiences through spaces rather than confined to individual buildings is more in line with our experience of the city as a series of interconnected spaces and places. Rather than describing a single, static architecture through words, how can we express this linked experience of spaces dynamically through narratives? Can writing …


Why Does Equality Matter Anyway? How Indifference To Inequality Relates To U.S.-Born White, Latino, And Black Americans' Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy, Trisha A. Dehrone May 2022

Why Does Equality Matter Anyway? How Indifference To Inequality Relates To U.S.-Born White, Latino, And Black Americans' Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy, Trisha A. Dehrone

Masters Theses

Research on attitudes towards immigration policies typically considers the economic and cultural threats that compel many Americans to favor exclusionary policies that curb immigration. Less is understood about how indifference to inequality shapes Americans’ attitudes towards immigration policies—that is, how ‘not caring’ about the unequal conditions faced by immigrants likely has detrimental consequences for their safety and wellbeing. The present research examines indifference to inequality as a predictor for policies that impact opportunities for immigrants to come to the U.S., and who are otherwise undocumented and/or at great risk for exploitation. Using survey data from the American National Election Studies …


Explicit Norms Promotes Costly Fairness In Children, Gorana Gonzalez May 2022

Explicit Norms Promotes Costly Fairness In Children, Gorana Gonzalez

Masters Theses

Children have an early-emerging expectation that resources should be divided fairly amongst agents, yet their behavior does not begin to align with these expectations until later in development. This dissociation between knowledge and behavior raises important questions about the mechanisms that encourage children to behave how they know they should behave. Here I tested whether explicitly invoking fairness norms encourages costly fair decisions in 4- to 9-year-old-children. I examine children’s responses to unequal resource allocations in the Inequity Game by varying the direction of inequity (advantageous versus disadvantageous inequity) and normative information (to be fair or to act autonomously). The …


Coping With Climate Change, Andrea Yj Mah May 2022

Coping With Climate Change, Andrea Yj Mah

Masters Theses

Climate change is a source of anxiety and stress. To be resilient to the changes that are occurring, individuals must cope with that stress. Because there are many ways that people might manage stress we examined variation in coping strategy use among Americans who reported some concern about climate change to understand generally how people cope with such stress, and whether it can be predicted from individual difference factors, namely degree of climate change concern and political ideology. We examined these variables specifically because in the study of responses to climate change, conservatives and liberals often report divergent beliefs, attitudes, …


Two Sides To Every Story: Investigating Changes In Cultural Attitudes Using Discourse Analysis In Computer-Mediated Infidelity Discussions, Michaela J. Dipillo May 2022

Two Sides To Every Story: Investigating Changes In Cultural Attitudes Using Discourse Analysis In Computer-Mediated Infidelity Discussions, Michaela J. Dipillo

Masters Theses

Despite overt cultural consensus on the reprehensible nature of infidelity, prevalence rates of infidelity behavior remain elevated— highlighting a substantial discrepancy between widely-accepted infidelity practices and actual behavior. To understand this incongruence and elucidate the cultural meaning of infidelity, communication surrounding infidelity warrants extensive scrutiny. The study employs methods of discourse analysis to investigate three Reddit threads from 2017, 2019, and 2021, that address infidelity. I make a case that recent changes in the discourse surrounding infidelity reflect changes in broader societal attitudes and accepted practices concerning infidelity. Using empirical methods of discourse analysis, I conducted three analytical procedures to …


Bias As A Worldview Engine, The Terminus A Quo Of The Problem Of Evil, Eric Spencer Mccrickard May 2022

Bias As A Worldview Engine, The Terminus A Quo Of The Problem Of Evil, Eric Spencer Mccrickard

Masters Theses

Evidential evil is an encompassing title for moral evil, natural disasters, disease, famine, divorce, suffering, or other calamities in life that yield dissatisfaction or discernable discomfort. This area of evidential evil is the focus of this paper generally, including the argument posed by William Rowe from evidential evil and contemporary treatments offered by Bruce Russell. The argumentation is God’s nonexistence from the platform, or derivative of no greater good observed or known, of the justification or allowance of evil. It is not a refutation of the premises, per se, but instead, the biases associated with them are de facto statements …


Counting Sequences Are Processed Across Multiple Levels Of Cortical Hierarchy, Eli Zaleznik Mar 2022

Counting Sequences Are Processed Across Multiple Levels Of Cortical Hierarchy, Eli Zaleznik

Masters Theses

Learning the count list (one, two, three, …) is a critical stepping-stone for the acquisition of number concepts. Most research about counting, however, is done in the behavioral domain, and little is known about the neural representations underlying counting sequences. Here, we test the hypothesis that transitional knowledge within a counting sequence exist both at sensory and conceptual (ordinal and magnitude) levels. To test this hypothesis, we employed a passive-listening violation-to-expectation fMRI paradigm where adult participants heard auditory count sequences that were correct (4 5 6 7) or violated at the end (4 5 6 8; consecutiveness) and, orthogonally, that …


Behavior Or Diagnosis? Effects Of Irritable Patient Behavior And Diagnostic Labels On Mental Illness Stigma, Nathan R. Huff Mar 2022

Behavior Or Diagnosis? Effects Of Irritable Patient Behavior And Diagnostic Labels On Mental Illness Stigma, Nathan R. Huff

Masters Theses

Although research demonstrates significant stigma towards individuals with mental illness, the relative importance of observed behavior and a psychiatric diagnosis in eliciting stigma remains poorly understood. Using video vignettes, three experiments (ns = 195, 749, and 791) examined the effect of irritable (vs. calm) behavior and the presence (vs. absence) of a psychiatric diagnosis (schizophrenia in Studies 1 and 2; schizophrenia and depression in Study 3) on attitudinal, emotional, and behavioral dimensions of stigma towards a fictitious emergency room patient seeking migraine treatment. In line with labeling theory, irritable behavior resulted in greater blameworthy attributions for behavior, greater fear and …


Patient–Therapist Expectancy Convergence And Outcome In Naturalistic Psychotherapy, Averi N. Gaines Mar 2022

Patient–Therapist Expectancy Convergence And Outcome In Naturalistic Psychotherapy, Averi N. Gaines

Masters Theses

Aim: Research on close relationships demonstrates that dyadic convergence, or two people becoming more concordant in their experiences and/or beliefs over time, is commonplace and adaptive. As psychotherapy involves a close relationship, patient–therapist convergence processes may influence treatment-specific outcomes. Although prior research supports that patients and therapists tend to converge on their alliance perspectives over time, which associates with subsequent patient improvement, no research has similarly examined belief convergence during therapy. Accordingly, this study focused on patient–therapist convergence in their outcome expectation (OE), a belief variable associated with patient improvement when measured from individual participant perspectives. I predicted both that …


Predicting Online Sexual Victimization Among College Students: Sexting, Solicitations, And Other Risky Online Behaviors, Tianna Joy Knight Feb 2022

Predicting Online Sexual Victimization Among College Students: Sexting, Solicitations, And Other Risky Online Behaviors, Tianna Joy Knight

Masters Theses

With the high prevalence rates of internet usage and smartphone ownership, risky online behaviors have become more and more widespread. These behaviors include sexting, online sexual solicitations, and online sexual interactions. Research indicates that these risky behaviors are related to online sexual victimization (OSV). OSV has been associated with poorer mental health, loneliness, lower life satisfaction, and other negative outcomes. Another phenomenon linked to OSV and sexting is sexual exploitation, but no study has yet analyzed the predictive ability of beliefs and awareness about sexual exploitation and human trafficking on OSV. Optimism bias, or the tendency to think that one’s …


Does Social Support Mediate The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And Activity Levels?, Leah L. Oglesby Jan 2022

Does Social Support Mediate The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And Activity Levels?, Leah L. Oglesby

Masters Theses

The aim of the present study is to examine the mediating effect of social support on the relationship between internal locus of control (LOC) and engagement in activity, treating general physical activity and deliberate exercise as specific and separate domains. Two models will be investigated: a domain-general model and an exercise-specific model, the former examining the mediating effect of general social support on the relationship between health locus of control and general physical activity and the latter examining the mediating effect of exercise-specific social support on the relationship between exercise LOC and deliberate exercise engagement. Survey responses from 279 college-aged …


Social Validity And Feasibility Of The Five In 20 Classroom Management Observation Tool, Kaylee Hampton Jan 2022

Social Validity And Feasibility Of The Five In 20 Classroom Management Observation Tool, Kaylee Hampton

Masters Theses

The present study aimed to assess the social validity and feasibility of a standardized classroom observation tool intended to assess teachers’ current use of the five features critical to effective classroom management. Forty-three observers who regularly conducted classroom observations (e.g., school psychologists) were recruited to complete 20-min observations in kindergarten through twelfth grade classrooms, and then complete an adapted behavior intervention rating scale to assess their social validity ratings of the tool. Due to COVID-19, observers could either complete a live observation or recall a previously completed observation. Of the 43 observations, 15 were live and 28 were recalled. To …


School-Based Mental Health Professionals’ Perceptions Of And Role In Disciplinary Practices Related To The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Ashlyn Wingate Jan 2022

School-Based Mental Health Professionals’ Perceptions Of And Role In Disciplinary Practices Related To The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Ashlyn Wingate

Masters Theses

The school-to-prison pipeline is a process in which school children are funneled out of the school system and into the criminal justice system through suspension and expulsion, both forms of exclusionary discipline. Suspension and expulsion are ineffective disciplinary policies that have harmful effects on school children, contributing to grade retention, drop-out, involvement in the juvenile justice system, and higher unemployment and incarceration rates as adults. These damaging practices occur in the presence of school-based mental health professionals (school psychologists, school social workers, and school counselors) who are trained to promote the overall wellbeing and success of school children. In the …


Role Of Feedback And Social Anxiety In Dating Situations, Kanika Singh Jan 2022

Role Of Feedback And Social Anxiety In Dating Situations, Kanika Singh

Masters Theses

Social anxiety has been linked to both the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) and the Fear of Positive Evaluation, suggesting that receiving feedback (whether positive or negative) is difficult for persons with social anxiety. However, little research has examined whether receiving feedback in an evaluative setting (e.g., dating) can directly affect social anxiety levels. Thus, this study examined whether varying types of feedback (negative, positive, and neutral) can affect the levels of social anxiety for individuals in a dating scenario. Feedback was provided to participants and examined in relation to their levels of FNE and FPE. Participants consisted of undergraduate …


Quarantine And Isolation Experiences Of College Students: A Narrative, Brooke Gibson Jan 2022

Quarantine And Isolation Experiences Of College Students: A Narrative, Brooke Gibson

Masters Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unanticipated phenomenon, with a lack of information surrounding quarantine and isolation experiences in college students and how this impacts their sense of belonging. This qualitative narrative study utilized semi-structured interviews to understand the participants’ experience of isolation at a rural mid-sized university in the Midwest. The research shared the students experiences and showed that participants lacked some sense of belonging whether it was with friends, family, or their institution.


Assessing Teachers' Need For Classroom Management Training: Can Consultants Link Data To Evidence-Based Practices?, Jessica White Jan 2022

Assessing Teachers' Need For Classroom Management Training: Can Consultants Link Data To Evidence-Based Practices?, Jessica White

Masters Theses

The present study examined whether 53 observers could use the Five in 20 Observation Tool to accurately identify teachers needing additional classroom management training. The Five in 20 Classroom Observation Tool includes 21, evidence-based classroom management strategies, critical to effective classroom management. Fifty-three observers were recruited to complete 42 (42 primary observers and 11 reliability observers), 20-minute observations using the Five in 20 Tool. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 29 observers participated in the recalled format and 24 participated in the live version. There was a statistically significant difference between observers who indicated fewer, or lower quality evidence-based strategies were …


The Effects Of Online Anti-Bias Training On In-Service Educator Multicultural Competence, Kaeli O'Donnell Jan 2022

The Effects Of Online Anti-Bias Training On In-Service Educator Multicultural Competence, Kaeli O'Donnell

Masters Theses

The student population in the United States is becoming increasingly diverse, while the teaching base remains primarily white and female. One skill that helps educators form connections with students and decrease their biases is cultural competence. Thus, educators are often encouraged (and at times required) to participate in professional development training to increase their knowledge in this area. Although previous research has examined educator benefits from professional development trainings in general, and from trainings related to cultural competence, there is limited research into the benefit of online trainings intended to increase educator cultural competence. In this study, 17 educators completed …


Staff Perception Of Pbis Implementation In Illinois School Districts, Dominique Starling Jan 2022

Staff Perception Of Pbis Implementation In Illinois School Districts, Dominique Starling

Masters Theses

Behavioral management is a top priority in the educational setting. Historically, schools have implemented a variety of different methods to manage behaviors in schools. One of these methods is punitive punishment, which has led to the school-to-prison pipeline phenomena. The school-to-prison pipeline is a practice in the U.S. public schools that removes students with behavioral issues from educational institutions often resulting in placement in juvenile and criminal justice systems. Through zero tolerance and other punitive disciplinary policies, many youths find themselves dropping out or being expelled from school and eventually in juvenile detention centers and prisons. Research evidence shows that …


Covid Fears And Social Anxiety In College Students, Clayton Crozier Jan 2022

Covid Fears And Social Anxiety In College Students, Clayton Crozier

Masters Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with numerous negative mental health outcomes such as social anxiety, and lead to a great deal of uncertainty. Intolerance of Uncertainty is a relatively new concept in the psychology literature and has begun to be studied in the context of anxiety. Literature has found a positive correlation between Intolerance of Uncertainty and several types of social anxiety. With these findings, researchers have begun to examine the COVID-19 pandemic to see how Intolerance of Uncertainty affects people’s mental health during the pandemic. Intolerance of Uncertainty may be a mediator between social anxiety and the fears …