Psychology Commons^™

What’S In A Name? Measuring Potential Influence Of Medical Cannabis Labels On Attitudes Towards Its Use, Dylan Pieper

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

In this study, I hypothesize that participants who read a vignette summarizing a scientific article on using cannabis to treat cancer pain will report significantly different approval of the treatment if they are randomly assigned to see either the label marijuana, cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or nabiximols (a pharmaceutical cannabis derivative). Specifically, I predict that participants will report significantly lower approval when reading marijuana compared to nabiximols. I also hypothesize that reported stigma will mediate the relationship between the noun condition and reported approval and that reported political orientation will mediate the relationship between noun condition and reported stigma. I plan …

Does Political Orientation Cause Us To See Things Differently?, Matthew Sedlacek

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Individuals’ perspectives and stances on an issue will often cause them to perceive information in a way that agrees with their beliefs. Biased assimilation refers to individuals’ tendencies to perceive information consistent with their beliefs as more positive than information inconsistent with their beliefs. It is related to the hostile media effect, which refers to individuals’ tendencies to view balanced news coverage as biased against their stance. Both Liberals and Conservatives tend to show these biases by perceiving some news coverage as biased. In this study, 250 participants will read a news article about a recent bill that was passed. …

Perceptions Of Microaggressions And Consequences Differ By Political Orientation, Christina Fortuna, Jordan Newburg, Bre Kirpes

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Microaggressions are subtle forms of discriminatory behavior. Women are more likely than men to perceive gender microaggressions (Basford, Offermann, & Behrend, 2014), and political orientation can affect perceptions of microaggressions (Harper, 2018). In this study, we hypothesized that politically liberal women would perceive discriminatory behavior and anticipate negative outcomes for another woman more than politically conservative women, especially when microaggressions were subtler. In a pre-registered experiment, 248 female participants read one of four workplace interaction vignettes depicting microassault, microinsult, microinvalidation, or no microaggression (Basford et al., 2014). Participants rated whether the interaction was discriminatory and if it would result in …

Intimate Partner Violence Stigma: The Intersection Of Race And Socioeconomic Status, Antoinette Fleming

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Approximately 36% of all women in the United States will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at some point in their lifetime (Black et al., 2011). Stigma is one consequence associated with IPV. African American (Black) victims may be more heavily stigmatized than European American (White) victims (Willis-Esqueda & Harrison, 2005). Socioeconomic status (SES) may also affect a person’s perception of the victim. To date, little research has been conducted to explore the interaction of race and SES on the stigma of IPV. The current study hypothesized greater stigma would be displayed toward Black victims and low SES victims. Participants consisted …

Perceptions Of Transgender Populations: An Educational Module To Increase Knowledge And Reduce Negative Attitudes, Dacia Oberhelman

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Individuals who identify as transgender are at the receiving end of subtle and direct forms of negative attitudes and discrimination. These attitudes and discrimination remain despite the recent research emphasis on attitudes toward sexual minority populations and the large improvement in attitudes toward sexual minorities over the last few decades. Recent research related to transgender populations largely focuses on examining the existing attitudes, rather than attempts to reduce these negative attitudes. In the current study, we aim to increase knowledge about transgender populations and reduce negative attitudes by employing an online psychoeducational intervention module. Potential change in attitudes will be …

Just Sleep It Off: Does Sleep Moderate The Impact Of Insecure Attachment Styles On Cortisol Levels?, Kristin Rooff

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Insecure attachment styles have been shown to negatively impact several aspects of physical and mental health. An association exists between insecure attachment and dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis; in particular, its impact on cortisol release. However, in reaction to a stressor, attachment style has shown varying impacts depending on the type of insecure attachment (high anxiety or high avoidance). Research on stress reactivity using measures of salivary cortisol has shown that insecure attachment is positively correlated with cortisol reactivity, even when accounting for factors such as age and body-mass index. Specifically, there is a link between “high anxiety” (insecure) …

Gender Differences In Civilian Stigma Of Combat-Related And Military Sexual Trauma-Related Ptsd, Marjorie Perkins

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder often associated with military servicemembers. Two common types of trauma associated with PTSD in servicemembers are combat and Military Sexual Trauma (MST). MST is defined as sexual harassment that is threatening in character or physical assault of a sexual nature that occurred while the victim was in the military. Stigma, or the negative social identity attributed to a feature or characteristics of an individual, is a factor associated with both PTSD and MST. In a qualitative study, recent veterans were asked about the perceptions of a soldier being diagnosed with a …

Predictors Of Attitudes Toward Transgender Men And Women, Emma Welch, Antoinette Fleming, Hailey Hatch

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Transgender individuals experience prejudice (Elischberger et al., 2016; Norton & Herek, 2013) and have a much higher suicide rate (41%) than the national average, possibly due to this prejudice and discrimination (Haas, Rodgers, & Herman, 2014). Little research, however, has examined factors that may relate to greater levels of prejudice toward this group. The degree and expression of prejudice toward many types of targets differs by political orientation (Nail, Harton, & Decker, 2003), and empathy decreases prejudice toward some targets (Batson, Polycarpou, Harmon-Jones, Mitchener, Bednar, & Highberger, 1997). We hypothesized that conservatives would express more negative attitudes towards transgender individuals …

Achieving And Maintaining Flow During Practice And Performance, Jenna Klein

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Flow, also referred to as being “in the zone,” is a state of total absorption in an activity where an individual’s risk and skill are in balance. This mental state is sought after by many musicians for its positive effect on performance. Flow has been described as leading to a loss of self-awareness, changes in the perception of time, the ability to play effortlessly, a sense of calm, and confidence. Flow is characterized by changes in brain function. Complete, undistracted concentration on one activity allows the left, more analytical side of the brain to rest, while the right, more creative …

Control Threat Induces Internalization Of Benevolent Sexism Among Women, Zheng Li

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Women in a community, but not college sample, tended to accept benevolent sexism and traditional gender roles to a greater extent when they felt their control was threatened.

Suppression Of Stereotype Threat Negatively Impacts Self-Evaluations And Interpersonal Outcomes, Zheng Li

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Stereotype threat is the situation when people under the pressure of confirming a negative stereotype that applies to them. Research shows that when people try to suppress the thought of being threatened, they tend to perform even worse. This study examines the effect of suppression of stereotype threat on females’ confidence on a gender-based stereotypical task (about spatial skills and science knowledge) and cross—gender interaction outcome. Participants first completed the moon task and then had a discussion with a male confederate before evaluating the willingness of future interaction and the perception of how the confederate views them. We hypothesized that …

Identification Of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo By Teachers, Rachel Meisinger

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Children with Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) are characterized by a hypoactive, sluggish behavior pattern that does not fully fit the conceptualization of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as was previously believed. Interest in this topic has surged recently, perhaps due to the fact that many researchers now view SCT as a construct that exists outside of ADHD (Barkley, 2014). SCT is associated with unique etiology, impairment, and comorbidities. Unlike ADHD, SCT represents a more passive form of inattention that may not disrupt the classroom. Thus, SCT may go unnoticed despite the fact that it is related to many academic and social …

Suicidal And Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Taylor Ash

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

A literature review over the differences between suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents. This review looks into several factors and differences about why adolescents engage in the behaviors, reactions they receive when asking for help, and implications for future practice.

Predictors Of Racial Prejudice: A Meta-Analysis Of The Influence Of Religion And Political Orientation, Kristin Broussard

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of religion and political orientation on racial prejudice through meta-analysis. 153 independent studies were analyzed with a random effects model using the Robumeta package in R, and moderator analyses were conducted for year of data and region of the U.S.

Self-Enhancement In Relation To Ptsd Stigma, Corina Klein

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

The majority of the population will experience at least one potentially traumatic event (PTE) in their lifetime, however, only about 10-20% of those people will develop a chronic, adverse reaction to the event. One factor that may help to explain resistance to PTSD is self-enhancement. Self-enhancement is a tendency to view oneself in an overly positive manner, even despite evidence to the contrary. Although this has been found to work as a barrier against PTSD, it may also perpetuate the biggest barrier to PTSD treatment: public stigma. This study examined the multiple ways that self-enhancement functions within the realm of …

Mindfulness Tools For Veterans With Ptsd, Amy Davison

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

This is a literature review on mindfulness tools to enhance coping skills for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Traditional and modern techniques were studied extensively.

Injunctive And Descriptive Norm Effects On Physical Activity, Monica Ehn

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

The purpose of the current study was to test the application of the focus theory of normative conduct (Cialdini, Kallgren, & Reno, 1990) on exercise; specifically how normative feedback (i.e., descriptive and descriptive plus injunctive norms) affects levels of physical activity using a non-self-report measure of physical activity.

Fifty-two participants between the ages of 18 and 23 were randomly assigned to either the descriptive or descriptive plus injunctive condition. The participants completed the first phase of the study individually, outside of the lab via Qualtrics. The participants completed a demographic questionnaire to obtain a sample description and the International Physical …