Psychology Commons^™

Music And The Brain: How Music Affects The Work Of The Brain, Chloé Anne Elois Lance

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Music is a part of everyday life for many individuals. Whether they are listening to it on their phone or the radio, or they are rehearsing a piece with an ensemble. If individuals are constantly around music and absorbing it, does it have any effect on their body? Yes, and more specifically, music has the greatest effect on an individual's brain. This paper will explore each part of the brain and how it reacts to music, the role that music plays with the intelligent individual's brain (ex. IQ levels), and how music interacts with the brain throughout everyday life. Music …

Causes, Effects, And Possible Solutions To Blood Feuding In Albania, Gabe Cyrus, Kelly Fischer, Jessica Stricker, Abigail O'Neel, Celeste Davis

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The goal of this presentation is to inform the audience about the causes, effects, and possible solutions of blood feuding in Albania, which has resulted in the deaths of approximately 12,100 people since 1991. Albania contains one of the few remaining cultures that is still partaking in blood feuding. Blood feuding began in the 1600s and resumed after the fall of communism in the absence of a strong governing body. The Kanun sets forth the rules of blood feuding, but they are not always followed as they were intended. Cultural values influence the course of blood feuding and make it …

An Exploration Of International Students’ Institutional Experiences At Cedarville University, Jeffrey T. Jenks, Alexis D. Smith, Sung Woo Kim

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The purpose of this study was to understand the institutional experience of international students on the campus of Cedarville University. The study utilized a phenomenological qualitative method with a sample of 18 students who represented 14 nations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed, and the following themes were found: perception of academic challenges, programs that have been helpful/unhelpful in their adjustment to life at the University, and changes they would make that would be helpful to them. Our findings suggested that international students found the academics of Cedarville University to be more challenging than they expected, but the professors were …

2017 Symposium Overview, Cedarville University

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

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The Lonely Scroll: The Impact Of Social Media On Loneliness In Introverts And Extroverts, Jessie D'Amico, Sarah E. Taylor, Elizabeth Hansford

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

This study examined the impact that social media had on feelings of loneliness in introverts and extroverts. Each participant received a survey based off of the NEO Personality Inventory, the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Internet Behaviors Scale. The survey aimed to assess the relationship between social media and feelings of loneliness on different personality types. Social Media is a prevalent aspect of modern day culture. Therefore, this study aims to teach individuals how to prevent social media from negatively affecting them. The results supported our hypotheses that both loneliness and internet use, as well as, personality type and loneliness …

Developmental Results Of Military Kids’ Upbringing: A Qualitative Analysis, Michael W. Firmin, Taylor E. Hobbs, Aubrey Gillette, Hannah Grammer

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

In the present qualitative study, researchers focused on the similarities among college-aged military kids due to similar upbringings and shared experiences. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews in which participants were asked to draw conclusions between past experiences and present attitudes. Researchers found major themes during the interviews and the themes of military pride, respect, and acculturation are the focus of the current presentation.

Stress And Sleep Quality: Mediating Effects Of Social Support, Felisha L. Younkin, Elizabeth A. Axtell, Chelsea R. Anderton

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Stress is defined as the “nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it” (Kohn & Frazer, 1986). Stress is among the top five threats to academic performance among college students (Pettit & DeBarr, 2011). The purpose of the study was to investigate whether stress affects perceived sleep quality, as mediated by social support, and to determine whether stress levels vary based on academic major. Using ANOVA in SPSS 24, we tested three hypotheses: stress and sleep quality are negatively correlated, social support mediates the relationship between stress and sleep quality, and stress levels will vary by academic …

How Athletics Affect An Athlete’S Academic Performance, Rachel D. Cordle, Anna Forcelle

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Involvement in both a collegiate sport and education can be overwhelming and stressful and has the potential to result in sacrificed educational advancement and attainment. Due to the lack of research done concerning this topic, limited knowledge is known regarding specific stressors encountered by athletes and their coping strategies used. As a result, there is little understanding about how to best support college-level student athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to gain insight from university students as to how athletics affect their academic performance, and to battle against the stereotype of college athletes being average or just below …

Personal Frustrations Of A Full-Time Firefighting Career, Michael W. Firmin, Ruth L. Markham, Nicole Tiffan, Heidi Gibbs, Lauren Kuhlwein

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

In this phenomenological qualitative study, we explored the professional and personal frustrations of being a full-time male firefighter. Themes emerged through analyzing the transcripts of the 26 semi-structured interviews that we conducted. Questions specifically focused on the stress and experiences encountered while on the job and the potential effects that their job has on their personal life, including hobbies, health, and personality. Themes included perceived verbal and physical abuse by the community of the fire service and its services, firefighters’ increased awareness of the environment and how this affects their daily life and the negative/positive implications of the media portrayal …

Music And Athletics: An Inseparable Bond, Alisha Symington

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Music is so deeply ingrained in nearly every part of our culture, it sometimes passes by unnoticed. However, if one were to remove music from its typical appearance, the resulting silence can be deafening. For example, in a film, such as Star Wars, if the main theme did not exist, the anticipation of the film and the overall reaction to the plot would be far less appealing. If clothing stores did not play spunky electronic music, would consumer’s shopping habits be altered? A strongly universal and historic aspect of culture that a lack of music would dramatically is the world …

Associations Of Religious Involvement And Mortality: A Critical Review, Thomas Fisher

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

In this review we address the conflicts of previous research on associations between religious involvement and longevity. We will also discuss causes of conclusional variance within these studies. Our study of inconclusive research will equip individuals with insight about sources of disagreement and origins of variance within empirical studies on religiosity and longevity. A wide variety of sources were selected to represent the diversity of findings. Most selected studies identified psychosocial elements of religiosity and proposed a positive, negative, or no correlation with longevity. We reviewed the validity of each study and analyzed the proposed association with longevity. Numerous methodologically …

Reverse Freshman Fifteen: A Qualitative Study, Ruth L. Markham, Taryn Viers, Ashley Laird, Ashley Dibert

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The decision to make lifestyle changes as related to health cannot be easily summarized as it involves multiple areas of an individual's life. To examine some of these issues 15 college women who had intentionally experienced significant weight loss during their college years were questioned using a semi-structured interview technique. The interviews contained questions concerning how factors such as identity, motivation, habits, availability of resources, and priorities affected their conscious choice to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Transcriptions were coded and analyzed to determine commonalities in factors related to these lifestyle changes. Three common themes emerged which included having an active …

The Relationship Between Music Preference, Moral Competence, And Spiritual Well-Being In Christian College Students, Elizabeth Stokes, Gabrielle Metzler, Chi-En Hwang, Di Wu

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

In this survey study, we examined the effect of Christian music with lyrics versus secular music with lyrics (written as “Christian music” and “secular music”) on the moral competence and spiritual well-being of college students. These students were taken from the population of Cedarville University and were aged 18-25. We hypothesized that Christians who listen to mostly Christian music have higher moral competence and spiritual well-being than those who listen to primarily secular music. Tested through an online survey using the Moral Competence Test (MCT) and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB), this study found no gender differences, therefore the subsequent …

Social Psychology Of Public Defenders: A Qualitative Study, Michael W. Firmin, Kari E. Barnhill, Hannah W. Foster, Ying-Ruey Chuang, D. Elise Lawrence

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The right to an attorney is a one to which all U.S. citizens are entitled, in conjunction with the constitution's sixth amendment. Difficulty arose when people who were unable to provide necessary funds to hire a lawyer and, subsequently, went into trial pro se. Resolution was met with the creation of the public defense system -- a system which is unfortunately understudied, and sometimes regarded in a negative light, including a negative perception that public defense is a broken system. This belief sometimes bleeds into the minds of potential clients who may believe a public defender is not sufficiently competent …

Effects Of Olfactory Sense On Chocolate Craving, Michael W. Firmin, Aubrey Gillette, Taylor E. Hobbs

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Chocolate has been referred to as one of the most socially acceptable addictions. It is one of America’s most craved foods, and women tend to crave it more frequently than men. Kemps and Tiggemann (2013) conducted an innovative experiment to reconcile the ideas of mental imagery, scent, and craving. After presenting images of sweet foods and having female undergraduate students smell a neutral scent, the researchers found that the neutral smell decreased craving for sweet foods.

In the present study, researchers sought to replicate many aspects of Kemps and Tiggemann’s design. This new study went one step further, though: in …

The Effects Of Styles Of Dress On First Impressions, Ashley Dibert, Ashley Laird, Di Wu

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Many factors influence our first impression. Previous research found that clothes may affect people’s perceptions and attitudes toward others. Even subtle changes in the style of dress would affect others’ perceptions on multiple characters such as success, trustworthiness and reliability (Howlett, Pine, & Orakcioglu, 2013). It has also been found that the amount of similarities between raters and the individuals rated were positively correlated with the rating scores of favorable characteristics (Michinov & Michinov, 2011).The current research aimed to investigate how a person’s own style of dress would influence their perception on attraction based on those individuals’ style of dress. …

Differences In Perceptions Of Cheating Between College Students And Professors, Ying-Ruey Chuang, Andrew Voss, Di Wu

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The current research aimed to examine whether students and professors who cheated in the past would differ from those who did not cheat on their perceptions on the severity, percentage, and impact of cheating behavior. Data were collected from 434 students (61% female, 39% male, mean age: 19.78) and 42 professors (57% female, 43% male, mean years of experience: 17.29) through an on-line survey in a private Christian university. The current study focused on the severity, the impact, self-report, and the perceived percentage of cheating behavior in the survey. Furthermore, questions on the severity of cheating were categorized into three …

A Qualitative Assessment Of Military Kids: Instabilities & Constants, Michael W. Firmin, Taylor E. Hobbs, Aubrey Gillette, Hannah W. Foster

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

In the present study, we addressed the following research question: Do college-aged military kids report similar patterns in affect, behavior, and cognition due to shared perceptions and experiences? The study was conducted through semi-structured qualitative research interviews on a selective, Midwest, private college campus. Participants were asked questions regarding their upbringing as a military child and were asked to identify any potential connections between their past experiences and their current beliefs and behaviors. We report qualitative findings relating to themes in the areas of family dynamics, adaptability, and lifestyles.

The Motivation To “Like”: Do “Likes” Cause Conformity On Social Media?, Charles D. Dolph, Daniel J. Case Jr., Devin M. Welsh

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Social media has become the norm in westernized culture in many households. Many companies ranging from small to large organizations have employed multiple forms of social media in order to promote their business. Some companies are inclined to buy “likes” from other businesses in order that their product may seem more appealing to viewers online. The question that this study aimed to address whether participants were more likely to “like” a picture if the picture has more associated “likes”, rather than if it is a good picture as deemed by a professional photographer. This would follow the traditional conformity principles, …

The Experiences Of Being A Full-Time Firefighter: A Qualitative Study, Ruth L. Markham, Nicole M. Tiffan, Lauren A. Kuhlwein, Heidi M. Gibbs

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Firefighters are exposed to stress both physically and psychologically on a nearly daily basis, which can have a profound effect on their physical and emotional well-being. In the present qualitative study we explore the effects of being a full time firefighter on both personal and professional aspects of life. Full time firefighters from departments around the southwest Ohio region are being interviewed using a semi-structured format. Those interviews are recorded and transcribed for the purpose of analysis, as we look for common themes among these professionals. Our questions specifically focus on the experiences a firefighter has had while being on …

Relationships And Client Protection Differences In The Apa And Aca Ethical Codes, Michael W. Firmin, Kristin Dewitt, Lauren A. Kuhlwein, Taylor E. Hobbs, Aubrey Gillette

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

We present the results of a line-by-line comparison regarding relationship and client protection issues between the American Psychological Association (APA) and American Counseling Association (ACA) ethical codes. Out of 144 total differences in these ethical codes, 34 differences pertain specifically to the topics of relationships and client protection.

Results from the study showed ACA to provide extensive requirements and prohibitions relating to the therapeutic relationship, compared to APA’s more general and principle-driven approach to this domain. Citing a few examples here, we note that ACA requires more extensive documentation of relationship boundary changes pertaining to romantic and/or sexual relationships, therapeutic …

Perspectives On Adoption From Christian Adoptive Parents: A Qualitative Study, Ruth L. Markham, Kelley C. Pugh, Valerie A. Sohn, Emily N. Gentry

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Although adoption has long been studied, the rising current evangelical trend of adopting has brought about a new series of questions, mostly pertaining to, “What is it like to be a Christian adoptive parent?” The research goals were to understand how faith motivates one’s decision to adopt and the assimilation of the adopted child into the family, to examine the parallels between theological adoption and human experience adoption, and to see if parents have a qualitatively different kind of bonding or affection for their biological and adoptive children. This qualitative research study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with practicing Christians …

Premarital Sex In College Students: Factors That Influence Their Attitudes And Practices, Kara Nonnemacher, Chi-En Hwang, Leah Furrow

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Sex education continues to be a controversial topic in the United States. This study examines the relationship between sex education styles and actual sexual practices of students from several Midwest universities (n=1042). More specifically, this study looks at the difference in effectiveness between parent and teacher sex education, the effectiveness of safe sex education, and the sexual behavior perceptions of those who practice abstinence. Results showed that parents had a greater influence over their children than school-based sex education, that safe sex education promotes protected sex, and that the perceived acceptance of non-intercourse sexual behavior correlates negatively with abstinence education.

Birth Order And Humor Styles, K. C. Pugh, Milton E. Becknell, Di Wu

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Humor can be used in a multitude of ways. Previously, Rod Martin has developed four distinct categories of individual humor style, which describes the way in which an individual uses humor on an everyday basis. The four styles are affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-deprecating. The question is what factors may be related to one’s humor style. It has been found that humor styles are correlated with one’s personality score on Five Factor Personality test. It has also been found that one’s order of birth is related to one’s personality. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose that one’s birth order may …

Psychological Readiness Effect On Return-To-Play In Collegiate Athletes, Kurt Gruenberg, Kurt D. Beachy

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Psychological readiness has been studied extensively over the past 20 years.2,4,6 It is becoming increasingly important to understand completely how athletes psychologically deal with a physical injury. Current research has identified specific intrinsic and extrinsic factors that have shown to present negative effects on athletes.1,4,5 They have also identified specific psychological factors that play a major role in the rehabilitation process.2,3,5 However, current research has not studied the entire psychological experience of athletes and their determining factors. They also have not used surveys that allow for both qualitative and quantitative data to be collected. Therefore, the purpose of this study …

The Effect Of Music Familiarity On Students’ Reading Comprehension Performance, Heidi J. Johnson, Ben B. Holdredge, William T. Mckinley

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The current study examined 85 university students’ performance in a reading comprehension task under three conditions: silence, familiar, or unfamiliar music. The results indicated that the students in the familiar music condition performed significantly worse than those in the silent conditions, as well as those in the unfamiliar music condition.

Working Memory In Musicians Versus Non-Musicians: A Differential Study Using The N-Back Task, Kara Nonnemacher

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The current study investigates whether long-term musical training and practice are associated with greater working memory abilities. Other studies have shown that musicians have cognitive advantages over non-musicians, including working memory. Forty-six college-aged participants were given an auditory-spatial n-back test. The n-back test requires participants to determine whether or not each auditory and spatial stimulus in a sequence matches the stimulus n stimuli ago. In this study, n=2. Participants were classified as either a musician or non-musician based on their years of musical training. Comparing n-back scores between musicians and non-musicians showed no significant findings. Since …

A Qualitative Study Of Pastors' Kids At Cedarville University: A Pilot Study, Ruth L. Markham, Monica H. Arslain, Eric C. Skowronski

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Children of pastors (PK’s) are commonly stereotyped in one of two different ways: either they are seen as the model child, or as the prodigal (Barna Group, 2013). The model child is perceived as sheltered and naïve, with expectations placed on them to follow in their parents’ footsteps of faith and practice. The rebel is perhaps the more common stereotype, where children of pastors are seen as having negative feelings toward their father’s position, and wanting to make their own mark on the world and find their own faith journey. The purpose of this study was to determine if either …

Residual Spiritual Shifts Regarding The Homeless Resulting From A College Poverty Immersion Experience, Elizabeth Garland, Heidi J. Johnson, Michael W. Firmin, Ruth Lowrie Markham, Kurt J. Stultz

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

We report the results of a qualitative study, having interviewed 20 students who had 1.5 years previously been involved in a collegiate, weekend poverty immersion experience. We coded the transcripts, analyzed the data from a phenomenological framework, provided checks for internal validity, and report the common themes from the participants’ interviews.Three overall results were evident. First, participants reported believing that, generally, the church is ignorant regarding the needs of the poor and impoverished people around them. Second, students generally did not believe that the church was doing enough in order to combat poverty and/or homelessness, mentioning that the church’s outreach …

Use Of Myers-Briggs Personality Types In The Distribution Of Students To Team-Based Learning Groups, Tracy R. Frame, Rebecca J. Gryka, Mary E. Kiersma, Lorin Sheppard, Aleda M.H. Chen, Stephanie M. Cailor

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Objectives: To examine students' perceptions of team-based learning (TBL) and the level of confidence associated with the learning format when distributed into teams consisting of diverse personality types and gender. Methods: Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning tool where students are organized into teams for a specified term but little data exists regarding the best method of distributing students into teams. TBL was utilized in two pharmacy courses. Prior to the start of the 2012 academic year, students completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) personality test. Students were separated into nine teams of diverse MBTI® types and gender. Pre- …