Psychology Commons^™

Full Issue

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Think About It: Using Mindfulness As A Means To Treat Eating Disorders, Gabriella C. Breen

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Eating disorders are complicated and prevalent issues among the general population; it is estimated that 30 million people are affected in the United States alone (Foundation for Research and Education in Eating Disorders, 2018). Because of the complex psychological nature of eating disorders, it is difficult to find a treatment that is broadly effective. Traditional therapies include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. In recent years, mindfulness has emerged as a potentially effective way to treat eating disorders due to its ability to reduce maladaptive coping strategies, improve emotional regulation, and treat anorexia nervosa (Cowdrey …

The Power Of Human Connection: Autism And The Suicide Risk, Rachel Barton

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

As researchers continue to understand autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one outstanding factor is causing concern within the psychological community: those with ASD are at a much higher risk of suicidal tendencies. These tendencies include suicidal ideation, attempting suicide, and death by suicide. Possible contributing factors to this increased risk include high levels of loneliness, pressure to conform to societal norms, as well as depression and anxiety. To decrease suicidality among the ASD population, further research is needed to fully understand why this behavior occurs at such a high percentage. Research is also needed to find appropriate and effective solutions to …

Plea To Professors: A Passionate Approach To Controversy In The Classroom, Adrianna Meredith

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Scholars have warned of a student-driven movement to turn campuses into comfort zones free from any material that may be seen as controversial (Lukianoff & Haidt, 2015). Despite this movement, the notion that professors ought to shelter their students as opposed to exposing them to challenging ideas is anti-intellectual and counterproductive to the development of critical thinking (American Association of University Professors, 2014). If the goal of education is indeed to foster critical thinking, it is crucial for professors to be willing to discuss controversial subjects (Schneider, 2013). Such openness in the classroom requires students to analyze the origin and …

The Need For A More Holistic Approach For The Treatment Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Haylee E. Dahlin

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been shown to be associated with psychological symptoms as well as physical. Despite this correlation, physicians are more likely to focus on and provide treatments primarily for the physical aspects of IBS, which may result in a less-than-ideal treatment of the disorder. This literature review examines many IBS-related studies which show the existence of psychological components of IBS and the efficacy of treatment methods based in psychology. The conclusion of this research is that the current medical treatments of IBS are insufficient, and patients would likely see more improvements if physicians were to create a …

Reducing College Student Burnout: Predictive Factors, Harmful Effects, And Preventative Strategies, Eden Semu

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Academic burnout is defined as experiencing emotional exhaustion, having cynical attitudes toward other people and one’s studies, and feeling unable to achieve one’s academic goals (Schaufeli et al., 2002b). Academic burnout has been observed among college student populations, and its prevalence is increasing as college students are more susceptible to psychological illness, are experiencing peak levels of life stress between ages 18 and 33, and are learning to handle novel demands associated with emerging adulthood (APA, 2012; NAMI , 2019). Internal factors, such as motivational style, attitude, and coping mechanisms, have been shown to mediate the relationship between demands and …

Infant Language Development: The Consequences Of Trauma, Janna Pickett

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Infants between 0 and 36 months who experience physical and emotional trauma are at risk for severe social, emotional, cognitive, and physiological developmental deficits (Carpenter & Stacks, 2009; Jacobsen et al., 2013). As researchers search for protective factors against these deficits, productive language acquisition (the words an infant can verbally produce) has emerged as a potential predictor of resilience (Bellagamba et al., 2014; McCabe & Meller, 2004). This review proposes that infants who have acquired more advanced language, such as emotion descriptors, are able to define their experiences, learn how to respond to those experiences, and feel in control of …

Sexual Intimacy After The Transition To Parenthood: Using Emotionally Focused Therapy, Mallory Kindt

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

The transition to parenthood requires a significant amount of adjustment and often leads to a decrease in a couple’s relationship satisfaction. Specifically, new parents often experience attachment distress that can negatively affect their sexual relationship. Attachment distress may stem from the over prioritization of the parent role, postpartum fatigue and overall toll on new mothers, and unreasonable sexual expectations. One specific treatment that may help couples to overcome the negative repercussions that the transition to parenthood may have on their sexual relationship is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). EFT uses three stages, cycle de-escalation, changing interactional patterns, and consolidation/integration. These stages …

Anxious For Answers: A Behavioral Approach To Anxiety In The Home, Kassidy Bowen

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Children who have one or more parents with anxiety disorders are 76% more likely to develop anxiety disorders themselves (Hudson et al., 2014). With this correlation in mind, many studies aim to improve the treatment outcomes of children in such circumstances. However, the involvement of caregivers with anxiety disorders in the treatment of their children, specifically with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), does not always decrease the effects of anxiety on their children (Breinholst et al., 2012). Additionally, child CBT may not reduce stress-inducing factors originating from parental responses in the home (Metz et al., 2018). Parental tendencies that are common …

Society’S Responsibility To Prevent Rising Mental Illness In Youth, Spencer Smith

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

The increasing rates of mental illness in the world is becoming an issue that has been ignored for too long. Stigma and ableism, “discrimination against individuals with disabilities or the tendency to be prejudiced against and to stereotype them negatively,” are contributing factors to the delay of seeking mental health treatment and worse prognosis (VandenBos & American Psychological Association, 2007). Preventing mental illness in youth requires changes in education. By increasing education at school, from parents, and understanding personal responsibility, it may be possible to prevent or mitigate mental illness development. Though there seems to be no one best practice …

Exploring The Non-Malicious Influencers Of Lying, Sienna Stroud

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Although lying is often studied in relation to malicious factors like crime, delinquency, and lie-detection, there may be people who lie without any antagonistic intentions. In those cases, other factors like age, self-regulation, and impression management may be at play. Some studies suggest that teenagers and children may be more likely to lie than adults because of a lower maturity or because of desires for autonomy rather than malicious intent (Dykstra et al., 2020; Levine et al., 2013). Other researchers propose that some may lie because of low levels of self-control or ego depletion (Fan et al., 2016; Welsh et …

The Double-Edged Sword: Unsuccessful Versus Successful Religious Parenting And Transmission, Avanlee Peterson

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Religious participation can have many positive effects on children and adolescents, including improved health, academic, and social capabilities. Therefore, many parents are concerned by the decrease in religiosity in American society today. In response to this common concern, this literature review discusses how various types of religious parenting can improve parent-child religious transmission while maintaining good parent-child relationships and promoting healthy child development. Much of the research on parenting styles suggests that religious parenting is most successful when using an authoritative style of parenting (high structure, high warmth, high autonomy) rather than an authoritarian style (high structure, low warmth, low …

Advocating For The Advocates: School Psychologists Are Important In Addressing Mental Health Concerns Among Students, Brooke Curry

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

For decades, there has been a severe shortage of school psychologists and a rising number of children and adolescents with untreated behavioral and mental disorders in the United States (Castillo et al., 2014). The current national ratio of school psychologists to students is estimated to be 1:1211, which is a concerning shift from the recommended ratio of 1:500-1:700, school psychologists to students (NASP, n.d.-a). This ongoing shortage may lead to issues both for the school psychologists themselves and for the students they help. For instance, Schilling et al. (2017) found that 90% of school psychologists have reported experiencing burnout at …

Front Matter

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

The Etiology Of Mdd In Sexual Minority Youth And Its Implications For Treatment, Keith Burns

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Greater tolerance and understanding of homosexuality, transgenderism, and other forms of gender nonconformity have sparked an increased effort to reach out to and help sexual minorities (i.e., groups whose sexual identity, orientation, or practices differ from cisgender heterosexuality), especially those who experience mental health challenges. Despite immense progress in society, deeply rooted social stigma, prejudice, and discrimination have often left sexual minorities feeling bullied, ostracized, and isolated, which tends to reinforce a host of negative mental health outcomes, such as increased risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidality (Hatchel et al., 2018). While mental health clinicians have become increasingly …

Experiences Of Nonbinary And Gender Nonconforming Individuals Within The Healthcare System, Chloe B. Lacey

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Though nonbinary and gender nonconforming people are becoming increasingly recognized in North America, specialized healthcare—specifically gender-affirming procedures—are not becoming available to them. Researchers have examined the subjective experiences of these individuals as they have navigated the healthcare system in order to further understand possible limitations for nonbinary and gender nonconforming populations. Methods include assessing the procedures available to participants and their interpersonal experiences with healthcare professionals and family members. Scientific resources on this topic are limited, and the results are overwhelmingly represented by self-report. Furthermore, the content of the results is majorly negative toward the participants’ experiences. Participants report verbal …

The Unintentional Cost Of A Free Public Sex Offender Registry, Rebekah E. Leavitt

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

This literature review analyzes the efficacy of modern legislation guiding public access to sex offender registries and draws on research utilizing surveys, interviews, and statistical observations of convicted sex offenders to determine sources of ineffective practices at the legislative level. By utilizing Braithwaite’s reintegrative shaming theory (1989), in which stigmatizing shame is significantly less efficient in criminal contexts, current legislation and its impact on common issues experienced by sex offenders (including sexually addictive behaviors and childhood sexual abuse) are examined. The discerned prevalence of stigmatizing shame in modern legislation, which focuses on the individual rather than the undesirable behavior, indicates …

The Events Of Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure, Mia R. Urmston

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a worldwide issue leading to problems shortly following abuse and well into the victims’ lives. Specific barriers have been found to delay one’s disclosure of CSA. Common reasons for delayed CSA disclosure among recently abused children and adult survivors of CSA are the fear of not being believed and not having a trusted adult with whom they can disclose their CSA experience. Feelings of shame brought on by comments from the perpetrator were also common among those who delayed CSA disclosure. Action is needed to transition CSA disclosure from being an event into more of …

Failure To Report: The Detrimental Effects Following Sexual Assault, Lindsey R. Osborne

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Sexual assault is a prominent issue in society, yet many people remain unaware of the serious effects following sexual assault. Victims who report to legal authorities tend to experience disbelief and blame because of the prevalence of rape myths. Due to the severity of the trauma, hormones released by the brain hinder proper brain functioning and can cause a little-known evolutionary response termed tonic immobility (TI). The psychological outcome of sexual assault commonly results in or worsens several psychological conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and drug and alcohol abuse. Guilt, self-blame, and adverse emotions are accelerated with negative interactions while …

Love On The Telephone: Sexting And Intimacy In Committed Couple Relationships, Katharine G. Davidson

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

This literature review explores research on sexting—the sending of nude or partially nude photographs or sexual messages via technological mediums—within couple relationships. While sexting has often been touted as an unhealthy or deviant practice among adolescents and adults, recent attitudes and research suggest that sexting in committed couple relationships may be associated with some positive outcomes, such as higher sexual satisfaction. This paper focuses on the relationship contexts in which sexting is more likely to have positive or negative outcomes. Insecure attachment, lower emotional commitment, and negative motivations for sexting may lead to less intimacy in the relationship instead of …

Girls Will Be Girls: Perceptions Of Sexuality And Friendship Based On Gender, Rachel C. Baltes

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Note from the Editor:

Most of the manuscripts that Intuition publishes are literature reviews and research papers. However, Intuition accepts a wide variety of manuscripts, including book reviews, essays, and psychology-themed creative works such as poetry. Thus, the following manuscript is an editorial article and will differ greatly in both content and tone from other pieces published in this issue.

First Fictional Crush: Effects Of Parasocial Attachments On Female Adolescent Relationships, Emily J. Burnham

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Romantic movies, TV shows, and mature novels are endorsed and consumed by many individuals in society—particularly women. However, media may not always portray reality accurately, which might mislead adolescent females who are still developing socially, sexually, emotionally, and cognitively. Studies have indicated that young women may naturally turn to parasocial romantic relationships (PSRRs)—one-sided emotional attachments to fictional characters in media—to explore their developing romantic expectations and sexuality in a way that appears to be harmless and free of consequence (Erickson et al., 2018). However, several effects of PSRRs may have a detrimental impact on adolescent females whose emotions become extremely …

Sociocultural Factors Of Female Sexual Desire And Sexual Satisfaction, Matysen Evensen

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Historically, research on the human sexual-response cycle has not accounted for individual differences in gender and context. As a circular female response cycle was introduced in the latter end of the 20th century, differentiation between male and female sexuality was embraced, and individual variation between women became commonly known for the first time. As part of this historical shift, sexual desire became an integral part of the sexual experience (Basson, 2000). Most research on female sexual desire focuses on low desire and diagnosable conditions, but, among researchers, there is a growing consensus for additional focus into the roots of female …

Front Matter

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Religion Into Therapy To Better Treat Depression, Jacob Tubbs

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common treatment option for depression. Often, CBT is only effective at masking the symptoms of depression without helping the person overcome depression altogether; thus, it may benefit CBT patients if alternative therapies are combined with CBT. Incorporating the patient’s religion into therapy is an alternative that may help many people. A large percentage of Americans are still religious or spiritual. This literature review discusses methods of building a personalized version of CBT that incorporates the patient’s religion, or religiously integrated CBT (RCBT), and the effects …

Judicious Vulnerability: How Humility, Teachability, And Awareness Impact Teams In Organizational Settings, Mac Strachan

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

In some professions, such as medicine, law enforcement, athletics, and education, maintaining high performance standards while being emotionally stoic often leads to work fatigue and burnout. This state of being can be detrimental to the health of both the professionals and the organization that employs them, bringing into question the necessity of a culture driven by competition and ego. As such, this paper explores the concept of vulnerability as a means to explain cognitive and emotional processes that positively affect relational behavior and organizational culture. Judicious vulnerability sits at the intersection of humility, teachability, and awareness and has the capacity …

Birth Order: Shaping Lives One Sibling At A Time, Savannah Sarvey

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Personality development, and even intelligence, is influenced by family members once a child is brought into the world. The family, especially the siblings, has a notable impact on the child’s development. Siblings provide the first social interactions children have, both positive and negative. Siblings affect the personality and intellectual development of individuals via differences in family responsibilities and changes that arise in the home environment as more children are added to the household. Older siblings will likely have stronger leadership skills because of these responsibilities, and younger children may not receive as many benefits in intellectual abilities because of these …

Socially Prescribed Perfectionism: A Threat To University Students’ Success, Kelsie J. Richards

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) can lead to increased rates of dropout among university students. Perfectionistic expectations can create chronic stress and various negative emotions, which can lead to mental health problems. In addition, students with SPP may feel a strong obligation to pursue higher education and may therefore be less intrinsically motivated to learn, placing more importance on obtaining high grades than on learning. Unfortunately, this prioritization of grades over learning may also increase the risk of cheating among these students. Procrastination of homework and avoidance of situations that can expose their imperfections to others may impact these students’ performance …