Psychology Commons^™

Predicting The Readability Of Transparent Text, Lauren F. V. Scharff, Albert J. Ahumada Jr.

Faculty Publications

Will a simple global masking model based on image detection be successful at predicting the readability of transparent text? Text readability was measured for two types of transparent text: additive (as occurs in head-up displays) and multiplicative (which occurs in see-through liquid crystal display virtual reality displays). Text contrast and background texture were manipulated. Data from two previous experiments were also included (one using very low contrasts on plain backgrounds, and the other using higher-contrast opaque text on both plain and textured backgrounds). All variables influenced readability in at least an interactive manner. When there were background textures, the global …

Substance Or Style? An Investigation Of The Neo-Pi-R Validity Scales, Leslie C. Morey, Brian D. Quigley, Charles A. Sanislow, Andrew E. Skodol, Thomas H. Mcglashan, M. Tracie Shea, Robert L. Stout, Mary C. Zanarini, John G. Gunderson

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992b) has been criticized for the absence of validity scales designed to detect response distortion. Recently, validity scales were developed from the items of the NEO-PI-R (Schinka, Kinder, & Kremer, 1997) and several studies have used a variety of methods to test their use. However, it is controversial whether these scales are measuring something that is substantive (such as psychopathology or its absence) or stylistic (which might be effortful distortion or less conscious processes such as lack of insight). In this study, we used a multimethod-multitrait approach to examine the validity …

Medical Students' Personality Characteristics And Academic Performance: A Five-Factor Model Perspective, Filip Lievens, Pol Coetsier, Filip De Fruyt, Jan De Maeseneer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Objectives: This study investigates: (1) which personality traits are typical of medical students as compared to other students, and (2) which personality traits predict medical student performance in pre-clinical years. Design: This paper reports a cross-sectional inventory study of students in nine academic majors and a prospective longitudinal study of one cohort of medical students assessed by inventory during their first pre-clinical year and by university examination at the end of each pre-clinical year. Subjects and methods: In 1997, a combined total of 785 students entered medical studies courses in five Flemish universities. Of these, 631 (80.4%) completed the NEO-PI-R …

Trends. Fantasies, Death, And Violence, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article examines violence and death in the context of the goals of international health organizations.

The Influence Of Warning Label Presentation In Memory Recognition Of Aging Adults, Brian J. Call

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Research indicates that hundreds of thousands of people are injured each year as a result of poor communication between medical personnel, warning label information, and consumers when taking over the counter or prescription medication. Typically, as adult's age, they are increasingly responsible for remembering the hazards of taking medications. If inadequate information exists in memory in regards to side effects, dosage, and other warnings, the likelihood of improper usage will increase. Because aging adults typically have a reduction in cognitive resources, it was hypothesized that older adults would require the aid of additional warning information to assist in the retrieval …

Training And Performance Self-Efficacy, Affect, And Performance In Wheelchair Road Racers, Jeffrey J. Martin

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

In the current study, social cognitive theory was examined with athletes with disabilities. More specifically, hierarchical and self-regulatory performance self-efficacy, self-regulatory training self-efficacy, outcome confidence, and affect were examined with wheelchair road racers (N = 51). In accordance with social cognitive theory, moderate to strong significant relationships among 3 types of self-efficacy and outcome confidence were found (rs = .41 - .78). All forms of self-efficacy and positive affect (rs = .39 - .56) were also related providing additional support to social cognitive theory and the important relationships among training and performance related efficacy and affect in …

Friendship Quality In Youth Disability Sport: Perceptions Of A Best Friend, Jeffrey J. Martin, Kerry Smith

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine friendship quality with a best friend in youth disability sport with an international sample of moderately experienced athletes with disabilities ages 9 to 18 years. Participants were 85 males and 65 females from four countries who competed in track and field and swimming. Data were collected with the Sport Friendship Quality Scale (Weiss & Smith, 1999). An exploratory factor analyses indicated that participants viewed their friendship quality with a best friend in disability sport as having both positive and negative dimensions. The latter focused exclusively on conflict experiences. Females reported stronger …

Recruitment Of Engaged Couples For Premarital Counseling: An Empirical Examination Of The Importance Of Program Characteristics And Topics To Potential Participants, Kieran T. Sullivan, Carmen Anderson

Psychology

The recent emphasis on prevention in helping couples to avoid marital distress may be limited by lack of participation in prevention programs by engaged couples. The purpose of this study is to understand what potential participants perceive are attractive characteristics in premarital prevention approaches. Eighty-six engaged couples completed questionnaires assessing demographics, personality and the relative importance of premarital program characteristics. The results indicate that leader characteristics, content, and topics such as communication, finances, and problem-solving are the most important elements of premarital counseling to couples. Differences based on gender and risk level are reported. Suggestions are made for more effective …

Revisiting The Picture-Superiority Effect In Symbolic Comparisons: Do Pictures Provide Privileged Access?, Paul Amrhein, Mark Mcdaniel, Paula Waddill

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In 4 experiments, symbolic comparisons were investigated to test semantic-memory retrieval accounts espousing processing advantages for the picture over word stimuli. In Experiment 1, participants judged pairs of animal names or pictures by responding to questions probing concrete or abstract attributes (texture or size, ferocity or intelligence). Per pair, attributes were salient or nonsalient concerning their prerated relevance to animals being compared. Distance (near or far) between attribute magnitudes was also varied. Pictures did not significantly speed responding relative to words across all other variables. Advantages were found for far attribute magnitudes (i.e., the distance effect) and salient attributes. The …

Children's Form Of The Competitive State Anxiety For Children (The Csai-2c), Robert E. Stadulis, Mary J. Maccracken

Dr. Mary J. MacCracken

Public Displays Of Affection With Relation To Comfort Levels And Culture, Janice R. T. Bryden

Student Dissertations & Theses

To determine the tolerance levels of public displays of affection between males, females, Hispanics, and White Non-Hispanics (Whites), a total of 152 participants completed the Attitudes Toward Public Displays of Affection Inventory. While the hypothesis that males would be significantly more tolerant than females of observing public displays of affection was statistically supported for certain settings and certain levels of affection, overall, results may not be clinically meaningful. The second hypothesis, that there would be a significant difference between Hispanics and Whites and their tolerance levels for watching public displays of affection, was not supported. Overall trends indicate passionately kissing …

Comparative Perceived Breast Cancer Risk Before And After An Intervention, Constance F. Welebir

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Breast cancer screening has the potential of early detection, more effective treatment, and possible arrest of certain breast cancers, yet many women do not adhere to screening guidelines. With research showing that people use social comparison while making risk judgments, often holding optimistically biased beliefs about their health, women who maintain an optimism bias about their breast cancer risk may not practice routine breast cancer surveillance. Therefore, effective interventions designed to inform women of their breast cancer risks and to encourage adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines are necessary. This study investigated the role that social comparison plays in risk …

Traumatic Exposure And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Borderline, Schizotypal, Avoidant, And Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders: Findings From The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study, Shirley Yen, M. Tracie Shea, Cynthia L. Battle, Dawn M. Johnson, Caron Zlotnick, Regina Dolan-Sewell, Andrew E. Skodol, Carlos M. Grilo, John G. Gunderson, Charles A. Sanislow, Mary C. Zanarini, Donna S. Bender, Jennifer B. Rettew, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

The association between trauma and personality disorders (PDs), while receiving much attention and debate, has not been comprehensively examined for multiple types of trauma and PDs. The authors examined data from a multisite study of four PD groups: schizotypal, borderline (BPD), avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive, and a major depression comparison group. Rates of traumatic exposure to specific types of trauma, age of first trauma onset, and rates of posttraumatic stress disorder are compared. Results indicate that BPD participants reported the highest rate of traumatic exposure (particularly to sexual traumas, including childhood sexual abuse), the highest rate of posttraumatic stress disorder, and …

Co-Occurrence Of Dsm-Iv Personality Disorders With Borderline Personality Disorder, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Update - July 2002, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- Having Enough Faith Not To Be Healed
-- Theological Warrants for Palliative Care
-- Congratulations (master program graduates)

Pain Experienced By Patients During Periodontal Recall Treatment, Thu-Diem Chung

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The aims of this study were to determine; 1) the degree of pain experienced by patients during probing and debridement; 2) if the treating hygienists could estimate the degree of pain experienced by the patients; and 3) if the patients' pain responses could be predicted by factors such as the patients' age, gender, number of residual periodontal lesions, and the patients' answers to a questionnaire on dental anxiety.

Prior to the maintenance procedures, 2 groups of 20 adult patients to be treated by 2 hygienists completed an anxiety questionnaire. Subsequently, measurements of probing depths were performed, followed by pain ratings …

Truth Serum And Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes several epistemological--as opposed to ethical and moral--anxieties in administering drugs to individuals for the purpose of securing truths supporting the United States Government (USG)-declared war against terrorism with global research.

Distributive Justice And Punishment In Team Sports, David Bucur

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Distributive justice outcomes of punishment in an intercollegiate team sport setting were investigated. Male intercollegiate athletes (#=148) participating in the NAIA National Soccer Championship Tournament responded to one of eight scenarios and reported perceived fairness to player, fairness to teammates, deterrence to future player misconduct, and deterrence to future teammate misconduct. The results indicated that athletes perceive consistent distribution of punishment as more fair than conditional distribution of punishment; consistently distributed punishment is perceived to be more likely to deter future misconduct than conditional punishment; punishment, in general, is perceived as more fair when the violation committed is severe as …

A Sampling Of Athletes Attitudes Toward Alcohol And Drug Use In College And Professional Athletes, Gregory A. Andis

Student Dissertations & Theses

Athletes of today are looking for every advantage over the competition, often subjecting themselves to harmful drugs. The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of athletes concerning drug use. Subjects for the study were 71 athletes acquired from the local college, university and professional hockey team. A Modified Tricker/Cook Drug Attitude Survey was used to compare each athlete’s response to the other respondents by looking at each of the following categories, sport, country, ethnicity, age, gender, level of education and level of activity. The survey was administered and results were calculated. Results showed that athletes sport, country, …

A Study Of The Relationships Among Secondary Traumatic Stress, Coping, And Years Of Service In Firefighter/Emergency Medical Service Personnel, Lynne S. Sanders

Faculty Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among stress, coping, and years of service in rescue personnel. One hundred sixteen voluntary subjects employed in Fire/EMS service in a small southern city participated in the study. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, The Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), and The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS).

The incidence of symptomatic stress for the sample was 19.8 percent, higher than the general population but comparable to rates found in other studies of rescue workers. Calls involving children were rated as most disturbing by the subjects. There was no relationship found between years …

Affective Development Of Battered Women Subsequent To Leaving Abusive Partner, Cheryl Harrah

Student Dissertations & Theses

The present study consisted of semi-structured interviews of formerly battered women who have been out of the relationship for at least one year. The interviews focused on the women’s narratives concerning their experience leaving the relationship and were coded for affect using an Emotional Adjective Checklist. A total of 10 women were recruited from the campus of The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. While each story was unique, a pattern did emerge whereby the women expressed feelings of fear and relief, followed by depression, numbness, and resolve to survive. Long term emotional consequences of the abuse that persisted …

The Need For Trauma: A Terrophilic Consequence Of 9/11, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article addresses the response of many United States (US) professional mental health authorities to the terrorist attacks within the US of September 11, 2001.

Context Effects In Visual Length Perception: Role Of Ocular, Retinal, And Spatial Location, Yoav Arieh, Lawrence E. Marks

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In three experiments, we examined the transfer of orientation-contingent context effects between the eyes and across portions of the retina with or without variation in external spatial location. Previous research had shown that vertical lines are judged long, relative to horizontal lines, when the stimulus set comprises relatively long horizontals and short verticals (Contextual Condition B), as compared with the reverse when the stimulus set comprises relatively short horizontals and long verticals (Contextual Condition A). Consequently, the contextual set of stimuli influences the magnitude of the horizontal-vertical illusion (HVI), decreasing its size under Contextual Condition A and increasing its size …

Relationships Between A Quaternary Model Of Psychological Type Processes And Defense Mechanism Clusters, Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationships between two psychological type dimensions (Extraversion-Introversion and Thinking-Feeling) and defense mechanism preferences. Psychological Type Theory was used as a conceptual framework for the generation of hypotheses. Specific hypotheses between the two psychological type dimensions and defense mechanism preferences were tested. Further, Extraversion-Introversion and Thinking-Feeling were combined, resulting in the formation of a quaternary personality model consisting of four groups (Introverted Thinking, Introverted Feeling, Extraverted Thinking, and Extraverted Feeling). Hypotheses that certain quaternary groups would display specific relationships with defense mechanism preferences were tested. To test hypotheses, 223 university students were administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator …

Psychosocial Correlates Of Physical Activity And Sedentary Leisure Habits In Young Adolescents: The Teens Eating For Energy And Nutrition At School Study, Amanda Birnbaum, Kathryn H. Schmitz, Leslie Lytle, Glenn A. Phillips, David M. Murray, Martha Y. Kubik

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

BACKGROUND: Low levels of physical activity (PA) and highly sedentary leisure habits (SLH) in youth may establish behavioral patterns that will predispose youth to increased chronic disease risk in adulthood. The purpose of this paper was to examine associations of demographic and psychosocial factors with self-reported PA and SLH in young adolescents. METHODS: A general linear mixed model predicted self-reported PA and SLH in the spring from demographic and psychosocial variables measured the previous fall in 3798 seventh grade students. RESULTS: PA and SLH differed by race, with Caucasian students reporting among the highest PA and lowest SLH. Perceptions of …

Functional Impairment In Patients With Schizotypal, Borderline, Avoidant, And Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Ingrid R. Dyck, Robert L. Stout, Donna S. Bender, Carlos M. Grilo, M. Tracie Shea, Mary C. Zanarini, Leslie C. Morey, Charles A. Sanislow, John M. Oldham

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare psychosocial functioning in patients with schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and patients with major depressive disorder and no personality disorder.

Method: Patients (N=668) were recruited by the four clinical sites of the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The carefully diagnosed study groups were compared on an array of domains of psychosocial functioning, as measured by the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation—Baseline Version and the Social Adjustment Scale.

Results: Patients with schizotypal personality disorder and borderline personality disorder were found to have significantly more impairment at work, in social relationships, and …

Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Dsm-Iv Criteria For Borderline Personality Disorder: Findings From The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Leslie C. Morey, Donna S. Bender, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, M. Tracie Shea, Robert L. Stout, Mary C. Zanarini, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: This study tested the factor structure of the DSM-IV criteria for borderline personality disorder by using confirmatory methods for the analysis of covariance structures in a large group from a multisite study.

Method: A total of 668 primarily treatment-seeking subjects were reliably assessed for personality disorders by using the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. Associations among criteria for borderline personality disorder were examined. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test diagnosis as a unitary construct and to test an earlier-reported three-factor model comprising disturbed relatedness, behavioral dysregulation, and affective dysregulation. The three-factor model was subsequently tested by …

Cognitive And Somatic Item Response Pattern Of Orofacial Pain Patients Compared To Fibromyalgia Patients And A Non-Pain Control Group, Morten Hadsel

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Previous work has suggested that chronic pain patients report psychological distress through higher endorsement of somatic rather than cognitive signs of anxiety and depression. The present study compared female Non-Pain (11=52), Orofacial Pain (n=3 17) and Fibromyalgia (n=50) groups. on SCL-90-R Somatization, Anxiety and Depression raw scores and cognitive-somatic symptom patterning of the Anxiety and Depression scales. Comparisons were also made amongst orofacial pain diagnostic subgroups and subgroups based on Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) classification groups. The Somatization. Anxiety and Depression scores were higher in the OroFacial Pain and Fibromyalgia than Non-Pain group and higher in the Dysfunctional than Adaptive …

Graduate Bulletin, 2002-2004 (2002), Minnesota State University Moorhead

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

Response Decision Processes And Externalizing Behavior Problems In Adolescents, Reid Griffith Fontaine, Virginia Salzer Burks, Kenneth A. Dodge

Reid G. Fontaine

Externalizing behavior problems of 124 adolescents were assessed across Grades 7–11. In Grade 9, participants were also assessed across social-cognitive domains after imagining themselves as the object of provocations portrayed in six videotaped vignettes. Participants responded to vignette-based questions representing multiple processes of the response decision step of social information processing. Phase 1 of our investigation supported a two-factor model of the response evaluation process of response decision (response valuation and outcome expectancy). Phase 2 showed significant relations between the set of these response decision processes, as well as response selection, measured in Grade 9 and (a) externalizing behavior in …