Psychology Commons^™

Peer Support For Consumers With Psychosis, Elizabeth Ann Cook

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purposes of this project were: 1) to collaboratively adapt an existing cognitive-behavioral intervention for consumers with serious mental illness (SMI) so that it could be provided by peers, and 2) to evaluate the feasibility of the resulting group intervention and perform a preliminary analysis of its effectiveness. Focus groups consisting of 7 consumers with SMI and 9 peer providers assisted in the determination of group content and structure. Results from the focus groups suggested significant overlap between topics covered and educational strategies utilized in traditional psychosocial interventions and preferences for the peer-based group. However, participants expressed a preference for …

Jurors’ Subjective Certainty And Standards Of Proof: The Role Of Emotion And Severity Of Charge In Subjective Probability Judgment, Yimoon Choi

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recent empirical research suggests that jurors struggle to understand and correctly apply the standard of proof. Many researchers have focused on methods to re-write jury instructions so that standards of proof are clearer and easier for jurors to understand. This dissertation suggests the fundamental cause of jurors’ confusion concerning standards of proof is that jurors may use different decision processes (intuitive decision processing or systematic decision processing) and decision indices (objective probabilistic judgment or subjective confidence) depending upon their transient emotions or the seriousness of charge.

Study 1 assessed whether experiencing particular emotions (sadness or anger) could change mock jurors’ …

Sexual Victimization History And Visual Attentional Bias For Emotional Pictures In College Women, Renu A. Thomas

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Various traumatic experiences and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with biased attention toward trauma-related information. However, few studies have exclusively investigated such biases in sexual victimization survivors or identified factors that influence this relationship between sexual victimization and biased attention. Using eyetracking methodology, the current study attempts to delineate attentional patterns in sexually victimized and non-victimized undergraduate women, using viewing of different emotional picture pairs. This study also aims to assess the impact of PTSD symptomatology on the relationship between sexual victimization and greater attentional bias. Finally, the study explores changes in attention toward trauma-related stimuli among survivors by …

Depression And Diabetes Comorbidity: Psychotherapy Treatment Preferences Among A Predominantly Mexican Sample Of Primary Care Patients With Diabetes., Maria José Herrera

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Depression and diabetes are highly comorbid problems yet their conjoint treatment, particularly the use of evidence based psychological treatments among diabetics, warrants further research. Specifically, little is known about the treatment of depression among diabetic Latinos, one of the fastest growing populations with comorbid depression and diabetes. Because of this scarce research among Latino diabetics, the present study aims to test whether educating Latino diabetics about treatment options for depression would differentiate their choice of one treatment over the other. Secondary aims were to investigate the degree to which cultural, depression, and diabetic factors differentiated treatment choice. Thirty two participants …

Targeted Threats: An Examination Of Thematic Content And Approach Behavior Displayed By Mentally Ill And Non-Mentally Ill Contactors, Charles D. Darrow

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Threat assessment involves a set of investigative and operational techniques used to identify, assess, and manage the risks of targeted violence and other problematic approach behavior. The threat assessment approach continues to be refined through empirical research conducted in an effort to identify and better understand the risk factors for engaging in such behaviors, which accounts for the transition to a more dynamic evaluative process. Pertinent is the examination of thematic content utilized by subjects who engage in threatening behavior toward identifiable victims. In targeted threat assessment, thematic content examination involves the analyses of what the threatening individual is saying …

The Role Of Emotion In Environmental Decision Making, Hannah Dietrich

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Given the environmental concerns of our planet, it is imperative to consider issues of environmental sustainability. Researchers argue that the most serious environmental problems are not merely issues of science, but that of individual behavior. Solutions, therefore, must consider the role of the individual—how one can change his/her behaviors to be more environmentally conscious. The experience of negative or positive emotions, may impact not only people’s experiences with the environment, but also their tendency to engage in pro-environmental behavior. The present study sought to experimentally investigate the role of emotion and information on pro-environmental behavior change. Results indicate that neither …

Toughness Predicts Performance In College Football, Joseph B. Rigoni

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A premium college football player is estimated to generate over $1 million for his program, so optimal player assessment and selection are paramount. Lean body mass, back squat, and vertical jump have been the most predictive physical test scores, but such metrics typically account for less than 10% of variance in football performance. NFL scouts have tended to rely on vertical jump, 40-yard dash, and 20-yard shuttle scores, but interestingly, reliance on none of the physical tests conducted at the NFL Combine was predictive of team success; in fact, teams that relied on fewer total physical test scores tended to …

Social Affiliation: A Model Of Anxious Avoidance In Women, Milena Stoyanova

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is substantial evidence demonstrating that women experience greater anxiety and fear compared to men. However, our understanding of specific factors accounting for women’s greater vulnerability remains rather limited. Taylor and colleagues (2000) proposed that women may have a different biobehavioral response to stress, which has evolved to protect and nurture offspring. The tend-and-befriend model provides new opportunities to explore underlying processes that may contribute to women’s greater anxiety and fear.

The present study examined women’s stress response combined with the absence of positive social contact as it relates to the presentation of fear and anxiety. One hundred and seven …

Pathways To Social Functioning Via Emotion Regulation In People With Serious Mental Illness, Hayden C. Bottoms

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recent research on social cognitive deficits associated with serious mental illness (SMI) has demonstrated a range of emotion processing difficulties, from emotion perception to emotion regulation. Whereas emotion perception deficits are well documented in this population, little is understood about emotion regulation and the relationship of emotion regulation to other abilities and impairments.

Method. Participants included 41 individuals with SMI recruited from a day rehabilitation program. Assessments included a range of functional domains, including symptom severity, neurocognition, social cognition, emotion regulation, and social functioning.

Results. Emotion dysregulation was hypothesized to be associated with more severe positive symptoms, poorer neurocognitive …

Sex Ratios And Gender Role Perceptions, Elizabeth A. Boger

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research investigated whether altering perceived sex ratios, defined as the number of men per 100 women, influenced gender role perceptions among college students. The specific area of interest within sex ratios was the effect of high versus low sex ratios. Existing work on the topic of sex ratios focused on demographic data.

The focus of these studies was the impact of changing sex ratios on the individual, specifically participants’ perceptions of romance, dating and women’s gender roles. I hypothesized that for high sex ratios, participants would endorse statements of traditional dating and romance schemes, traditional women’s roles, and socially …

Emotional, Social, And Cognitive Correlates Of Stalking And Intrusive Harassment., Allissa Marquez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although stalking has been recognized as social problem for the last twenty years, few studies have examined the treatment needs or effectiveness with these persistent offenders. The dearth of information on appropriate intervention is in part related to the difficulty of operationalizing stalking behavior in empirical studies. Accordingly, the present study sought to examine clinically relevant indicators of functioning using both categorical and continuous definitions of stalking behavior. Two hundred and fifty male prisoners were surveyed about their engagement in intrusive and aggressive behaviors during a significant conflict, as well as their social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Results indicated quantitative …