Psychology Commons^™

Ptsd Precipitating From Sexual Abuse And Combat War Exposure And Co-Morbid Disorders Of Chronic Pain, Substance Abuse And Immune Systems, Jessica Anzalone

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stress related disorder that some people develop after exposure to a traumatic life altering event. The person must witness the traumatic event, have the traumatic event occur to a loved one, or experience a traumatic event first hand. According to the publication of the American Psychiatric Association, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the diagnostic criteria for the identity of PTSD must include behavioral symptoms that accompany PTSD in four diagnostic clusters; re-experiencing, avoidance, negative cognitions and mood, and arousal (American Psychological Association, 2018). Two …

Silent Singing: Investigating Visual Perceptual Narrowing Of Rhythm From A Developmental Perspective, Gillian Sheehan

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In the field of rhythm perception, research has focused on auditory-perceptual-narrowing with little focus on visual-perceptual-narrowing. The purpose of this study is to determine if the visual system narrows similarly to the auditory system, and if one sense is better at detecting rhythmic differences across cultural boundaries, e.g. Western vs. Non-Western rhythms. Using a within-subjects design participants watched videos of a woman singing the same or different Western and Balkan rhythms. The vocals were removed from the videos, leaving just the movement of the woman’s mouth. Participants watched two videos in a row containing either Western or Balkan rhythms and …

Mindful Phone Use, Gwendolynne Weissinger

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The rapid, global adoption of smartphones is undoubtedly affecting users’ quality of life. Existing research has published mixed findings on whether or not these devices are beneficial or detrimental to users’ well-being. Phone use shifts a user’s focus away from the present moment and towards the device at hand. Mindfulness, or “the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present,” has been shown to improve individual’s well-being through promoting self-awareness that allows for behavior regulation that is congruent with one’s basic needs (Brown & Ryan, 2003). The primary aim of this research was …

Examining Perceptions Of Maternal Support And Pms Symptoms In College Women, Elizabeth Cook

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is categorized by individuals experiencing symptoms, such as bloating, cravings, and emotional dysregulation, beginning one to two weeks before menstruation that interfere with their daily lives. PMS is experienced by much of the female population; specifically, around 40% of women experience moderate to severe PMS symptoms (Ussher, 2003). It has been shown that familial relationships can affect one’s emotional state in a multitude of settings, and a mother-daughter relationship is one of the most important, yet conflictual, relationships in a daughter’s life (Brooks-Gunn & Paikoff, 1997). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of …

Exploring Traditional Sex-Role Stereotypes And Gendered Misconceptions In Intimate Partner Violence, Hannah J. Frey

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an issue that affects millions of people and yet many people in the United States base all that they know about the issue on myths. These myths surrounding IPV (e.g., the victim must have provoked their perpetrator) often lead an individual to blame the victim for what has happened. Previous research has shown that the overwhelming amount of victim blaming that occurs related to these accepted myths is connected to a traditionalist view of sex-role stereotypes (Esqueda & Harrison, 2005). While this connection has been shown through research, the specific role that gendered assumptions about …

Do You Remember? Mock Jurors’ Perceptions Of Elder Maltreatment When The Elder Has Alzheimer’S Disease, Samantha Kameese

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Elder maltreatment is a significant problem in the United States affecting about 10% of older Americans. According to the Stereotype Content Model, elders are seen as warm but lacking competence. This also influences the stereotype that all elders have some sort of cognitive deficit causing the assumptions that an elder may lack certain cognitive abilities and may not be credible enough to provide an accurate abuse claim. The purpose of this study was to examine jurors’ perceptions of elder maltreatment when the elder has a cognitive impairment, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. The approach that was used in this study was an …

An Investigation Into Self-Efficacy And Academically Successful Minority Students Honors Thesis, Julie Clerge

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics have indicated that minority students have the fewest conferred degrees in the United States (Snyder, 2016). A review of the literature has attributed this phenomenon to various factors, including socioeconomic status (Harvey, 2016), parents' education level (Faye Carter, 2006) and lack of cultural congruity with the institution (Edman, 2008; Tierney, 1999; Trueba,1988). Ofcourse, there are minority students who defy the statistics and have achieved academic success. Other research has suggested that self-efficacy may be key to such success. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors are correlated with a …

The Philosopher's Journey: A Chapter In Kindness And Animals, Vaughn E. Sayers

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

We each are presented with a choice; do we remain in the cave of ignorance or embark on the philosopher’s journey. Your choice will determine the way in which you interpret this paper. However, I will confidently make the assumption that you, like myself, desire to embrace an existence guided by the light of wisdom. This thesis is one of many chapters in the philosopher’s journey, dealing with animals and (cutting through the jargon) kindness. I have found that a lot of scholarship on animal ethics acknowledges a truth, but does not acknowledge that the application of such a truth …

Psychological And Demographic Differences Of Bdsm Practitioners, Sabrina Jefferson

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study was to gain more information about demographic and psychological differences between the bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism (BDSM) population and the general population. BDSM has become more prominent in the knowledge of the general population with the notoriety of E.L. James’ book series 50 Shades of Grey, but even with the new prominence of BDSM in American households, there is a lack of knowledge about BDSM practitioners among psychotherapists. In this study, data was gathered from a sample of BDSM practitioners and a general population sample on a variety of demographic and psychological variables. Independent samples …

Behavioral Factors Related To Weight Change In A Health Promotion And Weight Control Intervention, Bethany M. Hartsell

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study explored whether body weight was affected by certain lifestyle behaviors and if these behaviors were affected by a brief, self-directed weight control intervention. The behavioral factors assessed in this study included: meal regularity, fast-food eating, television viewing and eating/sedentary time, dietary modifications (e.g., portion control, reducing fat intake), self-monitoring (tracking diet and exercise), self-weighing, and physical activity. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention groups or a minimal contact control group. The intervention groups completed a 1-hour education session at baseline and received bi-weekly emails. Participants completed online questionnaires at baseline and 3 months, and body measurement sessions at …

Personality And Stress: Understanding The Roles Of Extraversion And Neuroticism In Social Stress Scenarios, Synthia Knapp

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to increase knowledge regarding personality and stress, with a focus on ambiverts, by investigating potential non-linear relationships and overall relationships between extraversion and stress levels, and neuroticism and stress levels. Two hundred thirty­-eight participants completed an online survey through SONA, consisting of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Social Stress Scenarios (SSS), the Big Five Aspects Scale (BF AS), and the Open Extended Jungian Type Scales 1.2 (OEJTS). In general, those lower in extraversion and those higher in neuroticism were found to have higher perceived stress levels. Both aspects of extraversion-enthusiasm and assertiveness-were negatively related …

Stereotypes And Evaluations Of People Who Are D/Deaf, Mary Wood

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

D/deaf individuals face discrimination in their daily lives, impacting their access to language, education, and life satisfaction. While there has been research about some of the stereotypes held about those who are D/deaf, the relationship between those stereotypes and prejudice and discrimination has not been explored, to my knowledge. Additionally, how D/deaf individuals are categorized has not been examined, to my knowledge. Understanding whether the hearing majority holds a distinct cognitive schema for those who are D/deaf or consider D/deaf people within a larger group of disabled people will help in creating anti-bias interventions. For example, if hearing people have …

Self-Compassion And Personality: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Big Five Personality, Moral Reasoning, And Values, Kaylee Sisneros

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

Self-compassion is a relatively new construct in the psychological literature, and it is comprised of practicing self-kindness, recognizing our common humanity, and being mindful of one’s emotions. Previous research has found that individuals higher in self-compassion benefit from greater psychological well-being, less anxiety and depression, and greater clarity about their own strengths and limitations relative to those lower in self-compassion. While this construct has been investigated primarily in clinical and mental health contexts, few studies have evaluated its associations with certain aspects of personality, morals, and values. In the present research, we examined cross-sectional associations between the Self-Compassion Scale, the …

The Persistence Of An Anti-Stereotyping Intervention, Kristan Palermo

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research demonstrates that Black people are more likely to be mistakenly shot in experimental computer programs when posing no threat (Correll, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2002; Greenwald, Oakes, & Hoffman, 2003). Additionally, when primed with a Black face, participants recognize guns faster, and are more likely to mistake a harmless object (e.g. tool) for a gun (Judd et al., 2004; Payne 2001;2006). This may be related to stereotyping of Black people as aggressive, dangerous, threatening, and criminal (Correll, Park, Judd, Wittenbrink, Sadler, & Keesee, 2007; Devine & Elliot, 1995; Hugenberg & Bodenhausen, 2003; Payne, 2001). The link between weapons and …

I Like, Therefore I Am: Increasing Associations Between The Self And Blacks With Evaluative Training, Danielle Rose Krusemark

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

My research investigated the effectiveness of a prejudice reduction method in which participants are trained to associate positive or negative concepts with a target group. By training participants to associate positive concepts with a social group such as Blacks, this technique may be used to reduce participants’ implicit prejudice toward that group (Olson & Fazio, 2006). I examined the effectiveness and limitations of an evaluative training technique by investigating how training in associating positive concepts with Blacks would influence identification and potential individual difference moderators of the impact of evaluative training on prejudice reduction and identification. Two hundred and eighty-four …

Can Persuasion Research Increase Commitment To Breastfeeding? A Test Of Women's Resistance To Pro Infant-Formula Messages, Jessica M. Parks

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

William McGuire’s Attitude Inoculation Theory (AIT) predicts that the act of warning women that they may be exposed to attempts to change their attitudes can “inoculate” them against persuasion. The warning can be compared to a weakened virus when it enters the body. In response to the threat or “virus” people will strengthen their attitudes. After a short delay the participant is introduced to the message and their resistance to this message is evaluated. The purpose of this study was to analyze women’s attitudes towards infant feeding by utilizing the inoculation theory. Overall, we found that the inoculation had no …

Death By Religion? Individual Differences In Attitudes About Capital Punishment, Heather Johnston

UNF Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is evidence that a relationship between religiosity (intrinsic, extrinsic, indiscriminately pro-religious or indiscriminately anti-religious orientation toward one’s religious beliefs) and differences in attitudes about life and death social issues exists. Mainstream religions (e.g., Catholic and Protestant) have officially stated opposition to capital punishment while most individuals who are part of these mainstream religions favor capital punishment. In this study, 150 college students completed two different measures of religiosity and one measure of attitudes about capital punishment. Participant’s scores on two measures of religiosity were predictive of attitudes toward capital punishment. Intrinsically oriented individuals indicated more than extrinsically oriented individuals …

Acceptance Of Technological Change: Do Age, Expertise And Self-Efficacy Matter?, Cheryl Fernandez

Student Work

This study was designed to examine the acceptance of change by employees of different ages, in different contexts. This study challenged the stereotypes held against older individuals by proposing that factors other than age contribute to the acceptance of changes. It examined two context-specific variables, self-efficacy and expertise which contribute to acceptance of technological changes. The findings indicated that older individuals with computer experience had higher self-efficacy. On the other hand, younger individuals had higher self-efficacy, regardless of computer experience. Also, individuals who felt younger than they actually were had higher self-efficacy when they had experience with computers, compared to …

The Effect Of Values, Conscientiousness, And Self-Efficacy On Ethical Decision-Making, Marcy Young

Student Work

This research explores the roles that values, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy play in ethical decision-making. Although previous research has shown that values affect ethical decision-making, few researchers have evaluated the effect that conscientiousness has on ethical decision-making. Research has evaluated the effect that self-efficacy has on ethical decision-making, but a relationship has not been found. The current study hypothesizes that individuals high in self-transcendence values will make more ethical decisions than individuals high in self-enhancement values. Also, individuals high in conscientiousness are expected to make more ethical decisions than individuals low in conscientiousness. Third, individuals high in self-efficacy are expected to …

Play Assessment: The Effects Of Peer Interaction On Children's Cognitive Capabilities., Korrinda Mendez

Student Work

Play Assessment (PA) has recently gained the attention of researchers as a potential valid assessment tool for determining the cognitive capabilities in younger children. O f particular importance is the use o f PA among various contexts. Specifically, PA can provide insight into the types of contextual situations that promote higher levels of cognitive skills in younger children. The present study explored peer interactions as a contextual aspect of PA using the PACSS empirical coding scheme to determine the highest level of play behavior. According to the present study, results did not yield any significant differences in overall cognitive play …

Emotional Intelligence As A Moderator Of Problem Based Arousal On Solution Quality And Quantity, Anne E. Herman

Student Work

The study examined the interactive influence o f the affective qualities of a problem and a problem solver’s emotional intelligence (El), an individual difference in the ability to perceive, express, integrate, understand, and regulate emotion, on the quality and quantity of solutions generated to two different ill-structured problems. The general hypothesis was that emotional intelligence would moderate the effect of the negative emotional arousal of a problem controlling for the influence of cognitive intelligence, such that the discrepancy between those higher and lower in emotional intelligence would be greater for the problem which is high in emotional arousal than for …

Fears And The Presence Of Imaginary Companions And Personified Objects In Preschool Children, Jill R. Ramet

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between a pre-school child’s fears and the child’s use of an imaginary companion or personified object. Preschool-aged children (36 To 74 months) were interviewed using a revised version o f the FSSC-R fear scale, and an imaginary companion questionnaire. Parents were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire. Data analyses revealed that children who did not have an imaginary companion or a personified object had an absolute higher total fear score than children who had this type o f figure, although this difference was not significant. Children with the lowest absolute …

The Relationships Between Biodata And Personality: How Different Is Different?, Lindsay A. Bousman

Student Work

The relationships between personality measures and biodata measures were examined using a measure of the Big Five Factors of personality, and a newly created biodata measure. Each measure was used to predict academic achievement and job satisfaction. The biodata measure was created to mimic a factor structure similar to the five factors of personality, to allow a better comparison of the two measures. However, the biodata items were original (with combinations of previously used original items), and were developed for use in this study. Biodata items are typically multiple-choice, situational, and historical in nature, whereas personality items are typically based …

Interpersonal Forgiveness In Elementary School-Aged Children, Susan M. Goss

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to extend the adolescent and adult research and assess how forgiveness develops in elementary school-aged children. Sixty-three children aged 7 to 12 reported how willing they would be to forgive three types of transgressions (emotional, physical, and property) involving an accidental or deliberate act, with or without an apology, and of either low or high severity. In addition, empathy, prosocial behavior, and religiosity were measured. Age, empathy, prosocial behavior, and religiosity were not related to willingness to forgive as had been expected. However, gender differences were found, with boys reporting a greater willingness to …

The Effects Of Expertise And Information Relevance On Information Search Strategy., Jason Lebsack

Student Work

Differences between experts and novices have been the focus of a variety of studies throughout the psychological literature. In general, task outcome differences have been found between experts and novices, but further study is needed to understand the mechanism for explaining these outcome differences. This study investigated taskprocessing differences between experts and novices, specifically, the use of relevant and irrelevant information. Forty human resource professionals served as experts and 40 undergraduate students served as novices in this study. Participants made two hiring decisions. Using an information board format, participants examined eight attributes across six candidates for the job of museum …

The Moderating Role Of Trust On The Relationship Between Ingratiatory Communication Strategies And Interactional Fairness, Erik Drafsten

Student Work

Previous research has shown that when perceptions of both procedural justice and distributive justice are low, increasing perceptions of interactional fairness can serve to reduce negative consequences that an organization may face, including subtle forms of retaliation, or what are known as organizational retaliatory behaviors (ORB). In an organizational setting personal attempts to improve perceptions of interactional fairness, under conditions of low distributive and procedural justice, can take on ingratiatory-like qualities when the source attempting to boost these perceptions of interactional fairness uses flattery, expresses excessive empathy, or excessive sympathy. Research has shown that ingratiatory actions such as these become …

The Impact Of Communication Medium And Outcome Severity On The Effectiveness Of Social Accounts, Peter D. Timmerman

Student Work

The present study was designed as a partial test of the model of social accounts by Folger and Cropanzano (1998). Organizational justice researchers have shown that social accounts are effective in reducing negative reactions and displacing blame from the decision-maker following a harmful decision. Using a 2 x 3 completely randomized design, the study examined the effects of outcome severity and media choice on four types of fairness perceptions, medium appropriateness, anger, and turnover intentions. A temporary pay cut scenario was used to manipulate two levels of outcome severity, and the company president provided an explanation of the pay cut …

Making Organizational Punishment Work: The Effects Of Social Accounts And Punishment Severity, Andrew L. Noon

Student Work

Punishment continues to be used by organizations as one method to eliminate unwanted employee behaviors. Bennett (1998) argued that managers must be aware of two aspects of the punishment situation: (a) the punishment intensity and (b) the negative consequences of the punishment. Previous research indicates that strong punishments are most effective at changing unwanted behaviors, but strong punishments are also more prone to producing negative attitudes in the punished individual. One way managers may be able to reduce the negative impact of punishment is by using explanations regarding the need for punishment. These explanations are called social accounts. Not all …

Interpersonal Forgiveness In Adolescent Friendships, Molly A. Wernli

Student Work

The purpose of the present study was to investigate interpersonal forgiveness in the context of adolescent friendships. The following factors were examined in relation to an adolescent’s forgiveness of a transgressing friend: a) religiosity, b) commitment, c) relationship closeness, d) empathy, e) apologies, and f) transgression severity. A total of 161 students (66 males, 95 females) from grades 7,9, and 11 (12- to 18-years of age) participated. Transgression severity was found to have the most influence on forgiveness, accounting for 70% of the variance. Adolescents were more forgiving after low-severity transgressions than high-severity transgressions. The presence of apology had a …

Characteristics And Qualities That Are Important To Middle School-Aged Students In Choosing Friends, Kristin R. Honaker-Carter

Student Work

This study investigates the characteristics that are important to middle school students when they choose their friends. The subjects for this research study are seventh, eighth, and ninth graders with ages ranging from 11-15 years old.

The population surveyed was limited to 47 middle-school aged children whose parents responded to a flyer posted in one of two college universities. The study design was a 14-question value survey using a Likert scale. The questions relate to the importance of various characteristics in choosing friends. The survey also included demographic questions pertaining to the subject’s gender, grade level, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and …