Other Psychology Commons^™

Behavioral And Eye-Movement Correlates Of Item-Specific And Relational Memory In Autism, Greta Nicole Minor

Theses and Dissertations

Recent work has challenged past findings that documented relational memory impairments in autism. Previous studies have often relied solely on explicit behavioral responses to assess relational memory integrity, but successful performance on behavioral tasks may rely on other cognitive abilities (e.g., executive functioning) that are impaired in some autistic individuals. Eye-tracking tasks do not require explicit behavioral responses, and, further, eye movements provide an indirect measure of memory. The current study examined whether memory-specific viewing patterns toward scenes differ between autistic and non-autistic individuals. Using a long-term memory paradigm that equated for complexity between item and relational memory tasks, participants …

Effects Of Residual Arousal And Cognitive Appraisal On Psychophysiological Reactivity To Stress, Hanna Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Generalized arousal can amplify emotional responses to a range of target stimuli, but it is not yet known whether perceiver characteristics moderate the effects of arousal as target characteristics do. This study investigated the effects of residual arousal from exercise on psychological and physiological reactivity to an active coping task, when individual appraisals of the task differed. Participants who endorsed either a positive or negative attitude toward job interviews underwent either a highly or minimally arousing exercise task, followed by a mock job interview, to which self-reported and cardiovascular responses were assessed. Using the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat …

Behavioral, Physiological, And Molecular Characterization Of Long-Term Administration Of A Novel Estrogen Receptor Beta Agonist In A Mouse Model Of Menopause, Aaron William Fleischer

Theses and Dissertations

The menopausal loss of circulating hormones, including estrogens, is associated with negative symptoms, such as hot flashes, anxiety and depression, cognitive decline, and weight gain. Although estrogenic hormone therapies (HT) prevent many of the negative symptoms related to the menopausal transition, these same therapies are associated with increased health risks, such as the development of breast and ovarian cancers, which is mediated by the activation of the a (ERa), but not b (ERb), estrogen receptor isoform. Furthermore, ERb agonism has previously been shown to reduce preclinical indices of hot flashes, memory decline, anxiety, and depression. As most ERb agonists are …

The Effects Of Long-Term Memory Prioritization On Attention During Visual Search, Joshua Hoelter

Theses and Dissertations

Attention has traditionally been divided into a dichotomy, however mounting evidence suggests a third attention process is at work, one that shows attention capture because of previous experiences with a stimulus, not its physical properties. In line with this, items that have been paired with a rewarding or aversive outcome, items held in working memory, and items incidentally retrieved from long term memory have all been shown to capture attention in an obligatory fashion similar to bottom-up attentional processes. More recent work into how items in working memory capture attention, has demonstrated that items can attain a special status that …

Stereotype Threat: Searching For A Double Dissociation Of Race-Based Effects And An Explanatory Mechanism, Chandler Jae Zolliecoffer

Theses and Dissertations

Stereotype threat (ST) has been established as a leading theory through which investigators have come to understand and account for discrepancies in performance between stereotyped and non-stereotyped groups. ST has been demonstrated to be a plausible explanation for such discrepant performances favoring White over Black respondents in IQ tests and Black over White respondents in tests of athleticism. The present study was designed to address several gaps in the literature. The current study used ex-Gaussian parameters on traditional simple and two-choice reaction time (RT) tasks of mental ‘speed’ in place of ‘power’ measures to address the confound between threat and …

Relationship Between Women's Goals And Pregnancy Risk Behaviors, Sarah Elizabeth Kienzler

Theses and Dissertations

Among adult women, ages of 18 and 24 years old, a high percentage of the pregnancies that occur are unplanned (Finer & Zolna, 2016; Guttmacher Institute, 2016) and unplanned pregnancies have been linked to a greater risk of negative health outcomes for mothers and their infants (Dott, Rasmussen, Hogue, & Reefhuis, 2010; Hellerstedt, Pirie, Lando, Curry, McBride, Grothaus, & Clark Nelson, 1998; Kost, Landry, & Darroch, 1998; Mosher, Jones, & Abma, 2012; Pulley, Klerman, Tang, & Baker, 2002; Sharma, Synkewecz, Raggio, & Mattison, 1994; Weller, Eberstein, & Bailey, 1987). Work among adolescents has found a link between adolescents’ perception of …

Dickkopf-1 Blocks 17Β-Estradiol-Enhanced Object Memory Consolidation In Ovariectomized Female Mice, Lisa Taxier

Theses and Dissertations

The memory-enhancing effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) are dependent upon rapid activation of several cell signaling cascades within the dorsal hippocampus (DH). Among many cell-signaling pathways that mediate memory processes, Wnt/β-catenin signaling has emerged as a potential key player. However, whether E2 interacts with Wnt/β-catenin signaling to promote memory consolidation is unknown. Therefore, the present study examined whether Wnt/β-catenin signaling within the DH is necessary for E2-induced memory consolidation in both object recognition and object placement tasks. Here, ovariectomized mice received immediate post-training infusions of E2 or vehicle into the dorsal third ventricle plus the endogenous Wnt/β-catenin antagonist Dickkopf-1 (Dkk-1) or …

How Does Anxiety Affect Cognitive Control? Proactive And Reactive Control Under State Anxiety, Youcai Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive control is a construct that prioritizes how we process stimuli and information and execute behaviors to flexibly and efficiently adapt to internal goals and external environmental changes. A recent theory, the Dual Mechanism of Control (DMC), distinguishes this phenomenon by two distinct cognitive control operations: proactive control and reactive control (Braver, 2012). Anxiety increases the allocation of attentional and working memory resources to threat-related stimuli, which impairs cognitive performance (Sarason, 1988), but additional work is needed to assess how anxiety impacts these two distinct forms of cognitive control. In this study, I examined how state anxiety affected proactive control, …

Establishing Quality Standards For Applied Behavior Analytic Skill- Acquisition Interventions: A Translational Model With Undergraduate Students, Samantha Cj Bergmann

Theses and Dissertations

Treatment integrity is the extent to which components of an intervention are implemented as intended (Gresham, 1989). Recent behavior-analytic literature has begun to evaluate the effects of impaired treatment integrity on efficacy and efficiency of skill-acquisition interventions. We extended current literature on the effects of errors of omission and commission of reinforcement on the acquisition of conditional discriminations. We used a translational research model to replicate and extend Hirst and DiGennaro Reed (2015) to investigate the effects of impaired treatment integrity with undergraduate students. We compared the efficacy and efficiency of instruction implemented with varying degrees of integrity in a …

An Evaluation Of Parent Preference For Prompting Procedures, Mary Halbur

Theses and Dissertations

Previous researchers have suggested that parent participation in intervention can enhance intervention and promote generalization of skills across settings. Thus, parents should be trained to implement behavioral interventions. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate parent preference for and acceptability of three commonly used prompting procedures. Experimenters trained parents of children with disabilities to use three evidence-based prompting strategies (i.e., least-to-most, most-to-least, and a progressive prompt delay). Once the parent reached the mastery criteria with each prompting procedure, his/her preference for each of the strategies was evaluated using a concurrent-chains arrangement. Additionally, treatment acceptability of all procedures was …

Effects Of The Permutation Of Reinforcement Magnitude On Measures Of Delay Discounting In A Hypothetical Money Scenario, Michael James Harman

Theses and Dissertations

The current study analyzed the extent to which three common permutations of reinforcement magnitude – quantity, volume, and duration – affected the rate at which participants discounted hypothetical monetary rewards. College students served as participants. Hypothetical scenarios were presented using the Hypothetical Money Procedure (Kirby, 1996), and participants self-reported the subjective value of a delayed monetary reward. Conditions presented the monetary choices as (a) quantity of dollar bills, (b) heights (inches) of a stack of dollar bills, and (c) durations of time to spend in a hypothetical cash machine to collect dollar bills. For each condition, participants’ combined subjective values …

Rescuing Age-Related Proteolysis Deficits With Methylene Blue, Shane E. Pullins

Theses and Dissertations

The average lifespan is constantly increasing with the advent of new medical techniques, and age-related cognitive decline is becoming a prevalent societal issue. Even during healthy aging, humans and rats exhibit progressive deficits in episodic/declarative memory. In laboratory rats, age-related memory impairment can be assessed with trace fear conditioning (TFC). Recent research implicates ubiquitin proteasome system-mediated protein degradation in the synaptic plasticity supporting memory formation and retrieval. In rats, aging leads to decreased basal proteolytic activity in brain structures known to support the acquisition and retrieval of trace fear memories, and our preliminary data suggests activity-dependent proteasome activity declines in …

An Assessment Of Treatment Options For Pre-Existing Prompt Dependence In Children With Developmental Disabilities, Ella Gorgan

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has focused on identifying effective strategies to prevent prompt dependence from occurring during the training of novel skills. This has been targeted in a variety of ways, including differential reinforcement, prompt fading, and allowing extended response intervals. Current literature has also indicated that the relative efficacy and efficiency of different prompting procedures may be idiosyncratic across learners, suggesting the potential benefit of an individualized assessment. The purpose of the current study was to extend the literature on prompt dependence by comparing interventions for skills for which four participants with developmental disabilities consistently engaged in correct responses following prompts …

An Evaluation Of Mand And Tact Assessment Procedures, Brittany Ann Leblanc

Theses and Dissertations

There are many empirically validated interventions to establish vocal mands and tacts for children (e.g., Miguel, Carr, & Michael, 2002; Wallace, Iwata, & Hanley, 2006); however, the method for determining the most appropriate intervention for each individual is unclear. An assessment is one way to identify an effective intervention for a given individual. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend Bourret, Vollmer, & Rapp (2004) who evaluated an assessment to inform effective mand interventions for three boys with vocal mand deficits. In the first study, we replicated the full mand assessment as described by Bourret et …

Comparing The Efficacy And Efficiency Of Varying Task Interspersal Ratios, Sophie Claire Knutson

Theses and Dissertations

Task interspersal (TI) is a procedural variation of discrete trial training that has been implemented with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to facilitate the acquisition of novel skills, and may reduce problem behavior during instruction. The literature shows equivocal results regarding the efficiency of TI, but there is limited literature indicating the effects on level of problem behavior. The current study extended the literature on TI by comparing the efficacy and efficiency of varying TI ratios implemented in early intervention practices with children with ASD and related disorders on acquisition and levels problem behavior. The four ratios of mastered …

Social Referent Influences On Hormonal Contraceptive Decisions, Sarah Elizabeth Kienzler

Theses and Dissertations

Despite evidence that social referents could be influencing hormonal contraceptive decisions in adult women, the current research has done little to investigate this area. The purpose of the current work was to begin to identify whether women’s hormonal contraceptive decisions may be influenced by their social referents’ support for hormonal contraceptive use and social referents’ contraceptive behaviors. Sexually active women (n=194), aged 18-34, completed an online survey examining their sources of contraceptive information, feelings towards pregnancy, contraceptive use/preferences, contraceptive knowledge, and medical mistrust. In addition to this, as part of the survey they identified three important women in their lives …

The Role Of G-Protein Coupled Estrogen Receptor (Gper/Gpr30) In Hippocampal Memory And Cell Signaling In Female Mice, Jae Kyoon Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The loss of estrogens at menopause significantly increases a woman's risk of memory loss and Alzheimer's disease because estrogens are essential trophic factors for the hippocampus. However, current hormone replacement therapies are not recommended to reduce age-related memory decline because of their adverse side effects. To develop better hormone replacement therapies, it is essential to understand the mechanisms through which estrogens regulate memory. Our laboratory has demonstrated that the ability of 17β-estradiol (E2) to enhance hippocampal memory depends on the rapid activation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK), which occurs through activation of ERα and ERβ. The G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) …

Parent Training To Implement Three-Step Prompting: A Component Analysis And Generalization Assessment, Melissa Ann Krabbe

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

PARENT TRAINING TO IMPLEMENT THREE-STEP PROMPTING: A COMPONENT ANALYSIS AND GENERALIZATION ASSESSMENT

by

Melissa A. Krabbe

The University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, 2014

Under the Supervision of Professor Jeffrey H. Tiger

Parent training is a necessary component of providing treatment to a child to ensure parents are able to implement procedures in daily life. The current study assessed the components of training (including written instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and performance feedback) needed to achieve integral implementation of three-step prompting and differential reinforcement of compliance with children referred for noncompliance. In addition to the targeted task, we assessed generalization of parent behaviors …

Is Contextual Cue Learning Flexible? An Eye-Movement Study Of The Contextual Cueing Task, Youcai Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Visual searching can be facilitated without awareness when the target is repeatedly presented in an invariant context in tasks such as contextual cueing (Chun & Jiang 1998). A behavioral cost (increased reaction time) was observed when the target was moved to a new location but no such cost was observed when the target returned to the initial location. The lack of cost for return suggests two possible explanations: One is that the learning can update the initial learning to acquire both target locations, which suggests the implicit learning is flexible. The other is that the contextual cue leaning cannot update …

Sexual Arousal's Effect On College Men's Ability To Detect Protest In A Date Rape Analogue, Timothy J. Geier

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the impact of sexual arousal on college men's ability to identify when sexual advances should cease in response to protest depicted in a date-rape audio vignette. Participant arousal level was manipulated via exposure to one of three experimental videos: a neutral control video, a humor control video, or an erotic video clip. Participants provided subjective arousal levels. Participants then listened to an audio recording depicting conversation and mutual sexual activity escalating to rape. Response latency was obtained when participants indicated the male should refrain from making further sexual advances. Participant latency time did not significantly differ by …

Self-Regulation Of Saturated Fat Intake In Blue-Collar Employees: A Randomized Intervention Study, Rameshbabu Anjali

Theses and Dissertations

Blue-collar employees, compared to white-collar workers, are more vulnerable to developing chronic illness and are less likely to make healthy food choices. Saturated fat intake, an indicator of an unhealthy diet, is a major contributor to disease morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Interventions directed at increasing self-regulatory skills for health behaviors could possibly serve to bolster one's sense of personal control in psychological and socio-economic realms. The current study was a 2 x 3 between-subjects repeated-measures randomized experimental design that examined the efficacy of a Self-regulation skill + Education intervention against an Education Only condition over a 6-week period, …