Digital Commons Network^™

Child Sexual Abuse, Anna Maria Opperman

Graduate Research Papers

Reports of child sexual abuse are increasing in the nation and the state of Iowa. Negative effects of child sexual abuse include low self-esteem, contracting sexually transmitted diseases, promiscuity, pregnancy, psychological disorders, eating disorders, and suicide. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2006), two out of every one thousand children in the country have experienced sexual abuse. The author will describe the types of sexual abuse, the abuse process, characteristics of offenders, and manifestations of child sexual abuse. Possible treatment for victims will also be addressed.

Ethics And Welfare: Pain Perception In Fish, L. U. Sneddon

Aquaculture Collection

Fish welfare is currently a controversial subject with many scientific studies now demonstrating the possibility for fish to experience negative events such as pain, fear and stress. This has important implications in the treatment of fish during commercial and experimental procedures in terms of ethics and welfare. In this review, the evidence for pain perception in fish is considered and the repercussions for the use of fish as a research model as well as in aquaculture and largescale fisheries. These issues are discussed briefly from a welfare and ethical perspective.

Exploration And Habituation In Intact Free Moving Octopus Vulgaris, Jennifer Mather

Sentience Collection

Despite the huge numbers of studies published on the learning of cephalopod mollusks, studies on non-associative learning are scarce. We tested non-associative learning (habituation) and exploration in Octopus vulgaris in two different studies using a prey-shaped object (Study A) and inanimate objects and food objects (Study B). Study A consisted of the repeated presentation of a prey-like stimulus, which 23 subjects could only explore visually. In study B, 14 octopuses were presented two Lego blocks (one black and white with a smooth surface, one a blue "snowflake" with a rough surface) and two food items, one preferred (clams) and one …

Behaviour Development: A Cephalopod Perspective, Jennifer A. Mather

Interactive Behavior Collection

This paper evaluates the development of behaviour from the viewpoint of the intelligent and learningdependent cephalopod mollusks as a contrast to that of mammals. They have a short lifespan, commonly one to two years, and most are semelparous, reproducing only near the end of their lifespan. In the first two months of life, Sepia officinalis cuttlefish show drastic limitation on learning of prey choice and capture, gradually acquiring first short-term and then long-term learning over 60 days. This is paralleled by development of the vertical lobe of the brain which processes visually learned information. In the long nonreproductive adulthood, Octopus …

Attachment Disorders In Residential Treatment, John Church

Graduate Research Papers

Various aspects of developmental attachment are explored in this power point presentation. Attachment is defined and differentiated from bonding. The variations of attachment are described as they relate to the work of Mary Ainsworth (1978) and Katharine Leslie (2004). Trauma is also explored as one of the major contributors to attachment disorders. The trauma information is also linked with how the brain develops and ultimately is affected by trauma. Lastly, the symptoms of reactive attachment disorder are discussed and explored as they relate to other diagnoses such as depression and oppositional defiant disorder.

The Effect Of Olanzapine On Craving And Alcohol Consumption, Kent E. Hutchinson, Lara Ray, Erica Sandman, Marie-Christine Rutter Goodworth, Annie Peters, Dena Davidson, Robert Swift

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Previous studies have indicated that olanzapine decreases craving after a priming dose of alcohol, that craving after a priming dose of alcohol is greater among individuals with the seven-repeat allele of the DRD4 variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism, and that the effect of olanzapine (a D2/D4 antagonist) is more pronounced among individuals with this allele. The present study tested the hypothesis that olanzapine may be differentially effective at reducing cue-elicited craving and differentially effective as a treatment for alcohol dependence over the course of a 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial among individuals with and without the seven-repeat allele. Participants …

Causal Attributions And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Relationships Among Dispositional Attributional Style, Trauma-Specific Attributions, And Ptsd, Sarah Reiland

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The learned helplessness model (Seligman, 1975) and its various revisions suggest that both dispositional attributional style and event-specific attributions may influence people’s responses to events. Attribution theory has been applied to the search for risk and resiliency factors in trauma survivors, but few studies have compared dispositional attributional style with traumaspecific attributions in relation to posttraumatic stress symptoms. In addition, studies of attributions and PTSD fail to take into account the importance to the individual of the events about which attributions are made. The importance of the situation is a key component of the hopelessness model. Attributions for causes of …

The Biological Etiology Of Mental Health Disorders: Social Influences And Change Potential Of Practitioners’ Beliefs, Donna Marie Midkiff

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study was designed to examine mental health professionals’ strength of belief in biological causation of several syndromes including ADHD, unipolar depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia and whether a three-hour educational program will alter their thinking. Findings suggest that pre-training, mental health professionals’ reported strength of belief regarding the etiology of many mental health disorders tends toward the biologically based. Also, this study demonstrated that attendance at a three hour training program is able to reduce the expressed acceptance of biological causation of such disorders. The social influences of pharmaceutical direct to consumer advertising and medical guild dominance, as well …

The Sexual Sinthome, Geneviève Morel, Roland K. Végső

Department of English: Faculty Publications

Psychoanalysis possesses the means to think the difference of the sexes without relying on the phallus. Lacanian theory of the sinthome offers an alternative by articulating a new quadruplicity (R, S, I, and the sinthome), which allows us to think the relation between the sexes and the generations without necessarily referring to the Name-of-the-Father or the phallus as absolute norms. Thanks to this theory, we can avoid the moral and political prejudices that accompany the grand questions of society posed to us at the dawn of the 21st century: the treatment of “mental health,” the legislation of marriage, filiation, and …

Word Association Tests Of Associative Memory And Implicit Processes: Theoretical And Assessment Issues, Alan W. Stacy, Susan L. Ames, Jerry L. Grenard

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Word association is one of the most commonly used measures of association in cognitive science. These tests have been used to infer association parameters in normative studies, to derive cues and primes used in diverse paradigms (semantic priming, cued recall, illusory memory), to test implicit memory in experimental studies, and to suggest the operation of implicit processes in nonexperimental work. This chapter briefly outlines some of the historical routes and current controversies about association and summarizes basic cognitive research applying associative tests. The authors then describe benefits and limitations of the tests, as well as implications for theory and interventions …

A Very Little Bit Of Knowledge: Re-Evaluating The Meaning Of The Heritability Of Iq, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

There is a deeper assumption underlying adoption studies that is often not acknowledged by either adoption study researchers or their critics, and it is an assumptions that is at least as important as the two considered by Richardson and Norgate: the assumption that the heritability statistics generated by adoption studies are informative about something of consequence. Although Richardson and Norgate’s paper presents several valid criticisms of adoption studies of IQ that lead them to suggest a ‘radical reappraisal’ of such studies, a reappraisal even more radical than the one they suggest might, in fact, be warranted.

Phenomenological Analysis Of Experimentally Induced Visual Mental Imagery Associated With Shamanic Journeying To The Lower World, Adam J. Rock

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study explored ostensibly shamanic journeying imagery by (a) assessing visual images across induction

techniques (i.e., sonic driving, Ganzfeld, relaxation, and sitting with eyes open); (b) determining combination(

s) of induction technique and instructions most associated with religious imagery; and (c) investigating

the origins of visual imagery. Six participants were randomly assigned to factorial combinations of

a 3 x 4 mixed design (levels of instruction x levels of induction) and were administered the Modified Affect

Bridge to explore the origins of mental imagery reported during the experimental conditions.

Phenomenological analysis yielded comprehensive constituent themes. Harner’s (1990) shamanic journeying,

coupled with …

Behavioral And Neurochemical Responses To Cocaine In Periadolescent And Adult Rats, Laura O'Dell

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Within The Central Nucleus Of The Amygdala Mediates Enhanced Ethanol Self-Administration In Ethanol-Dependent Rats During Withdrawal., Laura O'Dell

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Biphasic Alterations In Serotonin1b (5-Ht1b) Receptor Function During Abstinence From Extended Cocaine Self-Administration, Laura O'Dell

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Extended Access To Nicotine Self-Administration Leads To Dependence: Circadian Measures, Withdrawal Measures, And Extinction Behavior In Rats, Laura O'Dell

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Unlimited Access To Heroin Self-Administration: Independent Motivational Markers Of Opiate Dependence, Laura O'Dell

Departmental Papers (Psych)

No abstract provided.

Nebbe's Nature Nest : A Summary Of An Animal Assisted Therapy Camp, Trisha L. Ames

Graduate Research Papers

Two graduate students conducted a small animal assisted therapy camp. The main goal for this camp was to enhance and promote the campers' socialization skills and self-esteem through the use of animal assisted therapy. Two pre and post measurement scales were used to evaluate the children's loneliness and self-concept. The campers participated in a one-week camp lasting approximately three hours a day. To meet desired lesson goals, the campers engaged in direct animal contact and specific animal assisted activities. The following is a complete description and reaction to the animal assisted therapy camp led by Trisha (Hobbiebrunken) Ames, Nicole Whisler, …

Compassion Fatigue In The Animal-Care Community, Charles R. Figley, Robert G. Roop

eBooks

Compassion fatigue---the exhaustion caused by the demands of being empathic and helpful to those who are suffering---is found at every level among the underserved, underappreciated, and uncomplaining caregivers in animal-related fields. In this ground-breaking book, two prominent leaders in the field examination the causes of compassion fatigue and offer help to those who suffer from it.

Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community is a must-read for animal shelter employees, volunteers, and board members veterinarians, and veterinary practice and veterinary hospital staffs wildlife rehabilitators breed-rescue or equine-rescue volunteers.

Conflict, Learning, And Frustration: A Dynamic Model Of Conflict Over Time, Matthew A. Cronin, Katerina Bezrukova

Psychology

A continuing question in the study of conflict and conflict management is, "When is conflict helpful, and when is it harmful?" Though many have offered explanations for this (Jehn, Northcraft, & Neale, 1999), data in support of these notions have been less forthcoming, especially in relation to the helpfulness of conflict (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003). In this paper we 2 present a dynamic model of conflict that we hope will both explain and clarify the confusion by conceptualizing conflict as simultaneously containing helpful (learning related) and harmful (negative sentiment related) components. We argue how both learning and negative emotion …

Manifest, Hidden, And Divine: Introduction To Sefirot Aikido, Jack Susman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The potential for forging a valuable relationship between two transpersonal systems, Aikido, a Japanese martial art and spiritual tradition, and Kabbalah, a Jewish spiritual tradition, is explored. Aikido is not simply a martial art, rather it is also a way to achieve a sense of the spiritual. However, especially for Westerners, many of its spiritual tenets are elusive, based on abstruse Japanese cultural roots, whereas Kabbalah, as a spiritual tradition more fully explicated for Western audiences, can provide an accessible framework for grasping some of Aikido’s deeper meanings. A blend of these traditions, called Sefirot Aikido, uses Kabbalah to understand, …

Student Evaluations Of Teaching: The Role Of Empathy And Instructions To Students, Shana L. Cunningham

Masters Theses

The current study examined the effects of instructions given to college students before evaluating their professors. The results of a previous study by Addison and Tabb (2004) indicated that an effect could be produced when student participants were given explicit instructions for evaluating videotaped student lectures. The present study was designed to examine these effects in a situation more generalizeable to actual student evaluations of teaching. Specifically, this study investigated student evaluations of a guest lecturer in a classroom environment. Results indicated significant differences among the instructional groups on specific rating scale items. The current study also yielded a significant …

Oral Reading Fluency, Fluency Training, And Reading Comprehension In Sixth Graders, Lindsay B. Eck

Masters Theses

This study examined the relationships among a measure of oral reading fluency and two measures of reading comprehension in sixth grade students at two urban schools in the Midwest. In one of the schools, fluency training was added to the usual curriculum. Participants, all sixth grade students in the two schools, were administered the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) indicator and two district-assigned reading comprehension measures during the third and fourth quarters of the school year. Results indicated that ORF scores were significantly correlated with comprehension scores, although to a lesser degree than typical for earlier grades. Fluency training had …

A Comparison Of Two Phonological Awareness Interventions Between Samples Of Head Start Children, Kevin D. Farrell

Masters Theses

Phonological processing skills are an accurate predictor of pre-readers' reading performance years later. Historically, children have not been required to demonstrate phonological processing skills until kindergarten. Due to the importance of these early reading skills, it is critical that deficits within this area are remediated utilizing research based interventions. Recent research has demonstrated that preschool age children could be taught some early reading skills through direct instruction techniques known as Picture Sorts and Sound Boxes. However, little research exists on the efficacy of such methods with a Head Start population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects …

Psi Hitting And Missing: The Effects Of Belief, Order Of Run, And Previous Experience, Jaymes Parker

Masters Theses

The current study examined several variables to determine their effects on telepathy performance. Part I used groups of participants who attempted to telepathically send the location oftargets to a receiver selected randomly from the group. Fifteen sessions were conducted during which 9 receivers each completed 16 trials. It was hypothesized that an order effect would be present with increased missing during the first and last run of each session. It was also hypothesized that belief in mental telepathy would influence telepathy scores. Results indicated significant differences when comparing positions 1 and 9 with positions 2-8. Scores, while not significant, tended …

The Relationship Between Maximizing, Perfectionism, And Relationship Satisfaction, Tara Lynn Riddle

Masters Theses

The relationship between maximization and perfectionism to relationship choices was explored. Ninety-seven undergraduate introductory psychology students were administered the Maximization Scale (Schwartz, et al., 2002), Hendrick Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick, 1991), Revised Almost Perfect Scale (Slaney, et al., 2001) and a brief demographic questionnaire. Results indicated that there is no significant relationship between maximization and relationship satisfaction, romantic relationship durations, or initiating relationship termination. In addition, perfectionism was not found to be related to choices in dating relationships. However, analyses did replicate prior research indicating a significant positive relationship between maximization and perfectionism (Schwartz, et al., 2002).

The Effect Of Induced Self-Awareness On Deception Detection, Allyson Leigh Barnacz

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Previous research has indicated a relationship between mirror self-recognition and self-awareness (awareness of one's own mind). Theory of Mind (awareness of another's mind; ToM) may be related to both self-awareness and self recognition such that facilitation of self-awareness may be related to a facilitation of ToM. Buckle (1997) found that the relationship between self-recognition and self awareness could be manipulated acutely via a mirror. In her study, Buckle found that participants exposed to a mirror outperformed controls in an episodic memory task (a measure of self-awareness). In the current study, mirror exposure was manipulated to determine if self-exposure would facilitate …

Global And Local Processing In Adult Humans (Homo Sapiens), 5-Year Old Children (Homo Sapiens), And Adult Cotton Top Tamarins (Saguinus Oedipus), Julie J. Neiworth, Amy J. Gleichman, Anne S. Olinick, Kristen E. Lamb

Psychology Faculty Work

This study compared adults (Homo sapiens), young children (Homo sapiens), and adult tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) while they discriminated global and local properties of stimuli. Subjects were trained to discriminate a circle made of circle elements from a square made of square elements and were tested with circles made of squares and squares made of circles. Adult humans showed a global bias in testing that was unaffected by the density of the elements in the stimuli. Children showed a global bias with dense displays but discriminated by both local and global properties with sparse displays. Adult tamarins’ biases matched those of …

Relationship Between Discontinuation Of Anti-Depressant Medication During Pregnancy And Development Of Postpartum Depression, Maria Palombo Murphy

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious and potentially debilitating disorder that frequently goes undetected due to stigma and a lack of understanding about its course and etiology. The factor of particular interest to this study concerns the relationship between discontinuation of anti-depressant medication in pregnancy and the development of PPD. The study examined how the variables of pregnancy mood, child care stress, emotional support, instrumental support, marital satisfaction, history of depression, baby temperament, birth experience, and medication status affect symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) in a sample of 202 patients at the six-week postpartum check-up. In addition to a demographic …

Working Memory, Search, And Signal Detection: Implications For Interactive Voice Response System Menu Design, Patrick Commarford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many researchers and speech user interface practitioners assert that interactive voice response (IVR) menus must be relatively short due to constraints of the human memory system. These individuals commonly cite Miller's (1956) paper to support their claims. The current paper argues that these authors commonly misuse the information provided in Miller's paper and that hypotheses drawn from modern theories of working memory (e.g., Baddeley and Hitch, 1974) would lead to the opposite conclusion – that reducing menu length by creating a greater number of menus and a deeper structure will actually be more demanding on users' working memories and will …